lindapanzo carries on in 2023--part 1

I'm back for 2023. I started doing categories back with the 999 challenge in 2009. With the pandemic, I've found that simplifying is ideal for me and so, for 2023, I intend to keep the same four categories I had in 2022.

Category 1: Mysteries--74 books read (out of 70)
Category 2: Sports--12 books read (out of 10)
Category 3: Nonfiction--11 books read (out of 10)
Category 4: Fiction--12 books read (out of 10)

Category 1: Mysteries--74 of 70 read--COMPLETED

1. Irish Coffee Murder by Leslie Meier--finished on 1/4/23
2. House Party Murder Rap by Sonia Parin--finished on 1/14/23
3. Post After Post-Mortem by E.C.R. Lorac--finished on 1/20/23
4. A Cryptic Clue by Victoria Gilbert--finished on 1/26/23
5. The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman--finished on 2/11/23
6. Vinyl Resting Place by Olivia Blacke--finished on 2/13/23
7. The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett--finished on 2/18/23
8. Against the Currant by Olivia Matthews--finished on 2/22/23
9. Fatal Fascinator by Jenn McKinlay--finished on 2/24/23
10. Hard Dough Homicide by Olivia Matthews--finished on 3/6/23
11. Mother of the Bride Murder by Leslie Meier--finished on 3/10/23
12. Lemon Curd Killer by Laura Childs--finished on 3/14/23
13. Death by a Thousand Sips by Gretchen Rue--finished on 3/19/23
14. Fateful Words by Paige Shelton--finished on 3/22/23
15. The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman--finished on 3/27/23
16. Of Manners and Murder by Anastasia Hastings--finished on 3/30/23
17. Steeped in Malice by Vicki Delany--finished on 4/6/23
18. Stalking Around the Christmas Tree by Jacqueline Frost--finished on 4/16/23
19. Read to Death at the Lakeside Library by Holly Danvers--finished on 4/21/23
20. Murder in the Book Lover’s Loft by Ellery Adams--finished on 4/29/23
21. Murder Uncorked by Maddie Day--finished on 5/2/23
22. Christmas Cocoa and a Corpse by Maddie Day--finished on 5/5/23
23. Have Yourself a Deadly Little Christmas by Vicki Delany--finished on 5/12/23
24. Board to Death by CJ Connor--finished on 5/22/23
25. Murder at Mallowan Hall by Colleen Cambridge--finished on 5/28/23
26. A Fatal Groove by Olivia Blacke--finished on 5/31/23
27. Mastering the Art of French Murder by Colleen Cambridge--finished on 6/5/23
28. Barbacoa, Bomba, and Betrayal by Raquel V. Reyes--finished on 6/10/23
29. Murder Checks Out by Victoria Gilbert--finished on 6/17/23
30. A Trace of Poison by Colleen Cambridge--finished on 6/22/23
31. Death and Croissants by Ian Moore--finished on 6/25/23
32. Murder by Invitation Only by Colleen Cambridge--finished on 6/30/23
33. Murder in Williamstown by Kerry Greenwood--finished on 7/4/23
34. Murder on Mistletoe Lane by Clara McKenna--finished on 7/10/23
35. Christmas Mittens Murder by Lee Hollis, Lynn Cahoon, and Maddie Day--finished on 7/15/23
36. Death by Chocolate Marshmallow Pie by Sarah Graves--finished on 7/20/23
37. Caught on the Book by Laura Gail Black--finished on 7/25/23
38. Music and Murder by Jeanne M. Dams--finished on 8/7/23
39. Jumping Jenny by Anthony Berkeley--finished on 8/10/23
40. Curds of Prey by Korina Moss--finished on 8/17/2023
41. Case of the Bleus by Korina Moss--finished on 8/21/23
42. Catch Me If You Candy by Ellie Alexander--finished on 8/26/23
43. Dead on Target by M.C. Beaton--finished on 8/31/23
44. Murder by the Seashore by Samara Yew--finished on 9/4/23
45. Four Parties and a Funeral by Maria DiRico--finished on 9/7/23
46. At the Edge of the Woods by Victoria Houston--finished on 9/11/23
47. Murder at the Pumpkin Pageant by Darci Hannah--finished on 9/13/23
48. Mistletoe and Murder by Connie Berry--finished on 9/14/23
49. A Nutcracker Nightmare by Christina Romeril--finished on 9/16/23
50. Murder at the Taffy Shop by Maddie Day--finished on 9/19/23
51. Live and Let Grind by Tara Lush--finished on 9/20/23
52. The Sign of Four Spirits by Vicki Delany--finished on 9/29/23
53. Honey Drop Dead by Laura Childs--finished on 10/1/23
54. A Christmas Vanishing by Anne Perry--finished on 10/2/23
55. The Hangman by Louise Penny--finished on 10/3/23
56. Deep Fried Death by Maddie Day--finished on 10/6/23
57. The Last Donut by Jessica Beck--finished on 10/7/23
58. Coconut Drop Dead by Olivia Matthews--finished on 10/15/23
59. Murder at the Beacon Bakeshop by Darci Hannah--finished on 10/18/23
60. Cheddar Off Dead by Korina Moss--finished on 10/22/2023
61. Snow Place for Murder by Diane Kelly--finished on 10/25/23
62. A Questionable Character by Lorna Barrett--finished on 10/29/23
63. Murder at the Christmas Cookie Bake-Off by Darci Hannah--finished on 11/3/23
64. The Christmas Stranger by Leslie Budewitz--finished on 11/4/23
65. Double Grudge Donuts by Ginger Bolton--finished on 11/7/23
66. Mischief Nights are Murder by Libby Klein--finished on 11/9/23
67. Gone for Gouda by Korina Moss--finished on 11/15/23
68. Murder at the Blueberry Festival by Darci Hannah--finished on 11/23/23
69. Death and Papa Noel by Ian Moore--finished on 12/1/23
70. On Thin Icing by Ellie Alexander--finished on 12/6/23
71. Public Anchovy #1 by Mindy Quigley--finished on 12/13/23
72. Christmas Cocoa Murder by Carlene O'Connor, Maddie Day, and Alex Erickson--finished on 12/16/23
73. Caught Bread Handed by Ellie Alexander--finished on 12/26/23
74. A Brunch With Death by Ellie Alexander--finished on 12/27/23

POSSIBLES
--Darci Hannah
--Connie Berry
--Ellie Alexander
--Colleen Cambridge
--Korina Moss
--Maddie Day

Category 2: Sports--12 of 10 read--COMPLETED

1. A Season in the Sun: The Rise of Mickey Mantle by Randy Roberts--finished on 1/29/23
2. Odd Man In: Hockey's Emergency Goalies and the Wildest One-Day Job in Sports by Stephen Whyno--finished on 2/1/23
3. Tales from the Chicago Blackhawks Locker Room by Harvey Wittenberg--finished on 2/28/23
4. Lefty and Tim by William C. Kashatus--finished on 4/10/23
5. One Day at Fenway: A Day in the Life of Baseball in America by Steve Kettmann--finished on 4/26/23
6. Nine Lessons I Learned from My Father by Murray Howe--finished on 5/19/23
7. The Right Call: What Sports Teach Us About Work and Life by Sally Jenkins--finished on 6/15/23
8. The Great Red Sox Spring Training Tour of 1911 by Bill Nowlin--finished on 6/19/23
9. When the Game Was War: The NBA's Greatest Season by Rich Cohen--finished on 7/31/23
10. Game Time: A Baseball Companion by Roger Angell--finished on 10/4/23
11. Tom Seaver: A Terrific Life by Bill Madden--finished on 10/11/23
12. '63: The Story of the 1963 World Champion Chicago Bears by Gary B. Youmans and Maury Youmans--finished on 12/21/23

POSSIBLES

Category 3: Nonfiction--11 of 10 read--COMPLETED

1. Platonic by Marisa G. Franco--finished on 1/16/23
2. The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times by Michelle Obama--finished on 1/23/23
3. Olive, Mabel & Me by Andrew Cotter--finished on 2/2/23
4. Wake Up With Purpose!: What I’ve Learned in My First Hundred Years by Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt--finished on 4/2/23
5. Made in Chicago: Stories Behind 30 Great Hometown Bites by Monica Eng and David Hammond--finished on 5/17/23
6. The Weather Machine by Andrew Blum--finished on 8/4/23
7. The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz by Erik Larson--finished on 11/1/23
8. Unlikely Heroes by Derek Leebaert--finished on 11/18/23
9. Lost Chicago Department Stores by Leslie Goddard--finished on 12/3/23
10. Charlie Brown's Christmas Miracle: The Inspiring, Untold Story of the Making of a Holiday Classic by Michael Keane--finished on 12/9/23
11. 1932: FDR, Hoover and the Dawn of a New America by Scott Martelle--finished on 12/20/23

POSSIBLES

Category 4: Fiction--12 of 10 read--COMPLETED

1. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver--finished on 1/11/23
2. Horse by Geraldine Brooks--finished on 2/7/23
3. To Tame a Land by Louis L'Amour--finished on 2/15/23
4. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho--finished on 2/26/23
5. Silver Canyon by Louis L'Amour--finished on 5/8/23
6. Lady Clementine by Marie Benedict--finished on 6/14/23
7. The Opera Sisters by Marianne Monson--finished on 9/2/23
8. The Academy by David Poyer--finished on 10/13/23
9. The First Christmas of the War by Alan Simon--finished on 11/24/23
10. Thanksgiving, 1942 by Alan Simon--finished on 11/26/23
11. The First Christmas After the War by Alan Simon--finished on 11/29/23
12. Resting Scrooge Face by Meghan Quinn--finished on 12/22/23

POSSIBLES:
--Mercury Pictures Presents by Anthony Marra
--Künstlers in Paradise by Cathleen Schine
--The Librarian of Burned Books by Brianna Labuskes
--Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher
--Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

One thing I definitely want to do for 2023 is participate more fully in the CATs and KITs.

ClassicsCAT, SeriesCAT, and MysteryKIT look especially appealing to me.

Welcome! Hope you have fun reading.

Great to see you here, Linda. I'm wishing and hoping for a smooth 2023 and I hope that things are going well for you and your family.

>8 DeltaQueen50: Things are improving. Thanks Judy. There's always concern over Dad in his memory care home but he seems quite content there.

>9 lindapanzo: Knowing that your Dad is content must be very reassuring for the rest of the family. Fingers crossed that 2023 will be a great reading year for you!

>10 DeltaQueen50: Since Dad went into the hospital on Oct 4th (then into a rehab facility and then into memory care), it's been much, much quieter and so much easier to read. Alas, I've also discovered the Black Friday rates on HBO Max and Peacock so I'm watching those and also Netflix, Acorn, and Amazon Prime. It's also hockey season. Still easier to read without interruption now though. I put on the satellite music Christmas station, sit in my favorite chair with a beverage and I can have a few uninterrupted hours of reading every evening.

Now that I've finished the new Louise Penny book, A World of Curiosities, I can get started on the brand new Three Pines series on Amazon Prime. I think there are two episodes out so far and they're releasing two more each week for the rest of the year.

I'm up to date on a lot of my book series and looking for new series. Net Galley helps with that somewhat.

>11 lindapanzo: I watched the first episode last night. I'm torn about how to think about it. It certainly makes Three Pines seem far from welcoming. I don't remember that part from the first book.

>12 majkia: On Facebook, Louise Penny said that, overall, she's happy with the episodes but that she doesn't like how they've made Three Pines less welcoming than it is. There are also plot lines that weren't in the book.

I know the first book was the basis for a not-so-great movie awhile back. Does the Three Pines series on Amazon Prime start with the first book or the second? I can't remember. I need to watch at least the first two episodes because I'm going to brunch with friends who've read the newest book, as I have, but have also seen the first two episodes.

Aha, if the Internet is to be believed, the first episode on Amazon Prime is taken from A Fatal Grace aka Dead Cold.

>13 lindapanzo: yes. Definitely not Stilll Life

I hope your enjoy your 2023 reading!

Welcome back and have a great reading year! I hope Three Pines comes to another streaming service or can be acquired in a physical copy, because I don't have Prime.

Glad to see you back, Linda. Hope you have a good reading yar. I've watched the first episodes of Three Pines and I still don't know who some people are yet. And I too am not getting a friendly vibe from the town.

Happy reading in 2023!

Have a great reading year, Linda!

Looking forward to your reads this year! Have to agree abit about Three Pines. I decided it wasn't going to work for me. Doesn't have the "feel" of the books. Too bad.

>20 mysterymax: I watched the first two episodes as it looks like two episodes per book. I liked it a whole lot more than I thought I would but it seems strange because Gamache had never been there and they certainly treated him as an outsider. A few things seemed off such as Ruth the poet had her duck, which I don't think happened til later.

It also helps that, when I've read so many books in a series, I don't tend to remember the plots that well, though my intuition told me whodunnit so maybe I did remember it.

I'm thinking that re-reading the Louise Penny books, in order, might be a good thing.

Looking forward to an excellent year's reading.

>22 Helenliz: I hope so. Things are calmer now that Dad is in a memory care facility. It's been hectic caring for him for 3+ years.

I saw your "read a book from each year you've been alive" challenge. That's intriguing. I don't think I'd make it a full challenge but either here, or on my thread in the 75 group, I might make that a sub challenge for myself.

I hope you have an easier time in 2023, with plenty of space to read.

Good luck with your reading. I really need to simplify my challenges.

>21 lindapanzo: I don't think the tv series will necessarily follow the books in terms of order because this wasn't from the first book
>22 Helenliz: What a great idea to read a book from each year of your life, except in my case it would be more books than I read all this year, lol. I'd have to make sure they were small ones!

>26 mysterymax: A few years ago, the not very good movie followed the first book. So I heard that this would start with the second. Have to see if that holds true throughout.

>21 lindapanzo: - I've seen all 4 now and I feel like they're missing something. I think there's a bit more humor in the books, maybe. I know a lot gets lost when a book goes to movie/TV. And I have some completely different ideas on how some people should look.

>28 dudes22: I agree on how they look. Jean-Guy especially doesn't look like what I expected.

>29 lindapanzo: - I can understand that they have to leave stuff out, but a big charm in the books for me are the many conversations that take place in the bistro with food and drinks by the fire. I think Jean-Guy should be shorter, Lacoste should be taller, and Myrna should be (am I allowed to say?) fatter.

>30 dudes22: I'd agree with those assessments.

Another mystery author posted on Facebook that she liked the second set of episodes much better than the first two so I might watch them tonight. I have to plan around Chicago Blackhawks games on TV.

Wishing you a wonderful 2023, Lynda!

Stopping by with best wishes for your 2023 reading.

Interesting conversation about Three Pines on the small screen. It can be disappointing to see familar characters in the flesh, so to speak. Looks like 2023 will be a good one.

>34 VivienneR: I agree. I've come to approach screen versions of books as something apart from the book(s). Try to judge them as a thing on their own and not related to the books. Otherwise, I go nuts saying - That's not right... They wouldn't do that... etc etc etc.

Have a wonderful holiday.

I'm halfway through the first episode of "Three Pines" and I'd be further along if my streaming was more reliable. Alfred Molina can pretty much play any part, so I like him as Gamache, but I also liked the movie of "Still Life" from a few years ago and thought that was well casted.

>32 mstrust: Sorry for spelling your name incorrectly!

I'm finally making it back around to 2023 threads. Hope you have a great year of reading.

I enjoyed reading the comments on the Three Pines series. I watched the first pair of episodes, and while I have doubts about some aspects such as the casting of Beauvoir, I'm pretty optimistic about the series.

I recall watching half of the 2013 Still Life movie and abandoning it. I hated the casting, as several of the actors didn't seem convincing as French Canadians. (I grew up close to the area where the fictional Three Pines is supposedly located.) So, in comparison, this new adaptation seems a vast improvement. Molina didn't match my image of Gamache (I keep seeing Roy Marsden who played Dalgleish in the P.D. James mystery in my head) but otherwise, I think he is fine in the role.

My Thingaversary Books for this Year

14 books +1 for my 14th Thingaversary on January 13

1. Fatal Fascinator by Jenn McKinlay--COMPLETED
2. A Man of Iron: The Turbulent Life and Improbable Presidency of Grover Cleveland by Troy Senik
3. Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life by Dacher Keltner
4. The Unseen (The Barrøy Chronicles Book 1) by Roy Jacobsen
5. The Nazi Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill by Brad Meltzer
6. Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez
7. Checkmate to Murder by E.C.R. Lorac
8. Horse by Geraldine Brooks--COMPLETED
9. These Names Make Clues by E.C.R. Lorac
10. The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood
11. The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman--COMPLETED
12. The Red and the Black by Stendhal
13. The Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Rinehart
14. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho--COMPLETED
15. Dinner with DiMaggio by Rock Positano

Finally finished Barbara Kingsolver's latest, Demon Copperhead, a terrific, but sometimes painful to read, novel about poverty and pain meds addiction in Appalachia. One of the best books I've read in quite some time. A lead character who gets the worst of life thrown at him, and more, but who maintains his resilience and somehow, against incredible odds, persists.

Thanks to Mark of the 75ers group for strongly recommending it and urging me to go outside of my reading comfort zone. I'll have to give that a try a bit more often in 2023.

Now that I'm feeling better, I can start picking out Thingaversary books. These will be shown up in message 39.

>40 lindapanzo:, Oh, that's good to hear you enjoyed it. I adore Kingsolver's writing, so I'll have to make sure to pick it up sooner than later!

>41 whitewavedarling: I've never read anything by her before. Which novels of hers would you recommend?

>42 lindapanzo:, The first book I read by her is The Bean Trees, but I read it so long ago (high school) that I don't remember much beyond enjoying it. More recently, though, I absolutely adored The Poisonwood Bible and Flight Behavior both.

>43 whitewavedarling: Thanks for the tips. Since I'm looking to add my 14+1 Thingaversary books, I'll consider adding, and reading, another Kingsolver book, I think.

I can't wait until I get to Demon Copperhead as I love Barbara Kingsolver. I read The Bean Trees and it's sequel Pigs in Heaven during the last year or so and they made me a firm fan. I notice that you added The Unseen to your Thingaversary List - I took a book bullet from Mark for that as well.

>45 DeltaQueen50: Hi Judy, glad to hear that you like Kingsolver, too. I do plan to read more from her but I have some other literary fiction type books on hand so maybe not for awhile.

Over the weekend, I was under the weather. Even took a sick day at work on Monday, which I haven't done in years. I kept thinking that a nice cozy mystery would be just the thing to take my mind off of how miserable I felt but I carried on with Demon Copperhead.

I plan to read some mysteries next. It works out well for me to sprinkle in a work of regular, (nonmystery) fiction, a sports book, and a nonfiction book along with 3 or 4 mysteries. I'd hate to get to the end of the year and have to read all of one kind to complete a category goal. Unless it's mysteries. I could easily read 10+ mysteries to complete that category.

>46 lindapanzo: I am much the same - no matter how many different genres I read, I always go back to mysteries. Can't get enough of them!

>47 DeltaQueen50: Besides mysteries, I especially love books about baseball. One time, a friend said "you've probably read them all" and I said, no, I've barely scratched the surface and they publish new ones faster than I can read them. Same is true for mysteries, times 100.

>39 lindapanzo: Happy thingaversary!

>49 Tess_W: Thanks!!

I enjoyed an interview on WGN-TV in Chicago this morning with Brad Meltzer, the author of The Nazi Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill, one of the Thingaversary books I just picked up. Now I want to move it to the top of the TBR pile.

Last month, my favorite book, by far, was Barbara Kingsolver's Demon Copperhead. This month, I read a number of excellent books, most notably, Horse, the first book I've ever read by Geraldine Brooks. My favorite book of the year, so far.

You might need to be an avid hockey fan to appreciate it but, in hockey, there's a thing called E-BUGS. Emergency Back Up Goalies. Teams dress two goalies each game and, if they're both hurt, the team is in trouble. So, by NHL rule, an EBUG must be available to come in. These are ordinary people who once played goal. They sit in arenas during each game, ready to suit up at a moment's notice. A few years ago, my Chicago Blackhawks had to bring in Scott Foster, an accountant, to play goal. Odd Man In: Hockey's Emergency Goalies and the Wildest One-Day Job in Sports by Stephen Whyno was one of the most fascinating hockey books I've ever read.

Another terrific book this month was Olive, Mabel & Me by Andrew Cotter. I've been a bit blue because my sister's much-loved Yellow Lab passed away a few weeks ago (besides loving her personally, I always had a soft spot for her since she was born on my 50th birthday). Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed Cotter's book about his life, especially as to hiking/mountain climbing, with his two Labs, Olive and Mabel. I'd picked it up thinking it it was his book about their antics during the pandemic but that's a different book, apparently. Besides being funny, it also gave brought back happy memories about Ellie, though none of us ever went hiking/mountain climbing with her.

Quickly becoming one of my favorite mystery series is the Thursday Murder Club series by Richard Osman. This second book in the series, The Man Who Died Twice, was even better than the first.

I also discovered two terrific cozy series debuts this month: Vinyl Resting Place by Olivia Blacke (about a Texas vinyl record store and coffee bar) and Against the Currant by Olivia Matthews (set in a West Indian bake shop in Brooklyn).

It's been a great reading year so far!!

I'm happy that your reading year is going well, Linda - and that you enjoyed both Barbara Kingsolver and Geraldine Brooks. Both those authors are among my favorites although I haven't read either of the books you did. They will be in my future.

>52 DeltaQueen50: Yes, I really enjoyed both the Kingsolver and Brooks books. I definitely want to read more. In the next month or so, I'd like to read more nonfiction and sports books though. I'll have some work-related reading coming up on artificial intelligence. I know virtually nothing so it'll be a few basic books for me.

Looking back at March, I realize now that it was "mystery only March." But I enjoyed them.

I'm not around as much on LT as I like. I should check in more often. Now that baseball season starts today and hockey playoffs start in a couple of weeks, more time on LT might be wishful thinking on my part but I'm hoping.

More than 3 months since I lasted posted here?!? Yikes!!

I've had a pretty good reading year.

For the first time in about 5 years, I actually went into a bookstore last weekend and browsed. More than the books, massive supply of magazines at B&N caught my eye. Paired with a nice brunch with good friends and then bookstore browsing with them, it was a great day.

There was one book I wanted to pick up but I was taken aback by a $19.99 price for a trade paperback (when did that happen) so I just jotted down the name. Checked it out from the library this week This am, I went to add it to a TIOLI challenge and I discovered I already read it in 2021. So glad I didn't buy it.

>54 lindapanzo: Welcome back! Nothing quite like the joy of browsing in a bookstore, is there?

Lots of things top of mind for me. Dad is now in hospice at his memory care home. He's at a dementia stage where he'd gotten angry and aggressive but the hospice is really helping him with that.

In recent weeks, though, I’ve been attending to Mom, age 85. One night, she was going to sleep and tripped and fell. Her right leg was wrapped under her and she hurt her knee and broke her ankle.

For 3 weeks, she wore a boot nearly up to her knee and today, she “graduated” to a shorter boot like thing. Lets her move her ankle from front to back but protects her from any side to side rolling. It's much, much lighter than the first boot. She’ll be using it for 4 weeks.

The PA has been treating her but we were kinda worried when the orthopedic doctor himself walked in. We were afraid he was going to recommend surgery but instead said she was healing, though not healed.

>56 lindapanzo: That is a lot on your mind! I'm glad your mom is on the mend. Also good that your dad is being well looked after. Hope you're looking after yourself as well.

You've got a full plate, Linda. Best wishes to both your Mom and Dad and as RP says above - hope you are looking after yourself as well.

>56 lindapanzo: Sending good wishes to you and your family. Do take care of yourself too.

I want to add my best wishes for you and your parents. That's a lot to deal with and I'm glad your getting help with it. My dad spent a little time in hospice too.

>57 rabbitprincess: >58 DeltaQueen50: >59 mathgirl40: >60 mstrust: Thanks for all the good wishes.

Now, to make matters worse, my dear cousin, about 20 years older than me and someone I consider my second mother, fell twice in two weeks. She lived with my uncle who passed away this past summer. The second time, she lay there for awhile and finally got to the phone (an old rotary phone, no less) and called my cousin who lives closest. He called 911 and she's been in the hospital for over a week. They're running a battery of tests. It's not looking good for her. Liver or pancreas seems to be the problem.

As for me, I'm reading more than I have in quite some time. Either light and fluffy or else history that will really draw me in.

After a month of off and on reading, I finished the massive Erik Larson history, The Splendid and the Vile. Subtitled A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz. A bit slow starting but, once I got into it, I couldn't put it down.

Probably my favorite book of 2023.

On top of Mom's medical troubles and Dad's decline with dementia, my older cousin, who has always been like a second mother to me, fell at home two weeks ago and has been in the hospital facing a battery of tests since then.

Yesterday, we found out she has liver cancer. We don't know the exact stage but it seems to be pretty far along. No one in my family has ever had liver problems before.

I've lost many people in my life but she is the closest one facing something like this.

>62 lindapanzo: Oh, I'm so sorry to hear this! Praying for you and your family and sending best wishes for everyone!

I'm sorry all these really difficult things are happening. I know it's hard.

Just for you.

Thinking about you, Linda, and hoping that things with your family start improving soon.

I'm sorry you have to go through all these things at the same time, Linda. Hope you have family and friends to help you.

Thanks for all the good wishes. Unfortunately, we just heard that, because she's got so many medical issues, they can't even give her chemo. Hoping she can get moved to a nursing home and put in hospice and made comfortable.

So sorry to hear of your cousin's illness. It's a lot for you to deal with. Best wishes.

Wishing you strength for all your troubles, Linda.

Thank you all.

I can't remember what I last updated but, about 10 days ago, my cousin was given 6 months to live. She moved into in-patient hospice and we had a great visit with her on Friday (even my sister who hates any death-related things went). My cousin wanted to make sure that we were all doing OK and seemed very much at peace. Kept saying "my whole family is here."

Then, Monday morning, we heard the news that she has "hours to live." We spent much of the day there. The dr said it was possible, but unlikely, that she'd be around today but yet, here she was, so we had a bonus visit with my cousin today.

She's in a coma and while we don't think she knows we're there, the dr believes she does. In fact, when Mom went close in to my cousin's bedside, there seemed to be a bit of a reaction.

I feel like I've been through the wringer. We're playing the Christmas music station and reminiscing. It feels like a calm atmosphere.

The hospice nurses, doctor, and chaplain are angels on earth.

I like to think that our loved ones do know when their family is with them. I know with my Mom, she didn't seem aware but her heart rate went down and she breathed easier when we were with her. Wishing you and your family all the best, Linda.

Sadly, my cousin passed away this morning. It was a blessing to be able to talk to her and see her at peace on Friday and then to be at her bedside on Monday and Tuesday and to know that she was calm and apparently not in pain.

So sorry for your loss, but I'm glad you and your family were able to be with her in her last days.

I'm sorry for your loss, Linda.

I'm sorry for your loss, Linda.

I'm sorry for your loss, Linda, and glad you got to spend time with her at the end.

Condolences on the loss of your cousin, Linda.

My cousin's wake was on Thurs and services on Fri, along with the luncheon after. Quite a few friends of mine, who also knew her but also know my mother and sister, were there with us every step of the away (and offered us a tremendous amount of support), along with a whole boatload of cousins.

I gave the toast and almost entirely broke down.

Now, I'm exhausted from these last two weeks. Don't want to go anywhere or do anything but I'm taking comfort in reading and listening to Christmas music.

As for the 2023 category challenge, I now need to finish one more mystery and two more works of nonfiction, and I'll meet my goal for the year. For a change. Certainly do-able.

Sounds like now is the time to take some time for yourself, Linda. Enjoy your books and music.

Sorry to hear you've been going through the emotional wringer. The universe sometimes decides to throw it all at you at once.
Hope you can take some time for you.

>80 DeltaQueen50: >81 Helenliz: Thanks. I took yesterday afternoon off and then promptly fell asleep in the old Lazy Boy and slept much of the afternoon. I've been exhausted.

I finished a mystery last night so now only one book left to "mission accomplished" on my 2023 category challenge. I'm reading a nonfiction book now. It's been a great reading year for me, at least.

In fact, I'm happy to say that this last book to finish the challenge is something near and dear for me as I've watched the Charlie Brown Christmas special every year since it first aired in 1965. The book is Charlie Brown's Christmas Miracle: The Inspiring, Untold Story of the Making of a Holiday Classic by Michael Keane.

>83 lindapanzo: Looks like a great book with which to close your challenge. All the best for the holidays!

I've completed my 2023 Category Challenge when I finished Michael Keane's Charlie Brown's Christmas Miracle: The Inspiring, Untold Story of the Making of a Holiday Classic. Oddly enough, on the 58th anniversary of the day the Charlie Brown Christmas special first aired (12/9/65).

I'll just spend the rest of the year pulling books off the shelves.

With the end of 2023 fast approaching, I'm moving over to my 2024 category challenge thread. Hope you'll join me there.

https://www.librarything.com/topic/356053