Amber's (scaifea) Thread #7

Hey, everybody!

I'm Amber, a one-time Classics professor, turned stay-at-home parent/lady of leisure, turned part-time library assistant, turned once again Classics professor. I spend my free time sewing, writing, knitting, baking, and, of course, reading.

My reading life is happily governed by lists, which means that I read a healthy variety of things across various genres.

I'm 45 going on 12 and live in Ohio with my husband, Tomm; our son, Charlie, and Mario the Golden Retriever.

Here I am in Dr. Scaife Mode (you can tell that because my hair is, for once, actually combed and not just in a messy bun):



Favorite Books from 2020
The Lumberjanes collected comic volumes
Call Down the Hawk
New Kid
The Wise Man's Fear
The Slow Regard of Silent Things
Pride and Prejudice
Silver in the Wood
A Tale of Two Cities

What I'm Reading Now:
-Lord Foul's Bane (BSF Award)
-Ready Player Two (series read)
-My Sweet Orange Tree (1001 Children's Books)
-The Henna Wars (romance list)
-The Moonstone (audiobook)
-Farmer Boy (family bedtime read-aloud)
-Memoirs of a Geisha (books I'm reading with my friend, Rob)
-Till We Have Faces (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books)

Books on Deck:
-Guard of Honor (Pulitzer list)
-Uncle Silas (books by year - 1864)
-(an unread book from my shelves)
-(a book from my Read Soon! shelves)
-The Experience of Insight (Buddhist reading list)
-A Likely Story (cozy mysteries)
-Henry VI Part 1 (Shakespeare re-read)
-The Ugly American (Banned Books)
-The Worm Ouroboros (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy list)

The five-ish or so books I have going at once and the On Deck books nearly all come from the following categories and lists:

1. A book from the 100 Banned Books book (at least currently. As soon as I finish this list, I'll replace it with another, and oh, I've got tons of lists).

2. A children's book, for Charlie's library. I'm trying to collect books from various award lists, and I like reading them before reading them to Charlie or deciding to add them to Charlie's shelves. For this category, I’m currently working through three lists:
a. 1001 Children’s Books You Must Read Before You Die
b. The Newbery Honor books
c. Cooperative Children's Book Center list

3. A book from the Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy List, in chronological order.

4. A list I'm working through together with my best friend, Rob: The Hugo/Nebula/WFA/Bram Stoker (and other) lists (combined, in chronological order)

5. For this category, I cycle through 9 different stacks:
a. Agatha Christie's bibliography (in chronological order)
b. Stephen Fry's bibliography (in chronological order)
c. John Boyne bibliography (in chronological order, sort of)
d. Neil Gaiman's bibliography (in some order other than chronological (don't
ask)).
e. Christopher Moore's bibliography (in chronological order)
f. Maggie Stiefvater's bibliography (in chronological order)
g. The NEH Timeless Classics list
h. The National Book Award list (in alpha order by title)
i. The Pulitzer list (in alpha order by author)

6. An unread book from my shelves.

7. A book from my Read Soon! shelves.

8. A book on Buddhism or from the Dalai Lama's bibliography.

9. Book-a-year challenge: Three years ago, along with a few others in this group (*cough* Paul *cough*), I made a year-by-year list to see how far I could go back with consecutive reads. I've since been trying to fill in the gap years.

10. A book from the couple of series that I'm reading together with my mom.

11. A full-on re-read through Shakespeare's stuff.

12. A read-aloud-to-Charlie-at-bedtime book (or two).

13. An audio book, which I listen to as I knit/sew/otherwise craft/drive.

14. A romance novel, using as a guideline an excellent list of authors and works curated by lycomaflower (I know virtually nothing about this genre, but I now work in a library where many, many lovely people come through to check out books of this genre, and I want to know something about it).

15. This slot is reserved for books that just grab me and shout that they need to be read Right Now.

Books Read

JANUARY
1. Spinning Silver (Alex Award) - 10/10 = A+
2. Swamp Thing: Twin Branches (Stiefvater bibliography) - 8/10 = B
3. Manchild in the Promised Land (Banned Books list, AlphaKIT: M) - 9/10 = A-
4. The Wish Giver (Newbery Honor Book) - 8/10 = B
5. Silas Marner (audiobook) - 8/10 = B-
6. The Story of Tracy Beaker (1001 Children's Books) - 8/10 = B-
7. Thick as Thieves (series reread) - 10/10 = A+
8. Lumberjanes #16: Mind over Mettle (series read) - 10/10 = A+
9. Pilgrimage (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books) - 7/10 = C
10. Each Tiny Spark (Schneider Honor Book) - 7/10 = C
11. The House on the Borderland (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy list) - 6/10 = D
12. Beyond Religion (books on Buddhism) - 9/10 = A
13. Outlander (romance list) - 6/10 = D
14. Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun (Newbery Honor Book) - 7/10 = C
15. Far Away Across the Sea (1001 Children's Books) - 10/10 = A+
16. The Daylight Gate (Read Soon! Shelves) - 8/10 = B-
17. The Queen of Attolia (family bedtime read-aloud) - 10/10 = A+
18. Works and Days & Theogony (Myth course readings) - 9/10 = A-
19. The Book Thief (books I'm reading with my friend, Rob) - 10/10 = A+
20. Return of the Thief (series read) - 10/10 = A+

FEBRUARY
21. The Bacchants (myth course reading) - 9/10 = A
22. Camp (romance) - 8/10 = B+
23. Song of a Whale (Schneider Award) - 8/10 = B-
24. Gardens of the Moon (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy list) - 4/10 = F
25. Oedipus Rex (Myth course readings) - 10/10 = A+
26. Antigone (Myth course readings) = 10/10 = A+
27. Agamemnon (Myth course readings) - 10/10 = A+
27. Upon the Head of a Goat (Newbery Honor Book) - 8/10 = B
27. Volcano (Newbery Honor Book) - 7/10 = C
30. A Promised Land (audiobook) - 8/10 = B+
31. The Stone Book Quartet (1001 Children's Books) - 7/10 = C+
32. The Libation Bearers (Myth course readings) - 9/10 = A
33. Eumenides (Myth course readings) - 10/10 = A+
34. Electra (Myth course readings) - 10/10 = A+
35. The King of Elfland's Daughter (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books) - 7/10 = C
36. The Goalkeeper's Revenge (1001 Children's Books) - 7/10 = C
37. Conrad: The Factory-Made Boy (1001 Children's Books) - 8/10 = B
38. Medea (Myth course readings) - 10/10 = A+
39. The Frogs (Myth course readings) - 9/10 = A

The Kiddo at Work:



The Mario:

The next one is yours - welcome!

Happy new one, Amber.

>6 scaifea: Thanks, Barbara!

Happy new thread, Amber.

Happy new one, Amber!

>9 scaifea: - LOL! I always feel proud when I "get" one of your mythology memes...

>10 SirThomas: Thanks, Thomas!

>11 katiekrug: Ha! I'm glad you like that one, Katie. I love the idea of Hades as a devoted dog owner so much.

Happy new thread, Amber! The Hades meme is delightful.

Looks like Charlie sits just as weirdly as I did as a teen. One of my favourite ways to sit was with my feet up on the desk with my arms tucked around them to type on the keyboard (on the keyboard tray). Now I try to be more ergonomic although I'm not always good.

>13 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky! Isn't that a funny/sweet one?

Oh, yeah. Charlie has entered the can't-sit-like-a-normal-human-being-ever phase. It doesn't bother me much, but it drives Tomm bonkers.

Happy new thread!

>15 drneutron: Thanks, Jim!

>14 scaifea: I don't think I ever left the can't-sit-like-a-normal-human-being phase. I'm just always more comfortable with a foot tucked under me or cross legged on my chair than with both feet on the ground.

Happy New Thread, Amber!

>17 curioussquared: Ha! I'm the same, Natalie, if I'm honest; I prefer to have one leg tucked under me, too.

>18 connie53: Thanks, Connie!

I think Charlie's position there is perfect. Jealous that I can't manage it, but perfect...

Sweet Thursday, Amber! Happy New Thread!

>20 laytonwoman3rd: Linda: Ooof, yeah, I can't quite manage that much contortion anymore.

>21 msf59: Thanks Mark! Sweet Thursday right back atcha!

Happy new one, Amber! You are a hot topic!

Speaking of mythology, have dipped into any of the Rick Riordan Presents material? My son and I are reading the second Tristan Strong Destroys the World book and are greatly enjoying them.

Happy new thread, Amber. I've caught up with you for a nanosecond (scrolled through all the pictures on your previous threads - there were lots!)

>23 brodiew2: I'm not a fan of Riordan; I read the first of the Percy Jackson books and realized that he doesn't really understand some of the fundamentals of Greek myth and decided that was enough for me. I get that he's influenced some young readers toward a love of reading, and that's great, but I wish he'd do his research better.

>24 Familyhistorian: Thanks, Meg!

From your previous thread - I adore Alan Garner's Weirdstone of Brisingamen - I must have reread it a dozen times. But nothing else by him has really worked for me (Owl Service, Moon of Gomrath). I haven't read The Stone Book Quartet, and I think I'll try it if I can find it - it sounds like it's more in the style of Weirdstone. At least I hope so. But I may end up agreeing with you - a not-quite.

>25 scaifea: I can understand that. These books are presented through his label, but not written by him. This series focuses on African American folklore and African gods. I believe there is a Latino series as well. We have enjoyed the action/adventure and genuine teen emotional drama that it has brought.

>26 jjmcgaffey: Hi, Jennifer! All the reviews I read for Quartet were glowing, so it could just be that I'm being curmudgeonly about it. If you find it, I hope you love it! I haven't read Weirdstone, but from the blurb it looks like it has magical elements? That's part of what I wanted from this one, but it's not there.

Serious magical elements - King Arthur is part of it, there's a lot of country folklore too. Hmmm...my memory is fuzzy, clearly it's time for a reread. None of my libraries have Stone Book Quartet, bah! I'll have to hunt.

>25 scaifea: Boys especially devour the Percy Jackson- and other Riordan books. And the great thing is, they usually want to learn more about mythology and dive deeper into the topic. Having that said, I can COMPLETELY understand why you wouldn't enjoy them. I can't give a crime novel with law aspects to my brother, a lawyer, and I can't give a novel where medicine plays a part to my doctor friend. :-)

>29 jjmcgaffey: I had to ILL it here, so apparently it's not very ubiquitous.

>30 PersephonesLibrary: Yeah, I'm happy for anything that will interest reluctant readers, but I'm now dealing with the fallout of college kids who grew up with those books and thing they're canon for the mythology. I've had to lay out rules: First rule of myth class, Don't talk about Riordan. Second rule of myth class, Don't talk about Riordan.

Happy New Thread, Amber!

Memoirs of a Geisha is one of the few books Debbi and I have disagreed on. I loved it; she definitely didn't. I'll be interested to hear what you think. Another one was Snow Falling on Cedars; same thing: I loved it, she was not taken with it.

The Moonstone on audio: smart way to do it. I loved Woman in White (your BFF surprisingly didn't, and I unsuccessfully tried The Moonstone twice in print. Both times I found the beginning off-putting, and stopped a ways in.

Happy new thread!

>32 jnwelch: >33 quondame: Thanks, folks.

>32 jnwelch: Hi, Joe! That's interesting that you and Debbi differed on both of those. I admit that I'm skeptical that it's a fictional memoir of an Asian women written by a white male. We'll see how it goes.

Moonstone: I'm not listening to the bit narrated by the butler guy and he's a little grating. I'm hoping the plot moves on from him soonish. I haven't read The Woman in White yet but it's coming up on one of my lists at some point, I know.

Happy new thread!

>25 scaifea: >31 scaifea: I think Riordan seems like a really decent guy, and I like the way he uses his label to get first-time authors out there. Agree on the research, though, and I have a lot of opinions about the way that PJO-inflected Greek mythology fandom interacts with mythology and ancient religion and also, like, literary criticism and the concept of "canon", that are…not complimentary and I'll leave it at that.

Charlie's, what, middle school? At that age during silent reading time I would cram myself under my desk, sometimes upside-down. (The basic ed teacher's take was usually "well, at least you are reading.")

Happy new one, Amber.

>5 scaifea: I used to like to do that too but nowadays I would struggle to get my leg back!

I'm trying at 50 to sit straight with both feet on the ground. It's because I am having issues with chronic trigger points deep in my glutes and other sit muscles. By default, I always have one leg curled under. And when I was young, I sat every which way, including draped halfway under the desk as described earlier.

Happy new thread, Amber!

>5 scaifea: I used to sit like Charlie for hours, when I was younger. Can't do that anymore.
Oh, sweet Mario, giver her a hg from me.

>9 scaifea: LOL!

De-lurking to leave a post on the thread before I miss in entirely...

How are you liking the King of Elfland's daughter? I started it a while ago and I'm still only a third through. Kinda dry I find.

Happy new thread Amber :)

>35 false-knight:
(Attention everyone who has heard my myth rant multiple times: Skip this post and thank me later.)
So, here's my deep-set, I-will-die-on-this-hill belief about mythologies: when a myth stops changing, it dies. That's what myth is for - it's a tool by which to convey your truths, and the Greeks themselves were constantly transforming their own myths for their own purposes. But. BUT. There's a difference between using established myths to tell your own stories and completely misunderstanding/disrespecting the fundamentals of the greater mythology to which it belongs. And Riordan crosses that line. Neil Gaiman? That man can do whatever he likes to whichever mythology he likes, because you can tell that he deeply loves the stories and respects the heck out of them. But Riordan feels to me like someone who read Mythology for Dummies and thought, "Cool. I'm going to despoil these to make my own Harry Potter." *vomits a little in mouth* So yeah. As a Classics prof I now have to deal with the fallout. Riordan is the Voldemort of my myth class: we do not speak his name.

And yep, Charlie's in 6th grade, significantly taller than I am, and still manages to pretzel his gangly form into a chair like a circus performing pro. Amazing. But like your teacher, I'm just happy he's a reader!

>36 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul!

>37 justchris: I'm finding that in my mid-40s I can still sit in my chair with my legs tucked underneath me but not for long periods of time.

>38 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita!

It would be nice to be young again for some reasons, like sitting how we want to, but definitely not for others. Ha!

I'll deliver your hug once Mario emerges from underneath my desk (she's currently snoring but still makes a lovely foot warmer).

>39 BekkaJo: Hi, Bekka! And yeah, I think I kind of agree with your assessment of King of Elfland's Daughter; I like the idea of the story, but it's definitely dated - it has that too-far-removed feel, like the narrator is too distant from the characters? I don't feel like I can get into their headspaces at all, if that makes sense. It's a little *too* 3rd person.

>40 fairywings: Thanks, Adrienne!

Today's Agenda:
Welp, we got more snow last night, and while I still love it, I'm slightly annoyed because Friday is pretty much the only day I leave the house in my car (for groceries) and the roads don't look great. Hopefully by 10am they'll be more clear. Fingers crossed.

So I need to go pick up my groceries, obviously, and do the weekly bill sorting, and then I'll do my Friday baking (Orange Almond Friands for this week's Friday After School Snack), hold office hours, and do some more prep reading for myth. This afternoon I'll either get some reading done or take a nap; at this point it's a close call.

On the Reading Front:
I started Henna Wars and The Goalkeeper's Revenge yesterday, listened to more of The Moonstone, and reread through Euripides' Electra. And that reminds me that I'm behind on reporting my myth reading here...

What We're Watching:
Thursday Night = GBBS Night! We finished up the season in which John was the winner. Tomm was irritated that Brendan didn't win, and I loved James, but I was still happy for the winner, who was also completely adorable. Then we watched an episode of Arrow and one of Britain's Best Home Cook.

More work rereads:



32. The Libation Bearers by Aeschylus (Myth course readings) - 9/10 = A
Orestes returns home seeking vengeance for his father's death. The chorus in the middle of this one is so fabulously creepy.

33. Eumenides by Aeschylus (Myth course readings) - 10/10 = A+
Orestes, having had his revenge, is now plagued by the Furies and seeks asylum in Athens. There are so many crazy-good things about this last play in the trilogy: the dark and creepy imagery, the fact that it's crawling with gods (not a common thing for Greek tragedy), and the aition of the murder court at Athens. All excellent stuff.


34. Electra by Euripides (Myth course readings) - 10/10 = A+
My very favorite version of Electra and one of the reasons I love Euripides so much.

I just saw this on FB and I kind of love it. My pick would be Gen from the Queen's Thief books, of course. Who would you pick?

You've been kidnapped and you can call on one book character to rescue you. Whom do you choose as your rescuer?

Seeing as he's rescued Claire multiple times, I'm going with Jamie Fraser.

>48 scaifea: HA! I just answered this on FB. It's Jesse Stone for me, all the way.

My mind always goes blank on these questions... I'm sure there is someone better, but the first one that finally popped into my head is Harry Nelson from the Ruth Galloway series.

>49 MickyFine: *SNORK!!* I KNEW that was going to be your answer, Micky!

>50 laytonwoman3rd: That wouldn't have anything to do with him possibly looking like Tom Selleck, would it, Linda?

>51 katiekrug: Katie: I *still* haven't read any of those. Gah. I need to fix that.

>52 scaifea: *eyelash* What, now? Tom Selleck? Who he? Seriously, though...even before there were movies, Jesse Stone would have been my answer.

>54 laytonwoman3rd: Ha! (I need to read those, too.)

>52 scaifea: I'm very on brand. ;)

>56 MickyFine: HAhahahaha!!

Today's After School Treat - Orange Almond Friands:

>58 scaifea: Those look delicious and are making me extra hungry. *eyes the clock* Only 10ish minutes until lunchtime for me.

>41 scaifea: - So funny, Amber! I've never read Riordan, but that didn't matter a bit.

>59 MickyFine: Apologies, Micky. They are *very* good, though.

>60 Fourpawz2: Ha! I'm glad you liked the rant!

>61 scaifea: Oh, Amber rants are the *best* rants. 😀

>62 drneutron: *snork!!* Right then, Jim. I now feel completely enabled.

>41 scaifea: Fair! Good rant. Consider yourself further enabled! :)

>48 scaifea: Gandalf, hands down. Man's a minor deity and knows how to party, so he can very easily extract me from the situation and then get me a massive meal and a whole lot of hobbit weed to compensate for emotional distress, which would also make up for all the speaking in riddles.

>58 scaifea: Ooooooh... ԅ(´ρ`ԅ)

>48 scaifea: >64 false-knight: Good choice, Gandalf. I'm going with Miles Vorkosigan.

Happy reading weekend, Amber! The orange almond friands look and sound delicious!

>48 scaifea: Would be a toss up between Jamie Fraser and Jack Reacher. I'm leaning towards Reacher because he seems very efficient at getting the job done!

Hope you have a great weekend!

>64 false-knight: Ha! Thanks, Emery! I have...strong feelings when it comes to Classics.

Gandalf is a great choice - I hadn't thought of the Old Toby aspect, but that is most definitely a bonus.

And *snork!!* multi-lingual emoji I'm dying!

>65 quondame: I haven't read any Bujold so I'll have to take your word for it that Miles would get the job done, Susan.

>66 PersephonesLibrary: Thanks, Käthe! Charlie loves the friands and they *are* tasty, but I can only eat one or two and then quit because they have ground almonds in them and I'm just very slightly allergic (they make my mouth sore). They make the house smell lovely, though!

>67 ChelleBearss: Hi, Chelle! I haven't read any of the Reacher books, either. I need to hop on board that train at some point...

Today's Agenda:
Weekend baking (Vanilla Cupcakes), some sewing room time (it would be great to get those quilt squares finished, but we'll see), and definitely some reading time. Tomm's in charge of dinner tonight, which will be steaks, red potatoes, and broccoli.

On the reading front:
I powered through The King of Elfland's Daughter yesterday, and also finished The Goalkeeper's Revenge, plus listened to a bit more of The Moonstone. Reviews to come for the two finished ones.

What We're Watching:
We postponed Family Game Night until tomorrow because Tomm was suffering from a migraine yesterday (he says he feels better this morning), so we settled in for a couple of Graham Nortons and a QI last night.

35. The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany (Green Dragon 1001 Fantasy Books) - 7/10 = C
The people come to the lord of the realm and ask him to find them a magic lord to rule them in his stead. He recognizes the foolishness of their request, but sends his son to the elvish world to find and bring back the daughter of the elf king as a wife. Things...don't go as planned. She turns out to be like any other Other Wife, unsuited and unwilling to conform to common ways. Also, the elf king isn't exactly best pleased with the arrangement. Consequences ensue.
*Sigh*
I was excited about this one. I tend to love this kind of thing, and when I read Neil Gaiman's introduction to the book, in which he practically gushes over how wonderful the story is, I couldn't wait to get into it. And then...I couldn't. Get into it, that is. It was written in 1924 but pretends to be much older, language-wise, which I found irritating. And the narrator is too far removed from the characters for my taste, which is, I realize, another old-timey quality, so kudos to Dunsany, I guess, for mastering his fake language antiquities. But I'm frustrated by my not really enjoying it, because not only Gaiman, but tons of other name brand authors absolutely love this book and I just can't see why. Gah. I have FOMO and I'm mad about it.

36. The Goalkeeper's Revenge by Bill Naughton (1001 Children's Books) - 7/10 = C
A small collection of stories centered around children from working-class families in England in the 1930s. Fair-to-middling, these. I'm not sure that they've aged very well or that kiddos now would much enjoy them.

Cupcakes and steak? I'm definitely coming to your house today!

>75 MickyFine: *snork!* You're welcome any time, Micky!

>69 scaifea: He had control of a mercenary space fleet before he was 20, so I feel that if anyone could do the job, he could.

Can I have Micky's share of the potatoes, please?

>78 katiekrug: Nuh-uh. I want taters too!

>77 quondame: Ah. Makes sense!

>78 katiekrug: Um, WHAT. You can't just waltz in and take someone else's potatoes! This isn't Thunderdome, Katie. You can have your share and no one else's, missy.

>79 MickyFine: No worries, Micky. I got your back.

But I thought she just wanted steak and cupcakes! I meant no disrespect 🤣

>81 katiekrug: *snork!* Fair point!

Hi Amber my dear, a belated happy new thread. I am so far behind on all threads just by being busy the last couple of days. Sending love and hugs to you all from both of us dear friend.

>83 johnsimpson: Thanks, John! Good to see you!

>81 katiekrug: I see you and your sneaky ways, Katie. You don't fool me. 🤣

Late to wishing you a happy new thread but on time to wish you a great Sunday!

>73 scaifea: It happens sometimes where something's genre-formative but still just not that fun to read compared to the stuff it inspired.

Enjoy your dinner!

>85 MickyFine: So. Sneaky.

>86 figsfromthistle: Thanks so much, Anita! I hope you have a great Sunday, too!

>87 false-knight: Oh, I definitely agree with you there, but this one feels extra strange because so many authors I love love it so much. And their praise isn't for how seminal it is, but for how *good* it is. I just...don't get it.

And thanks! Dinner was delicious!

Today's Agenda:
Sunday Morning French Toast was excellent (I love it when I have borderline-stale sourdough to use), and now I'm going to treat myself to coffee and LTing in my pajamas for a bit before starting the weekly house cleaning duties. I'm hoping for some sewing and reading time this afternoon before starting dinner (Asian Chicken Noodle Soup tonight).

On the reading front:
I started Till We Have Faces, which is excellent so far and makes me wonder why I haven't read Lewis beyond Narnia before (I keep meaning to, of course, but it just never seems to happen), and I made some progress with Conrad.

What We're Watching:
It was my turn to pick last night and we watched an old favorite for me: Mel Gibson's Hamlet. I was low-key obsessed with this version when I was in high school.

Have a nice Sunday Amber.

>91 scaifea: I loved Narnia but had never even heard of this novel. Surprising. Is this one meant for adults?

>92 EllaTim: Thank you! I hope you have a lovely Sunday, too!

No, this one is not for kiddos - it's a retelling of the Cupid and Psyche myth.

>91 scaifea: Read your update and immediately asked Mr. Fine to make French toast for breakfast this morning. No stale sourdough for us but I'm still excited.

>94 MickyFine: Woot! I will make french toast out of pretty much any baked good, but my favorites are sourdough bread and butter cake.

>90 scaifea: Maybe they read it when they were kids? Google says it had a resurgence around the time Gaiman was 9; IDK who else you've seen who was into it but that might have something to do with it—like, I can see it being the sort of fantasy that kids/teens would get steered towards in the time after LOTR but before the big Tolkien-imitator series or, like, D&D-extended-universe novels came on the scene, if they or their parents were looking for books like Prydain or more "respectable" fantasy than, like, Fritz Leiber? The fake-antiquated stuff I could see someone getting into if they were also reading, like, Malory.

>96 false-knight: Yeah, maybe that's it? Good point. But at least Malory is, you know, Malory. And I just..well, if Gaiman likes it I SHOULD LIKE IT. Gah.

>90 scaifea: They all read it when they were moody teenagers.
Ah I see >96 false-knight: was there before me. I did read it in that trough between LotR and the wave of imitators, along with Fritz Lieber, Madeleine L'Engle and the stories co-authored by Fletcher Pratt and L. Sprague de Camp.

>73 scaifea: Sigh. So it doesn't get better then. I was hoping it would. I'll finish it eventually I guess.

Happy Monday!

>99 quondame: Ha! Yep.

>100 BekkaJo: Yeah, sorry, Bekka. It pretty much stays the same throughout.

And thanks! Happy Monday to you, too!

Today's Agenda:
Well, another week, I suppose. So more of same: getting ready for today's classes, helping Charlie if he needs it with his classes, more re-reading myth assignments, office hours, teaching. I'm not sure if it's DC Night tonight or not; if so, then after teaching I'll immediately get into my pajamas and crawl into bed with my books for the evening.

I did get some sewing time yesterday, too, and made some quilt square piecing progress, but then realized that instead of being nearly finished with them, I'm only halfway done! Yoicks.

On the reading front:
I spent yesterday's reading time with Memoirs of a Geisha, which I'm really enjoying so far. Interesting story that is moving along at a nice clip. I also made some progress with Conrad: The Factory-Made Boy and listened to more of The Moonstone.

What We're Watching:
It was Charlie's pick last night and so we watched more of The Watch. If you're a Discworld fan, I highly recommend it - the casting is pretty amazing and although they've taken a few liberties, it still overall feels true to the spirit of the books. We're loving it so far.

Morning, Amber! I hope you had a nice weekend at the Scaife Manor. I am enjoying Driftless. Keep this one in mind, if you get nostalgic for WI.

>104 msf59: Morning, Mark! I'm really interested to see what you have to say about Driftless - I may have to put it on the list.

So with your two classes, Amber, do you teach every day this term or do you get days sans class?

>106 MickyFine: Hi, Micky!
Both of the courses I'm teaching met Mondays and Wednesdays only. That's nice in a way, and I'm only with the myth course being only twice a week, but I've never taught beginning Latin only two days a week and it's not ideal. It was already set up in the schedule that way when they asked me to teach it, but I have control over the scheduling for next year and I've made it three times a week, which is better.

Morning, Amber.

I'm glad you're enjoying Memoirs of a Geisha. I thought that was a really good one, as I mentioned.

I forgot the posting number, but I'm with you on Riordan and Gaiman. Gaiman has added an interesting twist - what do mythological gods do when people start to forget them? Can they save themselves?

Just a quick hello!!

Many years ago Hubby was in a bookstore without me (rare occurrence) and bought me a copy of Memoirs of a Geisha because for some reason it caught his eye -- perhaps because he lived in Japan his first 11 years of life. Anyway I vaguely remember thinking it was "OK" but don't remember anything else. Perhaps I should get it down and reread it.

>108 jnwelch: Morning, Joe!
You said that MBH didn't care for Geisha, right? I'd be interested to hear why not once I've finished.

And yes to Gaiman's twisty views on the gods! You know, Pratchett does a similar thing with his semi-made-up gods in the Discworld and it's very clever.

>109 EBT1002: Hi, Ellen! Good to see you!

>110 RebaRelishesReading: Reba: It feels sort of like a popcorn read - the story is interesting and well-paced and the writing is pretty good but nothing extra-gorgeous about it. So not high literature but engrossing in a way that's just hitting the spot for me right now.

>113 scaifea: Boy do I need something that "hits the spot" right now. I'm having a terrible time getting back into anything since my rather long break from reading while we got books unpacked and got settled. I bought Jack a few weeks ago and have read about 1/4 of it but I can barely hear it calling me to come back. I don't know what terrible thing has overcome me!

>114 RebaRelishesReading: Oh no, that's the worst, Reba! I hope you can find something that gets you excited about reading it soon!

I'm glad to hear you are enjoying The Watch! Now to find a way to watch it....

>116 curioussquared: Hi, Natalie! We get BBC America via AMC+ (which we subscribe to through Amazon Prime) and that's how we watch it.

>107 scaifea: Interesting to see how different institutions run their classes. When I was in undergrad, you either had 3 50-minute classes (MWF) or 2 80-minutes (TT) classes, unless it was an upper level seminar (400 level only), which were 3 hours once a week. I was grateful I did an arts degree and only one of the science classes I had to take had a lab in addition to the instruction sessions.

>118 MickyFine: Yep, that's pretty much how it still is; my 80-minute courses are just on MW is the only difference. I prefer to teach beginning Latin as an intensive course (5 days a week), but they don't have that system at U Dayton and to be honest I don't know that I have the energy to devote that much time to it right now, so I'm thankful for how it's set up now (or how it will be in the fall).

>119 scaifea: That would be a lot of Latin. The closest I got to that was my Old English course, which was 3 times a week but covered two terms (3 1/2 months each). We spent the first term basically just learning how to read/understand Old English and then the second term actually reading poetry (mostly Beowulf) in Old English. I haven't retained any of the language but the prof was great and I had some good friends in that class (and one big crush - he was tall, blonde, and British, need I say more).

Madame MBH says she read Memoirs of a Geisha too long ago to remember why she didn't like it more, but "she didn't hate it." She feels much more strongly about Cold Mountain, which still makes her grimace.

>120 MickyFine: It *is* a lot of Latin, but for students who really want to learn it well, that's the best way, and those intensive courses were some of my favorites. Students in those classes really formed a bond over the span of the year and many of them still keep in touch with me.

?...tall, bonde, and British" needs no more words. I had a crush on one of those in grad school (and that one went to school with Tom Hiddleston).

>121 jnwelch: Joe: Ha! Okay then! I haven't read Cold Mountain yet, either.

>122 scaifea: My crush turned out to be gay and is now in a band and lives in Germany. We're still friends on FB though so I check in on his glamourous life occasionally.

>123 MickyFine: Ha! Yep, I had one of those kinds of crushes once, too. These things happen.

When I took Italian in college I opted for the "intensive" course, which met 5 days a week and covered two semesters' worth of material in one semester. I found it much easier to learn and retain the language that way.

>125 rosalita: Julia: Yes! I really solidifies the language in your noggin if you're forced to think about it every day. When I was in grad school I co-taught OSU's Latin Summer Intensive Course a few times, which is a full year of beginning Latin in 12 weeks. 5 hours a day. And believe it or not, those class groups were so fun. They bonded through the pain, I suppose, but they always came out the other end fast friends.

>126 scaifea: That might have been too intensive even for me, although it's probably as close as you can get to full immersion without traveling to a foreign country (or in the case of Latin, backward in time).

>127 rosalita: It was nuts, really, both for the students *and* the instructors. We had to be on call, essentially, through the lunch hour and into the evening when the students would be working on homework for the next day. It paid pretty well, though, and for a grad student, that was nice summer work.

>120 MickyFine: Ah....Old English...what fun it was. "Hwaet"

>80 scaifea: the thunderdome...classic :)

I just watched the 2015 Mad Max, Fury Road. Boy was that one long car chase. I can't say I enjoyed it.

>129 laytonwoman3rd: I took Old English in college, too, but it's all gone now, I suspect.

>130 LovingLit: Megan: Ha! I haven't watched those movies in ages, but yeah they're not exactly Oscar material. I do remember jamming out to Tina Turner's theme song, though.

Today's Agenda:
Course prep and helping Charlie if he needs it and trying to stay upright through the migraine I woke up with. Thank goodness it's not a teaching day. Fingers crossed the meds kick in soonish. If the headache calms down a bit I'll pop over to the library to pick up my holds, too.

On the reading front:
I finished Conrad: The Factory-Made Boy, read a tiny bit of Ready Player Two, and reread The Frogs for class. Mini-review to come.

>132 scaifea: I'm sorry you've been struck with a migraine, Amber. I'll join you in hoping for some quick relief.

>133 rosalita: Thanks so much, Julia. Here's hoping. I'm going to do my best to drink tons of water today, because I suspect that's part of the problem (she says as she sips her second cup of coffee of the morning).

37. Conrad: The Factory-Made Boy by Christine Nostlinger (1001 Children's Books) - 8/10 = B
Bertie Bartolotti gets an unexpected package one day and opens it to discover that it's a factory-made child. He's very well-behaved (he's been programmed to be), which completely befuddles the untidy, crazy-clothes-wearing, non-conforming Bertie. Her gentleman friend, though, thinks that Conrad is a perfect little boy and volunteers (rather rudely, if I'm honest) to be his father. And so they begin a sort of life together, until one day Bertie gets a letter from the factory stating that they've discovered the mistaken delivery and will be round to pick up the child soon. Conrad must change his always-obedient ways to escape reclamation and stay with the slightly strange but loving family he's stumbled into.
A little weird and sort of goofy, but I did love Bertie and Conrad tons by the end. Aimed at middle grade readers and I think they'd enjoy this kind of thing.

More myth course prep work:



38. Medea by Euripides (Myth course readings) - 10/10 = A+
Euripides at his rip-roaring finest. I mean, damn, this is GOOD. The man could play his audience like a lyre and used and twisted established myths to force his audience to think about all sorts of uncomfortable issues. The poetic Bernie Sanders of his day and I love him to pieces. Medea is the paradigm for all the mythic fears the Greeks had about women, and Euripides both humanizes her and pushed the limits of her monstrous behaviour.



39. The Frogs by Aristophanes (Myth course readings) - 9/10 = A
Greek comedy pales in comparison to its Roman counterpart, but this one is pretty fun. Slapstick and raunchy to the limits. Poop jokes and rude gestures abound. But it's a good entry for a myth class because it turns myth on its head in a very different way from how Euripides does so. And I do love a good breaking of the 4th wall.

Ugh waking up with a headache is brutal. Adding my wishes that it hits the bricks shortly.

>137 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky. I'm happy to report that the meds are starting to kick in some, so the headache is receding (although I'm now feeling a little loopy and I kind of hate when that happens with these meds).

>136 scaifea: Ogoodnessyes on Medea. I haven't read any Aristophanes, but probably should.

>139 swynn: The problem with Aristophanes is that, to appreciate him fully, you need some specific historical background, since a lot of his jokes are jabs at contemporary people and politics. (Not that you *don't* have said background, but just for those who don't it takes an annoying amount of up-looking or about 80% of the jokes just won't land.) Still, he can be a fun goof when you're in the right mood.

Hope your migraine went away and your water tastes like coffee!!
I also suck at drinking water. I even bought a special water bottle that keeps water cold longer thinking I would drink more, and I just suck and forget to drink from it despite it being on my desk staring at me.

>141 ChelleBearss: Chelle: *snork!!* I *wish* water would taste like coffee! *daydreams about it*

I have had one 16-oz glass of water today, on top of the two cups of coffee, one cup of tea, and now one can of Coke Zero. *sigh*

Hi Amber! How are you doing? Do you feel better? Just wanted to tell you I have found the first three seasons of Gilmore Girls on DVD in a charity shop. Rainy days are saved now. 🙂

>143 PersephonesLibrary: Hi, Käthe! I'm feeling quite a bit better than this morning - this is one of the times that the meds actually worked and didn't make me nauseous in the process!

And WOOHOO for the Gilmore Girls find! Have you watched it before or will this be your first time through?

>144 scaifea: I am glad the meds are working well. It's harsh when they cause more trouble than help.

I went in and out of the series - haven't watched it regularly but I know the larger story arcs. And I remember to have liked the humor.

>145 PersephonesLibrary: Thanks - it's always a mystery what the meds will do to me so I tend not to take them, but this morning the pain was bad enough that I caved.

I hope you love GG on this rewatch! We adore it.

>144 scaifea: My sister (an MD.PhD) discovered that if she takes a fraction of the Sumatriptan tablet - 1/4-1/3 - as soon as she feels a bit pre-migraine, it usually prevents the migraine without giving her the side effects you describe. It works for me too, even if the pain has started. She has clearer warnings signs than I do, flashes and visual warping. I just feel off, which I sometimes don't pay attention to until the pain starts.

>147 quondame: Interesting. That's not the medication I have, but I'd want to check with my doctor first anyway. Thanks for the tip.

Hi Amber, just popping in on this Wednesday morning to check out your thread. It's going so fast it's hard to keep up with things here. Sorry to hear about the migraine.

>149 connie53: Morning, Connie! No need to feel like you *have* to keep up - I'm just happy to see you when you do pop in.

And thanks for the migraine sympathy - I woke up this morning and it seems to be gone, than goodness.

On the agenda for today:
Course prep, helping Charlie if he needs it, office hours, teaching. It's going to be a long one, I think, mostly because I didn't sleep well last night; at about 11:30 we heard a crash downstairs and it took us 10 minutes to find out what it was (a picture frame fell but didn't break, weirdly). And then I couldn't get back to sleep. Gah. Lots of caffeine on the menu today, friends.

On the reading front:
Not much to report, I'm afraid, although I do have some myth course reading reports to catch up on. I did start My Sweet Orange Tree before bed last night, and it's interesting so far.

What We're Watching:
It was Tomm's pick last night, so we finished up the first Bourne movie and started the second one. Not really my best cuppa, but Tomm absolutely loves them. Charlie doesn't seem to be a huge fan either, but I managed to get him to giggle by shouting at the TV, "Get in the car and leave, girl! He's clearly a trained assassin with ISSUES! He's cute, but he's not that cute!"

Glad to hear your head is back in business, Amber. And how on earth do things just randomly fall off the wall in the middle of the night like that?! I just hate when that happens. In addition to the caffeine, maybe a little nap time?

Morning, Amber! Happy Wednesday. Sorry to hear about your sleep issues. I hope you can get back on track.

Oof. A midnight "crash" is so disruptive. I hope the caffeine helps!

>152 rosalita: Thanks, Julia! Well, I don't know that I'd say my brain is back in business - I'm not sure it was every fully there...

And yeah, well, Tomm has this Thing about putting nails into "his" walls, so he's been using those 3M frame hanging sticky things. We've had a few incidents of pictures falling off walls now but he still refuses to give up on them. Yoicks.

And I'd LOVE a nap today but it's a teaching day so I most certainly won't have time. It's a ding dang tragedy.

>153 msf59: Morning, Mark! Thanks for the good thoughts. Coffee #1 is starting to kick in and I'm not feeling too terrible just now. Teaching from 3:30-6:20 will be somewhat of an issue, though, possibly. Ha!

>154 lauralkeet: Isn't it, though? It always takes a little while for the noise to register through the sleep-foggy brain and then there's that moment of panicky "it is robbers?!" and then the trudging round to figure out what actually happened and by then I'm wide awake.

And thanks! Yep, the caffeine is starting to kick in.

So today in the myth class we'll be discussing Oedipus (hoo! SO MUCH FUN). And then this tweet (I can't find a convenient jpeg of it to post here) came up on my feed this morning and how perfect is it?!:

He was a boy, she was his mom
can I make it anymore Oedipus

Morning, Amber! I hope you make it through the day okay and your sleep-deprived brain doesn't let you down.

>159 katiekrug: Ha! Thanks, Katie! Here's hoping.

>155 scaifea: I've used 3M strips for years and never had them fail. Sorry yours did and caused such a messed up night for you.

>158 scaifea: Ha!

>161 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky. I don't know if maybe he doesn't let them cure enough before he hangs the frames or what, but he's clearly not doing something right... Yeesh.

I'm sharing the tweet with my students today, but I'm wondering if Kids These Days even know who Avril Lavigne is? We'll see, I suppose.

>162 scaifea: I'll be curious to know the answer to that question. Signs I'm getting old, if they don't. ;)

>163 MickyFine: Well, I can tell you that at least my Latin students know all about Friends, which surprised me. I guess because it's so heavily in syndication.

I chuckled at the Tweet but did not know there was an Avril Lavigne connection. But music is not my forte...

>150 scaifea: That's good to hear, Amber.

>165 katiekrug: What she said.

>164 scaifea: My step-daughter (who's 18) just binged all of Friends on Netflix last year so it's still finding people. And I'm doing sort of the same thing rewatching Golden Girls since it hit Amazon Prime (in Canada). I had vague memories of my parents watching it when I was a kid but most of the jokes were way over my head.

>165 katiekrug: Katie: You don't *need* to know the song reference for it to be funny, I think, but it does help: She has a song that start with the lines "He was a boy/She was a girl/Can I make it any more obvious?" So, yeah. I mean you can sort of get there without that.

>166 connie53: Thanks, Connie! I'm pretty relieved that I don't have to try to teach today with a migraine or with Loopy Brain. Makes things easier!

>167 rosalita: Julia: Ha! I'm sorry I don't have a Springsteen reference in there somewhere...

>168 MickyFine: Ohmygosh, that's hilarious, Micky! I just brought home a Golden Girls cookbook from the library last week! I loved that show when I was a kid (despite not getting all the jokes either, of course).

>171 scaifea: If I ever find a meme that uses Springsteen lyrics to tell a Greek mythology joke, I know just the person to send it to! It would be the ultimate mashup between your world and mine.

>173 rosalita: Ha! YES!! I would show it to my class in your honor.

>174 scaifea: "Hello, boss? I'm feeling a little under the weather and may need to take the afternoon off. No, no, it's nothing serious."

*off to find a Springsteen/mythology meme*

>175 rosalita: *snork!!!*

I think the song "Hungry Heart" refers to Greek mythology by way of Tennyson's poem "Ulysses":

"For always roaming with a hungry heart
Much have I seen and known; cities of men
And manners, climates, councils, governments,
Myself not least, but honour'd of them all;"

Not a meme, exactly, but what passed for such mid-19th century ...

The idea that there are people below the age of like 40 who *don't* know who Avril Lavigne is is giving me heartburn. Is this what aging feels like I don't like it at all

>177 swynn: I think you might be on to something, Steve! Compare that verse (and the plot line of "Ulysses" itself) to the opening verse of "Hungry Heart":

I got a wife and kids in Baltimore, jack
I went out for a ride and I never went back
Like a river that don't know where it's flowing
I took a wrong turn and I just kept going.

Ah, a dilemma as old as antiquity!

>178 false-knight: If it makes you feel better, I am well north of 40! :-)

>180 rosalita: Oh, yeah, you're fine, it's just that now I have to confront the reality that my own cultural signifiers of preteendom/teenagehood are not, in fact, eternal. Do the kids entering college this year know about Cascada.

>177 swynn: Oh, nice catch, Stephen!

>178 false-knight: Ha! Right? They are absolute babies (and I mean that in the nicest sense). Yesterday we were reading Catullus and one of the little darlings asked, completely sincerely, why Catullus was bothering to try to get with a lesbian. So we had to have The Sappho Talk. The dears. I mean, honestly. At the end of the discussion another student chimed in and said, "I LOVE this class. Who knew you could learn SO MUCH in a Latin course?!" And I wanted both to hug him and maybe strangle him a little bit. The joys of teaching.

>179 rosalita: Julia: Wait, Ulysses has a discernible plot? (*snork!*)

And now I'll be singing that song in my head all day (I can think of worse ones to get stuck with, though.)

>180 rosalita: (Same.)

>181 false-knight: Ha! Well, I mean, I could do a survey if you really want to know...

On the agenda today:
Work, helping Charlie with *his* work if he needs it, menu planning and grocery ordering, hopefully a little reading time? That's been seriously lacking this week.

On the reading front:
Just a few pages in My Sweet Orange Tree to report, plus a bit of Collins listening. Yoicks.

What We're Watching:
My pick last night; I decided to introduce Charlie to The Saint (the '90s movie, not the show), which I ADORED as a college student. I fancied myself an adorably nerdy Elizabeth Shue. Ah, youth. Anyway. It holds up pretty much. I still love it and the soundtrack is EVERYTHING. But the Thomas More bit is now completely skeezy where it was the ultimate romantic thing when I was younger. Charlie was wholesale unimpressed, the scamp.

>185 scaifea: Well, I haven't actually read it, but I always think of it as the ultimate road movie. Kind of like an ancient "Planes, Trains and Automobiles." Not so much?

>187 rosalita: *SNORK!!!* Um, yup. Absolutely accurate. If only John Candy were still around to star in the movie adaptation. (Seriously, though, I would watch the heck out of that.)

>186 scaifea: I hope that you get your reading time in today!

>189 ChelleBearss: Thanks, Chelle - me, too!

I hear you on the lack of reading time, although in my case it's just me choosing not to crack open a book when I have breaks. Going to try and be better about that today.

>191 MickyFine: Micky: That's me, too, to a certain extent. On teaching days, once I'm finished I'm just too pooped to read, really.

>192 scaifea: I totally get that. Knowing you're a morning person, I bet afternoon isn't the best time for teaching for you.

All these references to Greek and Latin writers make me want to reread them. I'd probably like it better now that I'm older and hopefully wiser.

And all this talk about young people not knowing Golden Girls, Friends, Avril Lavigne... seriously? Am I that old? It reminds me of an exhibition I went to about the 1960s which was fun because I relived childhood, but when I heard some schoolboys talk about it as if it were ancient history... I felt "old". To them there seemed little difference between the Roman Empire and the 1960s...

Wanders through... gains an Avril Lavigne earworm... wanders out slightly more crankily...

>193 MickyFine: Oooof, you're right about that, Micky. It is ROUGH. I scheduled my classes in the late afternoon this year so that Charlie would be done with his school day first, but it's makes for a *very* long work day for me. Next year I'll be teaching late morning/midday, which is much better for me.

>194 Trifolia: Woot! I'll put you down as a potential group read participant, then!

It gets increasingly funnier/sadder to teach first year college students, honestly. Not to mention the quips from my 12yo, who likes to claim that movies from my childhood must have been in black and white. Yeesh.

>195 BekkaJo: Hi, Bekka! I unashamedly love Avril Lavigne. I was in grad school when she came on the scene, so she's probably really meant for the group just behind me, but I still think her songs are very listenable. I'll try to refrain from belting out her hits here from now on, though - I don't want to drive off the good company!

>197 scaifea: - I'll put you down as a potential group read participant, then: Please do!

movies from my childhood must have been in black and white, shocking. It reminds me of my friend whose 8 year old asked if she had lived in caves during childhood. I think the teacher should possibly have given a little more explanation before he sent his pupils home.

>197 scaifea: Tell that young whippersnapper that when you were a kid the only movies were shown on zoetropes. That'll learn him, as my Aunt Clara used to say.

Hi Amber!

I remember visiting your threads a long time ago and, realizing I could never keep up (my loss), stopped visiting. I’m back, after your 5* visit to my thread with the Stephen Fry links.

>9 scaifea: Thanks to 8th grade mythology in one school district and 9th grade mythology in another school district when we moved, I get it!

>41 scaifea: Haven’t read the rant before. Points taken.

>48 scaifea: A couple of years ago I would have said Jamie Fraser, but having read the Orphan X series by Gregg Hurwitz, I’d say Orphan X.

>53 scaifea: Ruth Galloway is a great series.

>58 scaifea: Yum, two of my favorite flavors. And I love that platter.

>71 scaifea: Another wonderful series, although the jury’s out for me on the addition of Lee Child’s brother to the franchise.

>121 jnwelch: Although I have never done it before or since, when I finished Cold Mountain during my lunch hour at work 20 or so years ago, I was so unhappy with the ending that I literally threw the book down onto my desk.

>138 scaifea: Sorry about the migraine. My sister has reported that even slight dehydration triggers them for her. Glad the meds kicked in.

>158 scaifea: And of course I had to start singing Oedipus Rex by Tom Lehrer…

>199 Trifolia: Woot! I think we may just have enough interest to get a group read up and running soon.

Caves?! *snork!* At least Charlie isn't *that* cheeky.

>200 rosalita: Julia: HAAAhahahaha!! I'll give that a try next time!

This conversation triggered a memory and pulling out my librarian skills I tracked down the Mindset List from Marist (formerly the always/never list from Beloit College). One thing that stood out for me on this year's list is that Putin has always been the leader in Russia. Full list here.

>201 karenmarie: Hi, Karen! There's never a need to stay caught up here - just pop in when you can and you'll be welcome any time. Chances are very good you won't have missed anything earth-shattering from me.

I haven't read the Orphan X series, but I'll definitely put it on the list now, alongside Galloway's stuff and the Reacher books!

The friands were excellent, and the platter is a part of my Blue Willow set, which was my grandmother's everyday dish set, sat in a cabinet on display for most of my childhood, and then given to me by my mom because she knew how much I loved them and loved the idea that I would use them everyday like her mom did.

Ooof, your comments on Cold Mountain make me hesitant. I'll still likely give it a go eventually, but I'll be forewarned now.

Yeah, dehydration is a likely culprit for me most of the time and I'm a big dummy for never learning my lesson and just drinking more water. *self eye roll*

*snorks at Tom Lehrer reference!*

>204 MickyFine: Oh! I was *just* thinking about this sort of thing earlier! When I was on faculty at Kenyon, they used to hand out a similar kind of list to all advisers every fall. So fascinating.

>158 scaifea: that is an Avril Lavigne lyric?
>169 scaifea: Aaaah *explained*
Gee, your thread is a roller coaster!
haha.

>207 LovingLit: *snork!* Hold on tight, Megan!

>185 scaifea: Inquiring minds want to know! Have the youth of today experienced the emotional highs and lows of going completely ape to "Everytime We Touch"?!

>209 false-knight: HA! Okay, I'll make a note to ask and report back.

>48 scaifea: >201 karenmarie: >205 scaifea: My first thought, oddly enough, was the Count of Monte Cristo, but on immediate reflection, I'm with Karen: Orphan X-The Nowhere Man-Evan Smoak. That guy can get out of ANY impossible situation. I hope you'll enjoy the books, Amber. Scott Brick also does the narration on all the audio editions.

Another Avril fan here! She is totally nostalgic for me. I think I can still sing the lyrics to every song off her first album.

>212 curioussquared: Woot! I love it!

>211 brodiew2: Edmund Dantes would very much be my second pick. Filthy rich, clever as all get-out, and with a healthy sense of vengeance. The. Perfect. Man.

Hi Amber, Happy Thursday!

>215 connie53: Hi, Connie! Happy Friday!

Today's Agenda:
Weekly bill sorting (*stares into camera at Katie and Micky*), grocery pick-up, baking (Peanut Butter Blondies (no raisins *stares at Katie again*)), work on more rereads for the myth class, office hours, and very possibly a nap this afternoon.

We're finally getting back into the groove of our daily walks after it being too cold and too snowy (our neighborhood is terrible about shoveling sidewalks), and it's wonderful. It's also been sunny the past two days, and getting out in the sunshine works all sorts of wonders for me.

On the reading front:
A slow reading day again yesterday (beyond work-related stuff), although I did read a bit of My Sweet Orange Tree and listened to some of The Moonstone, which I really assumed was going to be a supernatural kind of read but seems to be turning more into an English Countryside Manor Locked Door Mystery type thing. And I am okay with that. So far.

What We're Watching:
Thursday Night! GBBS Night! We've moved on to the Masterclass shows and they're so much fun. Paul and Mary are a delight together. We also watched an episode of Arrow and one of Britain's Best Home Cook.

>217 scaifea: Peanut Butter Blondies (no raisins ...

What on earth would inspire someone to put raisins in a peanut butter blondie, or even list them as an optional item on the recipe?! Blech.

Enjoy your baking and bill sorting!! Hope you get that nap too.

Happy Friday, Amber.

I'm with Tomm on the Matt Damon Bourne movies. Love them. Fast-moving, great action, and MD's so good in them.

Have you tried the new All Creatures Great and Small tv series? It strikes me as one Charlie might like. I loved the books, too.

I'm off to get my second covid vaccine shot soon. Is it weird to actually look forward to a shot? Maybe not, with this one.

>218 lauralkeet: *snork!* No one, as far as I know, Laura. I was trying to tease Katie.

>219 jnwelch: Hi, Joe!

Matt Damon is a favorite all around for Tomm, and I think he's pretty good at his job; I just don't care much for spy movies and car chases. It's fun to see him enjoy them so much, though, so I try not to complain too much.

I read the ACG&S books, oh, *years* ago, and I liked them a lot. We'll have to keep the show in mind. Thanks for the tip! Is that a Netflix one?

And yay for the vaccine shot!! I wish we knew when we'd be able to get ours here. *sigh*

Hope you get your walk and nap in today! I had a nap yesterday afternoon and it was glorious!

Have fun with that bill sorting and raisin-free baking!

>221 ChelleBearss: Thanks, Chelle! Naps are the absolute best, aren't they? They're so wasted on children, who never seem to appreciate their beauty.

>222 katiekrug: *snork!*

>58 scaifea: Those look delicious!!

I was just skimming to catch up! Your thread is making me hungry. .

Hi Amber,
I've been off in lala land for much of the month. Unfortunately that didn't include naps (yes indeedy, wasted on children!).
That journey to lala was a case of simply not being able to read. I've tried various genre and activating WL requests, all to naught. So I haven't done much (expect rabbit on about ethnic food and culinary dispersion of ancient ingredients) and that generally hasn't provided relevant commentary about bookish topics.

It was lovely seeing you had visited this morning. I am with you about 'wish we knew when we'd be able to get our vaccine immunizations'. Politicians largely earn a fail across Canada for logistics.

>225 leperdbunny: Thanks, Tamara! They did turn out pretty well. New treats later today...

>226 SandyAMcPherson: Hi, Sandy!

I hope your reading slump gets gone soon. Those are no fun.

Thanks for the kind words about visiting your thread - I'm there, lurking, generally, and only speak up if I think I have something sort of maybe worthwhile to add to a conversation. I enjoy what goes on over there, though, even when I'm not participating!

Ohio seems to be behind a lot of other states as far as distributing the vaccine goes. I'm both really happy for everyone getting the shots already and anxious for us to get ours! We'll get there, eventually.

>228 scaifea: Iowa is the "hold my beer" state when it comes to most things covid and especially getting eligible people the vaccine. It's maddening. So remember it could always be worse!

>229 rosalita: *snork!* Oh, Julia, I think of you every time I see another insane headline about Iowa and its covid response. Just...UGH.

>230 scaifea: Yeah. *UGH*

I'm at an age now where I regret every nap
I turned down as a kid.
I wish you a wonderful weekend, Amber!

>228 scaifea: and >229 rosalita: - I saw a post on FB from Darryl that indicates Pennsylvania has also effed up their vaccination roll-out. And a friend in Massachusetts, with a severely compromised immune system and many health issues, had a ridiculous time getting an appointment.

>233 katiekrug: I saw a post on FB from Darryl that indicates Pennsylvania has also effed up their vaccination roll-out.

Yep. It's moving very slowly, for probably lots of different reasons that, taken together, jam up the works. I'm nowhere near eligible based on my age, but some of my friends have spent hours on hold trying to schedule appointments. Others, who have second homes in other states, have been able to use that to get the shots there. It doesn't affect me directly because we'll be in VA by the time we're eligible*, but it's really unfortunate for all of the people who *should* be getting vaccinated now.

----
* I'm sure VA has its own issues but I'm intentionally not watching that at the moment. Too much else on my mind.

>205 scaifea: I love it that you’re using your grandmother’s Blue Willow set for every day. I have 7 different sets of dishes, but only use our every day, our wedding china on special occasions, and Bill’s dad/stepmom's Christmas dishes on the appropriate day. Other than that I’ve got Bill’s grandmother’s good china, Bill’s mama’s good china and her every day china, and Bill's old every day (which I love, Franciscan Apple pattern, but Bill got bored with in 1998). Bill is the only child of an only child, so we’ve got everybody’s everything.

Cold Mountain was beautifully written. It’s just that parts of it were sad. I think you should read it.

Tom Lehrer fan?

>223 scaifea: Naps are wonderful. They feel so deliciously self-indulgent.

Re Covid vaccines – it’s tragic and criminal that there was no national vaccine roll-out effort until January 20th and that every state has done its own thing. Above and beyond that it’s tragic that people have to be tech-savvy or lucky to actually get the vaccine.

>231 rosalita: >233 katiekrug: >234 lauralkeet: Ooof, yeah. I'm so thankful that my parents were able to get appointments with absolutely no problems and already have both their shots (they're in Indiana and both are 80+). Now I just need to work on being patient for our own shots...

>232 SirThomas: Thomas: Ha! Yes - same!!

And thanks - I hope you have a great weekend, too!

>235 karenmarie: Karen: I inherited another china set from my grandmother (same one) that I really didn't like at all. My mom had no attachments to it and there was no real story behind it that anyone knew, so I...*whispers* donated the whole kit and kaboodle. No regrets there.

I will most definitely very likely eventually read Cold Mountain, if only because I know it is on a couple of my lists.

I know of Lehrer but amd not overly familiar with his stuff. Maybe I should invest some time on him at some point?

Naps are everything. I usually end up taking one on Fridays and at least one at some point during the weekend. 2pm rolls around and I usually struggle to keep my eyes open.

Oh, I 100% agree with you on the whole vaccine distribution thing. Should have been a federal business from the start. In general I'm not a big fan of Letting the States Do Their Own Thing. Never seems to go well, that.

>217 scaifea: Fourth wall break! I love those!

FYI The new adaptation of All Creatures Great & Small aired on PBS in the US. Originally a BBC or ITV production in the UK. I haven't watched the new one yet but I'm looking forward to it. I still have fond memories of the version from the 70s, which boasts Peter Davison among its cast. My mom used to borrow the VHS copies from the library and we'd watch them.

>239 MickyFine: Then you'd love Greek and Roman comedy, Micky, because they break the 4th wall almost constantly.

I wonder if the show is available through BBCAmerica here, then. I'll have to investigate.

This week's Friday After School Snack = Peanut Butter Blondies:



NB, Katie: Those are chocolate chips. Just FYI.

>239 MickyFine: >240 scaifea: We’ve watched the All Creatures Great and Small series as well as the Christmas special. It’s nice relaxing viewing, but a bit too much human interest angst and not enough animals in my opinion (but maybe that’s just me). And Mr SandDune did say that he thought the Christmas special would have Alf Wight (the original James Herriot) turning in his grave, but I shall say no more.

>241 scaifea: - WANT.

>241 scaifea: Can I come for after school snacks just ONCE, please? #nomnom
Though... have you seen the face on the Blondie? Have a wonderful weekend, Amber! Is Charlie writing on a new story or was that reading event just a one-time-event? And please give pup Mario a belly scratch!

>242 SandDune: Hi, Rhian! Too much angst and not enough animals, eh? Huh. That doesn't sound great. I'll still keep in on the list, I think. We'll see.

>243 katiekrug: They turned out pretty good if I do say so.

>244 PersephonesLibrary: Käthe, you're welcome any time for snacks! And *snork!* I didn't see the face until you pointed it out! Ha!

Charlie is *constantly* writing stories. He has piles of notebooks filled with them, and he spends a lot of his spare time working on them. He's been doing this since he first learned to write and before then he was always making up stories and telling them to me. His next big English class assignment is to write a fiction story and he is so jazzed about it. Right up his street, that.

At present Mario is snoozing under my desk and acting as a foot warmer. I'll reach down and give her your belly scratch presently.

Re: The new version of All Creatures Great & Small — it may be available for streaming through pbs.org. Usually currently airing series are available for a limited time, and then they are moved to the PBS Passport service for which you have to pay.

As an aside, you may not be aware that PBS now offers live streaming of their content via the website, which is wonderful if you don't have cable and also live in an area where you either can't put up an antenna or wouldn't get good over-the-air reception.

>246 rosalita: Oh, that's good news about the live streaming - thanks, Julia! You always have such excellent nuggets of information!

>246 rosalita: - This is helpful, thanks! We don't have cable, and the NYC PBS station has eluded our antenna. Unless all it does now is broadcast static. No? I thought not.

>247 scaifea: I live to serve!

>248 katiekrug: Yeah, I live in the middle of nowhere in a small valley that means even if I could put up an antenna the only station that would be viewable is the near-ish ABC affiliate. I was so excited when PBS added live-streaming last year.

>235 karenmarie: >238 scaifea: I grew up listening to Tom Lehrer and singing "About a Girl." That probably accounts for a lot.

I totally loved the All Creatures Great and Small books. Haven't watched the new one (didn't know there was one) but the first one was so pale in comparison to the books imo that I just couldn't.

Great fan of the Herriot books, as well as the original series, and now, the new one as well. Although I will grant that many liberties are being taken. I think the lack of animals has a bit to do with the animal welfare restrictions that are now in place, and were not such an issue when the first series was made.

>250 quondame: *grins vaguely* Since I'm not too familiar with his stuff, I'll take your word for it.

>251 RebaRelishesReading: Ooof, it's rough when an adaptation is so disappointing, Reba. I don't blame you for not wanting to try the new one, then.

>252 laytonwoman3rd: Linda: I'm okay with liberties if they stay true to the spirit of the thing, and honestly it's been so long since I read the books that I probably wouldn't know the difference anyway. The animal thing makes total sense, though.

>242 SandDune: That was my problem with the Durrells in Corfu series, too. I _love_ Gerald Durrell's books - which are about animals and him and his family, in that order. The show was about his family and him and oh yeah there are some animals about. Yawn. Maybe someone who started with loving Lawrence's books would like it better - I've read a couple, I prefer Gerald. Though Larry can be very funny...

>48 scaifea: - Ha, now it makes sense to me, you're a Gen-aficionado and to be honest, I can start to see where that comes from. I started the book (and probably the series) and I love it so far.
And there wouldn't be any left of the >241 scaifea:?
Enjoy your weekend, Amber.

>254 jjmcgaffey: *waves at Jennifer*

>255 Trifolia: Oh, YAY! I hope you love the series as much as I do (although that's a tall order, to be honest)!

And if there aren't leftovers, I'll make more - help yourself!

Thanks - I hope you have a great weekend, too!

Today's Agenda:

It's a rainy day here, but I'm okay with that. It was nice to wake up to the sound of it on the roof, and I even heard some birds chirping! I probably means we'll only take an evening walk, though, and skip the midday one. (I am also okay with that if I'm honest.)

Baking today (Potato Bread and a Double Fudge Chocolate Cheesecake), then some time in the sewing room, I think, and some afternoon reading time. I'll try to get a new thread up and running today, too.

On the reading front:
Still not a lot to report - it's not been a great week for leisure reading. I managed a few pages in My Sweet Orange Tree, but otherwise I spent the day on rereading some Herodotus for the myth class. Not that I'm complaining - I love Herodotus to bits. Such a hoot.

What We're Watching:
Friday Nights are Family Game Nights (we played D&D with Charlie as our DM) and then watched Graham Norton and QI. Always a good time.

The new thread is up:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/330144