Sandy's Books: the Eighth chapter of my 2020

Welcome to my 8th Thread.
I live in the Canadian prairies, although my emotional home is where I grew up: Vancouver Island, BC.
On the Island, Patricia Bay shoreline ~ a happy childhood by the sea (2018, a float plane ride)

Unique view from the provincial museum ~ ~ the BC Legislature at dusk

Telegraph Bay, near Ten Mile Point (Gordon Head area) ~

I joined LibraryThing in April of 2017. I didn't know what Talk was, or that anyone used LT as an informed and warm social media forum on books.
One day at the end of 2018, a truly lovely person invited me to join the 75 Book challenge.

So I did. Rating →
2019 was my first year and I want to thank Lucy (sibylline) from the bottom of my heart for bringing me on board.
I still can't believe that back then, I thought I'd never manage to read 75 books in one year!
And, never in my wildest dreams, did I think I would have as many wonderful conversations or read as widely as I have in the last 2 years.
I may not star as many threads, or post as widely as some folks, but it is a really good fit for me and my psyche.

So thank you all for your friendliness, your tolerance when I'm clumsy with posts, and your wide-ranging philosophical interpretations of the books you've read and then ~ led me to read. I'm a more literate person today.
I've learned along the way so much more about the way other countries operate, the regional differences and some of the politics. I didn't expect that, but it is all good.

My philosophy this month and next ~ I'm staying safe,

because I can stay home ~

My 2020 reading by the month ~ I reversed the months ~ the most recent month is at the top.

DECEMBER
124. Death in a Family Way (Gwendolyn Southin)
125. In the Shadow of Death (Gwendolyn Southin)
126. The Nature of Things (Tommye McClure Scanlin)
127. Indian Rock Carvings of the Pacific Northwest (Edward F Meade)
128. Indian Petroglyphs of the Pacific Northwest (Beth & Ray Hill)
129. The Great Fur Opera (Kildare Dobbs)
130. The Cold Cold Ground (Adrian McKinty)
131. The Corpse with the Silver Tongue (Cathy Ace)
132. Germania: A Novel of Nazi Berlin (Harald Gilbers)
133. The Wandering Fire (Guy Gavriel Kay)
134. The Corpse with the Golden Nose (Cathy Ace)
135. Puppies, Dogs, and Blue Northers (Gary Paulsen)
136. Flip for Decorating (Elizabeth Mayhew)
137. The Night Before Christmas (Clement Clarke Moore)
138. Indians on Vacation (Thomas King)
139. Eight Perfect Murders (Peter Swanson)
140. The Left-Handed Booksellers of London (Garth Nix)
141. The Doomed Oasis (Hammond Innes) ~ finished after midnight on Dec.31!

NOVEMBER
116. The Heirs of Locksley (Carrie Vaughn)
117. In the Woods (Tana French)
118. Daughter of Witches (Patricia Wrede)
119. Why Comics? (Hilary Chute)
120. Return of the Thief (Megan W. Turner)
121. The Bookshop (Penelope Fitzgerald)
122. Bangkok 8 (John Burdett)
123. The Thursday Murder Club (Richard Osman)

OCTOBER
100. The City We Became (N.K. Jemisin)
101. Who Speaks for the Damned (CS Harris)
102. The Ghosts of Sherwood (Carrie Vaughn)
103. American Rose (Karen Abbott)
104. Shadow Magic (Patricia Wrede)
105. Silver in the Wood (Emily Tesh)
106. The Flesh Tailor (Kate Ellis)
107. Boy Settler in the Cherokee Strip (David Siceloff)
108. Perfect Happiness (Penelope Lively)
109. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
110. Woodsong (Gary Paulsen)
111. Death Comes to the Village (Catherine Lloyd)
112. Death Comes to London (Catherine Lloyd)
113. Death Comes to Kurland Hall (Catherine Lloyd)
114. Horse of a Different Color: Reminiscences of a Kansas Drover (Ralph Moody)
115. Death Comes to the Fair (Catherine Lloyd)

SEPTEMBER
91. Consigned to Death (Jane K. Cleland)
92. The Right Sort of Man (Allison Montclair)
93. The Highly Sensitive Person (Elaine Aron)
94. Why Kill the Innocent (CS Harris)
95. The Field Guide to the North American Teenager (Ben Philippe)
96. To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
97. The Truth About Stories (Thomas King)
98. Meg and Greg: A Duck in a Sock (Elspeth Rae & Rowena Rae)
99. Who Slays the Wicked (CS Harris)

AUGUST
82. What Remains of Heaven (CS Harris)
83. The Blood Card (Elly Griffiths)
84. Remodelista: the organised home (J. Carlson & M. Guralnick)
85. Who Buries the Dead (CS Harris)
86. When Falcons Fall (CS Harris)
87. It Begins In Betrayal (Iona Whishaw)
88. The Lantern Men (Elly Griffiths)
89. The Scent of Water (Elizabeth Goudge)
90. Where The Dead Lie (CS Harris)

JULY
72. Lois Hole's Favorite Trees & Shrubs (Lois Hole)
73. Crazy Rich Asians (Kevin Kwan)
74. Where Serpents Sleep (CS Harris)
75. When Maidens Mourn (CS Harris)
76. How to Read Islamic Carpets (WB Denny)
77. Where Shadows Dance (CS Harris)
78. The Ten Thousand Doors of January (Alix Harrow)
79. What Darkness Brings (CS Harris)
80. The Bookshop of Yesterdays (Amy Meyerson)
81. Why Kings Confess (CS Harris)

JUNE
62. The Stranger Diaries (Elly Griffiths)
63. Birds of a Feather (Jacqueline Winspear)
64. Motorcycles and Sweetgrass (Drew Hayden Taylor)
65. Miles, Mystery & Mayhem (Lois McMaster Bujold)
66. Park Avenue Summer (Renée Rosen)
67. The Lamorna Wink (Martha Grimes)
68. What Angels Fear (CS Harris)
69. When Gods Die (CS Harris)
70. Why Mermaids Sing (CS Harris)
71. An Old, Cold Grave (Iona Whishaw)

MAY
51. A Darker Shade of Magic (VE Schwab)
52. Books Can Be Deceiving (Jenn McKinlay)
53. The Dangerous River (RM Patterson)
54. Life in the Open (CF Holder)
55. A Royal Pain (Rhys Bowen)
56. Redhead by the Side of the Road (Anne Tyler)
57. A Spool of Blue Thread (Anne Tyler)
58. One Good Turn (Kate Atkinson)
59. Harpist in the Wind (Patricia McKillip)
60. Death in a Strange Country (Donna Leon)
61. The Waters of Eternal Youth (Donna Leon)

APRIL
36. And Dangerous to Know (Darcie Wilde)
37. Watching the Ghosts (Kate Ellis)
38. Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore (Matthew Sullivan)
39. The Cow in the Parking Lot (Leonard Scheff)
40. Lessons in Enchantment (Patricia Rice)
41. A Killer in King's Cove (Iona Whishaw)
42. Me and Banksy (Tanya L. Kyi)
43. Death in a Darkening Mist (Iona Whishaw)
44. Maisie Dobbs (Jacqueline Winspear)
45. Indian in the Cupboard (Lynne Reid Banks)
46. The Secret of the Indian (Lynne Reid Banks)
47. The Mystery of the Cupboard (Lynne Reid Banks)
48. The Key to the Indian (Lynne Reid Banks)
49. The Paper Garden (Molly Peacock)
50. Case Histories (Kate Atkinson)

MARCH
28. Steal Like An Artist (Austin Kleon)
29. The Bodies in the Library (Marty Wingate)
30. Lost Future of Pepperharrow (Natasha Pulley)
31. Safecracker (Ryan Wick)
32. Hotel du Lac (Anita Brookner)
33. The Dante Connection (Estelle Ryan)
34. Kissing the Demons (Kate Ellis)
35. The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax (Dorothy Gilman)

FEBRUARY
15. A Death in Chelsea (Lynn Brittney)
16. After the Hector (Lucille Campey)
17. Inevitable Illusions (Massimo Piattelli-Palmarini)
18. Heir of Sea and Fire (Patricia McKillip)
19. The Clairvoyant Countess (Dorothy Gilman)
20. The Unravelled Knot (Baroness Orczy)
21. Kaleidoscope (Dorothy Gilman)
22. Polar Bears: Survival on the Ice (Jason Viola)
23. Armada Boy (Kate Ellis)
24. Deep Secret (Diana Wynne Jones)
25. Back to Blakeney (Editors: McGrane, Romanow et al.)
26. The Merchant's House (Kate Ellis)
27. The Gauguin Connection (Estelle Ryan)

JANUARY
1. Smoke & Mirrors (Elly Griffiths)
2. A Dream of Death (Connie Berry)
3. Same Place, More Space (Karl Champley, Karen Kelly, Arthur Mount)
4. Syllabus: Notes from an Accidental Professor (Lynda Barry)
5. Finding Moon (Tony Hillerman
6. A Legacy of Murder (Connie Berry)
7. The Codfish Dream (David Giblin)
8. A History of the County of Antigonish, Nova Scotia (DJ Rankin)
9. Liquid Rules (Mark Miodownik)
10. Echo in Onyx (Sharon Shinn)
11. Still Waters (Viveca Sten)
12. Echo in Emerald (Sharon Shinn)
13. Echo in Amethyst (Sharon Shinn)
14. The Minimalist Cooks at Home (Mark Bittman)

While I'm staying home and reading...

I'm all set ~ so no non-essential shopping

and finally I have time

,

plus, reading more widely
~ titles on my own shelves: some non-fiction and a few literary novels

Titles I am currently reading ~



For the moment, I am waiting for some library holds. This is a good time to take a break from my recent reading glut in December.

Ten picks from my favourite books in the 2020 Journey
This is a happy-reading list, with many books in the noted series so very enjoyable. None of the murder mysteries fall anywhere near the horror genre.

1.) Geneviève Lenard* (Estelle Ryan) ~ an art heist and political mystery saga
2.) Madame Karitska* (Dorothy Gilman) ~ detecting with a clairvoyant
3.) Me and Banksy (Tanya L. Kyi) (Tanya Kyi) ~ a younger-age YA novel, addressing ethics and bullying
4.) Sebastien St. Cyr* (CS Harris) ~ historical murder mysteries in the aristocracy of Regency London
5.) The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative (Thomas King) "Stories are wondrous things, and they are dangerous." (Quote, TK)
6.) Hotel du Lac (Anita Brookner) ~ historical, dreamy, meditative fiction (although written in the 1980's); unravelling of Edith's misdemeanours and why she vacations alone with many misfits
7.) Eight Perfect Murders (Peter Swanson) ~ New England setting for tragedy and murder involving an endearing bookseller
8.) The Left-Handed Booksellers of London (Garth Nix) ~ a quirky magical-realism fantasy set in an alternate 1980's London (England)
9.) Silver in the Wood (Emily Tesh) ~ a retelling atmospheric adventure of a "The Green Man"variety
10.) Germania (Harald Gilbers) ~ a WWII-era murder mystery, set in Berlin; a bit gritty, but brilliantly evocative writing which sets the atmosphere of life at the end of the war for the common citizenry

* indicates a series or a sequel

My sympathy goes out to all the folks who don't live in Saskatchewan or Arizona

Food for thought ~

You are welcome to leap in and tell me what you're excited to be reading this month!

Happy new thread, Sandy.

Bookers and writers from around the world will fill my November plus finishing the odd thriller and non-fiction that I have ongoing.

Happy new thread, Sandy. Love the toppers, including the great Grant Snider comic. Also love the Tom Gauld one, in >3 SandyAMcPherson:. I sometimes mix them up as they (to my mind) have similar styles and mindsets. Love 'em both, though.

Is Sask. the only Cdn province that doesn't change the clocks? I sincerely wish all of Canada would go that route. It's such a pain in the ass to have to do it! Love the pic in >6 SandyAMcPherson:!

Happy new one!

Happy Sunday, Sandy. Happy New Thread. I love the topper photos. It is such a beautiful place and is on my vacation Bucket List.

Happy new thread, Sandy. I love your toppers.

Popping in to keep an eye out for some of that comics discussion...

Happy new thread, Sandy! Lovely first message - I’m so glad that Lucy invited you to join the group. I’ve enjoyed getting to know you and always love your posts.

>3 SandyAMcPherson: I recognize the wrapped TP rolls because I just bought a huge box of them… thanks to Ellen. *smile*

And I rearrange my shelves occasionally, too, but not as often recently and I really need to do a full inventory soon.

>6 SandyAMcPherson: Bill literally just showed me that graphic about 15 minutes ago – his friend Geoff sent it to him. I smiled then, I’ll smile again now.

>7 SandyAMcPherson: I think that I’m finally invested in The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin at page 122. I need to find a good nonfiction to read – have started a couple but nothing’s clicked yet.

Happy New Thread, Sandy!

Hey Sandy, happy new thread!

>8 PaulCranswick:, >9 jessibud2:, >10 figsfromthistle:, >11 msf59:, >12 BLBera:,
Thank you all for dropping by and wishing me a "happy thread". I hope your wishes come true. I'm planning on a fun thread with, of course, my occasionally acerbic book reviews.

Glad the toppers were admired. I was having trouble deciding what to say or to post.

>13 London_StJ: I have 2 books to finish before I get to Why Comics?, but I aim to have the book read within 3 weeks because I won't be able to renew it!

>14 karenmarie: Hi Karen. The welcoming committee arrived and I was off on a sunny, *warm* hike today. So, already behind in my replies.

>15 jnwelch:, >16 quondame:, Hello and thanks for letting me know you've found thread #8.
Susan, I deliberately kept the fancy icons off the thread title. Hope everything else is visible.

>18 SandyAMcPherson: Well, the 😇 was clear and I'd noticed other emoji in earlier titles, so most worked fine - was the other one in the previous title ellipses?

>19 quondame: Hi Susan.
Based on my creaky memory... I thought this 😇 was the icon (in my 7th thread) which you had trouble with.
My 6th thread: 😎 ~ the sun with sunglasses on. No ellipses.

Hope you are well and that Nutmeg hasn't driven everybody, including Gertie into a complete tizzy! Thanks for stopping by.

I had a really lovely afternoon into early evening yesterday. It was unseasonably warm (and today is supposed to be even warmer). Originally, the plan was to visit an area of cottonwoods near the river. Owls had been reported but we ended up not gathering until later in the day. This pandemic makes group meet ups quite fraught.

A few of us went on a somewhat urban hike through some of our marshy grassland areas. We saw Sora Rail water birds here. They usually have migrated by now.

Our birding 'leader' says this is delayed until the freeze up arrives. A climate change discussion enlivened the hike as we talked about all the species people are seeing that have usually left weeks earlier. I find this quite worrying.

My take along guide for the hike is this slim little gem by Alan Smith

. No owls were seen, but a gorgeous sunset was a real beaut.

Here's a share of a friend's photo, looking Southwest of our hoped for owl sighting location,

Sandy, those photos are beautiful.

We had our first dusting of snow last night. Coincidentally, I am heading out shortly to get my snow tires on. I have had this appointment for awhile, just coincidence that today is the first day of snow. But it's supposed to warm up through the week so it will likely be gone by this afternoon.

The other day, I noticed 3 Canada geese pecking away on the lawn of our local Canadian Tire store (a regular haunting grounds for them). I thought they would have been gone by now, too. There is a big fight going on now here in the Toronto area as our stupid government has pushed through some sort of legislation (without any public consultation) that would allow for a casino and warehouse to be built on protected wetlands. That is supposed to be illegal, if the lands are protected, but that doesn't seem to concern our government. I don't call him baby trump for nothing. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/pickering-wetland-building-proposal-1.578...

Sigh...

>22 jessibud2: a casino and warehouse to be built on protected wetlands
That is awful.
Can you call in your wildlife people on this? Maybe "Ducks Unlimited"?
We have a very activist Nature Saskatchewan. I'd look for an Ontario equivalent.

Good luck getting snow tires. Yay for an appointment.

Happy new thread! The rearranging comic rings a bell for me -- I am determined to finish rearranging my shelves this month. (Right now, there are several piles on the floor.)

As for what I'm reading, I just started The Empire of Dreams by Rae Carson, and I might get to The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab if my hold comes in before the month's end. I'm also excited for Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend and Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade. Hoping to get some good reading done this coming weekend.

>1 SandyAMcPherson: I love everything in your topper, Sandy, and your presence here is a gift to all of us!
>6 SandyAMcPherson: That's the first thing I've seen that makes me smile at the time change. I like being on sun time, like the extra hour of sunlight in the summer, but Loathe and Detest the weeks after the change. I'm old.

Read some good stuff for the rest of the year. I look forward to seeing what you think about it.

>23 SandyAMcPherson: - Unfortunately, the government doesn't seem to care. From the link above:

"Last week, the board of the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) — responsible for regulating the area — unanimously passed a motion saying that they don't support any move to develop wetlands, particularly one that's deemed provincially significant. "This is not a small wetland," said TRCA vice-chair Jack Heath during the board's discussion on the issue last Friday.

"It looks to me like the environment's for sale."

Groups like Environmental Defence, the David Suzuki Foundation and Ontario Nature are also registering their concern, as is the Green Party of Ontario, whose leader Mike Schreiner called it a "reckless request to pave over the natural areas that prevent flooding" at Queen's Park on Thursday.

Despite the MZO being issued, the future of the Pickering site, at this point, remains unclear.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And flooding is a major concern in Ontario in recent years and won't be getting better unless something is done. THIS isn't what they need.

I just find it all so very discouraging.

>20 SandyAMcPherson: Nope. 😇 and 😎 and the others are all very clearly representative, but the one between "chapter" and "in" is just a dashed-boxed OBJ.

>21 SandyAMcPherson: I love your bird outing report, Sandy and you know I especially like hearing anything about owls. One good thing about the winter months, is that it is a good time for owling.

Congrats on the sora. I love these little rails and I like hearing their distinctive call.

>1 SandyAMcPherson: found and starred your new thread!

>24 foggidawn: It was fun to see what you are reading/planning.
I liked that series starting with The Girl of Fire and Thorns.

>25 LizzieD: Hi Peggy. I was sorry to see that BC (where many family members live) has been silly about staying on one time all year: the lame ass politicians want the USA states of WA, OR and CA to agree to change as well. Talk about lack of leadership. Colour me disgusted.

>26 jessibud2: Sending sympathy on these difficulties, Shelley. I know *my* sympathy changes not a thing, but understanding your frustration might help.

>27 quondame: Hi Susan. RE the thread headings, there was an inadvertant extra space where you see a dashed-boxed OBJ. I don't see that on F-Fox or Safari. I suspect it's all related to the Talk redesign.

>28 msf59: Hi Mark. I was disappointed not to see anybody home at the Owlery. But I betcha we needed to be there early, at sunrise perhaps, which is not an impossible hour in November. I'm not sure what species I expected to see, either, but I think it was the Northern Hawk Owl species because we've had a huge increase in the vole population (likely due to somewhat shorter, milder winters and good habitat for these creatures).

>29 fuzzi: Hi there! So nice to have you here. What great reads are you planning?

Book 116 The Heirs of Locksley (Carrie Vaughn)

~

Carrie Vaughn has written an engaging tale following up her Ghosts of Sherwood. Both these stories are novellas and I judge suitable for the 9 to 12 year old audience.

The Locksley siblings are nearly adults and Mary, especially, since she is looking towards marriage but has yet to meet the intended bridegroom. The story tells an exciting adventure and the young Henry III was a nice character to meet.

I was disappointed in the final closing sentences. It was not adroitly conveyed ~ more like a door slamming shut. Considering this ending from the point of view of this genre's young audience, how strange that the editor(s) didn't convince the author to modify such harsh final sentences (if in fact they even recognized the clumsy dénouement).

I do recommend this duology, because it is a great adventure. Personally, I would wait on giving the books to a younger adult. I hope Vaughn is planning to write another in this set ~ a promise of a sequel has escaped my searching for this information however. As a trilogy or even more, younger readers (in my experience) love to gobble up sequential stories.

Loved Stay-At -Home-Reading and all the wonderful photos over here!

>32 mdoris: Thanks, Mary. I guess some of those Island views are pretty familiar.
I'm definitely isolating at home right now. There are so many community sourced infections happening, so any outings have to be very strictly necessary, like food and meds only!

How is the Comox area doing? I think Vanc. Is has been an area reasonably low transmission, fortunately.

Whiling away the day with non-US-political poetry, so here's a reflection of happenings in lockdown-England...
From the Editor's diary at Slightly Foxed ~

A Brief Pageant of English Verse

I won’t arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
I’ll sanitise the doorknob and make a cup of tea.
I won’t go down to the sea again; I won’t go out at all,
I’ll wander lonely as a cloud from the kitchen to the hall.
There’s a green-eyed yellow monster to the north of Katmandu
But I shan’t be seeing him just yet and nor, I think, will you.
While the dawn comes up like thunder on the road to Mandalay
I’ll make my bit of supper and eat it off a tray.
I shall not speed my bonnie boat across the sea to Skye
Or take the rolling English road from Birmingham to Rye.
About the woodland, just right now, I am not free to go
To see the Keep Out posters or the cherry hung with snow,
And no, I won’t be travelling much, within the realms of gold,
Or get me to Milford Haven. All that’s been put on hold.
Give me your hands, I shan’t request, albeit we are friends
Nor come within a mile of you, until this trial ends.

It's bookish doggerel, so perhaps I'll be forgiven for inflicting it on y'all.

>34 SandyAMcPherson: - So clever! ;-)

That's what everyone should have been doing all these months: composing covid verse!

>35 jessibud2: Thanks, Shelley. I thought it was fun.
I wasn't sure what was meant by "Milford Haven", but maybe it's the series by Mara Purl (which I've no intention of examining further).

>14 karenmarie: Hi again Karen. I was absent for much of Sunday and didn't answer your heart-warming message as comprehensively as I wanted to.

I've enjoyed getting to know you, too and I think we share many similar outlooks. I hope Lucy drops by soon to say hello. She has been quiet on the threads, so perhaps when this difficult week is done, I'll see her.

I'm glad you enjoyed the graphic about shelf rearranging.
My studio floor is a mess of books in categories: keep, move to a different room, and cull. I must get on with clearing them up because this is where I do my sewing. I really am under the gun now for the Yuletide and Winter decorative runners I've promised family members.

I know that I should be putting The Fifth Season (N.K. Jemisin) on my WL. There's lots of admiration for this story.

I hope you are not in a meltdown over this election. I know it has been so terribly difficult these last 4-years. Be well and be as serene as you can.

Edited:

I decided in the interest of my sanity (whenever I scroll through here), that I didn't want to see this meth lab allegory. I put my poor judgement down to posting in the midst of my Nov. 5 anxiety and frustration.

Have a snack ~ I'm providing comfort food instead.

>30 SandyAMcPherson: my next planned read for November is Bullet for a Star.

>34 SandyAMcPherson: That made me smile, Sandy. Nice.

Oh Sandy! Thank you!! The first few years here at LT were magical for me too. Plenty of magic remains, just not quite as overwhelming!

Love the Stonehenge funny!~

Hi Sandy!

>37 SandyAMcPherson: I was in a tizzy Election Night through yesterday about 12:30 or so when I heard someone on NPR say that it seems like Biden can pull it out. We’re just waiting for the last few states to finish counting. Of course the idiot in chief is saying to stop the counting…

>39 fuzzi: Hi Fuzzi. Bullet for a Star seems like a very revealing story (pun not intended...)

>40 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul. Glad you enjoyed the poem. It was a bit of fun wasn't it?

>41 sibylline: Lovely to see you here Lucy. LT has been magical for me. I've learned so much from candid book reviews (so much better on LT than all those 5-stars with no reason on "other" reading websites).

>42 karenmarie: Me too, Karen. Tuesday night was the not-sleeping night for me (never seemed to fall deeply, restfully asleep). Made my brain like a marshmallow, yesterday.
I'm amazed that I still feel a level of anxiety. My head will explode if this doesn't wrap up soon. The Man says then there'll be court cases and protests in the street... ya think I can acclimatise? Yeah, me neither.

Hi Sandy, I read a couple of comments from you on other threads about reading Tana French's In the Woods. I'm so glad it's grabbing you! It's fun to discover a new author, isn't it? And her books are well written without being too taxing. I don't know about you, but that's what I need most right now.

Happy reading.

On Twitter, I was assigned an Emotional Support Canadian to sympathize with my plight on this four hundred seventy-ninth day of the election.

Thought of you immediately, wondered if the ESC committee got you paired up. The entire USA needs y'all!

Yesterday 8:50 a.m.: There are and will continue to be court cases, but so far reason is mostly prevailing and judges are swatting down left and ... well, left... idiotic, ill-prepared, and unfounded challenges. I hope the right-wing white supremacists do not start roaming in gun-toting gangs. Even if I wasn't almost completely staying home before, now's a very good time to just stay home.

edited to add this morning: I just saw on RD's thread that you made a pie. I'm assuming Flaky Paste? The pic is gorgeous.

>44 lauralkeet: Laura, the detective story is written so unexpectedly from a very mentally-thoughtful pov.
I'm loving how the main character shares his mental and emotional mind set. It is also refreshing to see that it isn't all action and high energy (well, so far).

I haven't spent much time reading until Thursday night when I swore off immersing myself in the news.

Today, I'm so relieved that I went walking on Friday ~ sunshine and above-zero. Today, it's snowing with 15 - 20 cm predicted and a blizzard tomorrow.

>45 richardderus: Hi RD. I posted on your thread! And PM'd you as best I could.
Y'all keep on with chin up. I'm hopeful for a positive victory for democracy.
And I believe the voter turn out will be historic! That in itself is terrific.

>46 karenmarie: Yup. And I posted more pix on your thread.

Onto better things now. I have confidence in (1) my pie crust making (2) democracy in the USA.

Thanks for dropping by!

>47 SandyAMcPherson: great thoughts on In the Woods, Sandy. I'm glad it continues to be a winner for you.

>49 SandyAMcPherson: laughing at the juxtaposition of pie crust and democracy.

>50 lauralkeet: :D

We're all eating for comfort around here.
Beats the socks off worrying about Mr. Virus. And politics, no?

Sandy, I can't believe your weather compared to ours! You are digging out of a TON of snow, we are basking and breaking all kinds of records. It was 21C today and will be 22C tomorrow. I walk for 2 hours on the beach on Saturday, and there were lots of people walking, biking, playing volleyball, wearing bathing suits!! It's nuts. I am not complaining, and to be sure, the real November will return in a couple of days. But this is really crazy. My snow tires are on, my snow brush and shovel are in my car and I am ready. Not thrilled but ready...

Take care and don't put your back out, shovelling!

Happy New Thread, Sandy! And congrats on blowing past the 100 book mark. I'm a big Pat Wrede fan--did you know that she revised Shadow Magic when publishing Shadows Over Lyra, which contains the first three Lyra books? I'm reading Silver in the Wood right now.

I've taken another break from the internet and digitally-induced stress



Catching up on the visits ~~
>52 jessibud2: It was not too bad, Shelley. I really wanted a deep layer of snow. That's what I rely on for insulating my perennials. Your weather must be influenced by Eta, no?

>53 ronincats: Roni ~ marvellous to see you here. I hope you're enjoying the Emily Tesh book.
I had no idea that Patricia Wrede revised Shadow Magic. I've been a fan for a long time so my copy is a first edition paperback. I hadn't known until recently that there were others in the Lyra series. I have Daughter of Witches waiting on Library-to-Go for me to start.

Edited to try and get the touchstones to show up! #fail

>54 SandyAMcPherson: I love that cartoon! No matter your political leanings, it fits...

>55 fuzzi: It's a sign of the times, isn't?
I rather identified with the woman, hiding behind the sofa while the man clicks off the TV.

Book #117 In the Woods (Tana French)

Note, there are spoilers here, so be careful not to derail the mystery for yourself.

~

Book 1 of the Dublin Murder Squad has been reviewed to a fare-thee-well, and readers either adored it or discovered compelling reason to award a very low rating. My review falls about in the middle (average is 3.77 of 509 reviews to date). For the first 2/3rds, I was eager to award because as written elsewhere, an amazing psychological thriller with descriptive writing and well-developed characters.

But the final third was disappointing. The narratives that build to the murder squad’s dysfunction felt disconnected to the way the characters’ personalities had been characterised earlier. Especially begging understanding, was the construction of the Cassie-Rob fallout and Rob’s temperament change. The Cassie-Rob drama just never gelled for me, with little plausibility in Rob’s relationship breakdown or his subsequent behaviour. The last part of the novel felt artificial and was a poor excuse for orchestrating a break up of the team, so the storyline slowly disintegrated.

And, then there is the ‘big reveal’. Except that from the moment the reader meets this character and reads of the meetings with detectives, it was a case of ‘away with the fairies’. Tana French had built up strong murder squad characters and then throws in action that defies logic. The last 1/3rd gets . A stunningly wretched letdown, not because the culprit escaped punishment, but because the reasons were not at all credible.

The overlong novel at 592-pages didn't contribute to making a tight narrative, either. The final third was so disjointed. I'm just realising that aspect now. Less fluid. She wrote so well in the beginning, it's perhaps influenced my final viewpoint when the writing became less polished. At least, I think less polished. So disappointing.

Tana French’s writing has glorious moments, capturing the main character’s mental — emotional condition, and creating a very engaging protagonist. Her narrative style is subtle and delivers an evocative atmosphere of suspense. Recommended - read this novel for these aspects alone, even if not a satisfying mystery.

>57 SandyAMcPherson: I enjoyed reading your thorough review, Sandy. I know I was quite effusive in my praise for the Dublin Murder Squad series, but my fondness is really for the series as a whole, not one particular book. Just after you started reading In the Woods, I dug into LT to check my ratings and read my review. And then I just kept my mouth shut, waiting for your reaction. It turns out we are on exactly the same page! I rated it three stars, and my review begins, "This was a thumping good mystery. Well, 3/4 of it anyway, until it fell apart."

As to how it fell apart, you said it quite concisely: "away with the fairies," (I love that!) and "action that defies logic." Here's what I wrote about that, hidden behind a spoiler tag:
But there are a couple of things that go wrong in this book. I will describe them without spoilers, although it's difficult to convey their full impact. The first problem is Rob. My husband and I have a recurring and inconclusive conversation about whether authors can write authentically about a character of the opposite sex. I suspect this book is one where most men would say about Rob, "guys aren't like that." It's not that he had a highly developed feminine side, he just did and said things a typical guy wouldn't do, especially with Cassie (I'm sorry I can't be more specific). Second, there was a character whose true self was revealed when the case was solved, but their voice wasn't authentic, and they had improbable traits given some basic facts we already knew about them.

For what it's worth, I rated the second book 3.5 stars although there is an implausible element to the plot. The third and fourth books were 4-star reads.

Sweet Thursday, Sandy. You mentioned a Northern Hawk Owl up there. I was fortunate to have got many good looks at one, in upper Minnesota. I plan on returning there, early next year. I loved In the Woods, although it has been many years. I had forgot that it was that long.

>58 lauralkeet: Laura, I'm delighted we're of the same opinion on this book.
I scrolled through the reviews before I posted my thoughts ~ I first write my impressions 'untainted' as it were, in an off-line text file. Sometimes I need to read the reviews to crystallise what I'm feeling into articulate words.

As for Rob, "guys aren't like that" is such an appropriate comment. Spot on observation, and you have my full agreement, this book is one where the author did not write authentically about a character of the opposite sex. At least, as far as the main protagonist is concerned.

I am planning to read another book in the series, mainly because when French hits her stride, she soars. I'm pleased to know that the future books in the series hold promise. Thanks so much for taking time to fill me in on your thoughts. This is my greatest pleasure on LT!

>59 msf59: Hi Mark, I have always been fascinated with owls. They're a bird that used to freak me out when I was little (so motionless, silently sitting in a tree ~ staring at me, or so it felt). I guess they always startled me and their eyes are so overwhelming, in my memories.

I scrolled through the reviews for In the Woods looking for the comments written by the people I've been following on LT. I saw Karen's and Laura's but I didn't notice anyone else's reviews.

Hello, Sandy! Thanks for the link to the In the Woods discussion - fascinating. You wrote an excellent review, and I will add my thumb to that it you posted it.

>61 SandyAMcPherson: I wrote a review of it in 2013 - in rereading it, I see I didn't address my disappointment with the ending of the book. What blew me away was the writing. I really loved the first two thirds of the book, but agree with you and Laura about the ending. Here is a link to my review

>63 Crazymamie: WOW! Mamie, your review blew me away.

I'm so delighted you visited and gave me the link to this review because I had overlooked it when I went looking for Laura's (and noticed Karen's).
The reason your review so resonated with me is that the passages you quoted are the exact same ones that I wrote out in my reading journal.

I have a hand-written journal where I write about books that deeply reach into my psyche and affect my outlook on life, self, relationships. That's where I wrote the quotes. I so understand why you rated the book with 4½ ★s.

Thank you for upthumbing my review.

>64 SandyAMcPherson: Oh, thank you! I love that we marked the same passages. I used to keep a reading journal where I copied out favorite quotes and thoughts on my reading, but then I slacked off and fell out of the habit. That's why I try to include quotes that stood out to me in my reviews when I do them.

That's a great review, Mamie. Thanks for posting the link.

>66 lauralkeet: Thank you, Laura. And you're welcome. It was fun comparing notes/thoughts on the book.

>66 lauralkeet: >67 Crazymamie: Absolutely ( It was fun comparing notes/thoughts on the book.).
This is what I most love about the Talk threads.

Hi Sandy. I liked In the Woods less than you did because the ending was a complete rip-off. Same reason I loathed Gone Girl. They cheat you with those "...wait...WHAT??" endings.

>69 richardderus: That's why the book earned just 1-star for the ending.
>60 SandyAMcPherson: I also have acknowledged Laura's comment and agree that TF didn't write entirely authentically in regard to Rob, the main character.

Still, she does have a way with atmosphere and does know how to write evocatively. So I wanted to emphasise the strange dichotomy in the book.
Many writers are too action-oriented and I often see that in kids' adventure books, where no time is taken to develop a nuanced main character or the sense of why there's a story.

'Morning, Sandy! I hope you have a fine Friday. Good luck with the books.

>71 karenmarie: Hi Karen.
Just returned from an absolutely nightmarish trip to buy the polypropylene non-woven textile layer to add to our masks (it's the *new* thing to catch aerosol-fine droplets). Really all about protecting other people so you don't spread your potentially-infected breath.

It was awful in this small shop ~ unmasked people despite the health orders for mandatory masks, crowded aisles and shoving customers. If I hadn't already been to the (quiet) back area to get the item cut, I would have abandoned the place. It was way too small for the 15+ people in there. I didn't notice the numbers because they had us funnelled down one way, so it wasn't obvious. Now I feel totally paranoid.

So much for equanimity...

I did manage to finish Daughter of Witches today. I'm lukewarm about reading any more of the Lyra series. Just doesn't measure up to Snow White and Rose Red, which was a 5-star read for me in 2019.

Book #118 Daughter of Witches (Patricia C. Wrede)

~

In the forward for this 2011 edition of her Daughter of Witches (originally published in 1983), Patricia Wrede wrote about revising and tightening up the first book (Shadow Magic, the Lyra series). Sequences of Book 1 were shown, with the original text struck out and the revised text in bold, along with the why and how these passages changed. It was a fascinating insight to Wrede’s development as an author. I was intrigued with this writing process and appreciated how much more interesting the story became.

Had a similar revision occurred for Daughter of Witches, I would have probably awarded at least 3½- or 4-stars. As it stands, the story bogged down ~ awkward phrasing and too much description in the middle of the exciting action, which got in the way of moving the story forward. The theme was a fine idea, the plot captivating when the writing flowed well, but otherwise the novel was basically a boring capture-escape-chase narrative, with undeveloped characterisation. At the end, we are left with the main characters milling around the caravan, still in the forest. There was no sense of a dénouement and the reader is literally left hanging, because the escape from the city of Drinn felt like a prelude to the real story.
~~~~~~~

My overall reaction to this series is a "Colour me disappointed" because it is just so lame. Snow White and Rose Red is such an outstanding book by comparison; years earlier, Dealing with Dragons was great fun, with a sly wit that must have developed in the years following the Lyra-saga.

I would recommend that reading the revised editions is time well-spent (assuming you care for the younger-end of the YA genre). For me-myself, if Wrede hasn't rewritten all the Lyra books, then there's the thought that my TBR stack has much better potential for enjoyment.

Got your thread in the Threadbook now. I’m not sure how I missed it - I’ve been reading it!

>74 drneutron: Thanks Jim!
You've been busy making sure the sun keeps rising in the East, no?
(and worrying about your MiL; so glad to know she's back home).

Hi Sandy!

>72 SandyAMcPherson: Yikes. You go to into a shop to buy something to help keep you safe in the Pandemic and are exposed to crowds and the mask-less. I may start stitching coffee filters into my cloth masks. One of my masks has a place to insert additional filtering materials – thank you again Judy for my lovely masks!

^This was the Northern Hawk Owl, I saw in Minnesota, about two years ago. They are daytime hunters, so there can plenty of chances for photos. I also saw a Great Grey Owl and a Snowy Owl on that trip.

>75 SandyAMcPherson: 😀 I can verify that it did rise in the East this morning!

>76 karenmarie: - Karen, most of the masks I have purchased over the last several months, have a pocket of sorts on the inside where you can insert a filter. I have been told that inserting a coffee filter is good but I would think maybe not to stitch it in, but rather just insert so it can be changed/replaced regularly. I cut the coffee filters to a shape that fits without bunching up. I also wash my masks by hand (probably not as often as I should) and make sure I always have one in a ziplock bag in my purse in case I forget to take one when I leave the house. Mind you, I am going out less often these days, mainly only for groceries, pharmacy, etc, but still. Here in Ontario, like many other places in Canada, as Sandy mentioned, are seeing skyrocketing numbers of cases of covid now, worse than in the beginning of covid. It doesn't help that our premier in Ontario is sending such mixed messages about restrictions. No wonder people aren't following proper precautions, though, truth be told, in my opinion - and no one asked me - anyone with half a brain ought to know by now, that they need to wear a mask and keep distanced from others. Period. If everyone could just do that, our numbers wouldn't be nearly so bad. But people are fed up, or just stupid. And everyone suffers the consequences.

End of rant. Back to Sandy's thread.... ;-)

>76 karenmarie: Great idea about the coffee filters. My masks are based on this YouTube tutorial. I liked it's straight-forward set-up, especially having a pocket to place the extra filtering material. Perfect to toss after being out and about, prior to washing the fabric part.

>77 msf59: Nice! We have a lot of Snowies just south of us on undisturbed meadow areas.

>79 jessibud2: Rant away, Shelley.
Too many people have no common sense partly because the premiers are totally political creatures not putting the ordinary population first and foremost.

The elected officials don't seem to understand that as long as there are people circulating foolishly, the virus will keep proliferating as it infects an inexhaustible supply of hosts. Coronavirses are incredibly contagious.

In Saskatchewan, our mandates cater too much to business and are ineffective. A letter signed by 400 doctors has gone to the premier. I hope he wakes up to the fact businesses will fail because the people are *dying*. Get over yourselves, politics sucks big time.

I'm grumpy about not receiving an Early Reviewer's book I won in the September group:



Lots of ER reviews up on the book page, so I should reasonably have expected my copy by now, no? I wanted to post on the thread where you ask the LT staff to contact the publisher but I can't find that Talk thread anymore.

Advice for searching?

Happy Saturday, Sandy! You could probably just send a PM to Kate who sends out the ER batch links each month, and she could tell you what to do/where to go for that.

>84 Crazymamie: Posted on your thread, Mamie, to ask who is "Kate"...

Posted this on my thread for you, but I thought I would bring it over here, too:

Do you get the PM that comes each month with a link to the new ER books? It comes from Kate, and I figured she would know where to direct you. Her name is a link to her page.

Sandy, another opportunity to let the PTB know your win wasn't received is this thread in Early Reviewers: https://www.librarything.com/topic/309669

Try that, too.

Book #119 Why Comics? (Hilary Chute)
subtitled: From Underground to Everywhere

~

Hilary Chute wrote an exhaustive scholarly overview of the comics (comix) art world. The descriptions were occasionally brilliant and brought an understanding of the philosophies behind world-view graphic illustrations. As a reference for other academics, the book is probably excellent. For general interest and informative background (in lay terms) to understanding this medium, not so much.

Some passages were a tad dry for a casual reader to explore. That's as it should be, since the intended audience was perhaps not the general public. Which begs the question: why does Chute reference comix-made-into-movies aspect? Other than acknowledging the impact of cartooning, what is the point?

She also is eager to show the reader how political and societal comics render insights on the state of governments and leading lights of the day. I agree that critical cartoons are a very effective medium to draw attention to outrageous politicians and societal cultures, if that was her aim. But delivered in an art history discourse, perhaps misses the audience with whom she really wanted to speak. Many of the topics are covered so obliquely, that the reader has to dig through the narrative to discover the salient points about a specific artist and their work. At least I have learned a little of why the term graphic novel annoys people: it belittles the artist's work and may denigrate its impact.

Despite these niggles, I recommend the book to readers interested in the backstory of political satire and cultural lampooning. I enjoyed the nostalgia of seeing so many underground comix that were popular in the 1960's. It was great to revisit the origin of Alison Bechdel's Rules.

(Edited because the book cover was disappearing. Please let me know if you can't see it; PM usually catches my attention best, once the thread drifts away from this post).

>78 drneutron: Whew! It's good to know someone is on it. Thanks *smile*

~ Gah~
I mixed my book review ordering and

have added in a reset button ~

Just ignore this weird space here...

Keeping track of the reading is greatly satisfying ~



I need to write a review of Return of the Thief, but I am bleary-eyed from staying up waaaay too late to finish it. That MWT sure draws me in. Even if I get mad at her twists and turns in this saga!

>91 SandyAMcPherson: woo! Nice job.

>92 fuzzi: Thank you Fuzzi.
I'm so surprised at this total, myself. I blame the isolation and lack of outside activities. I wonder what 2021 will hold for reading? (Not expecting an answer).

I stole this from RD’s thread, who stole it from PC's thread. I like these prompts to categorise the reading material. Very fun!
***
1. Name any book you read at any time that was published in the year you turned 18:
GOTCHA! This is some sneaky way to determine my year of birth!! Answering ~ around about this putative date, because there were no written words when I was hunting mastodons The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test

2. Name a book you have on in your TBR pile that is over 500 pages long:
Mill on the Floss (thanks to Amber)

3. What is the last book you read with a mostly blue cover?
Perfect Happiness

4. What is the last book you didn’t finish (and why didn’t you finish it?)
IQ (Too-gritty; and I disliked dwelling on street thuggery).

5. What is the last book that scared the bejeebers out of you?
The Wife Between Us

6. Name the book that read either this year or last year that takes place geographically closest to where you live? How close would you estimate it was?
Saskatchewan Birds closest, about 1½ km (1 mile)

7.What were the topics of the last two nonfiction books you read?
(1) Cooking Joy Of Cooking (2) Outdoor adventure Woodsong

8. Name a recent book you read which could be considered a popular book?
Return of the Thief

9. What was the last book you gave a rating of 5-stars to? And when did you read it?
The Highly Sensitive Person 2020-08-22

10. Name a book you read that led you to specifically to read another book (and what was the other book, and what was the connection)
The Horse's Mouth (Joyce Cary) (Herself Surprised). They’re in a trilogy, which I initially didn’t know existed (when I read THM).

11. Name the author you have most recently become infatuated with.
Tana French

12. What is the setting of the first novel you read this year?
Brighton, UK (Smoke & Mirrors)

13. What is the last book you read, fiction or nonfiction, that featured a war in some way (and what war was it)?
Atatürk: The Rebirth of a Nation ( Atatürk, and his revolutionary group seized control of the government from the sultans and led the empire into a catastrophic alliance with Germany during World War I)

14. What was the last book you acquired or borrowed based on an LTer’s review or casual recommendation? And who was the LTer, if you care to say.
Why Comics? From Underground to Everywhere (London_StJ)

15. What the last book you read that involved the future in some way?
The City We Became

16. Name the last book you read that featured a body of water, river, marsh, or significant rainfall?
Motorcycles & Sweetgrass

17. What is last book you read by an author from the Southern Hemisphere?
Three Masquerades: Essays on Equality, Work, and Human Rights, (Marilyn Waring)

18. What is the last book you read that you thought had a terrible cover?
“Terrible” with respect to what?
My copy of The Joy Of Cooking is a mess.
The City We Became has a rather irrelevant illustration.
How to Read Islamic Carpets has a muddy photograph.

19. Who was the most recent dead author you read? And what year did they die?
Penelope Fitzgerald of The Bookshop fame, passed away April 28, 2000

20. What was the last children’s book (not YA) you read?
The Ghosts of Sherwood

21. What was the name of the detective or crime-solver in the most recent crime novel you read?
Wesley Peterson

22. What was the shortest book of any kind you’ve read so far this year?
The Heirs of Locksley

23. Name the last book that you struggled with (and what do you think was behind the struggle?)
“Struggled with → HOW?”
Daughter of Witches a boring capture-escape-chase narrative;
Why Comics? was exhaustively detailed and occasionally too dense
The Bookshop was unremittingly sad and depressing.

24. What is the most recent book you added to your library here on LT?
Bangkok 8

25. Name a book you read this year that had a visual component (i.e. illustrations, photos, art, comics)
Why Comics? and Masters: Art Quilts

BONUS QUESTION!
26. What is the title and year of the oldest book you have reviewed on LT?
Life In The Open 1906

Edited to clarify #26.
I should explain ~ the 'Oldest book' means the date of the one in your possession.
I may have misled people with how I phrased the question.

>94 SandyAMcPherson: Oh my...they let you wait until you were 18 to join the mastodon hunt...SOMEbody's favorite child, eh?

I like the bonus question!

>95 richardderus: Well, you know how that goes *whine*, "But you're a gurrrrl! Nyah, nyah".

PS. Glad you liked the bonus question. I hope you are going to add it to your post.
At first, I thought it would be fun to ask what is a person's oldest book in their library, but I think "reviewed on LT" is more relevant.

>93 SandyAMcPherson: getting more books read is a nice silver lining to 2020.

>97 fuzzi: We can all do with silver linings about now, huh?
Hope your part of NC is not too fraught with case numbers. Here we've had a real increase probably due to the foolishness of Hallowe'en house parties.

>94 SandyAMcPherson: I stole your survey, my response is here:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/321866#7316509

(Touchstones aren't working, grr)

>99 fuzzi: Fun. I even recognised more titles than I expected.

I'm way behind on the threads ~ again ~ ! What else is new, but I really had to attend to vast piles of errands and chores at the end of last week.
I had a *total* meltdown at my smallish local pharmacy. I couldn't abandon my place (medication pick up) but I really was losing it with people crowding and not obeying the mandated mask rule.

I just had to chill out for awhile, mostly popping in to tend to my own piece of LT-territory.

I'll drop by and visit other LT-homes soon. I know you'll be good and wear your masks.

>101 SandyAMcPherson: The pharmacy visit sound like a nightmare. More people than you are comfortable around has become a very small number these days.
I have all my prescriptions mailed directly from Kaiser, and the local pharmacy sends my husband's medications, and fortunately hasn't needed anything new. Next year he's eligible for Medicare and may switch to Kaiser as well.

Hi Sandy,

At my pharmacy (and all other places, such as supermarkets that I have visited), the 6-feet-apart circles on the floor are permanent and so far, I have seen people observing and respecting that. Then again, I haven't been in all that many places and even the 2 times I have had to go into a shopping mall, there have actually been very few people around. I do hear your anguish, though. I would have been pretty annoyed, myself, if I had been in your place. Ontario isn't doing very well these days and this isn't a good thing.

>102 quondame: >103 jessibud2: Thanks for leaving me some sympathy!
The next day, after I posted that comment at #101, I decided to call the pharmacy and ask them to enforce the mask rule.

I also discussed their stated policy that the first hour of opening was for seniors ~ so why don't you adhere to this? (I was there right at 8 am and at least half the customers were very obviously not in the over-65 group).

The hubs and I have seriously discussed changing to our Loblaws Superstore pharmacy. The larger stores (from his pov, because he does the grocery shopping) seem to be better at regulating the customers. I think it will be worth the change. These neighbourhood shops are all very well (I can just walk 5-minutes and there I am), but too lax obviously. With our provincial seniors' drug plan, we don't have to worry about what place we buy our meds, since the dispensing fee and drug costs are regulated by the province.

OK. That wasn't bookish at all. But I've regained some equanimity with a plan to change our pharmacy. After lunch today, I'm going to treat myself to reading LT threads and probably start a new TBR list!

>104 SandyAMcPherson: - Sandy, do have a Costco near you? As a single person living alone, I had never considered joining Costco but after I retired, I switched to the Costco pharmacy (you don't have to be a member to use their pharmacy), because their dispensing fee was about half of what it was at all other pharmacies in the city (I was spoiled as a teacher because our benefits used to cover prescription drugs 100% and I never even knew about dispensing fees!). I finally joined when I realized that their gas stations were 10 cents LESS A LITRE than any other gas station in the city. For that alone, (and kitty litter, which was also considerably cheaper), it was worth it.

And now, during covid, they are very strict about regulating the number of people in the store, and the masks and distancing as well, but the best part, for me, is that if you are going in only for the pharmacy, you don't have to wait in line outside AT ALL. That suits me just fine and I haven't shopped there at all since March, only going in when I have to pick up meds.

>105 jessibud2: Thanks Shelley but, for a variety of reasons, we are not Costco fans at all.
The 'Superstore' is way more convenient than the drive out to Costco and we really only need meds refilled at 8-week intervals.

I have a friend from Grad-school days who lives in the Yukon now (Whitehorse).
She emailed recently about Americans trying to get into Canada (driving from Alaska).

So when this black bear meme showed up, I thought it was worth a laugh to share with her. Here it is to gladden the hearts of the LT folks...



From the local news -- A wee bear cub was apprehended at the Canada-U.S. border (Hyder-Stewart border crossing) after trying to cross with "no travel documents," officials said.

Apparently bears are usually let alone in those parts but this was a young one, likely recently "pushed out" by the mother. I was surprised because by now, I figure bears should be hibernating.

William and Catherine Blake read Paradise Lost to each other. Naked. And invited their deliciously named houseguest, Thomas Butts, to watch!

Huh. Who knew? Pervy old pair.

>104 SandyAMcPherson: good for you Sandy, calling the pharmacy to give them what-for about their lack of policy adherence. Did they have anything to say for themselves? I think you're wise to just take your business elsewhere.

I had a similar "non-adherence" experience recently. We went to an outdoor beer garden in a city park. The website for this event said hand sanitizer and wipes would be distributed throughout the area, masks were required and would be enforced, and that capacity would be controlled to enable social distancing. Not a single one of these things were actually in evidence, and it was crowded enough that we felt very uncomfortable. The next day I sent an email to the organization, thinking I'd at least get a "we are very sorry and are taking steps to correct" response. Instead it's been crickets. I exacted vengeance by leaving a negative Google review describing the situation. Not that we'll have an opportunity anytime soon, but we will never visit this venue again, even in better times.

ETA: I just realized I went on a bit. Sorry about the rant!

Hi Sandy!

>90 SandyAMcPherson: On my shelves, tagged 2020 read, but I don’t know if/when it will come to top of stack.

>101 SandyAMcPherson: I am leery of challenging people about crowding and being mask-less, but get very stressed these days when either/both occur. I rarely have to go into the pharmacy here as they have a drive-through window. I’m sorry it was so bad in your smallish pharmacy. Do you have a mask mandate or is it left up to people to choose?

I keep wanting to wear a mask as a joke at our virtual Friends of the Library Board meetings but haven’t had the nerve yet…

>104 SandyAMcPherson: I’m glad you complained to the pharmacy and have decided to switch. Stress reduction is important and voting with your feet may help other people at the smallish pharmacy.

>108 richardderus: Hi RD. I'm (unsuccessfully) trying to connect your post to a comment on my thread... or were you just passing by to drop interesting factoids?
Re what you said ^^^, I guess I'm pretty tolerant about what floats people's boat.
I think you are as well, and just letting us know what you've discovered.

>109 lauralkeet: Rant away, my dear!
We need more assertive folks calling these retail places to account.

It's like folks do not realize that if we stay isolated and distant when we *are* out, then the virus will die out a lot faster because there'll be no new hosts to infect. We all have to do our part. I for one, am making it clear when I speak to store managers, that businesses that spread infection will run the risk of (being harsh here) killing off their customer base.

I'm also giving kudos to the shops that really do enforce the occupancy level and politely turn away the maskless who try to enter.

>110 karenmarie: Hey Karen, I got way behind on Talk. Yesterday a banner for SantaThing was obscuring the top menu and I was frustrated trying to get onto the LT threads.

I am logged via FireFox this morning, not my favourite browser for LT. The banner issue doesn't occur on FFox (go figure!)
I find that so many of the images (which show on Safari) don't want to load on FFox. I think it is possibly my local issue because I'm running quite an old Mac OS (High Sierra, mostly because my laptop is 7 years old now). Besides, the OS runs what I like to do just fine and dandy.

Answering the mask question, this week our province mandated masks in all public buildings and retail spaces in the whole province. Previously masks were ordered only for our 3 cities, including mine. (Yes indeedy, we have only 3 centres that we call 'cities'. This is a sparsely-populated province, with the 2020 pop. estimated at 1,181,987).

Don't you love that specific number (x,xxx,xx7)?
When a grandson of a friend was born in a tiny hamlet north of Saskatoon, apparently the new father was charged with mischief because he went out afterwards to the edge of the village and painted out to increase the last number on the population signage by +1 (the sign that had the name of the hamlet).

And for those interested, we have found it was easy-peasy to change pharmacies, since all the records are kept in a central location at 'e-health'. So any pharmacy can view your current subscriptions. We did it by telephone even. Apparently when we next go to pick up meds, we have to show ID to verify the legitimacy, but then it is smooth sailing.

>111 SandyAMcPherson: I'm from Austin...I believe it's my mission to Keep {Wherever I Am} Weird.

*smooch*

>114 richardderus: Okaaay! (And here I thought you were 'from' Long Island).

>115 SandyAMcPherson: It's home now, and has been for going on 20 years...before that it was 15-ish years in Manhattan...but childhood and youth were more Texas than anywhere else (birthers would call me a Californian, a relegation I reject with my whole being).

Lost me on that one (relegation) because I am not sure why being born in California relegates you to an inferior place.

I do believe, however, that where we lived as a child determines a lot about what "home" feels like and what we absorb deeply. That doesn't necessarily mean good things, just psychologically deeply buried perceptions.

>117 SandyAMcPherson: I agree -- I spent ages 1 month to 6 years in Asheville, North Carolina. Even now, being in or even just driving through those mountains just feels *right* in some inexplicable way, though I've lived in many different terrains since then.

>117 SandyAMcPherson: Californians are very snooty about their state's charms, and as braggartly as Texans or New Yorkers about how being born there is rare and precious. Well, both my father and I were born there; it confers no special status; and I dislike the place with a great deal of venom because I've never drawn a happy breath while I was there.

>119 richardderus: There, there, RD *pat pat*
It's done and dusted; brain junk (what I call it).

I have all too much brain junk that seems to creep around the edges of my memories. I've never really exorcised the ones I detest the most (I usually say, almost out loud, "That was then, this is Now").

But *pat pat* from understanding folks has always reassured me. Maybe because it is a common human condition?

Book #120 Return of the Thief (Megan Whalen Turner)

~

Last of a series, written many years later. The lag in writing this dénouement, assuming it is a final end to the saga, either lost its attraction for me or else the author wore out her theme. The tale was a bit flat, especially the long epic describing the war with the Mede Empire.

However. I enjoyed the threads drawn together from different time frames by the journals that Pheris wrote. His was an excellent character. Eugenides was still the rogue character that entertained me, so for that I'm grateful. With few reviews here, I want to respect the importance of not providing details. I certainly recommend the book, if for no other reason, all the invested reader interest in the Queen's Thief series.

Next up, should anyone be curious ~
Two books in my currently reading pile, one physical, one on my eReader:

Bangkok 8 (John Burdett). A BB --- see Karen's thread (be patient, the link eventually loads).
This one will be my "bedtime reading", 'cause I love the e-books then.

Why I Read: The Serious Pleasure of Books (Wendy Lesser). I think this was a BB from Meg (FamilyHistorian) but I forgot to copy a link into my TBR/WL file.
This one is my de-stress-reading. I have a lovely recliner and when I want to escape anxiety, I bury myself under a cosy blanket (it's wintertime doncha know?) and read in this chair in the afternoon.

(Edited, Touchstones are flaky today, or else it's my browser...)

>116 richardderus: Hey! Californian's have a deep foundation of pragmatic realism that supports that frivolous superstructure so often subject to fashionable disdain. And we're much less generally hostile all around than has been my experience elsewhere (PA I'm looking at you).

>123 quondame: Yes, indeed. In fact, I have several relatives living in California and they seem very reasonable, in a West Coast sense. But we don't know what environment Richard was remembering...

I have a saying to share --- .

A cousin sent me this gem when I was known to overdo my whinge about our collective childhood experiences.
It's a philosophy I try to adhere to when the past tries to horn in on my current life.

>120 SandyAMcPherson:, >124 SandyAMcPherson: Yes, I take your point, and believe me it's one I can get fully behind.

>123 quondame: ...hmm...funny, shouldn't there be text in that space...?
:-P

>118 foggidawn: Asheville is in a lovely area of NC. I was raised on the Connecticut shoreline and the smell of salt (water) still does something to me. Even the pungent sulfur smell of "low tide" is welcome to my senses.

>34 SandyAMcPherson: Love it! Thanks for sharing!

>45 richardderus: I think I may need an Emotional Support Canadian too. Actually, just coming to your thread, Sandy, has helped. Good to know I'm not alone in my misery over what's going on with President Plague Rat and his coup attempts.

>54 SandyAMcPherson: Haha, that's me in the last panel. I already don't watch TV news.

The discussion about people not wearing masks and crowding in shops and other public places is so spot on. Unlike most of you, tho, I tend to be outspoken about it. Was at the post office a couple weeks ago, waiting in line, and I happened to turn to see a woman (masked, but still) barreling toward me. I just glared and pointed at her, and she stopped short, then said rather snippily that she hadn't been meaning to come closer. I said thank you and turned around. This isn't the time to be nice, not when my and my family's lives depend on it.

>79 jessibud2: I now carry an extra couple of masks in my purse after getting halfway to a doctor appointment and having to turn around because I forgot my mask. Great idea about the coffee filter, Shelley. I'm going to try it! Thanks!

>94 SandyAMcPherson: What fun!

>124 SandyAMcPherson: That's a great saying. Of course, at my age, remembering the past isn't such an issue anymore because I've forgotten most of it. (j/k - I don't (think I) have memory problems - yet - but I really don't remember a lot about my childhood. I think it's purposeful, because it wasn't so great and there's not much I want to recall about it.)

Edited to correct attribution for coffee filter idea.

>126 fuzzi:, I guess the shorelines must have been really fine sand? That was what I'd associate with that particular smell.
>118 foggidawn: Liked the mountains. Such a varied state, I guess.

>127 Storeetllr: Hi Mary, glad you had some fun here. Thanks for your comments about the discussions.
>123 quondame: Susan, I guess we should ignore that dig at >125 richardderus: about text?

I was cruising the CBC Fall book list tonight.
Anyone want to make a stab at reading some Can-Lit?

I've put Tom King's latest book and Emma Donoghue's The Pull of the Stars on my Yuletide Gift-Wish List.

Hi Sandy!

>119 richardderus: I’m a native Californian but have lived in NC for almost 30 years. I like to say I’m from California as I wouldn’t live there again if you paid me anything less than millions. I had a great childhood there, went to college there, and was happy to move to NC to marry Bill. The most confusing thing for me about NC is that whenever I can see the ocean when driving south I immediately think I’m driving north because in California the coastline is on the left if you drive north. Ditto driving north and think I’m driving south. It’s instinctive.

>122 SandyAMcPherson: Ah, the pressure’s on – will she like it or won’t she like it? I’ve downloaded the second book, Bangkok Tattoo but haven’t felt inclined to read it yet.

>123 quondame: And yah, what Susan said about Californians. I don’t know much about PAers.

>127 Storeetllr: Was at the post office a couple weeks ago, waiting in line, and I happened to turn to see a woman (masked, but still) barreling toward me. I just glared and pointed at her, and she stopped short, then said rather snippily that she hadn't been meaning to come closer. I said thank you and turned around. This isn't the time to be nice, not when my and my family's lives depend on it. Right on, Mary!

>123 quondame: I wouldn't say all-around hostility is a PA thing, but I can see how someone could form that impression in Philadelphia. There is a certain attitude embodied in some lifelong Philadelphians that has given the city a bad reputation. Philly has many positive qualities, but that is not one of them.

(born in California, grew up in Ohio, lived in Delaware & southeastern Pennsylvania since 1984)

Just catching up

>101 SandyAMcPherson: Oh man! What an awful trip! I still do not understand others refusal to wear a mask. If I can wear one through a gruelling shift for 8-12 hours, then surely shoppers can wear one for a mere 10 minutes.

>128 SandyAMcPherson: Richard can be loud when he's ignoring me. So I guess I'll return the (in)attention.

>131 lauralkeet: While I've visited my sister in Philadelphia during her medical school years there, I spent two weeks at my parent company in Paoli. Everybody at the company seemed to think that being disagreeable to the nearest person below them on the hierarchy was a daily job requirement, and the ex-Californian I purchased from at the farmers' market almost fell on me with relief because I chatted in a friendly way, something I assure you I'm not noted for in CA.

>134 quondame: Paoli = greater Philadelphia area, so yes I could see that. Over the years I have become used to a certain brusqueness, enough to be surprised by friendly chatting when I encounter it. While this is the only part of the state I've actually lived in, my impression is you'll encounter something more like midwestern friendliness if you leave the eastern corridor, heading into the center of the state and/or towards Pittsburgh. The politics are quite different though ... 😀

>130 karenmarie: My experiences were the inverse of yours, my dear Horrible. I haven't been back (except to change planes) since 1992 and now I can't travel, so that's that!

Paoli is pretty, though....

Happy weekend's readings, Sandy!

>135 lauralkeet: At the time it seemed to be way outside Philadelphia, but Mainline, so I can see it sharing a culture. My mom hated her WWII years in Philadelphia where my sister, her first kid, was born.

Hello ~~ Karen, Laura, Anita, Susan, Richard ~~ it was lovely to see you here.
>130 karenmarie: No-no pressure; yeah, it's a very gritty story and emphasizes why I have never been attracted to visiting, but the detective's story is well done. I'm only about a third of the way in, because I was reading Wendy Lesser's book by turns (see below).

>131 lauralkeet: Lots to ponder about Pennsylvania, too.
I always had the impression PA was a scenically-beautiful state and I admit to wanting to visit Philly. Maybe one day I can do so under the guidance of Laura, so I have a local's wisdom and see the choice places. A daydream, anyway.

>132 figsfromthistle: Anita, I am in total agreement, and have no patience with those attitudes of resistance to masks.
>133 quondame: Susan, I just had to laugh, Richard can be loud when he's ignoring me.
>136 richardderus: RD, I was hoping for a good read and at least I learned what Why I Read: The Serious Pleasure of Books was about. I think I may DNF this title, because "Life is Too Short" for boring.

Then there's this ~ speaks volumes ~



(Yeah, bad pun).

>138 SandyAMcPherson: Maybe one day I can do so under the guidance of Laura ...

For now, we daydream. But that would be fun!

>140 lauralkeet: Indeed. Half the fun of travelling is making plans.

>139 SandyAMcPherson: I like the image and the pun was so apt that I LOLed. So.

New week ahead orisons.

>142 richardderus: Pun was unintended,
without noticing until I 'previewed' (to make sure the image was large enough to see but didn't dominate the post.)

>143 SandyAMcPherson: The best kind!

>139 SandyAMcPherson: truth!

>145 fuzzi: Indeed.
Glad you and RD are rockin' the same humour that I'm enjoying.

And now, for all the folks planning to cook Turkey this week ~

A timely reminder: --

and now back to a bookish comment at #148

The book I won't count as #122 ~ by Wendy Lesser

DNF ~ .

It was just so worthy. And I wasn't on the Lesser wavelength.

Not rated because I didn't finish reading this book. But I did post this on the review page~ (minus the eyeroll),

In fact, I didn't really even try to read it after the first 20 pages because it was so dull. The author may have wonderful insights but skimming through the chapters to find something engaging didn't turn up anything to spark interest. The prologue was a long, drawn out meandering with nothing to the point. Yawwwn. For a fine example of how to drive the reader crazy, look at the first two sentences of the final chapter (chapter heading, Inconclusions).
::eyeroll::

>147 SandyAMcPherson: Ha!! I love it.

Just realized I didn't post my review of the book I read before Return of the Thief.
I changed the numbering since I'm posting this below the review at >121 SandyAMcPherson: ...

Book #121 The Bookshop (Penelope Fitzgerald)

~

This was quite a sad little book for me. Almost a novella really, but I kept putting it down to read something else. It took me a few weeks to finish and then I was rather taken aback at its abrupt ending.

However, Fitzgerald is a "new-to-me" author and she is brilliant. So many incisive observations and a delicious turn of words. Reminiscent of Penelope Lively's style. So if other Fitzgeralds come my way, I'll certainly put them on my TBR pile.
Fitzgerald wrote an acerbic view of a small East Anglian village. Here, the townsfolk reflect a hierarchical society, cast in an economically-depressed situation. The story was a very bittersweet look at the efforts of a middle-aged widow attempting to make a go of running a bookshop under difficult circumstances.

The characterisations are quick, brief pen strokes, populating the narrative with mostly not very nice people. The lack of empathy and the self-serving village ‘aristocracy’ were very trying to read about. The novel reminds one of Sheridan’s School for Scandal in the way village culture reflects the insidious influence in this society. The village Queen Bee (Mrs. Gamart) is a nasty piece of work and there are few redeeming personalities in the other characters. Perhaps that was the point? Fitzgerald drew an excellent portrait of this dark side to village life and for that alone, the book deserves the 3-stars.

I did find the book heavy going, but I suspect Fitzgerald is an excellent writer so I shouldn't stumble with this title, my first choice in reading her work.

>150 SandyAMcPherson: Oh, see if you can get a hold of Offshore, Sandy!

There isn’t one kind of happiness, there’s all kinds. Decision is torment for anyone with imagination. When you decide, you multiply the things you might have done and now never can.

It's a deeply felt look at how very tough it is to want a course, a path, even a landmark or two, and find none.

>151 richardderus: Ooooh!!! Yes.
I think I'd like this one a very great much of a muchly.
Wonderful quote. Thanks for the nudge.

>150 SandyAMcPherson: - I tried to read this one last year and did not finish it. It just never grabbed me.

>147 SandyAMcPherson: bwahaha!

One year my husband brought home a bargain turkey he'd gotten at some big store like Walmart. The reason it was a bargain? The timer was on the wrong side of the bird!

Glad we can laugh at humor together, despite our differences. That's nice to have in our current polarized world.

>147 SandyAMcPherson: okay, that's pretty funny!

>150 SandyAMcPherson: Offshore is the only Fitzgerald I've read, and I expected to love it but didn't. I've always felt that was more about me, the reader, than it was the writer. This feeling is reinforced by having just re-read Mansfield Park and experienced a complete turnaround in my opinion of it. So, one of these days I need to read another Fitzgerald.

Hi Sandy! Just checking in, hope you are doing well.

>153 jessibud2: Hi Shelley, I totally understand not finishing The Bookshop. I'm not sure (now) why I persevered, except, I did want to see what the ending was going to be. And it was my first PF book, so there was that to compel my reading.

>154 fuzzi: Fuzzi, laughing together is a highly uplifting emotion, I believe. It's what keeps us grounded. Thanks for liking the turkey joke. Confession: the first time I cooked poultry that had one of those gauges, I was disgusted that a plastic object had been stuck in our food for exposure in a hot oven. I didn't know such a thing existed and that people didn't yank them out!

>155 lauralkeet: Someone else (in my RL) suggested I read Offshore as well, so at some point I'll give it a whirl.
Not that LT folks aren't RL, but you know what I mean (I hope).

>156 karenmarie: Hi Karen. So kind to see you enquiring where "chatty Cathy" got to.

I desperately had a box to tick: Overseas Christmas cards and other occasions (of the season) with letters. We have far-flung family and I was already dragging my feet but of all the years to slack off, this one was definitely not IT. So I've been absent for awhile and oh goodness sakes! Just seeing the number of unread messages is giving me an anxiety-headache.

Not many visitors here at all, so at least I am caught up with replies. I hope everyone is well and stayed safely home for the long weekend.

Now to catch up on book reviews.

Book #122 Bangkok 8 (John Burdett)
~

The novel was an uphill battle to grasp the plot, sort out who was actually alive or some form of spiritual conversation going on in Sonchai Jitpleecheep’s head (the main protagonist). I have doubts whether the Buddhism or the city of Bangkok were accurately portrayed. The city seemed too spiritually impoverished to engage my attention, although the author’s characterization of Sonchai was absorbing. The ending left a feeling of “is that all?”.

Book #123 The Thursday Murder Club (Richard Osman)
~

A contemporary novel of crime and intrigue was a light read, not too complex, with a likeable plot. Although there were most assuredly implausible sequences, the romp with a murder-mystery solving set of seniors in a retirement home was a nice change from the grim reading one encounters in many present-day books on crime.

Book #124 Death in a Family Way (Gwendolyn Southin)
~

I rather liked this foray into my first Margaret Spencer mystery. Gwendolyn Southin developed an admirable set of characters and the personalities were of the sort you either scorn and despise or feel sympathetic and love the rollicking aspects. While I had a couple major niggles with the plot development, the story was based on an intriguing premise, which was mostly carried off very well.

>73 SandyAMcPherson: I'd say Daughter of Witches is the weakest of the lot. The others are Caught in Crystal, The Harp of Imach Thyssel, and The Raven Ring. I liked the first. The second is tragic but interesting. But by all means, read The Raven Ring, the best of them all!!

>159 ronincats: Thanks. I lost out on my reserved hold because I didn't want to go to the library and pick up a physical book. I put in a request for the e-Book after the CoVid news of increased transmissions (in the Rec centre, where my library is located).

Just was over on your thread having indulging in some house envy ...

Ah. All is now clear: You were doing your doveres, your "haveta-gottas."

Well then. It's quite surprising you manged to add three reads, in fact. Pleasant, okay, and ~meh~ a fair assessment?

Be warm. *smooch*

>161 richardderus: #122 was definitely a meh. I was okay with Osman's, yes. Wouldn't probably look for another. Southin def a comfort read, so I will get the next in the sequence but might tire if the meme doesn't evolve.

The wind down after dinner clean up has been to read until I need to sleep. And the last 2 books were fast reads.

I'm plodding through The Nature of Things: Essays of a Tapestry Weaver (Scanlin) just now but I'm not in the right mood to appreciate it. I may have to put it aside and not stress that I owe a review. The book deserves a better frame of mind to write up (it was a September Early Reviewer's win which didn't arrive here until near the end of November).

I have a NetGallery author-solicited eBook to read and I'm overdue on that one, so I wonder if it got yoinked? Just went and checked... I have 2 weeks before it's archived: Germania by Harald Gilbers.

Hi, Sandy - Just stopping by to see how you're doing and say Happy First of December! It's almost over! Yay! (At my age, I never thought I'd be so happy to see the last of a year, but here I am.)

I'm sorry you didn't like Bangkok 8 more, Sandy. I really loved it and have Bangkok Tattoo, the second in the series, downloaded onto my Kindle for just the right time.

I know how the cards/letters pressure starts building about this time of year and hope things are coming along nicely.

>162 SandyAMcPherson: They can yank a book, but almost never do without telling you upfront how many days you have to read it. It's weird to have them yank a book under any other circumstances. A book I got was canceled by the publisher and they didn't yank it...so....

>164 karenmarie: Karen, Bangkok 8 was one of those books that I was tempted to say (cliché that it is), "I really wanted to like".
I think it is important that I review for "me" and in the "now" of anxious times. That approach has no business influencing anyone else's enjoyment. Nor does it reflect on other folks perceptions. I've liked books tremendously because they happen to resonate with me but I know many of my favourite titles have been quite unpopular.

Cards and letters mostly mailed. Local ones done & waiting a week or so, since it *is* just Dec. 1st!

>163 Storeetllr: Hi Mary. Glad you're feeling positive and happy.

>165 richardderus: Yes, RD I think it is okay once I download the e-pub, I *think* I can read it past the archive date... not critical of course if I can't.

>157 SandyAMcPherson: It's no bad thing when RL gets in the way of online mainlining - especially if it's like spreading holiday cheer, its own sort of preemptive fictionalizing.

>158 SandyAMcPherson: >164 karenmarie: >166 SandyAMcPherson: Bangkok 8 was a bit problematical and if I hadn't been feeling particularly anti-western culture at the time its relentlessness would have cost it more stars.

>162 SandyAMcPherson: >165 richardderus: I found Overdrive enforces the due dates locally on my device, while Kindle will happily keep whatever I've downloaded as long as it is in airplane mode.

Popping in Sandy to answer your question about The House in the Cerulean Sea and would say the answer is maybe yes it might work for a precocious 11-12 year old but I will include caveats.

1. While most of the characters are children and teens, the protagonist/narrator is an adult man in his 40s so the perspective is decidedly adult and a child reader might find it boring? The romance between him and the other adult male character is a definite theme but never moves beyond descriptions of kissing, if mature content is a concern.

2. If you/the child/child's family are sensitive about religious content you may want to know one of the children at the orphanage is the Antichrist.

As a librarian, my advice is always if you're uncertain about content of a title for a child give it a read or skim yourself first. Every child is different and what they can handle/what will interest them varies hugely.

>169 MickyFine: I came over here to respond, but Micky got here first and said everything that I would have said!

Also, I can't remember what's been said about Coraline so far, but I'd definitely recommend it for that age range. It may skew a bit younger, though -- if they're already focusing mostly on teen books, they might not be as interested in it. Depends on the reader.

>170 foggidawn: *high five*

>168 quondame: Mainlining! now there's a term I haven't heard in years...

Re ~ Bangkok 8 ~ it was strange that I had so much trouble really following the storyline. In the individual actions and setting, I was okay but my brain and the overall trajectory of what was happening kept parting ways.

Re #162, Yes, no matter what I do, Overdrive enforces the due date.
I have discovered that once NetGallery archives the books, you can't download the ePub. However, saved ePubs are still readable. At least the way I save them. I keep books on a memory stick to reload a copy, if I want a re-read. So far that works.

It is not advised because, IIUC, this can *totally* bork your files, but I know folks who have changed the date on the computer settings to prevent the book from being detected as overdue. That was under "older" OS situations though. Not going to care that much about a library loaner! The SIL warned me... "don't do that. You'll be sorry..."

>169 MickyFine: , >170 foggidawn:, >171 foggidawn:

Thanks so much. Librarians rock!
I'll wait on The House in the Cerulean Sea. It will be awhile before I can find a copy to evaluate.

I found out that Coraline is already owned in the house where it was to be a potential gift. Apparently the reader-gal has consumed it and moved on... Consumer Gal has also read all available Warrior Cats novels! OMG, how does one know what to do...

I have Tin Tin in reserve....

>174 SandyAMcPherson: If she liked Coraline, Doll Bones is a good choice, and maybe some books by Jonathan Auxier. She might also like the Jinx series by Sage Blackwood. Scary Stories for Young Foxes is another possibility.

Hi, Sandy.

I was wondering about that Wendy Lesser book - I remember her from The Threepenny Review, a very good journal. You've convinced me I don't need to read a dull book.

>174 SandyAMcPherson: Thanks, Foggi. I've noted these in my list of YA genre for Gifts. Holly Black, h'mmm. I read one of her adult book's, The Darkest Part of the Forest awhile ago. It was really creepy... not sure that I'd go there for Consumer Gal. But then the others are pretty dark in some way, aren't they?

>176 jnwelch: Hi Joe. Thanks for visiting these parts!
I hadn't known anything about Wendy Lesser when I chose this book in the library. The title grabbed my attention from someone in these 75-er threads. I think it was a poor fit for me, but I'm keeping an open mind about her other work, so don't let me put you off.

Catching up, or trying to -- love the owl! Last year November was harsh and snowy and icy already, but this year I have to admit that I am relieved that no matter how cold and snowy it might be by January we've had a slow start.

Loved the discussion of Tana French -- she is an uneven writer, for sure. So good when she is good and so disappointing when not.

>178 sibylline: Hi Lucy. Thanks for stopping by.
My TF review (In the Woods) was worth the read, even though I ended up being meh at the end. I had a heads up that it even made it on the list of "Hot Reviews" so I'm satisfied that what I wrote didn't cause anyone's knickers to get in a knot.

Having said that, I came here tonight to post a very crabby review because I was *thoroughly* disappointed. It's Book 2 and I probably will stop there. Venting my spleen when I am sure a writer could have done so much better after a brilliant start. Fiddle.

Book #125 In the Shadow of Death (Gwendolyn Southin)

~

Book 2 in the Margaret Spencer series was a serious letdown. Gone was the sparkling, assertive Maggie and the gruff, down to earth Nat. Instead we’re given a wishy-washy Maggie who whines about needing to get away from her bossy, overbearing husband and obnoxious elder daughter. Running away for a couple weeks from these insufferable people was hardly going to address the issues Margaret needed to face up to for gaining an independent life. Nat was portrayed as a clingy character in love to a degree that clouded his relationship as Maggie’s employer. The author threw in too much, too soon in this budding relationship.

Going forward in the narrative, the reader winds up in the Cariboo region of the interior of British Columbia. I have to wonder if Gwendolyn Southin has ever been in the bush around the dry Cariboo interior. Her descriptions of how a dude ranch would be managed for a guest's hospitality, including safety measures, were largely a figment of her imagination.

Thus the reader is given a series of the most improbable scenarios ever to grace a tale of mystery and solving crimes. It was a poor offering of bushwacking through the back country, full of irritating inaccuracies. As an example, one outstanding flaw is the descriptions of our heroine floundering through the salal on numerous occasions. Hello, Ms. Author, this plant thrives in rain forests of the West Coast. To quote a government survey, “... salal grows in dense thickets across the humid coastal forested and logged-over areas along the Pacific coast from Southern California to Southern Alaska…” (Hobby, Dow, & MacKenzie, 2010). A minor point but why did Southin even attempt a Cariboo setting?

Coupled with such an evident lack of research, Southin rendered the ebullient Maggie as a woman who is heavily operating on straight emotional angst, making the most asinine choices, without a shred of logical thinking for approaching the problems that beset the tediously weepy Kate, married to the ranch owner.
Nat’s eventual arrival in the area wasn’t much better. Equally unrealistic behaviour not to mention having a gunshot wound in the leg but managing heroic feats. Never mind an overly complicated plot, the ending was no surprise at all.

After having enjoyed the first book, it was a thorough disappointment to find that Book 2 was a waste of good paper. That’s why I’m probably being crabby about the story. I especially was anticipating a series of great, or at least, decent reading material.

Gwendolyn Southin missed a great opportunity to develop the main character's personality. After escaping a domineering, selfish husband and finding her feet as an individual, Southin would have had a really worthwhile novel series that championed a strong female protagonist. With a backdrop of the adventures in a detective agency, this theme could have been so much more engaging.

>180 SandyAMcPherson: Oh dear. That isn't a good development at all. So sorry it all fell apart so soon, Sandy.

Writers who don't read, aka do research, leave me so flummoxed. It's not the onerous task it once was, so what's the issue?

>180 SandyAMcPherson: I'm sorry you encountered such a crummy book, Sandy. But your review is great. Scathing reviews are fun to read! I'd rate your review 5 stars LOL.

>181 richardderus: Hi Richard. It's a wonderful morning after a good night's sleep ~ I'm feeling considerably less like Lucy (in the Peanuts comic strip), so the crabby disappointed persona is gone today. So kind of you to drop by.

Ya know that Iona Wishaw author? She writes the Lane Winslow series. Set in the West Kootenay area of BC. Excellently done. I think that set up my expectations of Southin's somewhat more contemporary settings in Vancouver (BC) and the Cariboo.

And you are so right, the research for settings is not quite the onerous business it used to be. Hello World Wide Web, hey?

>182 lauralkeet: Thank you Laura. I'm happy to admire your 5-star award for my review. It was great to write so candidly on Talk, but not sure my snark should appear in all its glory on the book review page.

I may have been over the top in my expectations of Gwendolyn Southin, except that she obviously should have stayed with her familiar settings on the West Coast. Write what you know is some good advice I remember from Stephen King, On Writing.

Edited to add: I wrote a shortened version of the review, here. Maybe even the revised commentary could be called "toned down"?

>177 SandyAMcPherson: Holly Black does a good job of scaling the level of creepiness down for her intended age range -- her adult and YA titles are definitely scarier than her middle-grade titles, though all of them have creepy elements. Since Coraline has that same slightly-creepy vibe I did list mostly titles that have some slightly scary/dark elements, but nothing that most 11/12-year-olds couldn't handle. Jinx isn't really scary, it's just a good fantasy adventure. Scary Stories for Young Foxes is probably the creepiest book I listed, so if that aspect really doesn't appeal, that would be one to avoid. On the other hand, since she likes the warrior cats, she might like the fox point-of-view.

>185 foggidawn: Thanks, Foggi. That was really helpful.
I only skimmed one Erin Hunter book, and thought it a bit in a young end in of YA, so good comment about the Scary Stories for Young Foxes.

>186 SandyAMcPherson: Yes, the Warriors series falls in the gap between middle-grade and YA -- I've been in some libraries that shelve it with the teen books, and other libraries that shelve it with the juvenile books. There's definitely a need for more books that fit that age range, I think. Much of Rick Riordan's stuff does, but he's so popular that she's probably read his books by now, if they're something she would be interested in. What else does she like besides the Warriors books?

>187 foggidawn: Here's a list of successes (sent over the pandemic isolation from school) ~
Bobbsey Twins
Nancy Drew
Gordon Korman (only Bruno & Boots stories)
Tin Tin Adventures
Tom's Midnight Garden
The Egypt Game
The Gypsy Game
Some Judy Blume
Luke Pearson, GN (Hilda)
Ballet Shoes

Also enjoys her Mom's Fantasy, authors like Diana Wynne Jones, Patricia McKillip and Robin McKinley. She's also working through some of the Anne books (Lucy Maud Montgomery).

We've sent both Grandkids books and games for this year's gifts but I'm definitely keeping a list of titles for the 10 yo in preparation for birthdays and forward in 2021.

Does this clarify the reading level? I think she's outgrown Luke Pearson's books.

>180 SandyAMcPherson: Ouch!

Have a great weekend.

>190 SandyAMcPherson: woo!!!

>190 SandyAMcPherson: I second that woo!

And I third the woo!

Too bad about Gwendolyn Southin's second offering, Sandy. Overall I liked the series for the early glimpses of Vancouver. The off base rendering of the other parts didn't stand out for me because I haven't been to many other parts of BC. Have you read any of Cathy Ace's mysteries? Some of them are set in BC.

>188 SandyAMcPherson: If she likes Diana Wynne Jones, Jinx is definitely a strong recommendation -- Sage Blackwood's writing strongly reminds me of DWJ. Also, has she read Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede yet? Also, I haven't read them yet, but the Wings of Fire series is very popular lately.

If she likes Ballet Shoes, I'd recommend The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright. Its one I wish I could take back and recommend to my childhood self. And has she read The Penderwicks? That's another one with that classic feel.

>195 foggidawn: I've been following the recommendation discussion and asked my daughter what she liked at 12 - other than Harry Potter - and what she'd still recommend now. She mentioned the Mercedes Lackey Arrows of the Queen books, The Black Swan.

>196 quondame: Arrows of the Queen is a good series, definitely has more of a YA feel, but I enjoyed them as an adult. And more than once.

I was about 10 when I read No Promises in the Wind by Irene Hunt, about a teenager and his younger brother trying to survive alone during the Great Depression. I was riveted. Her other books are superb, too.

>191 fuzzi:, >192 Storeetllr:, >193 PaulCranswick: Thankyou for the "woo".
Is that a cheer? It is not so amazing to have easily reached the 120's because what would an isolated-shelter-in-place person do were it not for walks interspersed with LOTS of reading?!

I think I'd not want a pandemic to push me ever again to such a lot of time escaping into books, but the comfort has been remarkable.

>194 Familyhistorian: Hi Meg. Thank you for bringing Cathy Ace to mind.
I haven't read any of the earlier stories, but a friend was just recently (enthusiastically) reading The Case of the Unsuitable Suitor. She sent me the link, but I never followed it up. I think this is worth pusuing, so thanks for the memory jog.

>195 foggidawn: Thanks, Foggi, for the Wings of Fire series and The Saturdays ideas.
These look really great. Dealing with Dragons is very popular with her, so I think other Wrede's are on the agenda.

>196 quondame:, Susan, thanks for checking what your daughter liked. Those Mercedes Lackey books (Arrows of the Queen series, The Black Swan).

Lots of titles I didn't know about ~ on my YA list now. Thanks everyone for chiming in with ideas.

>197 fuzzi: Like Fuzzi said, I think I'll enjoy the reading material myself.

Edited ~ Touchstones are giving me trouble!

Book #126 The Nature of Things: Essays of a Tapestry Weaver (Tommye McClure Scanlin)

~

I received this book about 3 weeks ago and have been slowly dipping in and out of the memoir of an artist, how her work is inspired by nature, and a discussion of the process between. It was inspiring, although occasionally departing into too much detail. Still, I enjoyed its rather measured pace and a window into a quieter time for concentrating on artwork.

My major quibble relates to the poor copy given to advance reviewers. I hope the washed out illustrations in my copy do not reflect the actual book on sale. The photography is an integral part of the book and carries the author's message, or should do if the pictures were of better quality. I suspect my lost concentration was due to the poor reproductions.

Book #127 Indian Rock Carvings of the Pacific Northwest (Edward F Meade)

~

A brilliant, photographic survey of petroglyphs (ancient rock carvings) and intaglio style work by Canada's West Coast's earliest inhabitants. Edward Meade's highly accomplished photography documented the styles across the Pacific coast. As well, he expertly attributed these styles to the correct tribes in each area with careful note-taking in speaking with each of the bands living in proximity. Without this seminal work, we would have lost all trace of the carvings, as the ocean's wave action have worn away so many.

Addendum... Meade's book lay uncatalogued amongst Pacific Northwest natural histories filed rather haphazardly on our bookcases. I wanted to read something from my own shelves this weekend and started tidying up.

I'm so glad I did, for Mr. Meade was a long-forgotten connection to my summering with relatives in Campbell River (up-island from Victoria, BC). My cousins and I used to play with Shawna (the daughter of the house) but I had at that time, no concept of what a 'petroglyph' was. The adults didn't seem all that inclined to enlighten "us kids". It was always a case of "What are you doing in here. Go outside and play".

In later years, being much more interested in rock art by ancient inhabitants, it was a great thing to roam the seashores on the lookout for these petroglyphs. Muslin cotton sheeting and crayons in hand, we'd make copies of these fascinating works of art.

I still have a whale and calf 'rubbing' stowed away somewhere. It was taken from Whaling Station Bay (Hornby Island), where smooth slabs of rock had been decorated. That was around 1968 so I suppose the sea has eroded the work to an unintelligible series of soft hollows.

>203 SandyAMcPherson: how interesting! We did gravestone rubbings when I was in the Girl Scouts, probably about age 11-12. The town I lived in was settled in 1630ish, so there were lots of very old stones not yet worn away by time and weather.

>203 SandyAMcPherson: I love the memories that book surfaced for you, Sandy.

>204 fuzzi: I did gravestone rubbings as a Girl Scout as well, at around the same age. Must be a rite of passage LOL. Our exercise was less "historic" than yours, being in Ohio where settlement came later. We hiked from the campground into town, ostensibly to picnic in the cemetery (and do gravestone rubbings) but the highlight was a visit to the local Dairy Queen.

>204 fuzzi: >205 lauralkeet:, I love these memories that you've shared here. Thanks.

Cemeteries from the 1630's! That's really going back and I'm impressed the gravestones hadn't becomes so overgrown with moss and trees that you could actually do some rubbings.

I visited Maryland in 1988 for a family wedding, which was in a church dating from the 1600's. The grave headstones were so interesting, especially 2 side by side, all mossy and nearly disappeared into a tree trunk. The oldest were very modest, small dressed stones, maybe 12-inches high. So many were leaning topsy-turvy. It was so peaceful there. A nice memory of serenity.

A smile this morning, Laura, when you admitted the 'highlight' was actually the Dairy Queen.

Book #128 Indian Petroglyphs of the Pacific Northwest (Beth & Ray Hill)

~

I'm enjoying my current book re-organization activity. It has been a trip down memory lane looking at so many of our British Columbia museum publications and hardcover natural history books.

While I didn't re-read Hill's book as completely as Ed Meade's (>202 SandyAMcPherson:), I enjoyed revisiting my original introduction to the art of ancient rock carvings on the coast via Hill's publication (1973).

What is fascinating is that even now the carvings are shrouded in mystery: the experts in the field still don't know what peoples created most of the works that pre-date the arrival of the "white man".

Some work clearly depicted this arrival, though: ~ ~ The arrival of the SS. Beaver paddle-wheeler appeared in some rock carvings near Clo-oose, a village of the Ditidaht people just southwest of the end of Nitinat Lake, on Vancouver Island. This is a verifiable indication that in the mid-1800's, the creation of rock carvings was still occurring. We have very few records now, of memorable events in the world around these native people from that era.



As I explained in my review, it was, in retrospect, a mistake by the author to include precise locations and maps. The Foreword by Don Abbott (Curator of Archaeology, Provincial Museum in Victoria) brings this matter forward in no uncertain terms.

How regretful that the publisher didn't take note of Abbott's commentary and send the manuscript back to the authors to revise such information, so as to more fully obscure the precise geographical details. An excerpt from the book shows that the authors evidently considered amateurs' unregulated access to heritage sites an appropriate endeavour for archaeological purposes.

>202 SandyAMcPherson:, >207 SandyAMcPherson: Very interesting subjects, and enjoyable memory-sharing. Boy, that reorganizing and -cataloging thing can pay dividends.

>208 richardderus: Yup. And fun, too. I think this "Talk" ~ candid commentary about books ~ is a great feature of LT.

>209 SandyAMcPherson: Most days I'll agree with you whole-heartedly.

The Meade and Hill books look fascinating!!!

>211 sibylline: These natural history books were a lovely interlude for me on the weekend, Lucy. I've been feeling less frazzled as we enter week 2 of December.

Lots of good memories and the hilarious times we had on field trips up and down the coast. The hubs and I relived those amazing days and it is, of course, through rose-tinted glasses.

Plus! a major culling of all our Vancouver Island identification guides (key to Id), about 80% of them relating to the marine habitat. The rest were botanical guides. These were all scientific periodicals (written by Provincial Museum staff) and some were quite a vintage since I made a habit of collecting old ones as well as buying the new guides as they were published.

We're donating them to a biologist we know from UVic days. He does a lot of mentoring in the community, taking students on field trips so the keys will be shared out depending what habitat is explored. The books sure weren't ever going to see any use in our house and I am delighted (as always!) to reclaim some bookshelf real estate.

>212 SandyAMcPherson: nice result of your "cull". I always hope that my rehomed books are appreciated by their new owners.

>213 fuzzi: Hiya Fuzzi.
I learned a long time ago that when we gave books away, not to look back or ask about the books later.

The truth is often better left alone, because people love freebies but often misjudge the actual possession. In this case, the Guides (all paperbacks) were not saleable or trade-for-credit candidates because they're so specialized. Second-hand stores want a fast turn over. My F-I-L was in the business and so the Hubs knows a thing or two, eh?

I'm having fun with trimming up my collection and my husband recently went through some of his books as well. He was more fortunate and the local Used Books shop bought about two-thirds of the cull. We'll have to wait for the charity sales to open again to take donations.

>214 SandyAMcPherson: thanks for stopping by my challenge thread. :)

I used to keep EVERY book I liked, but my library has become so huge that I had to start rehoming those books that I could find again if I wanted a reread.

Our one and only used book store has finally started accepting trades again, yippee! After I am finished with a book, I give it to my coworker whose sister is on disability and loves to read. The books I give her eventually come back to me and I turn them in for credit.

Book #129 The Great Fur Opera: Annals of the Hudson's Bay Company, 1670-1970 (Kildare Dobbs & Ronald Searle)

~

An epic in prose (wrote Kildare Dobbs, Esq.), an overview of the venerable Hudson's Bay Company, in business since 1670. And it is indeed that: an epic tale, enlivened with utterly wonderful caricatures by Ronald Searle.

The facts (there are many, in between the asides, the digressions and back-handed compliments) are essentially true ~ tales of grim hardships, European disagreements between the French and British, rivalries amongst bands of natives all eager to sell furs or trade for the HBC trade goods over the 300-year history of the oldest merchandising corporation in the world. A completely irreverent history book: the backstairs view, rather than the aristocratic board rooms and palaces of the elite owners.

Warning to the politically-sensitive:
Allowances should be made for a book written in the standards acceptable at the time. All the people are stereotypes. A politically-correct rendering á la 2020 is entirely absent. It is a history with its underpants showing. The men are hilariously atrociously lampooned. There is copious use made of caricature in the illustrations: the Kings of France and England, the explorers, the Indians (as they are named in this narrative), the women, and the representatives of the Hudson's Bay Company. Even the wildlife comes in for their share of Searle's wickedly-amusing parody.

~~~~~~

This was a re-read of a book that was hugely amusing when I first owned it. In retrospect, it has not aged well. Or more likely, I have aged in my outlook. Maybe the real understanding is that my enjoyment of tongue-in-cheek writing has altered. I'm considering revising the star-rating, to 3½. Except the caricatures influenced my rating so maybe I'll leave it be.

In any case, it was worth revisiting the book for Searle's artwork. I scanned some of his illustrations and share them in the next post. The book, however, has gone into the stack of culls.

A post-script about The Bay, (the store was rebranded some 50 years ago):
American financier Jerry Zucker acquired HBC for over C$1 billion in 2006, thus ending Canadian ownership of an historical fur trading heritage which had evolved into a retail department store. The business was sold on and re-invented as time went by, losing more retail clout to the point where we will probably see the Bay disappear from the retail landscape.

And now for some fun and smiles, mainly courtesy of Ronald Searle ~

The Frontspiece: a Voyageur, arriving from 1670 to 1970's-reality --->



***********************************
Dobbs letter to the HBC executive (1970)



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1763 Alexander MacKenzie (explorer) reaches the Pacific coast



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Transportation: reminds me of coping with daycare field trips ~

Hi Sandy!

>202 SandyAMcPherson: Fascinating and something I know I’d love to read. And >203 SandyAMcPherson: wonderful memories of actually seeing and tracing some of these petroglyphs. What wonderful memories for you.

>207 SandyAMcPherson: Informative and sad. Reminds me of all the amateurs who hacked and chiseled their way through Egypt starting in the late 1800s. It makes me appreciate Howard Carter's efforts at preserving the finds from King Tutankhamun's tomb in the 1920s.

I took some books to the thrift store last week - 4 or 5 bags worth - but didn't go inside for a tax receipt. Now that I've got 35 bags of books here at the house donated to the Friends, I can put my personal Friends donation books with them and move them all off to a room I can close the door on to keep the kitties away from them.

>216 SandyAMcPherson: - Sounds so interesting! Yeah, the demise of all 3 (or was it 4?) major department stores in Canada over the years has been sad to watch: The Bay, Eaton's, Simpson's (I believe it was called Morgan's before it became Simpson's or maybe I am misremembering that). One by one, they get swallowed up by the Americans. Very sad.

>219 jessibud2: I recall the department stores of my youth, in New England. They're pretty much all gone, too, taken over by the big bucks big stores like Walmart and the internet monopolies like Amazon. I go to local and regional stores as much as possible.

The Curse of the Banksters. "Not enough profit! Cut wages cut costs cut locations cut taxes!!!"

...cut dividends, cut executive compensation, cut out paying the vig to these criminals.

>218 karenmarie: Hi Karen, Indeed, such vandalism is an age-old thing, isn't it?
I saw on your thread about the FoL book haul. It was amusing that the cats were so attracted.

>219 jessibud2: >220 fuzzi: Hi Shelley and Fuzzi, the demise of department stores has certainly been rapid. My favourite store was Woodward's (it was maybe a Western Canada chain?). They had good quality at reasonable prices. And their grocery department was so reliable, but all that has been usurped by the Loblaws empire.

We support local and regional stores as much as possible, too. There are a couple shops with really nice food grown here or locally-sourced and best of all, I can walk to them (when it is not too cold!)

>221 richardderus: I see you're on a tear, Richard. Do you shop local, too? Our family calls it "Voting with your feet". It may cost a bit more but I'm all for not supporting the poor-quality imports. Groceries are a challenge because we do like our imported fruit and vegetables all winter.

Your books about the petroglyphs reminded me of a talk I attended about Indian Arm where there are quite a few petroglyphs. Were there mentions of the petroglyphs in that area in the books that you read, Sandy?

>223 Familyhistorian: RE: Indian Arm petroglyphs (wrt the Hill's annotated survey).
Not that I noticed, Meg. Where did you hear of those 'mentions'? If you remember... it would be interesting to read about this location.

We used to live in Deep Cove and I've not heard if there were petroglyphs up the arm. Perhaps someone would need a motor boat and a low(er) tide to find them. So I regrettably I never knew what might have been in that area. I do know that as you head up the arm, there are rocky slabs that could have been used for carving. It would have to be done from the sea, though. I don't believe (on the west side, at least), there would be any way to get to the rock face.

"A tear" is a good way to put the last 20 years of my life, I guess...it feels like I'm tearing and tearing and tearing and the suckers of evil indifference keep growing back.

I'm all for cheap imports if the profits the vile ones earn are taxed and then used to support ordinary people out of a job because of them.

>225 richardderus: So my opinion on that taxation is the big-businesses will make allowance for the import taxes and just add it to the price. Something that Dollarama sells for $3 (to use a Canadian example), probably costs them 15¢ because they buy about 100,000 items for stocking the stores and then who benefits? Not the poor worker in, say, China.

Vile cheap goods have hurt the North American employment and catapulted us into over-reliance on an untrustworthy foreign country.

I don't want to support the unconscionable overseas employers who are the ones being enriched.

Okay, /rant.

I'm happy you stopped by.

>224 SandyAMcPherson: I attended a presentation, it might have been about a book, where the presenter showed pictures of some petroglyphs in Indian Arm. A Google search brought up pictures and articles about them. I think some are visible from the water so you might need a boat to see some of them.

Yesterday was a bummer for logging onto LT. My browser kept timing out and then I saw on the news that multiple Russian (allegedly) hacks had knocked down a number of Canadian government ministries and apparently some American-related ones as well.

So I simply said, "to heck with it" and turned off my computer. It would appear lots of folks were able to post on threads so obviously whatever was causing timeouts for my end didn't have an expansive effect.

****
To answer a query from Peggy:
Re the Latin dictionary (I posted a review, "Pocket-size; excellent for quick check of common Latin phrases used in scholarly/academic writing."). Unexpectedly, the dictionary has been really handy in all the years since I had Latin classes at high school (compulsory since Grade 7, where I was attending).

I'm kind of an Appendix geek (if there is such a word). So full of arcane yet interesting explanations. This particular dictionary has Latin-English translations of both Geographical and Personal names, lists of the 7 kings of ancient Rome, important dates in ancient Roman history and some famous family trees.

One of my favourite Appendices is the listing of letter abbreviations for Latin terms commonly used in English (etc., et al, e.g., ca.). This list appears in my mini-sized Oxford Dictionary. While those abbreviations which I listed here are well-known, I had no idea what D.G. meant when my graddaughter asked. It appears on our coins and means dei gratia (by the grace of God), currently referencing the British Queen as our head of state.

Okay, probably more than Peggy wanted to know, but I was on a roll with the topic.

Thanks, Sandy! Not at all tmi! I am interested in all things Latin and was not aware that such a useful tool was available. I have been out of the loop for 12 years and counting. I'm curious: does it also give DG as an abbreviation for Deo Gratias = Thanks to God? It should.

Glad to see you back today.

Appendices and indices and footnotes, oh my!

I love the side trips I can take by reading about the sources used by an author. And one of my most favorite things about the rise of the Internet (as it once was) has always been the incredible ease of access to the most specialized dictionaries and other reference materials.

Spend a splendid Tuesday, Sandy.

>229 LizzieD: We may have to ask Amber to clarify for sure, but I think deo is the dative case and would mean 'to God' and dei is the genitive case for 'of God'.

I'm guessing from a rusty memory, since I last had to decline Latin nouns etc. ca. 1964.

>230 richardderus: Hi Richard. I have yet to sashay over to your thread. The day got away on me at lunch time and now it is (for me) really late!

I agree, these side trips are both amusing and intriguing. I rather like looking at the physical dictionaries I own (although quick refs via the internet are handy). I stumble across so many interesting bits of information which I'd miss if I was simply doing a browser-based search.

>231 SandyAMcPherson: Yup:
deus, dei (m): god
nom deus dei (or more commonly, di)
gen dei deorum (sometimes deum)
dat deo deis (or more commonly, dis)
acc deum deos
abl deo deis/dis

So you're both correct: dei is genitive "of god," and deo is dative, which generally goes along with the phrase gratias agere (to give thanks *to* someone).

The full phrase with the genitive form, I think, is dei gratiā regina, so "queen by the grace of god" and hence a divine right sort of notion.

>233 scaifea: Thanks, Amber! So awesome that you clarified with the whole declension.
I *adored* Latin at school and probably learned all my English grammar through having Latin classes.

>234 SandyAMcPherson: One of the biggest challenges in teaching Latin is that a significant portion of the college student body doesn't know English grammar in enough detail to be going on with learning a language like Latin. So I end up teaching English and Latin. Not that I mind, really. Grammar, in any language, is an absolute hoot.

>235 scaifea: Even "back in the day" when Grammar was still taught as part of English class, our Latin teacher had to do the same. I also had 'grammar' as part of first year English at Uni.
It was a great mistake to drop grammar from the curriculum, imho. I coached both my kids in grammar because it made their interest in writing flow well. There were "composition" classes in the elementary school English class. Without a good grounding in grammar, how could the students ever expect to do well (without a ton of grammatical errors to correct)? I could never understand the rationale.

I took German in high school and learned a lot more about English grammar there, than was taught in my English courses. I doubt it would have been sufficient to prepare me for Latin, but the grammar background has been useful in learning French as an adult.

My older daughter studied English at uni and surprised us by choosing to take Latin to satisfy her foreign language requirement. We thought it was a good idea. Fun fact: she just missed having Amber as as professor!

>237 lauralkeet: That is totally a fun fact, Laura.

I would enjoy auditing an Amber-led class!!

Not teaching grammar in grade school has had a noticeable deleterious effect on the ability of adults to form coherent, let alone grammatically correct, sentences.

But that isn't a controversy around here, so never mind.

>239 richardderus: I like hanging with grammar nerds and learning new vocab.
My faves this year were from your threads and comments on other folks threads. Gave a real workout with my dictionary in hand.

Yeah, yeah, I could have browser-ed the meaning but I'm not in a hurry and I like dictionaries...

I have a list stored but nope, I didn't go and look for it.

>240 SandyAMcPherson: what a delicious series of posts!

I wanted to take Latin but it wasn't offered in high school. I took two years of German instead and loved it. I also took the "regular" English course in my junior year, which included grammar. At one point my teacher would say "Does anyone else want to diagram this sentence?" while I was waving my arm. 😁

>241 fuzzi: Hi Fuzzi. Nice to see you visiting.
I'm rather amused at the series of remarks about Latin class and also the tie in with grammar. Thanks for saying it is a "delicious series" of posts.

Book #130 The Cold Cold Ground (Adrian McKinty)
Book 1 in the Sean Duffy series.

~

I dithered between 3 and 4 stars. Just so you know, the 3½ is a nod to "Yup, might read this again". Maybe I'll follow the plot better the second time.

This was a difficult story for me to enjoy, because I remember too well the horrors of IRA bombs in England, especially since family members were subject to many alarms and bomb alerts. Even as late as 1990, on a visit in London, we had Tube station panics and so forth related to the persistent IRA legacy of unrest that still plagued the Irish civilians around Belfast. So whether McKinty was precisely accurate in the recounting of early ‘80’s riots and gang warfare with the paramilitary groups is beside point. It was well-painted and set the background for a relentless tale of murder and shifting loyalties.

Throughout the novel I never understood why the Sean Duffy character, born and bred an Irish Catholic, was inexplicably living in a Protestant area of Ulster. Nor did it make sense that a Detective Sergeant would be in charge of a complex murder investigation that clearly had its roots in political machinations. Where were the Inspectors in all this palaver?

The elaborate unwinding of discovering the identity of the psychopath killer became over-complicated in the last quarter of the book and derailed the suspense. However, it certainly was a compelling read, so I positively recommend the novel for its suspense and its convoluted murder enquiry.

My 2020 Reading challenge tag has recorded 133 books for this year, so now I've got to figure out what have I missed reviewing...
I'm currently reading (just started today in fact), Murder in Greenwich Village so that makes sense.

When I looked at my 2020 tag list, I do see The Wandering Fire, not reviewed and also I'm pretty sure I culled the book in a summer spurt of tidying up. Do I try to review it now? I don't know... I have tired of Guy Gavriel Kay. I loved it back in the day, but like Book 1, it's definitely a dated high fantasy of the 1980's style.

I'll scour my tags for hidden books and add Book #131 when I find it. Right now I have a *big* mess of Christmas decorations to repack. Stay tuned.

I hate it when numbers don't match up, Sandy! I have the McKinty on my e-reader and will get to it one of these days. I've heard a lot of positive comments here on LT.

>217 SandyAMcPherson: :) It did make me smile.

>245 BLBera: Hi Beth, I got the numbering sorted. My reviews don't always follow sequentially (read, review, read, write it up). Sometimes I put off writing up a book which doesn't settle for me, philosophically speaking. By then I've frequently dived into another story.

Re #217, It was nice to see that someone shared my sense of humour. You do after all live in Minnesota so I get that. It's a sled dog climate there, if Gary Paulsen is anybody to go by (Woodsong, for example).

HI Sandy!

>228 SandyAMcPherson: I’m not amazed that the Russian cyberattacks on US and Canadian government entities haven’t been screaming front page headlines given Covid and here in the US seditious Republican shenanigans.

I wasn’t personally affected but am sorry it affected you.

>246 SandyAMcPherson: I'm glad you've got the numbering sorted. I hated how the tickers changed so abruptly this year. I've been able to keep mine up but only because I keep a spreadsheet of books read and pages read for each year.

>244 SandyAMcPherson: May I recommend Burgoineing The Wandering Fire?

>248 richardderus: - I snagged that, Richard, thanks! I find myself, more often than not, either not reviewing at all or getting too wordy. I will try to refer to this in future

Edited to correct myself. And thank Richard. I mistakenly read it as Sandy posting it.

>248 richardderus: Hi Richard, I'm not too sure which book you mean by "Burgoineing".
The image is just a greyed out icon, whether I use Safari or FireFox, so maybe if you post an actual https:// type of link, that will sort out the reference.

>249 jessibud2: Looks like Shelley snagged something but if it is the GGK novel, I haven't got it anymore.

>247 karenmarie: Hi Karen.
I don't believe the actual cyber attacks affected me, personally.
It was perhaps more a case of my trying to access overloaded servers that connect to LT servers where ever those are located. Of course I have no idea how many gateways lie between my IP provider and the LT servers...

Re the tickers, I gave up trying to use my old method of updating tickers and now I literally recreate a new count every time. I often let several reads go by before doing the edit at the top of my thread. I suspect it is only moi who is reading the post at >2 SandyAMcPherson: anyway *smile* .

I often simplify the books read this year count by sorting the "your books" using the 2020 challenge tag in my library. I discovered some other books with my 2020 tag which I now realize there's no way I'll have read them before 2021 kicks in.

>250 SandyAMcPherson: My use of "Burgoineing" is using the method outlined in the image, the three-sentence review, to get past the review-writing issue for books you care enough to say something about but not enough to pour blood, sweat, and tears into. I learned it from Author 'Nathan Burgoine, he who made that jpeg.

Here's the URL: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D3QcsUAU4AAB4dN.jpg

>248 richardderus:, >250 SandyAMcPherson: - What's in the box is a concise *Three Sentence Review* with examples. Odd that you don't see it. I use Microsoft Edge as my browser and it shows for me.

Book #131 The Corpse with the Silver Tongue (Cathy Ace)

~

This was a book bullet from someone here (on LT), but I didn't make the correct link to look up again.

Nearly a 4-star read.
The story is a capsule look at the Côte d'Azur (Nice, France) and I enjoyed its cozy mystery quality. There was just enough suspense and twisty plot lines to be interesting but not overwhelmingly tense.

The heroine, Cait Morgan, travels from Vancouver (BC) at the last minute to attend a conference, thus setting her up as the main protagonist for the series. I admired how the author wove a a tale of art theft (a golden Welsh Celtic-era collar and some papyrus scrolls) together with a cast of local characters who are really well-drawn.

My one niggle worth mentioning was a side plot that broke up the story's engagement for me: from time to time there were frantic phone calls to Bud Anderson for his support and expertise as a Vancouver police detective.

While a bit of backstory would be normal, the drama around Bud threatened to usurp what was happening in Nice. The dénouement to Book 1 seems to throw the focus back onto the Vancouver connection much too heavily. I would have preferred more of the story to stay centred on the intriguing French police Inspector Moreau.

I wonder why this was Book 1? It appears illogical that the reader was not introduced to Cait when she was the criminologist first helping Bud in his work. There are several references to Cait's victim profiling that helped solve murder cases in the lower mainland.

However, if you enjoy novels by the likes of Iona Whishaw, Connie Berry or Jacqueline Winspear, Cathy Ace's novel is likely to be a pleasure to read.

Hi Sandy, after a somewhat extended absence from LT, I am slowly getting caught up with some threads.

Wishing you and your family a lovely holiday season and a wonderful New Year.

Tachyon Publications, an SFF house, posted this on Twitter. Says it all, no?

>255 lkernagh: Lori, great to see you back. Thanks for the message and letting us know you are okay.

>256 richardderus: I have a feeling that 2021 is going to be pretty challenging as well. It's strange, I know I don't fit in to the 'hate 2020' mindset... I think because the really difficult thing is that from a socio-political pov, coronavirus is not being handled well.

>258 SandyAMcPherson: - I agree with that observation, Sandy. After 3 weeks of a pseudo lockdown here in Ontario which was really just a farce, with numbers going UP, daily, our *esteemed* (not) premier announced today that on Thursday, we are headed into a hard lockdown for another 28 days. All over the news, all day. Then, by the 5:30 news on tv, he had already changed the date to Saturday (to accommodate the gatherings at Christmas, of course). He doesn't pretend to try to enforce his *rules*, even as he changes them without warning. Doctors and hospitals have had to send him letters and petitions, begging him to do something. He mouths the words, that he is *listening* but really, he isn't. And that's why I agree with you that this virus is not being well-handled at all. Trusting people to do the right thing on their own clearly isn't working. That's when you need a leader who acts like one. We're still waiting.

End of rant. Off to read now....

>259 jessibud2: Love the rant, Shelley. Totally agree, ignorant are the leaders who manage a business strategy when they should be instituting a health strategy. That is the *only* strategy.

And quite frankly, rah rah vaccines is all very well, but hello? it's not a cure all until everyone is immunized. Think small pox. That's how it was eradicated for the public health sector and took years and years. So yeah, our premier is equally at fault.

And now I too,am off to do some cozy-mystery reading....

>248 richardderus: I like this. Very helpful.

Happy Tuesday, Sandy. I hope those books are treating you well.

>261 msf59: Hi Mark. I'm indulging in some shorter novels and a less-weighty non-fiction. All power to those reading Barack's chunkster!

Hi Sandy!

Sounds like a good reading plan to me – shorter novels and less-weighty non-fiction. I’m reading the Obama chunkster, however, and when I actually make time to read it am moving along nicely.


... and here's to a better 2021!

>263 karenmarie: All the best to you, too, Karen. Thanks for the "Tree".

Happy everything, Sandy. Here's to good health, above all, and of course, good books.

Or in other words, Happy Christmas! And have a great New Year as well. Here’s hoping 2021 is an improvement on 2020.

Hi Sandy. Wishing you peace, joy and happiness this holiday season and best wishes for the New Year!

Thanks for the decorative Christmas wishes, Shelley, Anita, Rhian and Lori.
I appreciate your sentiments.

Hope you can stay distanced but not too isolated. A difficult time of year, isn't it?

Sandy--Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
May 2021 bring you less need for masks, loads of peace and joy, good health and, of course, books!

>270 Berly: Thanks Kim. Very nice sentiment.

Happy Holidays Sandy!

I hope you get some of those at least, Sandy, as we all look forward to a better 2021.

Warmest wishes for a merry and bright holiday season!

Wanna help me kick 202 to the curb? 2021 group is here

Happy Holidays, Sandy!

Susan, Paul, Mary and Joe: Thanks so much for dropping by to wish me a happy holiday season. I hope you all had a nice time even though you likely had a distanced version of this remarkable Christmastime.

Best wishes to all my visitors for a recovery in 2021.

So I've spent the last two days catching up with some book reviews, only the images won't load into the Talk thread. In frustration I foolishly hit the refresh cache function and gonzo! I hadn't saved the post... I had also deleted my offline document.

So there we are. I had about 5 books to do a lightening round summary. But I am flummoxed and fed up. Anyone else having image problems? I tried FireFox and Safari plus looked on my phone which uses Chrome and no images appeared!

>278 SandyAMcPherson: Oh Sandy NO! How horrific!! I'm always so angry with myself and this !*&%$@@ technology I depend on so completely when the Perfect Storm of Awful arrives.

I've had no problems with images today, though I'm many levels of internet away from you.

Hi Sandy.

I'm sorry you had problems trying to load your lightning round. It is probably a bit early for a good stiff drink for you, but perhaps some chocolate or other sweet to ease the pain?

Sandy, I have learned the hard way (and sometimes, even *remember* that lesson), to do all my writing in a separate word document or even as a draft email to myself and then, and only then, copy and paste it into a thread post. Which I am about to do right now on my own thread. I have banged my head against that same wall a few times too many...

I’ve not really lost reviews and such, but even if I did, those are usually pretty short and easy to redo. On the other hand, when starting the group or a new thread, I put together everything in Notesbility on my iPad first, then just copy/paste and tweak in LT.

Well, thank you all so much for the support and sympathy.
>279 richardderus: I closed all my open browsers and apps, rebooted and I *think* everything is going to work better with refreshed browsers. I noticed that FireFox did an update, too.

>280 karenmarie: Ya know, I've never actually *met* Karen but she must be my soul-sister because while my computer was updating (and running a security scan), I did indeed eat 3 of my Christmas-gift, Belgian chocolates. 😋

>281 jessibud2: Shelley, I did have a *.txt file with everything in it but when I rebooted, I foolishly ditched it, unsaved. Fuzzy thinking! I'm not thinking clearly these days. I will handily blame it on the pervasive memory banks overload from the CoVid-19 news.

>282 drneutron: Hi Jim. I tend to overdo the fancy stuff in my reviews, with links to covers and the star gifs. I find it quite strange that my cover links, all taken from the book pages on LT, wouldn't load. It may be the browser rather than the link, so not an LT glitch.

I'm going to try again with the cover images because I uploaded them into my Junk drawer. Tedious but we'll see how that works. I'm excited about some of the new authors I recently acquired. One was an especially quick read ~ by Thomas King ~ a Christmas gift which I opened on Christmas Eve, because... well you know how beguiling those obviously a book gifts can be.

A summarized view of recently read books (I apologize for how long this review became, but I really wanted to share some good reading I've had this month):

Book #132. Germania: A Novel of Nazi Berlin (Harald Gilbers)

~ (A NetGallery ARC).

At the close of WWII, a serial murderer is loose in Berlin. A Jewish detective inspector, banned from the police force, is forced to investigate the crimes. Although this story is grim in many aspects, the tale was brilliantly told from both the perspective of a murder investigation, as well as the daily lives of a people under siege. The novel has a moderate amount of suspense without descending into a Stephen King level of horror.

Book #133. The Wandering Fire (Guy Gavriel Kay)

~

Vintage epic fantasy in the saga of the Fionavar Tapestry. The plot development felt glacial, perhaps due to too much detail with the Arthurian tropes. These kept appearing in a chronicle where it didn't feel right to include the Pendragon myth. Fans of classic fantasies with a Tolkien or Arthurian underpinning will enjoy this book, especially as the characters resolve more clearly into their traditional counterparts in well-known legends.

Book #134. The Corpse with the Golden Nose (Cathy Ace)

~

This sequel to the first Cait Morgan story was a let-down: Cait and Bud have a strangely awkward relationship which distracts from the mystery they're set on resolving. While the premise for the suicide versus murder plot was sound, its execution was clumsy. The long-winded speech delivered by Cait at the end was a poor device for providing backstory and how she was clever in unravelling the mystery. The writing felt rushed and too much detail was undeveloped to be engaging.

Book #135. Puppies, Dogs, and Blue Northers (Gary Paulsen)

~

A very charming and heartwarming biography of Cookie, one of the author's longtime companions in his sled dog team. The companionship of Paulsen's sled dogs, especially his lead (Cookie), is an evocative paean to the partnership between team and driver. Although written as a children's story, it is an ageless memoir for those who enjoy northern stories of life in the bush.

Book #136. Flip (Elizabeth Mayhew)

~

This interior design book was a surprisingly informative presentation: descriptive sections were accompanied by photographs to illustrate the decorative descriptions. Mayhew's book was fun to page through and find snippets that applied for whatever one might be wanting suggestions. Although I disagreed with the author's opinion in several instances (mostly because it isn't my style), many observations were spot on. For instance ~
*choose colours you like, and don't fall prey to colours of the season (they'll change before you've pried the lids off the paint can).

Book #137. The Night Before Christmas (Clement Clarke Moore)

~

My quintessential childhood book (owned since 1949). An amusing poem that resonates with the Santa myth. Since this edition has such deep emotional attachment to my Christmas memories, my rating reflects absolutely no consideration of writing quality. I re-read this out loud to a small person who wanted a Grandma to read a story. We sat outside on a fortunate sunny interval out of the wind. It will be one of my happiest memories of this particular Christmas.

Book #138. Indians on Vacation (Thomas King)

~

A Christmas gift! Rollicking short stories that were amusing with a touch of King's acerbic irony. I appreciate seeing life from an Indigenous viewpoint along with Tom's wry commentary on social issues. It's actually quite an introspective narrative with a global perspective.

Book #139. Eight Perfect Murders (Peter Swanson)

~

A bookseller with a haunted past, failing to move away from the ties to tragedy. Swanson wrote a compelling chronology of unsolved murders and deftly-characterised participants. The backstory was adroitly revealed throughout the entire narrative with wonderful twists and unexpected reveals.

Book #140. The Left-Handed Booksellers of London (Garth Nix)

~

This was an e-book gift that I've had hanging around for a month. I thought I wasn't going to enjoy it, but I stayed up rather late a few nights in a row to read it! I haven't really decided how to be succinct in writing up a review, so I'll simply say that it is magical-realism-fantasy. The plot is not quite the vampire story I expected (thank goodness) nor is the book selling setting aspect central as much as I had expected. However, I think it is a 'coming of age' theme and the characters decidedly individualistic.

I'm done for now. I have two Christmas gift books to read but I feel like the stories are starting to merge in my head to a silly degree, so time for a few days break.

>284 SandyAMcPherson: #137 1949?! Was it printed by Gutenberg or Caxton?

>281 jessibud2: I paste my writing in an email if I am using my iPad, and Notepad if I am using my laptop. I still forget, sometimes, and lose reviews. 😢

>284 SandyAMcPherson: Puppies, Dogs, and Blue Northers ...BOOK BULLET!!!

>285 richardderus: Yeah, I counted on you biting on that one... 🙄

>286 fuzzi: Hi Fuzzi, warning: it's a 3-kleenex read. Gary certainly bookends his stories that way!

I think my reading objective was kind of an unrealistic stretch... but it's a case of having had a really good time anyway.

A fun poll for all those lurking on the 75-er group as December draws to a close:

How about picking just one book that you would personally rate as your top fave read this year?

Perhaps you also might see a title in my 2020 list (at >2 SandyAMcPherson:) that you've read that was especially good; and at >5 SandyAMcPherson: to see my top 9 reads. I haven't decided on #10.

Edited to say I picked the final read that was both well-written and a challenge for me: a translation of Harald Gilbers Germania.

>289 SandyAMcPherson: I think I'd pick Lonesome Dove though it's not in my usual line and I can think of any number of things wrong with it, but I grew up watching at least two movie westerns almost every week that doesn't count Maverick, Sugar Foot, Have Gun Will Travel, and Gunsmoke.

Hi Sandy!

I just went back through my 2020 reads and have put a check mark next to 9. I need one more to make 10, then will work on seeing if I can pick just one for top fave read of the year. Fun stuff.

>290 quondame: Lonesome Dove is not a familiar title to me but the hubs says he read a lot of Larry McMurtry many long years ago.
Heh, heh, I loved Rawhide, Bonanza and Maverick. My father liked to watch Gunsmoke and Paladin (I guess that was Have Gun Will Travel).

>291 karenmarie: I popped over but didn't spot the list that was ticked then got derailed by the comments relating to Bill's idiotic employer holding *that* luncheon.

>292 SandyAMcPherson: I went to bed shortly after that list and came up with The Rifleman, The Virginian, Wagon Train and Death Valley Days. My first crush was The Cisco Kid and Roy Rogers and The Lone Ranger were ubiquitous not to mention Gene Autry. Between westerns and WWII dramas I'm amazed I saw anything else before I was 12. Bonanza and Rawhide were mostly after our family TV died in late 1959 or 60, and I didn't get my own until late 1972 at which point I watched a lot of Star Trek re-runs, having missed them too.

>289 SandyAMcPherson: gonna have to give that some thought...do rereads count?

Here's my top three of 2020:

The Heart of What Was Lost by Tad Williams 4.5*

Jonathan Blair: Bounty Lands Lawyer by William Donohue Ellis 4.0* (very strong 4.0*)

Reread:
Watership Down by Richard Adams 5.0*

>294 fuzzi: Oh those are nice reads, thanks.
I *always* count re-reads. Every re-read (for me) is a new experience.

It was nice to see you visiting.

>295 SandyAMcPherson: Real Life (RL) has kept my LT time limited recently, but I'm still following your thread!

Too bad the Cathy Ace books didn't work for you, Sandy. I like the ones that I have read.

I hope you have a Happy New Year!

Time to take out the trash!

>298 weird_O: You post the *best* gifs!
All good wishes, Bill. I even visited your thread this morning!
I think (imho), 2021 is going to be more of same... so stay isolated, get immunized is my mantra.

So, 2021: “Let us think the unthinkable, let us do the undoable, let us prepare to grapple with the ineffable itself, and see if we may not eff it after all.”
— Douglas Adams, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, 1987