Irene's (atozgrl) Reading 2024

^Juney Whank Falls - picture taken June 2023

Hello everyone! Welcome to my thread.

I'm Irene, retired librarian, and I've been on LT since 2008, but I joined to catalog my book collection. Unfortunately, RL intervened, and I still haven't finished cataloging my books, but continue to work on it sporadically. I did not get involved in the social aspects of LT until last year, when I returned to the site after a long absence to track the books I've been reading since I retired. I found the 75ers at that time, and have really enjoyed meeting folks here.

I'm married, living in central NC. No cats, unfortunately, because my DH is allergic. But we enjoy feeding the birds in our backyard. I've grown some vegetables in the past, but haven't gotten much going in recent years. I hope to return to gardening this year. I also hope to make a big dent in the clutter around the house this year. I've got lots of paper to sort, and stuff inherited from my parents that I need to go through and organize or donate. I also love baseball, especially the Cubs.

My work in the library was mostly with systems and websites, not so much directly with books. I also worked for a government library, not a public library, so I don't know as much about current fiction as the public librarians do. I didn't actually have much time to read books while I was working, so I have a lot of recent fiction to catch up on. I've got a large collection of nonfiction, mostly history, that I've collected over the years, and I'm trying to concentrate on reading much of that. I enjoy a wide range of genres but especially enjoy historical fiction. Growing up, I loved reading classics, some for school, but most for my own enjoyment. I also read a lot of science fiction and fantasy when I was young, but haven't kept up with it over the years, so I've got a lot of catching up to do in that genre. I have also realized there are some classic children's books that I somehow missed while growing up, and I need to read them as well. Last year I joined a RL book club mid-year, and this year I'm starting with a second one which reads challenged books, which means I may not get as many books read off my own shelves as I hope to this year.

Looking forward to a good year of reading!

Also participating in:

1. The ROOT challenge
Link to my thread there: https://www.librarything.com/topic/356718

2. 2024 Nonfiction Challenge (75 Books Challenge) 75NF
    - December 2023: As You Like It
    - January 2024 - Prize Winners (prizes that are off the beaten tracks; including shortlisted works)
    - February - Women's Work (what women do or did)
    - March - Forensic Sciences

3. Reading Through Time
     Quarterly Challenges (RTTQ)
        - January-March 2024: Prehistoric
     Monthly Challenges (RTTM)
        - January: Janus
        - February: Aquarius & Amethyst - did not read anything
        - March: Medicine, Epidemics, and Plagues

4. The War Room (75 Books Challenge) 75WR
    - January: Ancient Wars
    - February: The American War of Independence
    - March: The War of the Roses

5. 2024 Historical Fiction Challenge (Category Challenge) HF

6. 2024 HistoryCAT (Category Challenge) HCAT
    - March: Science and Medicine

7. Memorial for Rosalita (MFR)

Note: hat-tip to kac522 for most of the challenge codes.

RL Book Clubs:

ASC Book Club (ASCBC)
✔ January - Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel
✔ February - I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
✔ March - The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
April - Island of Sea Women by Lisa See
May - Kitchen God’s Wife by Amy Tan
June - Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: and other lessons by Caitlin Doughty
July - Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby
August - Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent by Isabel Wilkerson
September - Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouad
October - Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
November - The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

Challenged Books Club (CBC)
✔ January - Catcher In the Rye by J. D. Salinger
✔ February - Are you There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
✔ March - Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
April - A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle
summer break

ROOTs Counter

Books read in 2024

January
1. The little bookstore of Big Stone Gap : a memoir of friendship, community, and the uncommon pleasure of a good book by Wendy Welch - ROOT; 75NF (Dec 2023)
2. The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel - ASCBC; RTTM; HF
3. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger - CBC; reread
4. The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff - 75WR; HF

February
5. Burning the books: a history of the deliberate destruction of knowledge by Richard Ovenden - ROOT; 75NF
6. 1776 by David McCullough - ROOT; 75WR
7. Are you There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume - CBC
8. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou - ASCBC; ROOT
9. Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke - MFR; reread

March
10. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley - CBC; reread
11. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett - ASCBC
12. Neanderthal: Neanderthal man and the story of human origins by Paul Jordan - RTTQ; 75NF; ROOT
13. Year of wonders: a novel of the plague by Geraldine Brooks - RTTM; HF; HCAT
14. Wild child by Lynn Plourde and Greg Couch
15. Summer's Vacation by Lynn Plourde and Greg Couch
16. The clown of God by Tomie De Paola

Coding for stars, for my reference.























Instructions at https://www.librarything.com/topic/129158#6620607

My ratings (still under construction)
    Outstanding; exceptional; I loved it
    Excellent; absolutely worth reading
       Very Good; for nonfiction: has an interesting viewpoint, or I learned something
        Good
            Average; for nonfiction: there are some issues with it
            Written well or a classic but I didn't enjoy it
                Writing is hard. I appreciate the work the author did. (borrowed from humouress)
                Bad
                    Very Bad
                    Terrible; for nonfiction: lots of problems

Welcome!

There you are Irene!

Happy new year and star dropped.

>8 PaulCranswick: That was quick! Welcome, Paul, and glad to see you here!

Found and starred, Irene, happy reading in 2024!

Happy New Year, and thread, Irene. Starred!

>11 vancouverdeb: Thank you, Deborah, and I will be over to visit you shortly!

After a trip to Mississippi for a funeral and Christmas, spending time with family and old friends of my DH, and having to go through things at my MiL's house, we're back home and getting settled back in. Post trip chores have kept us rather busy, so I'm slow getting my new thread up and running this year. And even slower getting around to everyone else's threads. Bear with me, I'll be over to see you all soon!

>13 atozgrl: Take your time getting settled back in. This group is not going anywhere any time soon, Irene!

>1 atozgrl: Great picture of the falls. Looks like you have a lot of goals this year. I am dropping off a star.

Your goals are inspiring, Irene. Have a great 2024, and I hope you achieve them all with ease.

Welcome back, Irene, and happy 2024!

Welcome back, Irene!

>14 alcottacre: >15 figsfromthistle: >16 richardderus: >17 bell7: >18 drneutron: Hello all, and thank you! It's wonderful to see you all here. I'll be visiting your threads as soon as I can.

1. The little bookstore of Big Stone Gap : a memoir of friendship, community, and the uncommon pleasure of a good book by Wendy Welch

I started this book while we were in Mississippi. I needed something that would be gentle and sweet, not political or otherwise difficult, so I picked this one out of the books I had brought with me. It definitely hit the spot. If we hadn't gotten so busy while we were down there, and didn't have the long drive back home, I'm sure I would have finished it before the end of the year. I'm counting it for the December 2023 Nonfiction Challenge: As You Like It.

This is a book about a married couple who are burned out by the rat race and wind up setting down in the Appalachians and following an old dream of running a used book store. It tells of their struggles trying to open the store, their ignorance about what it would take to do so, and their efforts to fit into a small town in a part of the country that tends to be suspicious of outsiders. Eventually, they and their store become a centerpiece of the community. Near the end of the book, Welch shares some of her own recommendations of books to read, and I wound up with a few more titles added to the TBR list. I found it to be a heartwarming story.

Quote I liked (p.211):

That day in Ceridwen's Cauldron reminds me again and again that a little kindness travels a long, long way, while meanness never taught anyone much of anything except how to reciprocate with more meanness. Quakers believe people should be allowed to walk the path toward truth without others setting themselves up as traffic police. ... Jack and I have seen firsthand the gracious goodness that comes from people of dissimilar views remembering that we love and are loved by God.

Hello there, Irene. I had to go looking for your thread, and now I’ve got it starred.

I watched the very first episode of Gilded Age and really liked it! If only for the clothes and buildings—oh my gosh! Lots of good characters and interesting plot lines. I’m sure I’ll be watching more. Thanks for the heads up!

Hope that life is settling down for you. Good reading!

Karen O

Thanks, Karen, and thanks for dropping by! I think things are finally settling down a bit.

I'm so glad you enjoyed the Gilded Age! The fashions are wonderful throughout the show, I know you will like seeing them. I really liked the series, and I hope they do another season.

Happy New Year, Irene. Have a safe & healthy 2024. Looking forward to another year of sharing books and birds with you.

>23 msf59: Thanks, Mark, and the same to you! You've hit me with several BB's here, and I imagine I'll get more this year. Maybe sometime this year I'll be able to join you in one of your shared reads.

>20 atozgrl: Dodging that BB as I have already read it :)

I hope you have a great rest of your week!

Looking forward to getting to know you and your reads. : )

>25 alcottacre: Well, shoot, I missed. ;-)

Wishing you a great week as well. I hope everything goes more smoothly for you as you get ready for your trip!

>26 Berly: Hello, Kim, so nice to see you here! I was actually just about to go looking for your new thread. I'll see you over there soon.

2. The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel

I read The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel for my book club this month. As I reached the end of the book, I realized that it also fits the Reading Through Time January challenge, so I'm counting it for that as well.

This book tells the story of Eva Traube, a French Jew, whose parents had emigrated to France from Poland. The Nazis take control of Paris during WWII and her father is rounded up and sent to a concentration camp. Eva and her mother escape to a mountain village in Free France in the south, where she becomes involved in forging documents and creating false identities for Jews, especially children, fleeing to Switzerland. She wants to find a way to preserve their real names, and a system of encoding those names in the Book of Lost Names is created.

I thought the idea for this book was very interesting, and it was an enjoyable read, telling of Eva's experiences and including a romance with a fellow forger and member of the resistance. I didn't enjoy the conflict Eva experienced with her mother. And some of the plot wasn't really believable to me. But throughout the book the author expresses a love of libraries and books and the magic of books, so who here wouldn't like that? Overall, I did like the story.

A quote that stood out to me:

As we exit the plane into Berlin's bustling airport, I'm swept along by a crowd. All around me, people speak to each other in German, and I have to remind myself that Hitler is long dead. Evil doesn't live here anymore; this is just a place, and the people around me are just people. And isn't that the moral of the story anyhow? You can't judge a person by their language or their place of origin--though it seems that each new generation insists upon learning that lesson for itself.

That seems especially appropriate these days.

Since I think I was over-rating some books last year, I'm going to try to be more careful, so I don't wind up with so many 4 star books that need better differentiation. I probably would have given this one a higher rating last year.

Good quote! And I understand trying to reevaluate your ratings. Thumbs up!

>29 atozgrl: Thanks, Kim!

Dropped my star!

>As you know, I enjoyed The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap. I even tinkered with the idea of buying it! Sadly, it is no longer open. You can follow Wendy Welch on her blog. She continues to live in the area and is part of the health system. She has written extensively about the opioid epidemic and other health issue in Appalachia.

Hi Irene! Finally here, happy New Year, happy first thread of 2024.

>1 atozgrl: Nice intro.

>3 atozgrl: I read the Tan book forever ago, have Demon Copperhead scheduled with my RL book club to discuss in May, and have Caste on my shelves. Catcher in the Rye introduced me to J.D. Salinger, and that was one of the best things that ever happened to me when I was in high school. And finally, A Wrinkle in Time is one of my all-time favorites.

You’ve already written two great reviews, so congrats!

Happy Saturday, Irene. After a fairly mild December, winter has finally showed up. Snowstorms and plunging temps. Single digits overnight. Well, it is January after all. My feeders have been really hopping.

>20 atozgrl: You woulda got me with that one, Irene, only I read it some time ago. I think I left it unreviewed because my 3* reads were not review worthy back then...my standards have changed.

>32 witchyrichy: Hello, Karen, I'm so glad to see you here! I had checked online and discovered that the bookstore is closed, more's the pity. I would have loved to have had the chance to visit someday. I didn't know about her blog, I'll have to go look for that. I also thought I had seen that they were planning to move back to Scotland when they sold the store, so I didn't realize she still lived in the area. All interesting information, thanks!

>33 karenmarie: Hello, Karen, I'm glad you finally dropped by for a visit! Thanks for the compliments.

I read A Wrinkle in Time when I was young. I remember liking it, but I don't remember much of the story. I am very puzzled as to why it would be a challenged book, so I'm looking forward to the reread. I had a copy, but I'm not sure it survived the moves, or the race to clear stuff out of my mom's house. If it did, it's probably still in a box somewhere. I'll have to go look.

The weather yesterday was not bad here. Much less rain than the big storm Tuesday, but we did have a little bit of thunder and lightning which we did NOT see with the previous storm. I hope the weather quiets down for a while. Looks like it will get cold next week. I'm not a big fan of cold weather, but I have learned to appreciate it. We need it to kill off some of the bad insects.

>34 msf59: Hello, Mark! That's cold! We'll be cold too next week, but nothing that bad. I saw the pic on your thread with the birds on the feeders. I'm glad you are getting to enjoy that. My feeders are staying busy too, and I'm not doing as well as I should keeping up with filling them.

Stay in and enjoy a good book, or several!

>35 richardderus: Hello, RD, so glad to see you! Sorry to miss you with the BB.

We've got a bright sunny day here today and mild temperatures--I hope your weather is just as pleasant. Wishing you a great weekend of reading! *smooch*

I haven't been too active here on my own thread so far this year. I'm trying to get around to all the other threads and catch up with what everyone else is up to. The threads are so busy this time of year, it's hard to keep up.

We've been pretty much in recovery mode from our trip to Mississippi and the unexpected passing of my MiL. It's been nice to have not too many demands on us the first couple of weeks of the year. So far I have only had a dentist appointment to require me to keep a specific schedule, and that was just one day. Next week will be busier, as activities at the Senior Center start back up again.

My DH is set to have a knee replacement the first week of March, so we'll be preparing for that as well. I'm hoping that goes as well as karenmarie's did last year. We're planning to go for a walk this afternoon, to take advantage of the nice weather, before temperatures plummet next week.

Wishing you all a great reading weekend!

Hi Irene--I've been lurking, so thought I'd come out of the shadows to comment:

>29 atozgrl: Since I think I was over-rating some books last year, I'm going to try to be more careful, so I don't wind up with so many 4 star books that need better differentiation.

I am conflicted about the "star" system. It can give one a sense of really great and really awful, but on the other hand, it's hard to be nuanced.

One book that had me questioning the whole idea is John Green's book of essays: The Anthropocene Reviewed. His introductory piece questions the whole concept of ratings, and it really got me thinking about it. He then proceeds to include at the end of each of his essays a "star" rating for the subject of his essay, which sort of brings it all to another level. Anyway, if you feel like some essays that will make you think about every day stuff, I'd highly recommend this book.

I'll be interested to hear your reaction to Catcher in the Rye. As a teenager, I could identify with it. I re-read it as a senior citizen and had a totally different reaction, so will be interested to read your thoughts on it. Of some of the other books on your lists, I enjoyed the books by Maya Angelou and Amy Tan (so funny). I also need to read Caste (I loved The Warmth of Other Suns), The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store (when the hold list get reasonable at the library) and I'm determined this year to attack Brave New World.

Anyway, happy reading!

>20 atozgrl: I'm really glad I got to visit that store and meet the cat several years ago. I understand they've retired now, so I'm glad I went when I did.

>29 atozgrl: I still intend to read that one, but I haven't gotten around to it yet.

Hi Irene! I hope you accomplish all of your goals for the year, reading and otherwise! I need to read the book about Big Stone Gap. I had some very good friends and coworkers who lived there for several years. I think it was before the bookstore opened, though.

>41 kac522: Hi, Kathy, so good to see you! Interesting thoughts about rating systems. I'll have to look Green's book up.

Just finished Catcher in the Rye. I'll write up my thoughts soon, but I'm going to have to go start dinner in a few minutes.

>42 thornton37814: Hello, Lori, thanks for visiting! You're lucky you got to see the store. I wish I could have.

I hope you enjoy The Book of Lost Names. I liked it. It wasn't at the top of my list, but it was an enjoyable read for me.

>43 cbl_tn: Hi Carrie, thanks for stopping by! I would encourage you to read the book. It has a lot to say about the community as well as the bookstore. If you're familiar with the area, you'll probably get even more out of it than I did.

Wishing you a great week ahead!

Sometimes I go back and change my ratings after a few months (or years). I find that my thoughts immediately after reading a book can change; and actually both ways. sometimes I think a book is really good, but it doesn't stick with me. Other times I think a book is just OK, but somehow end up thinking about it lots afterwards.

Hello Rhonda, how nice of you to drop by! I'll go find your thread in a little bit.

Thanks for your thoughts. I was finding that a few weeks or months after I read a book last year, I would think my initial rating was too high, and I changed a couple of them. My feelings about a book do sometimes seem to change with time. I want to be a bit more conservative this year with my initial ratings, unless it's a book that really grabs me and I know it's something I want to rate highly.

3. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

I'm rereading The Catcher in the Rye this month for my Challenged Books Club. I had to read it for English class when I was a senior in high school. I remember I didn't like it at the time, but did not remember anything else about it. Now I know why. There's no plot to remember, just a bunch of nonstop musings of Holden Caulfield. I did not like it any better this time.

In the book, Holden Caulfield relates his activities over a long weekend, where he begins in a prep school that he has been expelled from, then he goes to New York City but doesn't want to go home right away because he wants his parents to get the letter from the school telling them he's been expelled first. So he tells us everything he does and thinks at the prep school and in New York City, in excruciating detail. It seems like everybody is phony and/or stupid, and everything seems to annoy him. But to me, most of what Holden was doing looked stupid and he annoyed me. I don't really see the point.

I can see why the book has been challenged. There's a lot of swearing (I'm not a prude, but it was more than I liked) and there are sexual situations. But there's nothing in the book that justifies attempts to censor it. It's just not my taste.

I really enjoyed A Wrinkle in Time when I read in late elementary school . I've never read The Catcher in the Rye, but after your review, no rush! I don't like a like a lot of swearing either. I sometimes struggle with my ratings, but for me a very good book is a 4 and 3 is okay, below expectations. I know some rater lower than I do. It's rare that I give a two, but yes , some books deserve it.

>49 atozgrl: Yep. Holden is an insufferable whiner and I don't feel sorry for him one bit. Even his kindness toward sister Phoebe at the end doesn't make up for the 250+ pages of crap before. At my book club discussion, some members thought his parents were to blame for his actions and therefore he's not responsible, but I don't buy it. It's hard to take this story these days, when we know of so many kids who have conquered all kinds of adversity in their lives to build better lives, and yet we're given this goof as some sort of casualty of his parents. Spare me.

>29 atozgrl: I think I was over-rating some books last year i think I have the opposite problem - I tend to under rate. I only had 2 5 star books in the whole of last year.

>29 atozgrl: & >52 SandDune: I often think that it is a snapshot of where we are at a given moment - I stopped giving a rating recommend / avoid as I would often find myself arguing with my own opinion not much later!

Hi Irene!

>37 atozgrl: A quick duckduckgo search yielded quite a few results for ‘why A Wrinkle in Time is banned’.

>40 atozgrl: Your DH and I will be roughly on the same schedule, so we can compare notes.

>41 kac522: and >44 atozgrl: I listened to every single one of John Green’s Anhropocene Reviewed podcasts, which are available for free if you look in the right place. I don’t know which ones he put in the book – some or all – but I loved listening to them. In fact, they’re definitely worth a re-listen.

>48 atozgrl: I hardly ever change a rating. Just me – carry on.

Happy Monday, Irene. Woke up to -10F again this morning. I was supposed to lead a bird walk today but of course, I canceled it. No plans to go out again today, unless it is to tend the feeders.

Sorry, to hear Catcher in the Rye fell flat for you. I have read it twice and appreciated it more on the reread.

>53 PaulCranswick: Paul, I think that is very true! Things we're experiencing at the moment, how we're feeling, what stage we are in life, all of those can affect how we feel about a book. So it is very subjective.

>54 karenmarie: Thanks, Karen, I'll go take a look and see what I can find about Wrinkle in Time.

You've already been through the knee replacement once, so all tips and advice are welcome! I know my DH is somewhat nervous about the surgery, but he's looking forward to feeling better afterward. His knee is bothering him a lot these days.

Another vote for John Green. I guess I really will have to add Anthropocene Reviewed to the TBR list!

>50 vancouverdeb: Hi Deborah! I also remember really liking A Wrinkle in Time when I read it, so I'm looking forward to the reread. My personal opinion is that you aren't missing much by holding off on The Catcher in the Rye, even if it is considered a classic.

>51 kac522: That pretty well sums up how I felt about the book. If I hadn't been reading it for the book club, I may have DNF'd it.

>55 msf59: Hello, Mark! We're supposed to get very cold (for us) temperatures this week, and I'm seeing 4 days of 21F or below, with Saturday night/Sunday morning being the worst at 16F. Brrrr. But compared to what you're getting, we're balmy. I hope the temps moderate for you soon, but if our air is coming from your direction, that may not happen for awhile.

I'm glad Catcher in the Rye worked for you. "Every book its reader" as Ranganathan said. And it's still on all the best books lists, so it obviously hits for some. Just not me. Maybe if I were male, it would work better for me. I just didn't relate.

>52 SandDune: Hello, Rhian! Well, I only had 3 5-star reads last year myself. I pretty much reserved that rating for books that really drew me in and that were fulfilling in some way. So I think 5 stars should be reserved for the best of the best. But I was rating a lot of different books at 4 stars, and some of them I liked better than others, so I'm trying to do a better job of differentiating them this year. We'll see if I can make it work. I may use 3.75 and 4.25 stars more this year.

It's 44F here today, supposed to get all the way up to 52F, and it's downhill from there for the foreseeable future. We're getting some housework done today before things get busier for us the next few days. I got a Spanish rice recipe into the crockpot this morning. My DH helped by chopping peppers for me. Then we picked up around the kitchen/family room before my DH vacuumed and then mopped the kitchen floors. Hope to do something more fun this afternoon.

I haven't posted Wordle in a while:
Wordle 940 3/6

⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
SLATE, ROBIN, LUNCH

>59 atozgrl: Yep, I only re-read it for book club, too.

>29 atozgrl: I sometimes skip the stars but I seem to end up with a lot of 3.5, seeing that as average, I guess? Interesting ideas from others about using the system. At least we err on the side of kindness. I think that says something nice about us!

>64 witchyrichy: I suspect I will probably end up with mostly 3.5 stars, which I consider good. I agree, I think we do err on the side of kindness!

I tend to wind up with a lot of high ranking starts, mostly because I think I tend to avoid trash books and read all the great recommendations of LT friends! But I also get the frustration of having so many books with the same rating...how to differentiate...

Irene, I am not sure if I fully understood your post on my thread. Did you manage to get Novel Avenue and Constellation Ravensburger Puzzles ? That would be great . Or did you get a different second puzzle along with Constellation ? I looked up the Constellation Puzzle and it is gorgeous ! I'll be keen to see it here when you finish it . Like you, I love free shipping , though sometimes I order just one puzzle and try to control my spending. Not easy! My current puzzle is by Cobble Hill, I think called Winter Scene. Anyway, it is random cut and proving to be difficult. There are not many even medium sized areas of colour and lot of snow, sky, and leaves and I'll keep at it, but it's possible I will give up. It's rare that I do that , but if it gets to be too much of chore, I have done that a couple of times before.

>67 vancouverdeb: Oh, yes, I did get the Novel Avenue puzzle, since it was back in stock. But the one I planned to order with it after I got the notification that Novel Avenue was back in stock, by the time I got around to ordering a few days later, that other puzzle was out. So I looked for something else to order instead, so I could get free shipping, and I found the Constellation puzzle. The picture on the box looks even better than on the website, so I'm happy with that choice.

The one I had originally planned to get that is now out of stock is called World of Books.

The one you're working on now sounds interesting. I haven't done many of those random cut puzzles; maybe only one? It definitely sounds like a challenge! I hope you don't give up on it.

>66 Berly: Hello, Kim, glad to see you here! I think I also tend to avoid trash books, though there have been some considered classics that I have read and didn't like. But I am trying to figure out some way to better separate what I read with the rankings this year. It'll probably be some trial and error.

Hi, Irene. I'm here far too seldom, but since I don't have much to say for myself, it's no great loss. Anyway, I'm glad that you are here, and I look forward to your comments as you read!

Stay warm!!!

Hi, Peggy, I'm so glad you dropped by! I love to see you here whenever you are able to make it, no matter how often, and no matter how much or how little you have to say. To me it would be a loss if you didn't stop by occasionally.

I hope you stay warm as well this very cold weekend!

Testing:



2024 BingoDog card:
1. Something themed around food or cooking
2. A book with an ugly cover - Brave New World
3. A book with nothing on the cover but the title and author - Burning the books: a history of the deliberate destruction of knowledge
4. A book featuring twins - The Vanishing Half
5. A book about a topic about which you have specific knowledge or expertise - Burning the books: a history of the deliberate destruction of knowledge
6. First published in a year ending in 24
7. Epistolary or diary format
8. The words "Big" or "Little" in the title - The little bookstore of Big Stone Gap : a memoir of friendship, community, and the uncommon pleasure of a good book
9. A book from one of the libraries listed under the "Similar libraries" featured on your LT profile page - Neanderthal: Neanderthal man and the story of human origins (weird_O)
10. A book about Friendship - The little bookstore of Big Stone Gap : a memoir of friendship, community, and the uncommon pleasure of a good book; Are you There God? It's Me, Margaret
11. A three-word title - Brave New World
12. Features a paper based item in the plot - The Book of Lost Names
13. Read a CAT - Year of Wonders (March HistoryCAT)
14. A short story collection / Anthology
15. Title contains a person's name - Are you There God? It's Me, Margaret
16. Set in the city - The Catcher in the Rye
17. A book with fewer than 100 copies on LT - Neanderthal: Neanderthal man and the story of human origins
18. Something written by a person of colour - I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings; The Vanishing Half
19. Written by an author 65 or older
20. A book featuring water
21. Involves warriors or mercenaries - The Eagle of the Ninth; 1776
22. Reread a favorite book
23. A book written in another cultural tradition - I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
24. Something that takes place in multiple countries
25. Read a current/recent bestseller

Highs here today were in the 30's, with a wind chill making it feel colder. The wind chill is supposed to get down to 10F tonight. We've been staying inside.

We had a small recliner that gave up the ghost a few months ago. The swivel ring broke. We ordered a new, bigger, leather recliner in December, and they delivered it yesterday. It's very nice. Yesterday afternoon we were both upstairs doing things, and when I came down to make dinner, I walked into the room and smelled new chair smell. Mmmm, very nice!

Wordle 945 4/6

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SLATE, CABLE, HALVE, LARGE - I thought about starting my second guess with LA, but then thought of CABLE as a full word, and didn't go back to options starting with LA. C'est la vie.

>72 atozgrl: Looks good. Is it working for you? : )

Hello, Kim! Yes, it seems to be working. I tried using a different color for the markers, and it looks like that took. I'm surprised that after only 3 books so far this year I was actually able to mark 4 spaces. I keep finding new, interesting things to try out here on LT.

Irene, I've seen your posts throughout the thread, but have been remiss in visiting your thread. I'll be sure to change that now that 2024 is here. I look forward to seeing what you are reading.
All good wishes,

Linda

Happy Sunday, Irene. I hope you are having a good weekend. It is back to frigid temps here in the Midwest but we should see above average temps for most of next week. I am itching to get back on the trails.

>76 Whisper1: Hello, Linda, thanks so much for visiting! I've dropped by your thread and look forward to keeping up with you as well. Welcome!

>77 msf59: We had a nice, quiet weekend. Because it was so cold here, we stayed in except for church Sunday morning. But we went to the late service instead of the first one because it was in the teens here. I guess that would feel like a heat wave to you.

I'm glad to hear it will warm up for you. I hope you can get back on the trails very soon!

>20 atozgrl: Irene, I've added The little bookstore of big Stone Gap : a memoir of friendship, community, and the uncommon pleasure of a good book by Wendy Welch to my list of books to read in '24. I very much enjoyed your review!

>80 Whisper1: Thanks, Linda! I hope you enjoy the book! I thought it was a sweet story, and it made me wish I could have seen the bookstore.

Just popping in to say Hi!

>82 Berly: Hi, Kim, nice to see you!

Wordle 949 3/6

⬜🟨⬜⬜🟨
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SLATE, LEMON, RELIC I was rather surprised to get it in 3; I was just trying to identify more letters with that guess. It's been a good Wordling week so far: got it in 3 three times and in 2 once. Of course, that probably means tomorrow will be a struggle.

It was a good day for Connections too.
Connections
Puzzle #227
🟪🟪🟪🟪 words pronounced differently with accent marks (expose, pate, resume, rose)
🟩🟩🟩🟩 parts of the eye (cone, iris, lens, pupil)
🟦🟦🟦🟦 familial nicknames (dada, grammy, mum, poppy)
🟨🟨🟨🟨 smartphone features beginning with “c” (calculator, camera, calendar, clock)
Today was one of those rare days when I knew what the purple line was, and even more rare, I got that line first.

Wordle in 4 and Connections same as you. : )

>84 Berly: What can I say? Great minds think alike!

Well, Irene, I did give up on my frustrating puzzle, Winter Scene by Cobblestone puzzles. I might go back to it next year, but I felt lousy enough without being driven made mad by a difficult puzzle. I started a new one though, Alchemists House by Eeboo. one Thousand pieces like the one I gave up on , but seems much easier. Thanks for the well wishes and the Birthday wishes.

Hi Irene! I’m looking forward to our Meet Up tomorrow!

>72 atozgrl: Even with my current favorite genre, I’ve got 7. *smile

>73 atozgrl: Congrats on the new recliner. Yay for the new chair smell.

>87 karenmarie: I am looking forward to our Meet Up as well! I will see you then.

Wow, 7 already! You've probably read more titles than I have so far, so that would help. I'm working on it.

>86 vancouverdeb: Deborah, I'm sorry that the puzzle was so frustrating. It definitely doesn't help when you're not feeling well. I hope you're feeling better. And I hope the new one is fun this time.

Catching up before the weekend, Irene and I just wanted to say, Hi!

Have fun at your meet-up!! (How could you not?! LOL)

>90 PaulCranswick: Hello to you too, Paul! I've fallen behind on your thread again; I hope to get over soon. Have a great reading weekend!

>91 Berly: Hello, Kim, I am sure that we will!

Yesterday was fun. I met karenmarie for lunch. The drive over wasn't what I expected. The rain was supposed to be gone by 10:00, and it was at my house. Dry when I left, although I grabbed my fleece in case I got cold. I stopped to get gas, and it started to drizzle. Then the drive over was off and on drizzle and light rain. Not heavy, but enough to be annoying. It took me a bit to find parking, but I found Karen in the diner and we had wonderful conversation and a great lunch.

Karen told me about a used book store just down the street, so I walked over after lunch and found a few books. Very nice!

What we're watching: Thanks to klobrien2, I've been watching Julia on Max this month. I completed the first season and am working on the second one. It's so good! I am really enjoying this, and I'm so glad Karen mentioned it on her thread.

We also noticed that Barbie was available on Max, so I watched it with my DH. I was surprised that he was interested, but he wanted to watch. He wasn't impressed. I thought it was alright, and had some good things, but I don't completely understand all the fuss.

I got to see the first season of Only Murders in the Building this month, since it was available on ABC, thanks to the strike last year. That was a lot of fun. I wish they would air the subsequent seasons.

And Chicago Fire has returned to NBC post-strike, so my DH and I are watching that.

This weekend it's figure skating. I'll be watching a lot of that since the US National Championships are under way.

Wordle 952 4/6

🟩⬜🟩⬜🟩
🟩⬜🟩⬜🟩
🟩⬜🟩⬜🟩
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SLATE, SPARE, SHADE, SNAKE Another one of those guessy, guessy puzzles. I'm glad to have gotten it in 4.

>94 atozgrl: Sounds like you had a lovely visit and finding a few books was a bonus!

>72 atozgrl: >87 karenmarie: I need to update my bingo card as I think I have one or two reads that fit but am wondering how you are going to pick a book with an ugly cover?

>95 witchyrichy: I don't know. Maybe something that I really don't like the cover design? Or else something that's got a cover that's very worn or torn. That's my best guess right now.

It's political ad season, unfortunately, and excuse me for a moment, but I need to go on a rant. Some woman in the area is running for Congress (not my district). I've never heard of her before now. She's running an ad that says she commanded troops in Iraq and they fought "the same people" that "Biden's weak border" is letting into the US. Really? The US military was used against refugees? You're telling me you attacked people who are fleeing some sort of hell in their home countries--people who are only looking for a better life for their families? I'm sorry, but this is too much.

And I want to say to all these people on the far right, who mostly claim to be Christians, think about it. What would Jesus do if he saw those refugees at the border? Really think about it.

Moving on to something more pleasant, today's Wordle. I was pleased with this one since I got it without resorting to any word lists.

Wordle 953 3/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨
🟨⬜🟩⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
SLATE, ROBIN, EMBER

4. The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff

I finished The Eagle of the Ninth on Thursday, but have been so busy since then that I haven't had time to sit down and write up my thoughts about it. I read it for the January War Room Challenge (Ancient Wars). I first heard about this book a year ago when I first joined the 75ers and several people were writing about it on their threads. It got universally positive reviews, so I thought I would pick it up for this challenge.

The story was inspired by a real life incident. Around 117 AD, the Roman Ninth Legion, which was stationed where York is now, marched north to deal with an uprising of tribes and was never heard of again. This story tells of a Roman legionnaire who was wounded and mustered out. His father was a member of the missing Ninth Legion, and he hears rumors that the Ninth's Eagle standard may be in the hands of one of the northern tribes. So he sets out on a secret mission to investigate whether the rumors are true and return the lost Eagle if they are.

I can see why this book was so well loved, as the reports I read last year indicated. I found it to be a compelling read, with an exciting adventure and interesting characters. My library had it in the Young Adult section, which seems to be the usual, but it reads to me as though the book was written for adults, or at least not specifically for a youth audience. I enjoyed it very much, and recommend it to anyone who likes a good adventure tale.

>97 atozgrl: I haven't ever used a word list for Wordle -- what is it? And I haven't played in a while and forgot that you can use a letter twice, so today's took me a while, but I got it before 6. : )

>99 Berly: Glad you got it without getting skunked! Today's Wordle was a little irritating for me. At my 3rd guess, I thought of the correct word first but dismissed it as unlikely. But after my 3rd guess, I couldn't come up with anything else.

Wordle 954 4/6

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🟩🟩⬜⬜⬜
🟩🟩⬜⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
SLATE, LEMON, LEPER, LEGGY

>98 atozgrl: Glad to see you enjoyed The Eagle of the Ninth, Irene. Rosemary Sutcliff wrote more wonderful books. I am a fan since my childhood, and collected all her books.

>94 atozgrl: Sounds like a great meet up!

Happy mid week

>101 FAMeulstee: Hi, Anita. It was a good one! I am going to try to get to the rest of the books in the trilogy. I don't know how soon I'll be able to do that though.

>102 figsfromthistle: Hello, Anita. It was a great meet up! I hope you are feeling better.

Today was good for both Wordle and Connections. I even knew what the purple line was in Connections today.

Wordle 956 3/6

⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
SLATE, ROBIN, BULKY

Connections
Puzzle #234
🟩🟩🟩🟩 booked for a wedding (band, caterer, florist, officiant)
🟦🟦🟦🟦 rhymes (choir, fire, fryer, liar)
🟨🟨🟨🟨 merriment (cheer, glee, festivity, mirth)
🟪🟪🟪🟪 ____ pit (barbecue, orchestra, snake, tar)

Ooh- that sounds fun, seems like i need to get into more word games.

I'm so glad it is not yet political season in Canada, at least not yet. Ours are long enough , but blessedly short compared to the USA. I think federal elections are limited to either 50 or 57 days, which is plenty long.

>106 Owltherian: Hello, and give it a try!

>107 vancouverdeb: I would give anything if our political seasons were shorter, like other countries. It's way, way, way too long here. And we have to put up with obnoxious political ads for months. Boo!

>109 atozgrl: Looking in from the U.K. it does seem to take a hugely long time. There's still a possibility here that we might have an election in spring. And the new government does move in next day.

Happy Friday, Irene. It looks like we have a nice warm-up starting this weekend, with lots of sunshine which has been scarce the past 2 weeks. My feeder activity has slowed somewhat. Have a good weekend.

Ugh politics. Especially right now. But it's Friday!! Happy weekend full of reading. : )

Goodness me, how have I missed everyone until now? Thanks for visiting!

>110 SandDune: Hi Rhian! Election season is ridiculously long here. I wish we could do something more sensible like the UK. If you do have an election this year, I hope it goes well for you.

>111 msf59: Hi Mark! I hope you had a great weekend and that you are feeling much better by now. I'm glad you are finally getting a warm-up. It sounds like you've had a pretty long run of cold weather. My feeders stay busy, and I had to refill almost everything today.

>112 Berly: Hi Kim! Ugh politics is right, and you are also right that it's especially bad now. I usually want to keep up with the news, but I might have to turn at least some of it off this year. I hope you have a great week of reading ahead!

5. Burning the books: a history of the deliberate destruction of knowledge by Richard Ovenden

Yesterday I finished Burning the books: a history of the deliberate destruction of knowledge. I read this book for the January Nonfiction Challenge, which was to read "Prize Winners - prize winning books that won literary prizes that are off the beaten tracks." This also includes books shortlisted for prizes. I found that Burning the Books was shortlisted for the Wolfson History Prize in 2021, and since it was on my wishlist, I ordered a copy and read it for the challenge.

This book gives a history of libraries and archives that have been damaged or destroyed from ancient times to today. It is obviously not a complete history, but it tells the story of some of the most notable losses. It also reports on a couple of cases of personal papers or memoirs that were deliberately destroyed to prevent publication and/or protect reputations. Or in the case of governmental archives, to cover up the actions of colonial/government workers. The famous case of the Library of Alexandria is included. Although its destruction has variously been blamed on the Roman army, early Christians, and Muslims in the 7th century, Ovenden believes these are myths and that the library most likely disappeared due to slow decline, underfunding, and neglect. I had first seen that theory when reading Cleopatra: a life last year, and it is confirmed here.

A number of libraries were deliberately attacked and destroyed over the years, in attempts to suppress a religion or a specific culture. All the stories are heartbreaking to me, because of the loss of knowledge and history. And unfortunately it still continues today. Serbia's deliberate destruction of the National Library of Bosnia occurred only 30 years ago. He even mentions the Sarajevo Haggadah which was rescued from the National Museum and was the basis for People of the Book which my book club read in September. But he highlights the courage of the librarians, archivists, and ordinary people who went out of their way throughout the years and, often under threat of their lives, worked to save books and manuscripts.

Ovenden also addresses the move to the digital world, and how much of current social discussion takes place online. He is greatly concerned about the loss of history for future research if what is online is not preserved. So much of it is currently under the control of a few large tech companies, whose purpose is to make money, not to preserve information for the future. Ovenden feels that libraries and archives need much better funding so that they can carry out the task of preserving this information for the future. At the end, he makes a plea to "the holders of power" to adequately fund libraries and archives.

I thought the book was interesting and very well written. Highly recommended.

>108 atozgrl: I definitely will.

>115 Owltherian: Good, I hope you will give it a try.

>116 atozgrl: I'm gonna go download it right now actually.

>114 atozgrl: Burning the books: a history of the deliberate destruction of knowledge sounds really good, Irene. I will have to check my library.

>117 Owltherian: If you want to play Wordle, it's online, you don't have to download anything.

>118 vancouverdeb: I definitely think it's worth reading. Ovenden really makes the case as to why libraries and archives are still important.

>119 atozgrl: I like to have things downloaded, i don't trust online things really anymore.

Happy Wednesday, Irene. I hope you are having a good week. Good review of Burning the books. It sounds like an unsettling read but I will add it to the obese TBR.

>121 Owltherian: I don't think there are any issues with Wordle, and for me it's a fun game. But I understand your concerns.

>122 msf59: It has been a pretty good week so far. I think you will like Burning the books. There's a lot of good history in it. Parts are certainly unsettling, and as I said heartbreaking to me, just because of the loss of history that we can't get back. But it raises a lot of important issues for us in the present day as well. I wish the people in positions of power would read the book and pay attention to what Ovenden has to say.

>123 atozgrl: Usually its online sites, for example Perchance, most people there are rude, i even got called slurs there.

>125 Owltherian: Wordle isn't a social site, so no concerns there.

>126 atozgrl: Yeah, i just wish some people were nicer on social sites though.

>114 atozgrl: Such a sad topic, but glad that this book pays tribute and that you enjoyed it!!

>127 Owltherian: I do too!

>128 Berly: It is a sad topic, but I'm glad the author compiled the incidents and showed how our history is still under threat. It's a warning to us all, and I hope those with the purse strings will take note of it, and take action.

>129 atozgrl: I got yelled at today about my grades and i spent all day doing work because of it and now i cant even use wordle because its on my phone and that got taken

Hi Irene! Sorry it's taken me so long to get around to returning your visit.

>6 atozgrl: I see my 2 stars there ...
>49 atozgrl: ... and I think you owe me a commission ;0)

As for rating, it's always going to be subjective depending on your mood at the time. I've decided I'm not going to go back and change something because I could end up yo-yo-ing forever. Sometimes I've gone back and been surprised at the rating I gave because maybe the negative points really irritated me and stuck in my mind but I assume it had some redeeming qualities at the time I read and initially rated it. I've wondered sometimes if I've accidentally changed my LT star rating by clicking or unclicking stars without realising, which is why I write the rating into my reviews.

I hear you on differentiating more. Occasionally I resort to .25 or .75 - but then I have to decide whether to round up or down when clicking on LT stars. I've seen some people who have a range of qualities they rate for and then, I suppose, they average out to get their LT rating.

>98 atozgrl: Ooh, an LT meetup. That must have been lovely.

>132 humouress: Hello, Nina, I'm so glad you dropped by! Yes, I did use those two stars! I did wind up using .25 and .75 on ratings a couple of times by the end of last year, but as you say, then you have to decide what to use for the LT stars. I guess there's no perfect method for assigning ratings, but I'll just do my best.

The meetup was a lot of fun. That's the second time I've been able to meet karenmarie for lunch. We are hoping for an outing later this year, after she recovers from her upcoming knee surgery.

I hope you have a great weekend of reading! And I hope that the mold problems you were having with your bookshelves get resolved quickly.

Happy Friday, Irene!

>114 atozgrl: This one looks like an interesting read. I will put it on my list.

>114 atozgrl: Oh dear...I know I should read this, but I find its subject more than a little distressing. Somehow the deliberate destruction of books, like Diego de Landa who should rot in Hell burning thousands of Maya codices, to be unspeakable in its evil. Banning books you do not agree with is bad, but destroying them...!!

>134 figsfromthistle: It was interesting, I think you will like it.

>135 richardderus: The destruction of books is indeed distressing, but the history he includes of both the libraries and the cultural context in which these incidents occurred was very interesting to me. And his call for support of libraries and archives to prevent future loss is important. Since you are reading so many hard books right now, what's one more?

Wishing you both a great weekend of reading!

6. 1776 by David McCullough

I pulled this one off my shelves for the February War Room challenge. I was surprised at what an easy read this was. A lot of times, I didn't want to set it down. McCullough tells the story of the American army at the start of the Revolution, starting from the last quarter of 1775 through the end of 1776 (plus the Battle of Princeton at the beginning of 1777). His description of the events during this time is extremely detailed, but it is never dry. He includes information from the British side although the main focus is the Continental Army. We see Washington's inexperience and several blunders that he makes, but also his ability to redeem the mistakes as well as his perseverance and the leadership that inspired his men. The book is obviously extremely well researched, and includes quotes and observations from many participants at all levels, from leaders on both sides all the way down to privates and civilians. There are copious footnotes and an extensive bibliography. I loved it. Another 4.5 star read for me, for my third in a row.

>97 atozgrl: Hi Irene. I apologize for being out of touch. While going through messages on this thread I came upon your thoughts about a woman (not in your area who is running for congress.) Good God, I hope she does not get nominated. I totally agree with your comments!!

I've been struggling with a cold that went to my lungs and the darn thing is hanging on despite rest and a lot of medications. I hope to get better soon so that I can visit threads more often.

All good wishes.

Keep "ranting." We need more like you!

Also, thanks for your excellent review about the 1776 book by David McCullough. I am sure I have a copy on one of my book shelves. Most likely it is easier getting a copy from the library. Your comments encourage me to read this one!

>137 atozgrl: I love David McCullough. One of my favorites is his early book about the Johnstown (Pa.) flood. And if you can find an audiobook where he reads his own book, even better. I fell in love with his voice when he narrated Ken Burns' film The Civil War.

>138 Whisper1: No need to apologize! I'm happy to see you here whenever you can visit. I can't keep up with all the threads myself, so you have nothing to apologize for.

I wouldn't normally comment on a local political ad here, but that one appalled me so much that I had to say something. I don't know if any of the others running against her in the Republican primary are any better. And whoever comes out of it will probably be elected in the fall, since the state Supreme Court ruled that the Republicans can gerrymander the districts in this state. Even though we're a purple state, we're probably going to wind up with 11 Republicans and 3 Democrats in Congress.

I really enjoyed 1776. If you like reading history, I think you will too.

I hate those colds that settle in the lungs and hang on. I sure hope you get to feeling much better soon!

>139 kac522: I love Ken Burns' documentaries. I don't think I realized that David McCullough narrated that one. It was certainly an unforgettable one.

I'll have to look for the book on the Johnstown flood. I did see that he had written one on that subject. I've got both of his Pulitzer winning biographies on my shelves, but haven't read either one yet.

>141 atozgrl: I've got Truman on audiobook read by McCullough. It's abridged, but I figure if McCullough's reading it, he probably chose the most important parts of the book. It was really good, focusing on the character of the man throughout his life. I should probably give it a re-listen.

>142 kac522: Oh, that does sound good. I don't normally do audiobooks, but it might be worth it for a narrator like McCullough.

>140 atozgrl: See, this is why American politics is even more confusing, with strange words like 'gerrymander' and ... and ... I can't even remember. ETA: I googled it things like GOP and electoral college.

I looked up 'gerrymander' which is a conglomeration of a politician's name 'gerry' and 'salamander' which was (supposed to be) the shape his proposed constitution resembled on a map.

I think I've read everything by McCullough and I loved them all. Also enjoyed his narration and commentary for Burns. Adding to that, he just seemed like a really nice guy the times he was at Chautauqua when I was there. Guess you can count me as a big fan!!

Well, I know what gerrymandering is, because it used to happen here. I didn't realize Canada had stopped the practice of gerrymandering by putting Elections Canada in charge of federal election boundaries, and Elections Canada is an independent body of the current Federal Government .

>144 humouress: Yes, American elections must be confusing for people who didn't grow up here. The electoral college is an aberration unique to the US. The founders thought it would help prevent corruption among a lot of other things. I recently saw that they tried to switch to direct voting after the 1968 election but that proposal didn't get anywhere. I guess I was too young at the time to pay any attention to that effort, as I don't remember it.

>145 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks, Reba, that's good to hear. I look forward to reading the rest of his books that I've got on my shelves, and probably adding more.

>146 vancouverdeb: The whole gerrymandering business is a hot topic for me. I have felt for a long time that it was wrong for politicians to be choosing their own voters by being in charge of redistricting after the census every 10 years. And it's worse now, because they can use all kinds of technology to set up districts to suit the politicians in charge, and even divide communities by street. I think that's one of the reasons our country is so divided now--the politicians have set up so many voting districts that can only be won by either a Republican or a Democrat that extremist candidates win the primary and then the general election also because the other side has no chance. And those of us in the middle often have no one we really want to vote for. So we end up with a completely dysfunctional Congress. The thing I most want changed is the system for redistricting. Get it out of the hands of the politicians!

7. Are you There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume

I read this book for the February meeting of my Challenged Books Club. Although I had read one of Judy Blume's books when I was young, I had not read this one before. It's about a young girl approaching puberty who has moved into a new town, told from her point of view. We see her making friends and trying to fit in, as well as the struggles and pressures involved in growing up into adolescence. Her parents are a mixed marriage between the father who was raised in the Jewish faith and the mother who was raised Christian. They don't practice any religion and want to let Margaret decide on a religion for herself when she reaches adulthood. In the book, Margaret explores several religious options, attending several churches with her friends and going to a Rosh Hashanah service with her grandmother.

To me the book gave a realistic picture of what it was like for a young girl growing up in the 1960's. Although I am obviously not the intended audience for the book, I did enjoy it. I likely would have rated it higher if I had read it when I was that age.

>149 atozgrl: Hear, hear!! And Happy Friday!

>150 atozgrl: And I haven't read that one in ages. I wonder if I would like it as much now?

>149 atozgrl: Yeah, Irene, the naked pursuit of power is a pretty unedifying business isn't it?

>151 Berly: I ran out of time to write my review because I had to go get dinner ready. I had read one of Judy Blume's books in my youth, but I hadn't read this one. Obviously, I am not now the intended audience, so I probably don't like it as much as I would have when I was young, but I did enjoy it.

I'll write something up shortly.

>152 PaulCranswick: That's right, Paul, it is most definitely unedifying. And it just goes against what seems to be the intentions of our democracy, as imperfect as it was at its beginning. My greatest wish is that we could change that system and bring a return to the days when politicians had to appeal to people on both sides, but more toward the middle than the extremes.

>149 atozgrl: We went to dinner last night with a Dutch/ American couple and he painted a horrifying picture for me about the power of the lobbies (pharma, gun etc). I think my opinion must have shown on my face because he (actually, the Dutch half of the couple) hurriedly pointed out that there's a lot of good in the US (system).

>152 PaulCranswick: I need to unsee the image that phrase brings to mind ...

>154 atozgrl: Unfortunately, the system is skewed towards keeping the people who create the imbalance in power (it would seem).

>149 atozgrl: Gerrymandering and the Electoral College -- two things that drive me up the wall!! Unfortunately, they're self-sustaining because those who could change them won't because that's how they got where they are. A democracy? no, not really.

>155 humouress: The system is skewed, unfortunately. And the pharma and gun lobbies in particular have too much power, but they've got the money.

>156 RebaRelishesReading: Right? Those two things are a problem now. NC had Democrats in power for ages, but when I got here, they were business-friendly moderates, and that worked for me. The Republicans always complained about the districts they drew when they were in power. But conservative Republican Bill Cobey promised that whenever the Republicans got in power, they would change the system to make it more fair. Ha! When the Democrats were drawing districts, we used to get a balanced delegation in Congress. I remember we were sending 7 Democrats and 6 Republicans at one point. Now it's lopsided in favor of the Republicans, and we will probably only send 3 Democrats next time, at a time when Republicans in Congress are doing nothing but causing trouble. I fear what they might do if Trump is the nominee and loses again.

I read Are You there God when I was young, Irene, and really liked it. I think I have read other books by Judy Blume , but I am not entirely certain.

>158 vancouverdeb: Hello Deborah! We had a good discussion about Are You There God in the book club yesterday. Everyone seemed to like the book, and a lot of the people there thought it would be a good book for parents to read, not just the young girls it was written for.

Happy Wednesday, Irene. How are those feeders going? If you have any interest- there is a film adaptation of Are you There God? It's Me, Margaret that came out last year. It was very good.

>160 msf59: I saw all the discussion about the movie when it came out, but I didn't go see it. Judy Blume appeared on several talk shows at the time. It's hard to believe she's 86--she doesn't look it.

The feeders are still busy. I have trouble keeping up with them. I need to put out more suet. One thing I realized--we normally see at least one hairy woodpecker every winter, but I haven't seen any this year.

8. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

I read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings for my book club this month. I had never read it, and I was actually surprised to find that it was an autobiography. For some reason, I had always thought it was a work of fiction. Maya Angelou tells the story of her life from age 3 to 16. Many of the events of her life are difficult, painful, even traumatic. She develops from a shy child to a confident young woman. The writing in this book is very rich and descriptive.

I found the book to be a fascinating read. Even though I am aware of the racism in the US, it was still enlightening to me to see the world from the viewpoint of the blacks living in the South in the 1930's, and just how separate their world was from the white one. The way they thought about white people was eye-opening. I really appreciate being able to see the world through the eyes of one young black girl. Highly recommended.

>161 atozgrl: Because you have 'oz' in your name, I tend to think you live Down Under at first glance - so I was wondering why you would need to feed the birds in summer :0)

Let's hope the woodpeckers are doing okay. Did you see the review Richard posted a week or so ago about a bird book? It looks ... interesting (though I'm not sure how factual it actually is).

>96 atozgrl: Long overdue reply but I found a book that I really didn’t like the cover. It was white graffiti-ish text but not well done on a black cover: The Thing About Life is the One Day You’ll Be Dead. The book was fascinating but the cover was unattractive.

>163 humouress: Why would 'oz' imply being Down Under? Oz by itself would make me think of the Wizard of Oz first. But it's actually based on a Star Trek character from one episode, Mr. Atoz, who was a librarian. Since I used to be a librarian. It's a play on A-to-Z.

>164 witchyrichy: I'm glad you found a book with a cover that worked. Best of all, the book was interesting even if the cover was not. I don't know if I will find a cover I don't like. I guess we'll have to see. There's still a lot of time left in the year.

>165 atozgrl: Found this with Google: “"Oz" came about as a nickname for Australia because, in an Australian accent, it sounds sort of like the first syllable of the country's name, or is one way to pronounce the abbreviation "Aus." (The connotation of a wonderful, far away place isn't bad, either.) And "Ozzies" is used as a nickname for the people who live there because it sounds a bit like "Aussies." I don't think there's a direct relationship between the nickname for Australia and the land of Oz, although there have been some stories of Australian soldiers singing "We're Off to See the Wizard" on their way to fight in World War II.”

Karen O

>162 atozgrl: A book I am glad I read, but would never read again. Happy weekend, Irene!

>167 klobrien2: Thanks for the explanation, Karen! Very informative! I was not aware of Oz being used as a nickname for Australia.

Hi Irene! How are ya?

>168 richardderus: Hello, Richard, nice to see you here! I am also glad I finally read the book. It's difficult, so I can see why you wouldn't want to read it again. Happy weekend wishes to you too! *smooch*

>170 Owltherian: I am fine, Owl, I hope you are as well.

>172 atozgrl: Im good, although i am quite bored.

>141 atozgrl: Going back to the conversations regarding Ken Burns documentaries, when I watched the film regarding the exploration of the American West, and the Lewis and Clark expedition, David Duncan told the story of these two trail blazers. When he said that Merriweather Lewis committed suicide, his voice chocked. I thought "Wow, now that is a man, who is intelligent, researches his works, and does so with such depth of feeling.

I've been hooked on Ken Burns documentaris ever since.

https://kenburns.com/staff/dayton-duncan/

>167 klobrien2: Thanks Karen :0)

>169 atozgrl: I suppose I'm used to it, with all the Aussies in my life. Hugh Jackman is famously known as 'The Boy from Oz'.

I'm always curious how people decide on their screen names on LT, so thanks for letting us know. I watched Star Trek when I was a kid and my dad watched it, but I haven't followed it since then, so I had to look up Mr Atoz. Thanks for the info re Dental Month for Pets. I responded to it on my thread. I am pretty sure we recognize that here too, as they give 10 percent off of dental cleanings and extractions at the vets in February. You are right , dental health is important to both people and animals. If left untreated, it can lead to infections, pain and even heart disease.

>174 Whisper1: Thanks for the link. I saw the one on the Lewis and Clark expedition. It was heartbreaking to me to see what the country once looked like. I wish more of the original environment could have been preserved. We also watched the documentary on The American Buffalo last fall. The Burns' documentaries are always so good.

>175 humouress: It's definitely interesting, because I wasn't aware of the connection between Australia and Oz before. I always learn something new here on LT.

>176 vancouverdeb: We don't have a pet, so I don't know if the vets here give a discount. The dental health month for pets was new to me, but it makes sense to bring more attention to the issue. It's interesting that cats and dogs can get the same kinds of health problems as people if the dental health is neglected. They mentioned the infections, inflammation and heart disease in the story. But they didn't say anything about brain health. I know gum disease in people has been linked to Alzheimer's.

My book group read Caged Bird some years ago, and it made for an interesting discussion, and I also thought a powerful read.

Dropping in to say hello and wish you a relaxing weekend!

>180 banjo123: oh I read that years ago and still rmember how powerful it was

>180 banjo123: >182 cindydavid4: It is powerful, isn't it. My book club will discuss it next week.

>Hi Anita, glad to see you here. I hope you have a relaxing weekend as well!

Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke

I decided to join the Memorial for Rosalita and read one of the books on her To Read list. I chose Childhood's End, which was a reread for me. I read it back when I was a teenager, and did not remember anything about it.

The book was published in 1953, so everything in the book was set in the future at the time it was written. The story begins in 1975 when humanity is on the verge of space flight. However, aliens arrive at that time, stopping man's entry into space. The aliens begin to oversee the planet, preventing war and other things they objected to, such as discrimination and mistreatment of animals. But they largely let humanity continue as they had been, allowing governments to continue as is, as long as they were not oppressive or corrupt. At the beginning, the aliens contact humanity through the Secretary-General of the UN, and refuse to show themselves to humanity for a generation. They stop war and other things that they find objectionable, such as discrimination and mistreatment of animals, but for the most part they allow the governments to continue as is, as long as they are not oppressive or corrupt. Peace leads to better economic conditions for everyone and a utopia, but does the utopia begin to stagnate man's creativity? Who the aliens are and why they came to earth are mysteries that reveal themselves throughout the book. And what becomes of humanity in the end?

Arthur C. Clarke is prescient in many of the things he presents in the book. He correctly foresees the space race between the US and the Soviet Union, each with their own German scientists, although he does not see them attempting flight to the moon until 1975. He also sees the widespread use of fax machines by the 1980's, development of a completely reliable oral contraceptive, and a method of identifying the father of any child. But he doesn't say much about computers. Overall, I thought the book was alright. The middle section of the book is rather slow, but what happens there is necessary to understand the end of the book. It picks up quite a bit toward the end. For me, the book was interesting enough, but rather average overall. Some of the events in the book are rather disturbing to contemplate.

>184 atozgrl: I loved that book as a teen but didn't quite get the end. Read it a while later and Yeah abit disturbing, but lots of interesting concepts

>185 cindydavid4: Definitely interesting concepts there, you are quite right! But I didn't remember the weirdness that I felt reading it this time.

>162 atozgrl: Great book. Definitely worth reading.
>165 atozgrl: Love the explanation of your name! : )
Wishing you a fun week ahead!

Childhoods End sounds interesting, Irene. I just can't get into Science Fiction though and I feel I am making some progress when I read books with magical realism, like The Fox Wife, for example.

>187 Berly: It is a great book, isn't it? I hope you also have a fun week!

>188 vancouverdeb: I read lots of science fiction and fantasy when I was young, but got out of the habit during my working years, and I'm woefully behind in reading. I don't know the current SF authors. I've got a lot of catching up to do, but I want to concentrate on reading what's on my shelves before starting to branch out into that. From what I've seen here on LT, the Murderbot series sounds interesting.

I hope you have a great week!

>162 atozgrl: I read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou a long time ago. Your stellar review prompts me to read this sellar work again. Thanks for the excellent review.

>191 Whisper1: Thank you! I'm sure you will be glad to read it again.

Finally an easy Connections! They've gotten so esoteric lately that I'm not sure how long I may continue playing.

Connections
Puzzle #262
🟪🟪🟪🟪 Double ____ (date, Dutch, jeopardy, space)
🟨🟨🟨🟨 Cheeses, familiarly (American, blue, jack, Swiss)
🟩🟩🟩🟩 Track and field equipment (hammer, hurdle, javelin, pole)
🟦🟦🟦🟦 Kinds of heels (Cuban, kitten, stiletto, wedge)

Wordle 984 4/6

⬜🟨⬜⬜🟨
⬜⬜⬜🟩⬜
⬜🟩🟨🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
SLATE, ROBIN, HELIX, DEVIL

I am not going to touch this word game. I know I would become addicted. I already am stressed at the work to be done in the house and getting my books organized a little at a night. It sounds fun though.

I love Wordle and I do Connections every day too, but oh, Connections can often be so difficult

I resort to one of the "clues for connections" sites sometimes but I usually can figure it out on my own and today the first three were fairly easy for me and that just leaves the rest to be the fourth line so that = happy Connections day :)

>193 atozgrl: I have skunked the connections games much more often than Wordle. Some of the connections are very odd indeed.

>196 RebaRelishesReading: I feel under no obligation to guess how the last four are related ;-)

>197 witchyrichy: I agree -- they're just the left-overs and I don't really care..

Happy weekend-aheads reads, Irene. *smooch*

>195 vancouverdeb: Agreed, Connections can be difficult. After getting very frustrated with it lately, I've had three fairly easy puzzles this week. I just never know with that puzzle.

>196 RebaRelishesReading: From time to time I would do a Google search when I got stumped and sometimes found helpful information that way. Reba, I think you may be the one who mentioned on another thread about a site with clues for the puzzle, and I started looking at that when I've gotten really stumped. Unfortunately, that has happened more often recently. I finally got fed up last week when I was stuck, looked at the hint, and it didn't help me because I already was trying to solve for that category. Since I had three words that fit, but no clue what the 4th one could be (and had already solved the Yellow and Green categories), I just started randomly selecting words in the puzzle for the fourth in the group and ran out of guesses. I worked with computers for most of my working life, but I'd never heard of a Super Key. After that, I started to wonder if it was worth my time continuing to play with Connections. This week has been better, so I'll stick with it for now.

>196 RebaRelishesReading: >197 witchyrichy: >198 RebaRelishesReading: Absolutely! The fourth line is just a given after solving the other three. But it is fun the few times when I actually know what the fourth group is!

>199 richardderus: Hello Richard, and I wish the same for you as well! *smooch*

Happy Saturday, Irene. How are those books treating you? How are those feeder birds doing? I had a song sparrow in the backyard yesterday. They are very common here in the forest preserves but rarely show up in our urban areas.

>200 atozgrl: I’ll pipe up here and say that, the (very) few times I know the fourth Connection before entering it, then I feel as if I’ve really solved it.

There was a week there where I couldn’t solve Connections. I wonder if the ongoing editor was on vacation and they had a substitute?

Karen O

>202 msf59: The books are going rather well so far this year, although my current read (Neanderthal) is going more slowly. It's a more dense nonfiction title. My feeders remain busy, with most of the same birds I reported on earlier.

There was one morning a few years ago that we had a bird by our back porch singing a beautiful song. I'm pretty sure it was a song sparrow, and that's the only time I've seen one at the house here. If they are more forest or field birds than urban, I guess that would explain why. Such a pity--I'd love to hear it more often.

ETA: I don't know what's going on with the touchstone, but after multiple edits it still refuses to take. Here's the full link https://www.librarything.com/work/1042846/book/65566986.

>203 klobrien2: Hi Karen, nice to see you! Yesterday's Connections was fun for me because I solved the purple line first. I guess because I'm a big baseball fan and I was fascinated by vampires in my youth, the Bats group was obvious to me. But the puzzles were definitely harder recently, before this week. I don't know, I suppose there could have been someone different posting them.

I hope you have a great weekend!

Growing up in So. Cal yesterday's blue category was really easy for me. Today I had blue/yellow/green/purple and had no idea what the purple group was...other than leftovers :) I find that the puzzles are really easy for me some days and impossible others -- probably has more to do with me than with the creators of the puzzles.

Wishing you a lovely weekend, Irene.

Hi Irene. I'm also reading what seems to me to be a dense read, Wolf Hall . It's fiction, but it's a kind of slog, but so far I am determined to finish it. I think I am on page 225 of 656 pages. I am interested in the time period, but so much detail I often resort to the clues with Connections when I can't figure it out. I try on my own and if that works , great, but if not, I find the clues to each of the groups and that usually helps a lot.

clue to reading it; there is a list of all the locations in the book with all characters in they appointed spot. that helps alot i f you are getting confused. And when it says 'he said' Its usually cornwell.

>206 RebaRelishesReading: That's the way it goes for me as well, easy some days and impossible on others. Like you, I think it probably has more to do with me. I guess it just depends on the groups that you have some familiarity with.

>207 PaulCranswick: We had a busy weekend, getting ready for my DH to have surgery tomorrow. Lots of cleaning the house and related things. I haven't had time to read for a couple of days.

I hope you had a good weekend, and that you will have a really good week this week.

>208 vancouverdeb: Wolf Hall is on my wishlist. I hope to read it someday. I guess I'm forewarned that it may be a slow read.

I started resorting to clues for Connections when I get stuck a few weeks ago after someone on LT, I think Reba, mentioned them. They help sometimes, probably most of the time, but not always.

>209 cindydavid4: Hello, Cindy! Is that in reference to Wolf Hall? I'll have to keep that in mind, whenever I finally get to it.

>213 atozgrl: yes, to Wolf Hall We had a group read a few years ago that was really fun.not sure if I can find it

Well, as you have seen on my thread , I have put aside Wolf Hall , at least for now, in favour of The Women Prize Longlist. I think I got to page 364, but was a slog for me.

understood, you have lots of company

>214 cindydavid4: >215 vancouverdeb: >216 cindydavid4: Well, I consider myself warned, whenever I finally get to Wolf Hall. I did enjoy the adaptation that ran on PBS a few years ago though.

I've been absent from my thread for a few days, although I have managed to visit a few other threads on LT during this time. We were busy cleaning the house and running a bunch of errands last weekend, in preparation for my DH getting a knee replacement on Tuesday this week. Oh, and he had a performance with his jazz band Saturday night as well.

We had to get up at the crack of dawn (actually before) on Tuesday so that my DH could shower and we could get to the surgery center before 6:00 AM. We got checked in, prepped, and the surgery itself took about 2 hours. The surgeon told me that the surgery went very well, and that he definitely needed to get the surgery. Then we were in recovery for another 3 hours, and back home around 1:30. My DH was talking almost nonstop the rest of the day. He admitted he had "the jabbers"--apparently a result of all the drugs. Between getting up so early and all the talking, I was completely worn out by the end of the day, and all the talking was getting on my nerves. Wednesday the home health person came out and started him on some post-op PT exercises. Yesterday my DH slept most of the day. Home health was back today and gave him some more exercises. Today he was almost back to normal, except for the things he can't do yet. But I'm surprised he's recovering some abilities so quickly. He's even able to tie his own shoe now.

Given everything that was going on, I'm not sure which day was the last day I got any reading done. Maybe a week ago? I finally had some time to read this afternoon. Hopefully I'll have more time over the weekend.

Happy Friday, Irene. Thanks for your update on your husband's surgery. Glad it all worked out fine and that he is progressing well. I hope you can get back on track with your reading.

>217 atozgrl: Oh so glad you saw that! Mark Rylance is amazing! My sister and I were lucky enough to see him on broadway production of Wolf Hall. It played in two parts on different days. One the most powerful theatre procutions Ive ever seen

>218 atozgrl: good for him! sounds like he should have an easy recovery but from my experience the drugs wear off and its 2-3 weeks of misery. so be prepared. However if he does what his pts and drs say hell be up and running!

Hi Irene!

So glad things went well with your DH's surgery and his recovery at home.

>218 atozgrl: All the YAY for his rapid recovery of abilities!

Glad the surgery went well and hope DH continues to have a smooth recovery.

>219 msf59: >221 cindydavid4: >222 karenmarie: >223 richardderus: >224 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks everyone for your well wishes! It's much appreciated. The last nerve block or whatever pain shot it was they gave him the day of the surgery was supposed to wear off today, but so far his pain hasn't been too bad. His recovery continues well, but slowly. He's afraid he may have tried to do too much yesterday, so we're going more carefully with the PT exercises today. I'm still finding it hard to get blocks of time for reading, but I'm getting some squeezed in when I get the chance.

>220 cindydavid4: Mark Rylance was very good in that role. How nice that you got to see him on Broadway. I didn't realize they had done a theater production. It sounds like a great show.

>218 atozgrl: Just catching up with you. It certainly sounds like you have a lot on your plate!

Glad the surgery went well.

>226 atozgrl: It was a special production because it was so long they had to split into two days I think that might be why they never opened it again. Actually thinking about it, it may have depended on when they could get the actor together. Not sure tho

>225 atozgrl: He's afraid he may have tried to do too much yesterday,

tell him its very easy to do, I kept doing that, and then having to back off the next day. But its unlikely you will do any damage while doing slow. Its good to trust what your body is telling you, so pay attention!

>227 figsfromthistle: Thanks Anita, I appreciate the kind thoughts. We do have quite a bit on our plate right now.

>229 cindydavid4: Thanks, that's very good advice! Did you have a knee replacement too?

I'm glad your husband is home and doing well, but it's sounds like it is all quite exhausting right now. I hope you get a chance to read here and there, but don't worry about it while your husband is still so early in recovery from his surgery.

Yay for your DH's knee surgery going well. I hope his recovery goes as well. Take it easy. (And at least he hasn't got the jabbers now😊)

Glad to read your husband's knee surgery went well, Irene.
I always think recovery is almost as hard on the other half, the extra tasks, the distress in the first days, and to watch the slow progress. Doin't forget to take care of yourself.

>231 atozgrl: yes (looking at calendar) yikes, two years ago last Tuesday! Time flies, Doing very well unfortanunatly the other parts of my body are a mess, with osterporosis, degen disc diseast and now bursitis of the hip, my knees are the last of my worries. But we carry on. old age is not for sissies thats for sure

Goodness, it looks like I haven't been back to my own thread since Saturday! Between watching out for my DH, helping with some of his PT and showers, and having to do chores that he usually does in addition to my own usual work, it has been busy. I have managed to visit a few threads here this week, but I haven't kept up with my own.

I have gotten some reading in. Things slowed down enough this week to give me more time for it. I had started Neanderthal: Neanderthal man and the story of human origins at the end of last month, but it's rather dense nonfiction, so was slow going. With housecleaning/decluttering that we had to do before the surgery, and then the surgery itself, I wasn't able to do any reading for several days, and after the surgery time for reading was limited. It has picked up this week, and I got close to finishing Neanderthal. But then I realized that 1) I've got Brave New World checked out from the library for my Challenged Books Club, it's due on Saturday, and I can't renew it because there are people on the hold list, and 2) I also need to read The Vanishing Half for my other book club which meets on Tuesday. So I've done what I almost never do and started reading other books before finishing the one I was on. I finished Brave New World after midnight last night.

>232 vancouverdeb: >233 humouress: >234 FAMeulstee: Thanks so much for all your good wishes. I am trying to be sure to take care of myself as well. I'm not doing much outside the house at the moment, besides a necessary trip to the grocery and the pharmacy.

>235 cindydavid4: Wow, two years since your surgery! Glad you have recovered, but I'm sorry you have to deal with so many other health problems. You are right, getting older is not for the faint of heart.

Heya Irene! How are ya?

10. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

I read Brave New World this month for my Challenged Books Club. It was a reread for me, as I read it when I was young. I don't remember whether I was still in high school or in college when I read it. As with my other recent rereads, I had forgotten most of the story. However, I liked this one better than the other rereads, and I think I probably got more out of it now than on first reading. There are things I think I didn't really get back then, and experience gives better perspective.

Since this is a book I think most people are familiar with, I won't try to rehash the plot. I will say that, sadly, the story still feels relevant to today, maybe even more than when it was first published in 1932. The only thing that struck me as out of place today is the idea that so many people would still be doing manual factory work. Given the world today, I would expect to see lots of automation there. And of course the references to Ford were more fresh in 1932. But so much else in the story still seems like a warning we should pay attention to. Definitely recommended.

>236 atozgrl: You don't half have challenges in these reads! BNW is a read I think about a lot. Much to think over, noodle through, reflect on...and more than one answer to any questions one poses about the read. Enjoy the book-club reads and meetings. Oh, and the weekend, too.

>238 Owltherian: Hello, Owl, I almost missed you. I'm doing pretty well today, I hope you are too.

>241 atozgrl: Yeah im having a good day, my brother comes home from Nashville today i think, and tomorrow i get to go to my grandparents for the entire Spring Break.

>240 richardderus: Hello, Richard. The challenged books have certainly been interesting reads! I am really glad to have reread BNW. There is quite a bit to think about with this one. I hope you have a great weekend too!

>242 Owltherian: Enjoy your visit with family and have fun on Spring Break!

>244 atozgrl: I definitely will, they are fostering new kittens the whole week!

>245 Owltherian: That sounds like fun!

>239 atozgrl: Really liked it when I read that in HS. A few years ago for a book group. I obvioulsy missed a lot the first time around for this second read was an eye opener. Very prescient .

Just catching up Irene but also to let you know that your battle guess on the War Room Planning Thread was spot on!

Happy Saturday, Irene. Just checking in. I hope all is well on your end. How are those feeders doing? Mine have been pretty slow, of late.

>247 cindydavid4: It was very prescient. It seems even more so today than when I first read it.

>248 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul! I hope you're having a great weekend.

>249 msf59: Hi, Mark, happy weekend to you. I think my feeders are staying pretty busy, but I haven't really had much time lately to pay attention to who is visiting. I'm trying to keep up with filling them as needed, but not much more than that, unfortunately.

I had an unexpected confirmation yesterday of how relevant Brave New World is today. I was listening to NPR while running a couple of errands and caught a segment where they were talking about Moms for Liberty. It started with the book banning, and how this was actually a very unpopular thing with both liberals and conservatives, and also how Moms for Liberty candidates had been losing elections. But they went on to say that Moms for Liberty is not deterred, and that the media are missing the real story, that Moms for Liberty is part of a bigger movement that is opposed to public education. There was a lot of discussion about a long-running movement that has wanted to get rid of public education, and that COVID gave them an opening to push their ideas. What caught my ear was the mention of industry leaders, etc. who believe that inequality is the natural state of affairs, and public education mucks it up. Their belief being that some people are meant to work in factories and mines. Which struck me as being just like Brave New World with their conditioning of babies and children to fall into different classes, so they would be happy with performing mind-numbing work as adults. Ironically, the speaker being interviewed actually used the phrase "brave new world" when talking about journalists who cover education missing the main story because they were uncomfortable talking about education and politics.

>253 atozgrl: Yup, as far as I can tell the right has been working on killing public education for about 50 years or more. They haven't really hidden it. We don't seem to be a culture that in general values knowledge or expertise. And that IS stupid.

But I also think that work should be valued. If there's a job to be done, it should pay enough to support the worker regardless of their level of education.

Heading to my library website to hold Brave New World.

>254 ReneeMarie: Hello Renee, nice to see you here! Unfortunately, since the Republicans took control of the legislature here after 2010, I've seen the attacks on public education first hand. Some of what was discussed in the story are things they passed in the last session. And I agree, work should be valued and pay should be appropriate. Brave New World turned out to be more relevant to today than I expected.

11. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

I read The Vanishing Half for my book club this month. I had thought we were meeting tomorrow to discuss it, so I was in a hurry to finish, but then realized that it's actually the Challenged Books Club that meets tomorrow to discuss Brave New World so I didn't need to rush after all. (In January, my regular book club met first and the Challenged Book Club met the following week, so I guess that was where the confusion came in.) However, once I started The Vanishing Half, it was hard to put down, so I would have finished it pretty quickly anyway.

The story is about twins growing up in a very small town in Louisiana. The town consists of very light-skinned black people, who look down on those of a darker color. The twins decide to run away to New Orleans when they are 16. But one of the sisters disappears, and it's a mystery for a while what had happened to her. We discover that she chose to pass as white. The other sister eventually returns to their home town and ends up staying. The story goes on to show how the choices that the two girls make end up affecting the daughters they have later.

This book grabbed me from the first paragraph and, as I said, it was hard to put down. I was taken by the characters, and wanted to know what happened to them. Almost everyone in the book harbors secrets and there's a theme of people choosing to be something different than what they are brought up to be. For me, this was the best work of fiction that I have read in quite a while. I loved it.

>256 atozgrl: Irene, I read Brave New World a long time ago. Your review tempts me to re-read it. For now, I will try to find a copy of The Vanishing Half. Your review is great!

>256 atozgrl: i loved it, but had many questions at the end; there were so many loose ends that begged to be tied. But I like her writing. She has another girl woman other that is quite excellent tho after a while you need to write the names down so you can remember who was who!

Hi, Irene. I also really liked The Vanishing Half. Good review.

I have been seeing a partially "leucistic" robin visiting my backyard. He has been hanging around for several days. I finally got a few decent pics, which I will share later. This is what it looks like:

>257 Whisper1: Thanks, Linda! I think you would enjoy reading both books.

>258 cindydavid4: Hi Cindy, I guess it's like life, lots of loose ends. But I felt satisfied at the end of my reading. I'll have to look for the book you recommended, thanks for that.

>259 msf59: We had a leucistic cardinal in our backyard about 3 years ago. We never could get a picture of it. That was a weird looking bird. How interesting that you got to see this leucistic robin. Thanks for the picture!

I enjoyed The Vanishing Half as well, Irene. I can see I gave it 4 stars. Great review!

>262 vancouverdeb: Thanks, Deborah! I haven't gotten really sucked into a novel like I did with that one in quite a while. I love when that happens.

Hi Irene!

>253 atozgrl: Inequalities benefit the haves over the not haves. Moms for Liberty is just another whack job right wing group that unfortunately has gained traction with the intellectually challenged. The haves have a real chance to push this country into fascism. I’m not sanguine.

I hope your DH’s recovery is continuing well.

>264 karenmarie: I am very madly nodding along with what ^^^ she said.

>264 karenmarie: >265 richardderus: There must be many of us (me, too) nodding along. The winds are quite strong in my neck of the woods today.

Hi Irene--See, finally getting caught up on your thread!

>253 atozgrl: Grrrrr! Idiots. The news is kinda hard to take right now, on so many fronts.

Glad to hear your DH's surgery went well and I hope the pain stays away. Tell him good luck with the PT. : )

Your last two reads, Brave New World and Vanishing Half are both awesome books. Is it back to the Neanderthals now?

>264 karenmarie: >265 richardderus: >266 ReneeMarie: Agreed! And unfortunately I am not sanguine either.

More about my DH below.

>267 Berly: Hi, Kim, so nice to see you here!

We had the second out-of-home PT session this morning, and afterwards my DH was doing a lot of walking with the cane now, and off the walker. So now he's able to get a lot of things for himself, and I don't have to fetch so much. He even went up and down the stairs by himself, without me there, a few times. Lots of progress!

Yes, I did go back to the Neanderthals, and I finally finished the book today. Hurray!

12. Neanderthal: Neanderthal man and the story of human origins by Paul Jordan

I pulled Neanderthal off my shelves to read for the quarterly Reading Through Time category of the Prehistoric era. And as it turns out, it also fits for the March Nonfiction Challenge - Forensic Sciences. I started it in February and was hoping I could finish it by the end of the month, or at least have it mostly completed. Unfortunately, that didn't work out. The book itself was dense and slow to read. I also wound up with a lot of days where I didn't have any time to read because we had a lot of chores to complete before my DH had knee surgery, and after the surgery I was busy taking care of him and having to handle on-going chores by myself. When things calmed down, I was finally able to get some reading in and got up to the final two chapters. But then I realized I had to read Brave New World because it was due at the library and couldn't be renewed because there was a waiting list, and I thought our book club discussion of The Vanishing Half was Tuesday, so I stopped reading Neanderthal to tackle both of those books. I was finally able to finish Neanderthal yesterday.

The book opens with the discovery of the first Neanderthal remains in Germany and goes on to discuss the subsequent finds in multiple places. Jordan reports on the changing interpretations of the various Neanderthal finds. He includes a lot of technical information on the bones that have been recovered, as well as the tools used by the Neanderthals, and summarizes the theories about the Neanderthal way of life. He goes on to include background information on the world before the Neanderthals, and the evolution of human species. He discusses reasons why Neanderthals may have disappeared and why modern humans were able to out-compete the Neanderthals.

Neanderthal was published in 1999, so although it discusses DNA evidence, what they had at that time was early results of testing. They only had mtDNA results at the time the book came out, and researchers found no DNA evidence of relationship to modern humans. Of course, subsequent testing has shown that modern humans do carry some Neanderthal DNA, so I now want to find a book that covers more recent findings. Jordan does point out that some European populations have skeletal features that appear to have a possible Neanderthal influence so that interbreeding of Neanderthals with modern humans could have been possible, and the DNA evidence at the time was certainly not complete. This skeletal evidence is not in modern populations in other parts of the world, only in Europeans, which is where Neanderthals lived. But he concludes that the preponderance of evidence shows it is highly unlikely that Neanderthals could have evolved directly into modern humans, as some were still speculating at the time the book was published.

There is a lot of detailed information packed into this book. There are also many illustrations. The author intended to give an overview of the evidence regarding Neanderthals, and it is based on a lot of research done by many scholars. He has deliberately skipped noting all the research and names in order to "present an unbroken and impersonalized account of the material under discussion" to make it more readable. In general I think that's fine, however I wish he had included a section of notes at the back of the book to show what the sources were. There is a bibliography, but extensive notes would have been useful. I also wished several times in the sections discussing human evolution that he had included a graphic tree showing the relationships between the various human species. There wasn't one in the book, and I wound up looking in Wikipedia more than once to see the tree. Overall, I learned a lot from this book, but I really want to know more about what has been discovered since the book was published.

>253 atozgrl: I am worried about the future of public education. It has become the battleground in the culture wars with school boards becoming increasingly political.

>256 atozgrl: My RLBG read The Vanishing Half last year and we all enjoyed it.

>271 witchyrichy: I'm worried about the future of public education as well. I wish they could keep politics out of it and just worry about teaching the facts.

I was just over on your thread to thank you for mentioning the figure skating this week. I don't know how much I might have missed if you hadn't said something.

>271 witchyrichy: interesting and disturbing article in last weeks NYer about all these private 'classical' schools opening up, ones that think the old medival studies of the triviate* is appropriate for 21st century children. The curriculum itself has a lot of problems but apparently its being used in schools in Africa where children are expected to memorize the pledge of allegianc and the preamble to th constitution - Americas, that is.

*The trivium included grammar, rhetoric and dialectics, and the quadrivium comprised arithmetic, geometry, music and astronomy.

I haven't shared Wordle in a while, so here's today:

Wordle 1,009 3/6

⬜🟨⬜🟨🟨
⬜⬜🟨🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
SLATE, INTEL, TOWEL

And I thought Connections was really easy today, for a change. Today the colors don't matter; I just started solving for the first word grouping I saw, then the next and the next, and I got them all. I even knew what the purple line was today. It was more about the order the words appeared in the puzzle this time.

Connections
Puzzle #287
🟩🟩🟩🟩 FAIL TO ATTEND (CUT, DITCH, MISS, SKIP)
🟦🟦🟦🟦 DECISIVE VICTORY (BLOWOUT, ROMP, ROUT, SWEEP)
🟨🟨🟨🟨 YELLOW-BROWN SHADES (BEIGE, CAMEL, KHAKI, TAN)
🟪🟪🟪🟪 ___ WHEEL (CHEESE, COLOR, HAMSTER, PRAYER)

13. Year of wonders: a novel of the plague by Geraldine Brooks

I read Year of wonders for this month's Reading Through Time challenge. It fits the theme perfectly, and it was also highly recommended by people in my RL book club last year, after our discussion of Brooks' People of the Book, which I (and most of the group) had mixed feelings about.

I had actually started the book earlier this month, not long after my DH's knee surgery. I was in the middle of reading Neanderthal, and at that time I was tired and didn't have the brain power to pick that book back up. I also wasn't in the right frame of mind to tackle Brave New World yet, so I decided to pick up Year of Wonders. I thought it was short enough that I might be able to finish it before I needed to start on this month's book club books. So I did something I never do, and started one book before finishing the one I was currently reading. As it turned out, I still didn't have much time to read, and by the time things let up again, I was ready to tackle Neanderthal again and try to finish it. Which I nearly did, but had to put down to read my book club books. By the time I got back to Year of Wonders, I decided I needed to start over from the beginning. Which is why I don't like to have more than one book going at a time. Fortunately, I had not gotten very far into it, so didn't have much to reread.

This book is about an outbreak of the bubonic plague in England in 1665-66, and a small village that gets hit by the plague. The villagers decide to isolate themselves, so as to avoid spreading the plague to neighboring towns. The book tells what happens to the people there during the time that they are isolated. It is fiction but based on a true story.

I very much liked this story. We can see how the plague spreads through the village, while the villagers themselves don't understand it. It was interesting to read the different reactions of the people in the village to the plague, and how their suffering causes some of them to blame and attack some of their neighbors. It also shows how the same circumstances bring out better actions and behavior in other villagers. The author tells the story through the eyes of Anna, using an older style of speaking. There were quite a few archaic words used in the story that I had to look up, but it helped to set the scene. This was another book that really drew me in with the story and the vivid characters.

>273 cindydavid4: Hi Cindy, I almost missed your post. That sounds scary. Lots of concerning things going on with education these days.

Its always been challenging. The last10 years its gotten progressively worse. Iloved teaching, still would like to teach but not in this environment

>277 cindydavid4: I don't blame you. Teachers deserve more pay than ever these days, with everything they have to put up with.

Greetings, Irene and have yourself the Tuesday of all Tuesdays.

>279 richardderus: Thanks, Richard! I had a pretty busy day today. My DH is doing well enough that I was able to return to my exercise class this morning. My book club met in the afternoon; details below.

My regular book club met this afternoon, and we discussed The Vanishing Half. We had an interesting discussion. I was surprised to see that I was one of the few who really liked the book. Most of the others thought it was fine but didn't love it like I did. Debra, one of the leaders of the group, had read the book back when it came out for another book club, and she said everyone loved it then, so she thought it was interesting that reactions had changed in just a short time.

I haven't said anything about last week, when the Challenged Books Club met. Brave New World provoked a lot of excellent discussion. Some of us liked that book and others did not. The lady sitting next to me didn't like the abrupt way it started (she felt like she was just dropped into this strange world without anything to prepare her), and she also thought the book was boring. A lot of us felt like the book was still very relevant today.

Standard Wordle today.
Wordle 1,011 4/6

⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
🟨🟨⬜⬜⬜
🟨⬜🟨🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
SLATE, ROBIN, ARMOR, MAYOR

Surprising Connections though. I didn't expect my second solve to be the purple line.
Connections
Puzzle #289
🟩🟩🟩🟩 PLANT GROWTHS (BLOOM, BUD, SHOOT, SPROUT)
🟪🟪🟪🟪 SOLAR EMANATIONS (CORONA, FLARE, LIGHT, RADIATION)
🟦🟦🟦🟦 BRING UP (FOSTER, NURSE, RAISE, REAR)
🟨🟨🟨🟨 MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS (BASS, BASSOON, HARP, RECORDER)

>281 atozgrl: I haven't read The Vanishing Half, but I did read Passing by Nella Larsen, which apparently was inspiration for Bennett's book. If you haven't read Passing, I would highly recommend it. It's short and very powerful.

>275 atozgrl: I am a fan of that one too, Irene. I am glad to see that you enjoyed it so much!

>281 atozgrl: I have The Vanishing Half in the BlackHole already. Sounds like I need to get to it soon.

>282 kac522: Very much agree with the recommendation of Passing!

Have a wonderful Wednesday, Irene!

>282 kac522: Thanks Kathy! Passing was mentioned in the book club discussion. It certainly sounds interesting. I guess I need to go ahead and add it to my TBR list.

One holiday time some years back, maybe 2012-13, we heard a story on NPR while driving back home from visiting my mom about a town in Ohio that sounded similar to Mallard in The Vanishing Half. I wondered if that might have influenced her book. I have been able to find a couple of articles online that link to the NPR story, but I can't get the page for the story to load. There seems to be some question about the page security. Too bad, because I would really like to hear it again.

>283 alcottacre: Thanks Stasia! Another recommendation for Passing. I'll just have to add it to the never-ending list.

Well, as I say, others in my discussion group didn't like The Vanishing Half as much as I did. But I did enjoy the story. And for me, it really has been a long time since I was sucked into a story as much as this one pulled me in, where I really wanted to keep reading and didn't want to put the book down. That of course is what I love best about books, so I had to rate it highly.

I hope you have a wonderful rest of the week!

>275 atozgrl: I also rated that one 4.5 when I read it during the pandemic.

>285 atozgrl: those kind of books that lock me in and dont let go usualy rates a 5 for me.

Im curious, those who didnt like it, what were their comments if you care to share?

Id be curious what your book club readers said, esp the ones who didnt like it

from a review here "Unfortunately, these stories do not coalesce to a satisfying conclusion. The reader does keep engaged but the last 1/3 of the book has plot holes and lacks believability.The ending seemed unfinished because of all the unanswered questions. What happens to Jude and Reese? What happens to Kennedy and Stella? I was really expecting Stella to engage with her mother, and perhaps have a real conversation with her sister"

I rather agree with this. I was liking it very much until the end was just.....finished. Id recommend the book for it has lots to say about race and idenitiy. Just wished it closed differently

I thought there was going to be a movie but it looks like its still in production,,,,

Just keeping current here...Hi!

>287 cindydavid4: >288 cindydavid4: I think what you saw in that review was the problem for a lot of the folks in the book club. They felt like there were too many loose ends at the end of the novel. Or that Stella left too abruptly when she came back to visit. Others didn't like a lot of the characters. The ending didn't really bother me so much, because life is like that, with no neat resolution to everything. And even if some of the characters were not that likeable, they were all still interesting.

Someone in the book club mentioned a movie or series that they are trying to make. But apparently they're having trouble casting the twin sisters. Hard to find two people that look alike and are black but could pass for white. At least, that's what she heard.

>289 Berly: Hi Kim, thanks for visiting!

>284 atozgrl: Posting this for me, so I won't lose the links:

An article about the same town the NPR story was about: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jul/25/race-east-jackson-ohio-appalachi...

NPR story about another book on passing: https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/10/07/354310370/a-chosen-exile-blac...

I'm sorry to hear that your sister has lost three cats this year, Irene. My condolences. I did have a nice visit with my sister yesterday and she mentioned that she is considering getting another cat perhaps in the fall . I was happy to hear that . I think she wants enough time to elapse to let her grieve Harriet, and also have a bit of a break from looking after a cat. Harriet the cat was quite unwell with the kidney failure over the past year, and my sister was back and forth to the vet's frequently and up a lot in the night looking after Harriet as she vomited, was in pain etc.

>293 vancouverdeb: My sister was back and forth to the vet a lot with her cats last year too. Two of them went towards the end of last year, and one this year. All of them were old for cats. She still has one left but is mourning the others. I suspect she will want to get another one, but she hasn't told me yet if she will. Losing pets is hard.

14. Wild child by Lynn Plourde and Greg Couch

15. Summer's Vacation by Lynn Plourde and Greg Couch

16. The clown of God by Tomie De Paola

Whisper1 surprised me with these three lovely illustrated children's books. It was so kind of her! I was especially enthralled by the gorgeous colors of the illustrations and the fun words and rhymes in the Plourde and Couch books. Whisper1 has already summarized these books and shared illustrations from them, so I won't attempt to do that here, just link to her comments:

Wild Child

Summer's Vacation

The Clown of God

>290 atozgrl: they dont have to look alike if they are fraternal twins; just saying. but yeah I get the difficulty

We had an early day today. My DH was playing in the small orchestra at church this morning, for the two regular services (not for the sunrise service). This was his first gig since the operation. He had to get up at 5:30 to get everything done at home and be at church by 7:30. It's still taking a while for him to get dressed, and he's still wearing the support stockings, which aren't easy to get on. Because he's not driving yet, I had to get up too, take him to church, and stay for both services. But he's getting around well, and mostly didn't need me to help with carrying stuff, until the orchestra finished its work halfway through the second service.

I've got a ham to warm in the oven for dinner tonight. Will have to get to bed early.

Today's Connections was very odd, because I solved the purple line first. I saw the possible connection for that group, wasn't sure that was actually what they were going for, but decided to try it anyway, and it turned out to be right.

Connections
Puzzle #294
🟪🟪🟪🟪 ___ BEAR (BOO-BOO, BROWN, HONEY, TEDDY)
🟨🟨🟨🟨 TAKE A TUMBLE (FALL, SLIP, SPILL, TRIP)
🟦🟦🟦🟦 THINGS THAT ARE CINCHED IN THE MIDDLE (CORSET, DIABOLO, HOURGLASS, WASP)
🟩🟩🟩🟩 KINDS OF WATER (MINERAL, SPRING, STILL, TAP)

Wordle 1,016 3/6

⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜
⬜🟨🟩⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
SLATE, ROBIN, TABOO