Berly has a few books to read...#9

Well, the past six months have been tough, but I am hopeful for the future. I have been very MIA here, but appreciate all the messages and support you have given. I am looking forward to being back here. I have missed you all so much! Okay, and the books. : )

I can't decide what I want to read!! Contemplative Fiction, Biography, Murder Mystery, History, Memoir, Romance...LOL

Reading Now
Vesper Flights by Helen Macdonald
My Own Words (B 370 pages) by Ruth Bader Ginsburg
In the Heat of the Moment by Viveca Sten
The Bloody Chamber (B 162 pages) by Angela Carter, Literary Arts Class
The Hard Facts of the Grimm's Fairy Tales (B 277 pages) by Maria Tata , Literary Arts Class

And Later...
A Woman of No Importance, The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II By Sonia Purnell
In Search of Black History (5.5 hrs 🎧) by Bonnie Greer
Moranthology (8.5 hrs 🎧) by Kaitlin Moran
The Shadow King (B 428 pages) by Maaza Mengiste, sidelined...
Girl, Woman, Other (B 453 pages) by Bernadine Evaristo

Read in October ?? pages / ?? 🎧 hours
Totals So Far ?? pages / ?? hrs 🎧
74. Dark Hollow (K 458 pages) by John Connolly with Roberta/luvamystery
73. The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat by Oliver Sacks
72. The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates, RL Bookclub 4.5
71. A Gift of Time (12 hrs 🎧) by Jerry Merritt 4.0

Read in September ?? pages / ?? 🎧 hours
Totals So Far ?? pages / ?? hrs 🎧
70. Kindness Goes Unpunished (8.75 hrs 🎧) by Craig Johnson 3.75
❤️ The Clock Dance (B 292 pages) by Anne Tyler 4.0
68. The Bluest Eye (B 206 pages) by Toni Morrison 3.75
67. Little Wonder: The Fabulous Story of Lottie Dod, the World's First Female Sports Superstar (B 282 pages) by Sasha Abramsky 3.0
66. The FlatShare (🎧) by Beth O'Leary 3.5
❤️ Stay (K 292 pages) by Catherine Ryan Hyde 4.0
64. The Bone Jar (K 327 pages) by SW Kane 3.0

Read in August 3,563 pages / 16.5 🎧 hours
Totals So Far 15,862 pages / 97.75 hrs 🎧
❤️ Olive Again (B 289 pages) by Elizabeth Strout 4.0
62. The Christmas Hirelings ( 🎧 4 hrs) by Mary Elizabeth Braddon 3.5
61. Hamnet ((🎧 12.5 hours) by Maggie O'Farrell 3.75
❤️ How to be an Antiracist (K 284 pages) by Ibram X Kendi 4.5
59. White Out (K 361 pages) by Danielle Girard 3.5
58. Trust No One (K 417 pages) by Debra Webb 3.5
57. One Thousand White Women (K 324 pages) by Jim Fergus 3.5
56. The House at Sea's End (K 384 pages) by Elly Griffith 3.5
55. Tonight You're Dead (K 411 pages) by Viveca Sten 3.75

Read in July 1,264 pages / 15 🎧 hours
Totals So Far 12,299 pages / 96.25 hrs 🎧
❤️ Agent 355 (🎧 3 hours) by Marie Benedect 4.0
53. Dementia Reimagined (B 310 pages) by Tia Powell, MD 3.0
52. The Shadow King (B 429 pages) by Maaza Mengiste 3.75
❤️ Brain Myths Exploded by (🎧 12 hours) by Indre Viskontas 4.0
❤️ The Highest Tide (B 257 pages) by Jim Lynch 4.5
49. The Unseen (B 268 pages) by Roy Jacobsen 3.75

Ratings
❤️ Favorite(s) of the month
Loved it! 5.0
Really Good 4.0
Good 3.0
Hmmmm 2.0
Don't Bother 1.0

Media
B = Printed Book
🎧 = Audio
K = Kindle
= Graphic Novel

Source
IR = Indiespensable Readers
LT = LibraryThing Early Reviewer
✔ = Off the shelf
L = Library
↩ = Reread
$ = bought this year
✗ = DNF

Read in June 748 pages / 10 🎧 hours
Totals So Far 11,035 pages / 81.25 hrs 🎧
48. Conviction (🎧 10 hours) by Denise Mina
47. Guiltless (K 370 pages) Sandham #3 by Viveca Sten 4.0
46. The Kitchen House (B 378 pages) by Kathleen Grissom 4.5

Read in May 2,237 pages / 18.5 🎧 hours
Totals So Far 10,287 pages / 71.25 hrs 🎧
45. Mostly Dead Things (B 358 pages) by Kristen Arnett (IR) 3.0
❤️ The Institute (L/K 577 pages) by Stephen King 4.0
43. Seriously...I'm Kidding (🎧 3 hours)by Ellen DeGeneres 3.5
42. You Can Thank Me Later (🎧 3 hours) by Kelly Harms 3.5
41. Matchmaking for Beginners (K 378 pages) by Maddie Dawson 3.0
❤️ Untamed (B 333 pages) by Glennon Doyle 4.0
39. Moranthology (🎧 8.5 hours/ read 2) by Caitlin Moran DNF
38. The Science of Sci-Fi (4 🎧 hours) by Erin Macdonald 3.75
37. The Janus Stone (B 327 pages) by Elly Griffiths 3.5
36. Actress (B 264 pages) by Anne Enright (IR) 4.0

Read in April 1,933 pages / 14.5 🎧 hours
Totals So Far 8,050/ 55.75 hrs 🎧
35. Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore (B 328 pages) by Matthew Sullivan 4.0
❤️ Still Life with Oysters and Lemon (B 70 pages) by Mark Doty 5.0
33. Tell Me Lies (🎧 6.0 hours) by JP Pomare 4.0
❤️ The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (K 142 pages)by Douglas Adams 4.5
31. Rules of Civility (B 324 pages) by Amor Towles 3.75 ✔
30. Closed Circles (K 465 pages) by Viveca Sten, #2 Sandhamn Mystery Group Read 3.0
29. Wind / Pinball (B 236 pages) by Haruki Murakami 3.75
28. Gulp (🎧 8.5 hours) by Mary Roach 3.5 ✔
27. Storm Cursed (L/K 368 pages) by Patricia Briggs 4.0

Read in March 1,510 pages / 5 🎧 hours
Totals So Far 6,117 pages / 41.25 hrs 🎧
26. Every Dead Thing (L/K 480 pages)by John Connolly (with luvamystery) 3.5
25. Phantom Limb: A Gripping Psychological Thriller (K 260 pages) by Lucinda Berry 4.0
24. Forever is the Worst Long Time (K 286 pages) by Camille Pagan 3.0
23. Tracks (B 226 pages) by Louise Erdrich 3.5 ✔
22. Caffeine: How Caffeine Created the Modern World (🎧 2 hours) by Michael Pollan 4.0
21. Malcolm and Me (🎧 1.5 hours by Ishmael Reed
❤️ Nothing to See Here (B 258 pages) by Kevin Wilson 4.5
❤️ Break Shot: My First 21 years ( 🎧 1.5 hours) by James Taylor 4.5

Read in February 3,069 pages / 11.5 🎧 hours
Totals So Far 4,607 pages / 36.25 hrs 🎧
18. Such A Fun Age (🎧 10 hours) by Kiley Reid 4.0
17. The Bookish Life of Nina Hill (B 332 pages) by Abbi Waxman 4.0
❤️ There, There (B 304 pages) by Tommy Orange, RL Bookclub 4.5
15. The Vine Witch (K 263 pages)by Luanne G. Smith 3.5
14. In an Instant (K 326 pages) by Suzanne Redfearn 4.0
13. The Yellow House (B 376 pages) by Sarah Broom, RL Bookclub, ✗
12. The Dark Horse: A Longmire Mystery (K 368 pages) by Craig Johnson 3.5
11. The Child Next Door (K 284 pages) by Shalini Boland 2.75
10. Still Waters: Sandhamn Murders, Book 1 (K 448 pages) by Viveca Sten (group read) 3.0
9. The Half-Life of Marie Curie by Lauren Gunderson (🎧 1.5 hours) 3.75

Read in January / 1,538 pages / 24.75 🎧 hours / Total
8. The Beautiful Brain Audible Original (🎧 1 of 3.75 hrs) by Hana Walker-Brown ✗
7. Where I Come From: Life Lessons From a Latino Chef by Aaron Sanchez (🎧 9 hours) 3.5
6. The Conference of the Birds by Ransom Riggs (K 400 pages) 4.0
5. A Map of Days by Ransom Riggs (L/K 492 pages) 4.0
4. When I Was You by Kent Minka (K 282 pages) 3.0
❤️ Liquid: The Delightful and Dangerous Substances That Flow Through Our Lives by Mark Miodownik (🎧 7.25 hrs) ✔ 4.5
2. Bone Clocks by David Mitchell (B 624 pages) with Triplets Beth and Ellen ✔ 3.75
1. Victorian Secrets by Nick Baker and John Wolf, read by Stephen Fry (🎧 7.5 hrs) ✔ 3.5

Books Freed = 0
Powell's isn't open for drop-offs....



Catalogued 37/52 shelves -- I really hope I finish this soon!

RL Book Club #1
DNF February - The Yellow House: A Memoir by Sarah Broom
✅ April - Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
✅ June - The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
✅ August - Less by
October - The Water Dancer by Ta-nehisi Coates
December - Choose books!!

RL Book Club #2
✅ January - Once Upon A River by Diane Setterfield
✅ February - There, There by Tommy Orange
✅ March - Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson
✅ April - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
✅ May - Untamed by Glennon Doyle
✅ June - Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead (reread)
September - The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Literary Arts 2019-2020
October 24, 2019 -- Our Man: Richard Holbrooke and the End of the American Century by George Packer
November 14, 2019 -- ✅ Rules of Civility and ✅ A Gentleman in Moscow Amor Towles
January 15, 2020 -- Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
February 20, 2020 -- ✅ The Library Book by Susan Orlean

Literary Arts 2020-2021
September, 2020 -- ✅ The Nickel Boys and ✅ The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (rescheduled due to COVID-19)
October 13, 2020 -- H is for Hawk by Helen McDonald
December 3, 2020 -- Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
January 28, 2021 -- ✅ Circe by Madeline Miller
February 18, 2021 -- ✅ How To Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
April 20, 2021 -- An American Sunrise by Joy Harjo

Powell's Indiespensable Readers Challenge

Hubby signed me up for this. Over the years I have received over 86 installments, but I haven't read all the books yet. Not even close! In an effort to catch up -- I want to read 12 this year. The complete list (such as it is) can be found here:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/301060#

Done
1. The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell
2. There, There by Tommy Orange
3. Actress by Anne Enright
4. Mostly Dead Things by Kristen Arnett
5. The Unseen by Roy Jacobson
6. The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

In an effort to read off my shelves...

A book or author that has this letter in it...

January -- Break Shot: My First 21 years by James Taylor
February -- Victorian Secrets by Nick Baker and John Wolf, read by Stephen Fry
March -- Bone Clocks by David Mitchell
April -- Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
May-- Liquid: The Delightful and Dangerous Substances That Flow Through Our Lives by Mark Miodownik
June -- The Unseen by Roy Jacobsen
July
August -- Agent 355 by Marie Benedect
September -- Still Waters: Sandhamn Murders, Book 1 by Viveca Sten
October -- There, There by Tommy Orange
November -- Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson
December -- Deadly Waters by Dot Hutchinson

IN HONOR OF



And maybe one more challenge...Taken from the Advanced Pop Sugar Challenge
(for which I have little hope! LOL)

Written by an author in their 20s
With "20"or "twenty" in the title
With a character with vision impairment or enhancement (20/20 vision--get it?)
✅ Set in Japan, the host of the 2020 Winter Olympics -- Wind / Pinball by Haruki Murakami
Set in the 1920s
✅ By an author who has written more than 20 books -- The Institute by Stephen King
✅ With more than 20 letters in its title -- Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Published in the 20th century
From a series with more than 20 books
✅ With a main character in their 20s -- Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

I can't resist buying new books!!

I seem to manage to read around 50% of my newbies, except last year where I (ahem) added a few more books to my collection than normal.

2017 47/85
2018 45/88
2019 45/128

Let's see how I do this year!!

2020 34/48 Read

1. The Likely Resolutions of Oliver Clock by Jane Riley *
✅ When I Was You by Minka Kent *
✅ Still Waters by Viveca Sten #1
✅ Closed Circles by Viveca Sten #2
✅ Guiltless by Viveca Sten #3
7-9. Viveca Sten Sandhamn Murders #5-8 (Katie and Laura's fault)
10. Instructions for a Funeral by David Means (gift from Mark) *
11. Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Avaristo (gift from Mark) *
✅ The Yellow House by Sarah Broom
✅ Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan
✅ Nothing To See Here by Kevin Wilson
✅ The Conference of the Birds by Ransom Riggs
✅ A Map of Days by Ransom Riggs
17. I Am Yours: A Shared Memoir by Reema Zaman *
✅ In An Instant by Suzanne Redfearn *
19. Killing Comendatore by Haruki Murakami
✅ The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman
✅ Tonight You're Dead by Viveca Sten
✅ The Vine Witch by Luanne G. Smith
✅ The Child Next Door by Shalini Oland
✅ Little Gods by Meng Jen, INDIEspensable #84 *
✅ The Half-Life of Marie Curie by Lauren Gunderson *
✅ Phantom Limb by Lucinda Berry *
✅ Foerever is the Worst Long Time by Pagan Camille *
✅ Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
✅ Where I Come From: Life Lessons From a Latino Chef by Aaron Sanchez
✅ Every Dead Thing by John Connolly *
✅ Malcolm and Me by Ishmael Reed *
✅ Caffeine by Michael Pollan *
✅ Breakshot: mY First 21 Years by James Taylor *
✅ Gulp by May Roach
✅ Rules of Civility by Amore Towles
✅ Seriously...I am Kidding by Ellen DeGeneres *
✅ Still Life with Oysters and Lemon by Mark Doty
✅ Tell Me Lies by JP Pomade
✅ Untamed by Glennon Doyle
✅ Actress: A Novel by Anne Enright, INDIEspensable #85 *
41. The Voyage of the Morning Light by Marina Endicott INDIEspensable #85 *
42. Little Wonder: The Fabulous Story of Lottie Dod, the World's First Female Sports Superstar by Sasha Abramsky
✅ How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X Kendi
44. The Bone Jar (Detective Lew Kirby Book 1) SW Kane *
45. White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo *
✅ The Unseen by Roy Jacobsen, INDIEspensable #86 *
47. Audrey McKee by Alex Puglsey, INDIEspensable #86 *
✅ The Highest Tide by Jim Lynch *

Favorites from 2019
Fiction
An Act of God (A) by David Javerbaum
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Charlie Davidson series Darynda Jones
The Fire This Time by Jesmyn Ward

Non-Fiction
These Truths: A History of the United States by Jilll Lepore
Sissy: A Coming-of-Gender Story (A) by Jacob Tobia
They Called Us Enemy by George Takei

This seems appropriate because, indeed, all are welcome here. : )

However, back-to-school is not going to look like this-- where are all their masks, and why are they holding hands and where is the 12-foot distancing?!? Aaaaaaah!!!

Happy new thread!

>13 quondame: Hi there! Thanks for the quick welcome. : ) Here is a virtual GC, which is virtually useless, so spend it wisely! On books, of course.

Happy New Thread, Kim - and a wonderful autumn time.

Happy new thread, Kim, may there be better times ahead.

Happy new one!

Hi Kim! Happy new thread.

>2 Berly: I read Little Wonder last month – did you win it from ER like I did? I’ll be interested in your take on it.

Happy new thread!

Lovely to see a new thread, Kimmers.

Happy new thread, Kim, and welcome back. Love the toppers.

Love that topper! It's perfect for us biblio-folk.

Happy new one, Kim. I hope things begin to settle down for you.

Such an inspiration you are, Kimmers. With all you have going on around you, you still are reading at a decent pace, and you certainly have a handle on all the stats. I feel I've got one foot nailed to the floor and too many things are just a wee bit out of reach.

>15 SirThomas: Thank you, and happy September! Although it won't feel like it this week, since we will be in the 90's temperature-wise for most of the week. A little too warm for me.

>16 FAMeulstee: Here, here!! Better times ahead. : )

>17 figsfromthistle: Thank you. It is nice to be back.

>18 karenmarie: Hi! Yes, I did win it as an ER. About halfway through. I'll let you know my thoughts when I finish.

>19 drneutron: Thanks, Doc. : )

>20 PaulCranswick: It's about time I was back here, right?!

>21 jessibud2: Glad you liked the toppers. It's always fun trying to pick something out for that.

>22 SandyAMcPherson: And a second endorsement! Yay!

>23 katiekrug: Yeah, I am definitely up for boring routine stuff for a while. No more surprises, unless it's a good one!

>24 weird_O: Thanks for the kudos. I hear you about things being out of reach. It's a tough go right now. Hang in there and I hope you find the hammer soon! (So you can pull out that damn nail! Also, I hope your foot doesn't hurt too much. Make sure you use antibiotics so it doesn't get infected. xoxo)

Happy new thread, Kim!! So glad you're back :)

Happy New Thread, Kim! Good to see you back!

Happy new thread, Kim! (She said unimaginatively)

Happy new thread Kim my dear, sending love and hugs to you and the family dear friend from both of us.

Happy new thread, Kim, and looking forward to following more of your reads this year!

Happy New Thread, Kimmers! Nice to see you posting. Hugs to my pal!

Happy new thread, TwinK - so what are we going to read?

>6 Berly: When you're done with your shelves, I have a little job for you...

Stay well. Hugs.

>14 Berly: Thank you, Kim!

Happy New Thread! Nice to have a fresh start for September.
Happy reading!

>28 RebaRelishesReading: Happy to be back!

>29 jnwelch: Now, I just have to make it part of my routine again. : )

>30 ffortsa: I appreciate the sentiment none the less. LOL

>31 johnsimpson: Love and hugs right back to the pair of you.

>32 bell7: What a nice thing to say! I better get reading then. ; )

>33 msf59: Hugs gladly accepted. Congrats again on Retirement!

>34 BLBera: Oops! I will look at your suggestions again today. Nope, I am tackling my backyard which the forest has overtaken. Man, those blackberry bushes invade quickly!

>35 quondame: : ) Spend it wisely.

>36 tangledthread: A fresh start is exactly what was required! Happy reading wishes returned.

Make jam with your blackberries. Scout moved to some acreage, and in the beginning of the summer when I would visit, she and her mom were often coming back from berry picking. They always carried a bowl, but it was always empty. Miss Scout likes to eat as she picks. :)

I'm not married to the list. I just chose some in the pile close to my desk.

Happy new thread, Kim. Hope life slows down a bit for you in September and you are able to spend more time here.

Hellooooooooooo the house! *smooch*

Happy New Thread, Kimmers!

Happy new thread, Kim!

Watching any tennis, TwinK?

>9 Berly: I love the 2020 challenge! What a cool set of challenges you are undertaking this year.

>11 Berly: I have read exactly none of your favourites from 2019- what is the world coming to!!??

happy new thread!

I probably missed it, but did you review Hamnet? I looked back at the earlier thread, too.
Just wondering what all you thought of the book. I'm finding it a bit of struggle to engage with the characters. Not sure it is going to improve...

>47 LovingLit: I'm in the same boat - although I did read 'These Truths'. Jim and I are big Jill Lepore fans.

Sorry guys. What a week. A friend's birthday, my sons birthday. Had to record my two girls giving a speech in memory of their grandma for the Celebration of Life Ceremony next weekend and send that in. They didn't think the could keep it together to do it live. I'm trying to think about what I want to say. My car ran over a screw and I had to get the tire fixed. Luckily the repair shop was only a mile away and I made it with only a partial flat. And now tonight we are experiencing high winds, which is pushing all the smoke from forest fires our way (smells awful and air advisory) so I can't go outside. Also, lots of small limbs falling. We lost power once so far. My son had to abandon his camping trip and is slowly trying to make his way home. Fallen trees, accidents and some roads closed due to fire. Yikes!

Update: He made it home safely around 2 this morning.

I should have time tomorrow to respond and post some BOOK stuff.

xoxo

>51 Berly: This isn't the moment to be worried about apologies! More like "hunker in the bunker til the Apocalypse slows"! *smooch*

We called younger daughter for her birthday yesterday and they were busy battening down for the storm. We're covered with smoke from the fire east of San Diego but at least the winds aren't blowing (here -- I think they are at the fire site). 2020 just won't quit, will it?

Hope you and yours stay safe and well.

>40 BLBera: I did manage to get a bowl of blackberries up to the house where I promptly washed them and covered them in whip cream and POOF! they were gone. : )

>41 BLBera: Okay, how about Girl, Woman, Other or The Bluest Eye or The Tortilla Curtain?

>42 Familyhistorian: So far, September has not cooperated much. But I'm still trying to get me some LT time!! : )

>43 richardderus: Helloooo the man! Smooch.

>44 ronincats: Hi Roni. : )

>45 lkernagh: Thank you! Now if I can just be a regular on my own thread....!

>46 BLBera: Hi TwinB! I have watched all of one match, heard that Serena came from behind to win and is still in and saw Djokovich's eviction. Ouch! Hoping to watch some of the quarter finals. You?

>47 LovingLit: Okay, we seriously have to get back in synch, woman. See my suggested reads in >54 Berly:. Do any of those appeal? If not shoot me some other titles. : )

>48 banjo123: Hey Rhonda. Is this smoke awful or what? And the wind is still blowing like crazy. Lost power three times last night. Geez. Hope things are good with you.

>49 SandyAMcPherson: I didn't love Hamnet as much as the crowd here seems to, but it was good. I really have to write some reviews don't I? Argh!

>50 ffortsa: Love Lepore, so I forgive you. ; )

There just is not enough reading time in the world.

>52 richardderus: I swear, it is just one thing after another! At least no trees fell on my house last night and my son made it home safely, for which I am ever so grateful.

>53 RebaRelishesReading: Our smoke is blowing down from Washington apparently. Glad to hear you and yours are safe--stay that way!!! : ) 2020 is one heck of a year so far.

Good to see you survived the storm, Kim, and your son made it home safely. I was just remarking on another thread how our summer skies haven't been full of smoke for months for the first summer in a long time. Looks like most of the fires are to the south of us.

>54 Berly: Girl, Woman, Other would be my first choice. I've read the other two. You?

MyTV signal was slow all day on Monday, so I couldn't watch any tennis. It's better today. I watched Osaka win. I don't really care about the men.

Take care - as usual it sounds like your life is full of excitement.

Wowsers, it's all go here, and I missed the blackberries. Need to improve my timing!

Hi Kim!

>51 Berly: Yikes. It just doesn’t seem to let up for you. So glad your son made it home safely, sorry about the tire but glad you were able to limp to the repair shop. Sorry you have to stay indoors because of the smoke, limbs down, and power problems.

>54 Berly: So far, September has not cooperated much. So far, 2020 has not cooperated much. I’m usually pretty upbeat even when things get tough, but I want 2020 done with, a new President, a vaccine, and things to at least settle down a little bit.

I haven’t watched a single minute of tennis, although I watched Djokovic’s eviction afterward on YouTube. With Roger and Rafa out, someone new will get a Grand Slam under their belt.

Oh, oh, oh, Kim. Read any good books lately? (Kind of gallows humor; I'm sorry.) Try some cartoon collections. Worked for me, though I'm not confronted with wide-spread wildfires and loved ones in peril.

Hope you all can stay safe.

HI KIM! I'd say happy new thread but...there are already so many posts!!

>59 Familyhistorian: We are sandwiched between fires in Washington and CA and now we have some small local ones too. Still under an air advisory and we lost power for half the day yesterday with the high winds. Also temps are supposed to hit low 90s today and high 90s tomorrow. Ughhhh! Glad you have had some blue skies for a change.

>60 BLBera: I could use a little LESS excitement right about now! LOL. I am up for Girl, Woman, Other and can start in a few days. Still haven't watched any tennis. My whole schedule is just off. Sigh. How's school going? Hugs.

>61 charl08: I hadn't finished evicting the blackberries. I'll save some for you!! Right now the harvest is cherry tomatoes. Yum!

>62 karenmarie: I am in total agreement about 2020. Is it over yet? Stay safe!



>64 weird_O: I just finished The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Yes, it's a romance, but it also addresses family, friendship, abusive relationships and unjust imprisonment. In order to save on rent, two people share the same flat. One works the night shift and has it during the day to sleep while the other is off at work and then they trade. They don't meet each other for months, but leave funny notes for each other throughout the flat. Loved it on audio although it took a little while to get used to the accents.

>65 Ape: Stephen!! How nice to see you here and it's never to late to wish a happy new one. : )

Wind is blowing smoke in from the multiple fires. The entire state of Oregon is under an Emergency Fire Order for the first time in history. The air quality in Porltand is currently "moderate to unhealthy" which is like smoking 7-15 cigarettes a day. Ugh.

These shots of brownish sky were taken from my driveway.

>66 Berly: We are sandwiched between fires in Washington and CA
Terrible situation all along the Pacific northwest. I sure wish the autumn rains would arrive for everyone, just gentle ones though. Air quality has to be terrible health hazard so I hope you've got good filters on your ventilation. And are safe from the fire's path.

Oh, Kim. You are really having to ride out one challenge after the other when one would be enough for a normal year or two. Take care of yourself!

>68 Berly: Stay safe Kim. Fires are so unpredictable.

It's an understatement to say 2020 is proving to be a challenge.

>68 Berly:, Wow Kim my dear, that doesn't look or sound very good, stay safe dear friend and we send love and hugs to all of you from both of us.

Skies the color of a smoker's lung are never, ever a good thing to see. I am so so sorry for the troubles your part of the planet endures right now.

>68 Berly: Hope you can get some way to have fresher air! Take care please.

Ha, when I posted that we hadn't had any smoke in the air I walked out the door and there it was. Apparently the smoke was from Washington State. The wind must be blowing the other way now because our skies are now clear and have been for a few days. Your pics are what we usually see here in late July and August. I wonder if our regular face masks are good at filtering the smoke?

Good to see you liked The Flatshare. I thought that was really well done.

Hey Kim. I know life is eating your lunch these days. I am so sorry you are in the midst of all that smoke while our beloved Oregon burns up. It is SO sad to see those beloved forests of the Cascade and Coast Range mountains on fire! I am heartbroken. I also know it affects your asthma. *sad face* Hang in there, my friend!

You and I chatted about Once Upon a River and I read a couple more chapters this afternoon. I think it's going to be a perfect read for surgery recovery!

I'll be interested to hear how your shared read of The Bluest Eye goes (with your dad, right?).

>66 Berly: Sounds good. Let me know when you're ready.

The apocalypse is here! I cannot believe the photos. Take care! It is heartbreaking.

Take care, Kim. So much, so much, 2020 just needs to be over already!

Happy, breatheable-air-filled weekend.

Ditto what Richard said! Our local fires are producing smoke and particulants, but just hazing over the sky high up right now along the coast. Be safe, use a mask if you go outside, and so glad your son made it safely home before so many Oregon fires blazed up.

Worrying about you, listening to the news.

Hi Kim!

>68 Berly: How awful.

I hope you and your family are safe and sound.

My favorite local sign said "2020 is poop." That definitely seems true. Hope you have some air-purifiers.

>83 banjo123: It seems true but somehow also a huge understatement. :-)

The best wishes for you and yours, Kim. Stay safe!

Wow, Kim. A statewide Emergency Fire Order. What a tough situation. Joining the wishes for your safely getting through this.

Hi Kim, I'm here to share the misery. I am so tired of being cooped up in the house and my poor dog keeps giving me sad looks. I have friends in Tualatin who were evacuated and are now moving back. I was worried about my son's family in Milwaukie but they've been downgraded down to the "normal" zone so things are improving in this area.

I hope you are able to stay indoors and this air doesn't affect your asthma. What a year!

Be safe, Kim.

Ugh, sorry the air quality where you are is such garbage. I hope you're able to stay safely inside and that things get better for you soon :(

Stay safe, TwinK. I hope you get some rain soon.

Hi, Kim. Just checking in. I hope you and the family are doing well in this crisis. Getting any better there? Is that rain coming, as predicted?

Just speaking, Kim, and wishing that this will clear up sooner than expected. Take care!

Just popping by again to say you're on my mind.

While not in the direct line of an advancing flame front, I sure feel the angst. I have family in a tough place in the SF Bay area as well as one of my kids + family suffering bad air pollution in New Westminster (BC). The forest fire smoke was augmented by a huge toxic waterfront fire just blocks from their house.

On top of a pandemic stress, this is a breaking point for so many. Hoping your news will be good soon and some rain will cool things down.

*smooch*

That is all.

Hi Kim my dear, sending love and hugs to you and the family in these troubling times with all the smoke from the fires. I cannot imagine what you are all going through and feel so very sorry for those that have lost their lives and those that have lost everything.

I hope that you get some cool, wet weather to try and help alleviate the smoke and to give some respite, the fire fighters are doing a great job but it is too much for them sadly.

Keep safe dear friend.

Thank you, thank you for all the kind words and support!! The immediate threat of fire has diminished a little for Portland (not necessarily for elsewhere), but the smoke continues at the highest level. It's so bad that the news recommended not exercising INDOORS and not using your gas burners to cook with because the smoke is getting inside houses and they don't want people to add to it. Luckily we have a HEPA filter on our house and it is catching most of the smoke particles. Very hazardous outside though and it will last for several more days. I haven't been outside the house at all.

So I was bored and totally missing my zen outdoor garden for happy hour so my sister and I made an indoor one. LOL. Cheers!!

Great to see both you and your sister are smiling. Yipee!

Thanks for checking in Kim. Just yikes but good that you are ok and staying in. Those plants are probably much happier inside anyhow! Thank goodness it's not winter and the need for furnaces isn't an issue!

Stay safe!

>96 Berly: Way to make the best of just awful!

Glad you're doing well and that you have a Hepa filter -- the pictures and reports of the air in the Portland area are scary!!

>96 Berly: Nice, very nice, TwinK.

Love the indoor garden! I had to go look up a Hepa filter, then was glad to read you've got one.

Loving the indoor happy hour!

How are we placed for Girl, Woman, Other next week? I understand you may have *other things* on your mind at present....but I am tracking well with my current two reads (which, since you asked, are: The Discomfort of Evening, and The Riders, both hard to put down, but for very different reasons).

Thank you so much for posting an update, Kim. It's a very scary situation and while I'm glad the danger has diminished for you, it's clearly not back to normal. Take care and stay safe!

Great photos of you and your sister, Kim. I'm glad you're staying safe inside.

>96 Berly: Lemonade from lemons as always, Kimmers, and so glad to see it. *smooch*

Sending breatheable-air whammys your way!

Kim! So relieved to have your update. Smart move having a HEPA filter and I ♡♡-ed the happy hour piccy.
Adding my best wishes for coping safely and that you'll have rain in this next day or so.

Loved the picture, Kim. What a great idea!

Great to hear from you. I saw the garden on FB, too, so wasn't too worried, still...

And what RD said.

Love you all!! More tomorrow. But tonight, I cried when I heard about the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Gonna start

My Own Words by Ruth Bader Ginsburg

An amazing, insightful, caring, intelligent and influential woman. What a loss. And I know she tried so hard to outlast Rump. A valiant effort. We shall see....

>110 Berly: - I read this one a couple of years ago. I actually listened to it on audio. She didn't read the whole thing but did read some parts. I followed along in the book. What a loss she is!

Kim, I found this next link on a garden blog I subscribe to. The blogger is a gal from Vancouver, BC and that western province here in Canada is also suffering from the smoke from the fires. She said she tried this and it really helped. I figured I should pass it along, as it looks simple enough and worthwhile:

https://www.facebook.com/WashEMD/videos/1164536290594143/?__tn__=H-R&utm_sou...

>111 jessibud2: Great video, Shelley. Thanks, I sent it to my family in the Lower Mainland.

I wish you a wonderful weekend. Kim!

Hey! what about Girl, Woman, Other? I started it and LOVE Amma.

RIP RBG.

>110 Berly: RBG -- such a loss. Even though we knew it was coming, I'm so, so sad.

Exciting news!!!

LITERARY ART'S PORTLAND BOOK FESTIVAL!!

This year’s Festival will be entirely virtual and will extend programming for more than two weeks, from November 5 to 21, 2020. The 2020 Portland Book Festival, presented by Bank of America, will include more than 100 authors from Oregon and across the globe.

And almost all of it is FREE!!!! There will be no Festival Pass fee; most events will be free to access via a custom streaming site.

Only three events will require a book purchase to attend.







Check it out!

https://literary-arts.org/2020/09/announcing-the-2020-portland-book-festival-aut...

(The author links didn't transfer so go to the link above if you are interested)

>116 Berly: Wow! WOW!! WOW!!!! Thanks, Kim.

>96 Berly: Love it! Great idea.

Sorry to hear about the smoke. It has been affecting a lot of people.

>116 Berly: Gracias, TwinK

It's a great pity that we can't just mourn the death of Justice Ginsberg and celebrate her oh so wonderful life without looking over our shoulders at the election race and current politics

Her name will still be spoken of in awe when "President Trump" is no more than a footnote to a footnote

>111 jessibud2: I can't believe she is gone. An amazing loss.

Thank you for the link! An easy, simple idea to help curtail the smoke indoors.

>112 SandyAMcPherson: Hi Sandy!

>113 SirThomas: And I wish you a wonderful week. : )

>114 BLBera: Girl, Woman, Other When I said I was on Chapter Two I meant Amma section 2 on page 14. LOL. I am now on Chapter 1 Dominique Section 5 page 81. : )

>115 RebaRelishesReading: Small but feisty. RBG. What a woman. We have two Republican Senators willing to push for a wait on the vote. We need two more to squash an early decision.

>117 LizzieD: You're welcome!! I bought my books today from Powell's so I am all set to listen to these three authors. When the complete list comes out in October, I'll see what other authors I want to listen in on. Hope you enjoy some of them!

>118 figsfromthistle: I have so enjoyed the last two days, outside, smelling fresh air, seeing sunshine and shadows. I cannot believe how hard this year has been and send out best wishes to other people and places hit hard by COVID and the weather.

>119 BLBera: De nada. : )

>120 magicians_nephew: Very well stated. So nice to see you here. Thank you. : )

So, I haven't talked my books in a bit. Here's what I am currently reading....

Girl, Woman, Other (B 453 pages) by Bernadine Evaristo
My Own Words (B 370 pages) by Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Kindness Goes Unpunished (8.75 hrs 🎧) by Craig Johnson
In Search of Black History (5.5 hrs 🎧) by Bonnie Greer
Moranthology (8.5 hrs 🎧) by Kaitlin Moran

A nice mix of light and heavy. : )

>124 Berly: Sounds like a good mix, Kim. Wishing you lots more good reading - and lots more clean air. I am back to walking to work for (some) mornings and do enjoy getting out in the fresh air (despite myself, sometimes).

>116 Berly: There we go - that link works. Hi, Kim. Looks like a great festival.

Kindness Goes Unpunished is a particularly good one in the series, IMO. I just got his new Longmire, Next to Last Stand.

I was thinking of each woman as a chapter...I am currently reading about Bummi. What is so amazing is that each woman is a distinct character with such varied experiences. She could have written an entire novel about any one of the characters.

Popping by to see that all's well. OK, reasonably well.

I hope the choice for Ginsberg's replacement is held to a high standard and not some political hack kowtow person.

Stopping by to get caught up, Kim and happy to see you and the family came through the wildfires and air quality advisories unscathed.

Hi, Kim, I just ordered Girl, Woman, Other after reading so many good comments. I'm looking forward to it.

>128 SandyAMcPherson: Trump's apparent nominee is about as far right as you can be. I hope she can leave her political agenda behind but I'm doubtful.

>96 Berly: I too will have an indoor garden as fall approaches and the weather is cooler. I have lots of extra pots, and I plan to put non perennials in them and give away pretty purple oxalis plants.

I hope you are well. I am going to try to be more active in LT as I miss so many, of course I miss you a lot!

I'm almost done with the women, TwinK. I'm reading Hattie's chapter now. I am loving this.

On the library list for Girl, Woman, Other, thank you very much.

Did you realize that the link to the RBG book takes you to a Mother Theresa book? Hate when that happens on LT!

I finished Girl, Woman, Other and loved it! I'll watch for your comments.

>125 charl08: That would be nice to walk to work in the morning! Except, I am working from home right now and our actually office is way too far away to walk to, that is if I ever get back to leaving the house and being amongst people again. LOL. I am jealous. Enjoy!

>126 jnwelch: I am sure I will get to that one sooner or later. I am actually farther along in the series than #3, but I missed that one somehow. I especially love these on audio George Guidall does such a great job narrating.

>127 BLBera: >132 BLBera: >134 BLBera: Hi TwinB! I have to confess that I am not enjoying Girl, Woman, Other that much. I think I am just not in the right space and I don't want to miss out, since everyone else seems to love it, so I am putting it aside for a bit. : (

>128 SandyAMcPherson: Well, it looks like the suggested replacement for RBG is highly thought of and very competent. Except that she is far too conservative for me. I still really hope that the decision is delayed until after the Presidential election, but I am not holding my breath.

>129 lkernagh: Thanks for checking up on me! Yes, I feel very lucky, because I know how many people were and are being negatively affected by the fires. It was really starting to get my asthma going. Now, I can sit outside in my garden space again. Yay!

>130 Oregonreader: I hope you enjoy the book as much as everyone else is!! And ditto on the Supreme Court nominee.

>131 Whisper1: There she is!! So nice to see you here. You'll have to post pictures when you get the indoor garden all set up. MY picture up above was with almost all the plants in the house -- it was actually quite a jungle!! I have since dispersed some of them back to other rooms. But it gave us a laugh and that was the goal. I hope both you and I find a way to be on LT more often. I have missed it.

>133 tangledthread: That's weird, because it looks like it goes to the right book now. Thanks though, because that annoys me and I would want to fix it. : )

Super excited for next year's authors at Literary Arts! They are doing the rest of 2020 virtually and we'll see about 2021.

Last Thursday, I got to hear Colson Whitehead, also presented virtually by Literary Arts. It was interesting to hear where his book ideas comes from: dreams, the news (TNB), sounds he heard (TUR). He is obviously so smart and he kept such a straight face with his heavy sarcasm! It was sobering to hear him say that he just turned 50 and he doesn't expect racial things to improve much in his lifetime. Damn.

His books are amazing, so if you haven't read one yet, hurry up! I have read both The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys, BOTH of which won the Pulitzer Prize, and I have The Intuitionist waiting for me.

Lucky you to get to hear Whitehead.

Do put aside Girl, Woman, Other. It will wait for you.

>139 Berly: Great line-up.

I hope your air is better and that you and yours are well. Take care Twinkie.

Hi Kim! Hope you got to enjoy this gorgeous Sunday.

I am looking forward to the Book Festival, and have my books ordered. Hooray!

Portland is such a wonderful literary city!!!

>141 BLBera: TwinB--So today I am driving around delivering wine thank-yous from Literary Arts to some of their top sponsors/supporters. The yearly fundraiser is this Thursday, but of course, it's virtual. We are supposed to be back to sunny and 80s this week. I could use one last "summer"appearance!!

>142 banjo123: Rhonda--Yay! I ordered my books already, too. I am really looking forward LA's Book Fest. : ) Enjoy the amazing weather this week.

>143 EBT1002: It is!! Powell's is open again, with limited hours, but I got to go pick up two of my books included in this year's LA author lineup: Vesper Flights by Helen McDonald and Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi. Books=Happiness!

Take it easy at work this week, you overachiever you!

>140 Berly: I too have read both The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys and and loved them. I am looking forward to seeing what you have to say about The Intuitionist.

Enjoy your 80 degree weather but please ask it to leave before we arrive on the 9th :)

So, my sister and I are taking a virtual LA class (they are called "Delve" classes!) that meets once a week: Fairytales Revisited. We are looking at the evolution of Grimm's Fairytales and also closely examining certain tales. This week is Red Riding Hood! We meet on Wednesdays....

The Hard Facts of the Grimms' Fairy Tales by Maria Tatar and The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter with Intro by Kelly Link are the text books.

>145 RebaRelishesReading: Hi there! I will have a talk with the weather gods and see if I can get the temp a little lower before you come. ; ) If the weather is halfway decent I'd be happy to host an outdoor social distance happy hour or something. What do you think?

>139 Berly: Now that is an excellent lineup!

>148 figsfromthistle: Right?!?! I have already read Circe and How to be an Antiracist. Both were outstanding!! : )

>146 Berly: The class sounds like fun, TwinK. I wish I had time for something like that. Hooray for Powell's being open!

That Delve class looks interesting and so does the Portland Book Fest. I find my time is stretched so thin these days with all the interesting possibilities but I'd really like to go back to fewer possibilities if more of them could be in person again.

The Bloody Chamber is a terrific book, in the modern and original senses of the word. Enjoy it, and the class, immoderately.

*smooch*

>147 Berly: I think that is one of the nicest offers ever ... but we'd probably better not. We had a
FaceTime chat with our daughter the other night about how we're going to visit and agreed we will be tested when we get there and then not see them until we have a negative result. If we went to a social event, not matter how socially distanced, I don't think she would be comfortable with our coming over again. The problem is that grandson is 2 1/2 so doesn't
"get" social distancing so we expect to be in pretty close contact with him when we're there.

Thank you so much though and I hope we'll see you next time we're there because whether we move to the Portland area or not we will be visiting pretty often as the little man grows.

>146 Berly: The Delve class sounds great. Thanks for posting the textbooks. I'll count them as BBs.

Hi Kim, I'm personally acquainted with being MIA, but my 'excuses' are pretty lame. I do understand how busy life can get with relatives visiting, raising children, forest fires... Well, no personal experience with the last one, but my heart goes out to people displaced from their homes and the throngs that have to breathe the unbreathable air. Love your indoor Zen garden. Here's hoping things settle down in October for you.

>150 BLBera: How can I be stuck at home and keep running out of time?! I think it is because with all the people in my house, we keep playing games at night and that is eating up my LT time. Oh well. Enough excuses. I will be here as much as I can because I LOVE YOU GUYS!!

: )

>151 Familyhistorian: I totally agree with you. I really miss in-person. I have lucked out with my garden social distancing, but I fear that will soon end with colder weather and rain. Hope it lasts a while longer! Celebrating my sister's Bday out there tonight and my daughter is coming to visit. Yay!

>152 richardderus: We are on week 2 of Red Ridinghood, so I can't wait to read that story in The Bloody Chamber this week! ; ) Good stuff for October.

So far, we have read 6 versions and they are so different! Red gets naked in bed with her grandma/the wolf, eats (unknowingly) her grandma, dies, gets rescued by the hunter, rescues herself, is saved by the river and/or gets her revenge, not all in the same version, obviously. So many differences! And so many psychological interpretations. LOL. Having great fun with it all.

>153 RebaRelishesReading: I absolutely understand. Hope you have lots of fun and we'll catch up when life is safer. : )

>154 ffortsa: You're welcome!! I have only read out of the Tatar book so far, but I love Angela Carter so I am sure hers will be a hit, too.

>155 Donna828: I know. Life for me has been pretty challenging, but with the exception of losing my MIL, everything else can be overcome. I still feel much luckier than so many who have lost their homes AND loved ones. Your kind thoughts to all are so appreciated.

Today's good cheer came from my hubby...

The latest Powell's Indiespensable gift box!!



Thank you Hubby. You are the best. : )

>156 Berly: Back atcha!

>160 Berly: He's a keeper. Is that chocolate? Does he have a brother?

Hey Berly! Just popping in to see how you've been doing! Hope all is well :)

>161 BLBera: Yes, dark salted chocolate, and a hat, and a bookmark, the book and a discussion with the author! He has a brother, but he's married. Sorry. ; )

>162 vikzen: Hanging in there! How about you? (leaves to find out...)

>157 Berly: This is beautiful. Great job.

Thanks again for my copy of Vesper Flights, Kim. It will look perfect on my "Keeper" shelf. I hope you are finding some reading time.

Love your indispensable gift box and that you're playing a lot of games. Hubby doesn't like games so we only play when the grandkids are here - - and that isn't very often :(

>157 Berly: At least you have people in your house, Kim, which is a great excuse for lack of LT time. I only have myself to blame for lack of LT time. Love the gift box.

>164 msf59: Happy to help fill up the Keep Shelf!! I'll send you the link to the author talk...

>165 RebaRelishesReading: Sorry your hubby does't like games. Neither does mine, except for bridge -- he loves that. But I am actually almost feeling over-gamed at this point since my nephew wants to play every day, for hours! LOL. I am only good for some of them. : )

>166 Familyhistorian: We have six people in the house! Which is a lot during COVID, especially since 3 of them are in the prime spreader group. Yikes. So far, so good. Everyone is trying really hard to be safe.

The gift box dark, salted chocolate was a hit. ; )

>136 Berly: I am not enjoying Girl, Woman, Other that much. I think I am just not in the right space and I don't want to miss out, since everyone else seems to love it, so I am putting it aside for a bit.

Phew- I was going to read it with you but then dropped the ball on that big time, totally getting waylaid with other readings and goings on. Let me know if/when you will re-start and maybe i will get started in the meantime?!

>160 Berly: the best :)

>168 LovingLit: Phew!! One less thing to feel guilty about. I would like to give it another go, but definitely not this month. Give me a nudge when you want to and vice-versa. : )

And, yes, the gift box and my hubby are both the best!!

Popping in to say "Howdy". Looks like a party here!

Oh, your husband plays bridge. Do you as well? If Jim and i e Dr get back to Portland, we would have 4.

Edited to fix typo

>170 SandyAMcPherson: Hi there, Sandy! Party might be a stretch, LOL. But you and me makes two, so we just need one more...

>171 ffortsa: And Judy showed up!! Now it's a party. (See above.)

Well, in about a year, when we can safely visit people again, you should definitely come out to Portland and we'll play bridge!! That would be fun. : )

I got a new ARC from LT Early Reviewers--yay!! I hadn't asked for one in a while and this one looks fun!



From the back of the book--A thrilling new account of human origins, as told by the paleontologist who led the most groundbreaking dig in recent history.

Somewhere west of Munich, Madelaine Böhme and her colleagues dig for clues to the origins of humankind. What they discover is beyond anything they imagined: the fossilized bones of Danuvius guggenmosi ignite a global media frenzy. This ancient ancestor defies our knowledge of human history—his nearly twelve-million-year-old bones were not located in Africa—the so-called birthplace of humanity—but in Europe, and his features suggest we evolved much differently than scientists once believed.

In prose that reads like a gripping detective novel, Ancient Bones interweaves the story of the dig that changed everything with the fascinating answer to a previously undecided and now pressing question: How, exactly, did we become human? Placing Böhme’s discovery alongside former theories of human evolution, the authors show how this remarkable find (and others in Eurasia) are forcing us to rethink the story we’ve been told about how we came to be, a story that has been our guiding narrative—until now.

This does look good.

WOW! Your course sounds fantastic. I've always wanted to know more about Grimm's Fairytales.

I admit that I do not have as many plants as you do to bring inside. I must get to this task as the frost soon approaches. But, space is limited, and my first goal is gradually getting the inside of the house spic and span.

I'm working on the basement, with my grand daughter's help. Some women discover that after their significant others pass away, the had affairs, Will did not have affairs, but he was more of a hoarder than I ever imagined.

It dawned on me a few months ago that while the pandemic caused people to hoard toilet paper, I didn't have to purchase any in over a year. Now, as I work my way around the basement, I discover 55 cans of coffee, huge bags of rice, too many rolls of paper towels and toilet paper to count. For some reason he also saved pieces of wood. This perplexes me. But, when we carry it upstairs and place it outside on a table noting "FREE," the wood is shortly gone.

Will also made wine (good stuff) and beer. I gave the hundreds of clean wine and bear bottles to his very good friend. He also received all the materials needed to make the stuff.

When Will's youngest son obtained his engineering degree, he found a position in Germany. Alas, before he left the country, he literally dumped all his stuff in the basement. he too has a very interesting collection of items. As I don't know how to find him, I'm stuck with the stuff. That is a task for another time.

Shortly after Will passed away, my neighborhood girl who loved Will dearly, volunteered to go up in the attic with me to see what we could hai; away. Alas, I called an organization called The Purple Heart, and they took away 36 large boxes and plastic bags of clothes. We laughed when we happened upon two polyester suits -- one bright orange, another lime green.

Perhaps in history, the Grimm brothers wrote a tale of the man who could not let give his possessions away. And, maybe the story would contain images of a man spinning around, dancing in his spiffy John Travolta green and orange disco outfits.

HI, Kim! Just stopping by to say hello and wish you happy reading.

A Girl is a Body of Water is SUCH a great title!

I've taken bridge lessons twice in my life and really like the game even though I've never gained even basic competence. I may give it a try again sometime though although I know I'll struggle even more to remember the conventions now than I did 20 years or so ago. Hubby took the lessons with me the last time but he really didn't like it so my hope of us partnering to play with friends died.

Hi Kim, just stopping by to say hello and hope all is well with you and the family my dear. Sending love and hugs to you all from the both of us dear friend.

Hi, Kim.

I read The Intuitionist before I knew anything about Colson Whitehead- he was just a "writer to watch". What I remember most is thinking how strange it was - elevators? Really? in my world, strange=good, so it was a good experience. I can't wait to hear what you think of it.

I'm excited about A Girl is a Body of Water, and what a great present. I'm in one of those periods where there are so many I want to read all at the same time. Someone once called this kind of period "the Fall publishing season". Oh well.

When I told Debbi just now that I was posting to you, she said to pass onto you her Hello.

BTW, I asked on my last thread (not the current one) whether people would be interested in attending an LTer 75er Zoom meeting, and several said yes. I haven't figured out how to deal with the many time zones, but at least we know there's interest. Mark a little reluctantly was interested, because he predicts chaos on Zoom, and he's got a point.

>180 jnwelch: just to mention i have access to a Zoom PRO account which means we could meet without the 45 minute cut off that the free product limits you to

Had Mohs procedure to remove cancerous spot on my nose today. It left a crater, so I am off to plastic surgeon tomorrow to make the best of it. I'll get back to all of you as soon as I can!! : )

>182 Berly: - Speedy recovery, Kim. Hope this is the end of all that stress. I guess there is yet another advantage to wearing masks these days, until all is back to normal!

Hi Kim!

Lovely Indiespensible box.

My husband doesn’t like to play games. When my daughter is home she and I play Yahtzee and Hand and Foot, but she hasn’t been home since January. I’m debating about what to do about Thanksgiving – we usually have Jenna, other family, and friends over but I’m not feeling like we should at this point.

I thought I knew how to play bridge and thoroughly embarrassed myself twice – once with my mother’s bridge club and once with Bill’s grandmother’s bridge club. Not surprisingly, I didn’t get invited back to either.

>173 Berly: Sounds fascinating. I don’t even remember if I requested it and didn’t get it or somehow missed it. I’ll look forward to hearing what you think about it.

>182 Berly: I hope the plastic surgeon can 'fill' the crater. Sorry you had to go through it.

I hope you continue to stay safe with your houseful.

>174 BLBera: Hi TwinB!! I am actually feeling pretty chipper this morning. I have an hour or two to kill before heading to the doc's.

>175 Whisper1: So, I have to tell you that all those plants reside inside my house already; they are just scattered throughout many rooms. LOL. They have since been dispersed back to their normal spots.

Sounds like you are making great progress cleaning up your house. And I am glad you don't have to worry about TP for a while! ; ) And I love the John Travolta dancing image. You always make me smile. Glad you have some friends helpin gout with your projects. Big hugs to you.

>176 tymfos: Hello and happy reading back atcha!! : )

>177 magicians_nephew: Right?! I want to start A Girl is a Body of Water right away, except that I have about 10 others in the same position.

>178 RebaRelishesReading: I had this great cheat sheet for bridge when I was learning how to play that gave basic point counts and what would be a good bid. It kept me going until I learned the game a bit better. Eventually I got sophisticated enough that I asked my partner which bidding convention they were using. I would be too rusty to play at that level right now, but it was fun!

>179 johnsimpson: Hug and pen-wishes to you, John!

>180 jnwelch: Joe, I am in the same position. I want to read that one, and that one, and the one over there....I can't keep up with all the books I want to read!! I guess that is a good problem to have.

I think the Zoom idea would be fun, but since everybody is going to want to catch up, I think it will only work with a smallish number of people. 10 or less? I also have a Zoom account with unlimited minutes. I don't think crossing time zones will be a problem. Maybe we could host 2 or 3 on different dates and people can sign up? PM me more details and let's do this!

Hi Debbi!

>181 magicians_nephew: Thank you! I guess that means you would be interested in a Zoom meetup then, huh?! : )

>183 jessibud2: LOL. Yes, I wore my COVID mask home in the car after surgery because I didn't want everyone staring at my huge nose bandages!! Gotta look on the bright side.

>184 karenmarie: Sorry you haven't seen Jenna in a while. And the whole Thanksgiving thing is gonna be different this year for sure. I know my FIL is going to head up to Seattle to spend it with his daughter and her BF. That's only two people with little exposure vs my household with 6 people, 3 of them kids. I haven't spent a Thanksgiving without him in decades and it will be the first one since my MIL passed so it will be hard. Not even sure my daughter will be able to come over. We have only seen her and her BF outside in the garden or her backyard, but it will be too cold in November. We might be able to do it in the garage with space heaters and fans blowing air out, but IDK. The whole thing sucks.

I think you should start your bridge career in a less formal setting than a club!! LOL. Maybe a bunch of other beginners? I think you could do it virtually with computer games and then FaceTime so you can talk. It is a fun game for sure. Hope you get another chance. ; )

A Gift of Time by Jerry Merritt

Finished this last night. What an awesome SciFi book! Loved it. Complete with aliens and time travel. The audio was great. Highly recommended.

From the publisher: "When Micajah Fenton discovers a crater in his front yard with a broken time glider in the bottom and a naked, virtual woman on his lawn, he delays his plans to kill himself. While helping repair the marooned time traveler's glider, Cager realizes it can return him to his past to correct a mistake that had haunted him his entire life. As payment for his help, the virtual creature living in the circuitry of the marooned glider, sends Cager back in time as his 10-year-old self, knowing everything he'd known at 80 and gives him access to advanced equations of space and time.

But living life over knowing the future isn't as easy as Cager has anticipated. His every action alters the future he remembers until much of what he remembers never happened at all. And those changes work against him at every turn, preventing him correcting the most serious mistake of his life. Now he must use his advanced mathematical ability to build his own time machine to go back and try again. But he needs a fortune even to begin.

Then he receives help from a strange young woman with no history. While perfecting time travel, Cager and his new partner overcome enormous problems, even being hunted by dinosaurs in the Cretaceous. After that, though, things get really bizarre."

Yay for surgery and for the making-the-best one to follow. Whatever it takes, right?

Hi Kim my dear, so glad you have had the Cancerous spot on your nose removed, shame about the "crater" but i am sure it will be sorted out and you will never know it had happened. Take good care of yourself my dear.

On the pen front, the Fountain Pen UK group are having a special edition pen from a branded manufacturer made just for the group, along with this Diamine are making us another group ink, this time it is Teal and will be called Teal Breaker, for the first two weeks it will be available for group members and then goes on general sale. It would seem that our Liverpool administrator has made a good link with Diamine who are a Liverpool company and we will be having a new ink each year.

Hope all is well apart from your surgery my dear and we send love and hugs to you and your family from both of us dear friend.

>182 Berly: glad that cancer has been shown the door Kim. Take care of yourself.

I want to see your nose! We'll have to Zoom soon. :)

>180 jnwelch: I attend a Zoom gathering with 50 or 60 people. We start out in one group for comments to the whole group and then the host has the computer split us into small groups of about 7 for a 10 minute chat, brings us back to the whole for a couple of minutes and then sends us into new groups of 7. It works well because you can make announcements but still have some more personal "face time". Might be a thought for a 75er Zoom get-together.

>182 Berly: Bummer about having to have cancer removed from your nose. I hope it heals quickly and well and doesn't cause discomfort in the meantime.

>186 Berly: I like the cheat sheet idea. I may look for lessons again once we're re-settledl.

>190 richardderus: Well, you know better than most about making the best of it! Laughter is much better than crying. ; ) I have already decided that if it doesn't heal well I am going to say it was a nunchuck fight and you should see what the other guy looks like!!

>191 johnsimpson: So glad they could fit me in with the plastic surgeon so quickly! I know most surigcial incisions won't need that after Mohs surgery. I probably wouldn't have even asked for it if it was my cheek or forehead, but the NOSE! That's a tough spot. I asked how long I would have to wait to redo it with a plastic surgeon if I didn't like the first outcome and the Doc said 10 months to a year to allow proper healing...um, NOOO! Let's just upgrade right now. LOL

I can already tell she did a smaller fix than the one the first doc said he would do, so I am pretty sure I will be happy with the results.

Foot note--the new ink sounds like great fun! And a new one each year--yes!!

>192 Caroline_McElwee: Yes, and that is obviously the most important thing. Goodbye cancer!! I always worried I'd get it there--I used to get sunburned there all the time. I was on swim team as a kid and spent my summers at the pool, all day, everyday. And I was so-so on using suntan lotion. Oops.

>193 BLBera: I haven't even seen my nose yet! It's under bandages! LOL. I go in next week to get the stitches out. Then I'll show you. ; )

>194 RebaRelishesReading: Reba--that it a great idea with the breakout rooms. Thanks.

Thanks for the good wishes--always appreciated! Somewhat painful today. I didn't realize how many faces I make that include my nose! LOL. Also I have to open my mouth to eat s.l.o.w.l.y. I am sure it will feel better in a few days.

And let me know if you want a copy of my cheat sheets someday. I think I can still find them! : )

>197 Berly: Thanks for the offer of the cheat sheets. For the near future I think I'm going to be too busy with moving to even think about Bridge but once we're settled it might be a nice way to meet people.

>180 jnwelch: I was *sure* I had read The Intuitionist! But it isn't on my records, so.
(Maybe I was thinking of The Contortionist's Handbook??- actually, I think I was so, thank you all for helping me with this important issue) :)

>198 RebaRelishesReading: I definitely meant for later use. ; ) Good luck with all the moving stuff. It's exciting and exhausting all at the same time.

>199 LovingLit: Joe is such a good guy, right? : )

Hi Kim! Just catching up quickly. I love the photo of you and your sister in your indoor garden with sunnies on.

>146 Berly: I've been intrigued for a while about the origins of fairytales after seeing a documentary years ago (one of a series of three but I missed the others) about the origins of Snow White which was based on a real girl who went to the Spanish court (I think).

I'm glad you got the cancer sorted out; it's nice that the masks can be used to make people look good :0)

>201 humouress: We had fun putting the indoor garden together! And I must admit they were all inside plants from around the house that have (mostly) gone back to their original rooms. But is was very fun for a week or so. The rain has started up here, which is good from a business standpoint and also for putting out the fires, but I am going to miss my outside time in the garden. Trying to figure out how to have people over safely with COVID might mean a garage makeover with fans and space heaters....we'll see!

LOVING my fairytale class. Right now we are looking at various retellings of Bluebeard. Fascinating how the details change and yet the story remains the same. The outcome of the girl's life (wealth and happiness) seem to contradict the moral of curiousity/disobeying =danger.

Yes, I am very happy that we have to wear masks when outside because no one can see all the bandages on my nose!! Thank goodness it's not allergy season--sneezing would be so painful, LOL.

The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates. 4.5.

An awesome book! Yes, this is about the darkness of slavery, but it also has the hope of the underground railroad, a touch of magic is thrown in, there's a guest appearance by Moses/Harriet Tubman, and I was lifted up by the love throughout the book. Memorable characters, beautiful writing, and a satisfying ending. Highly recommended.

>202 Berly: You don't want to know what my boys tell me about sneezing with a mask on. You'd think ... 🙄 never mind. Obviously their mother didn't endow them with much common sense.

I'm glad your nose is now cancer-free. Another sun lover here who was outside A LOT in my youth. It will catch up to me too, I'm sure.

The fairy tale class sounds amazing.

The Water Dancer has been on my TBR list. I think it's time to give it a nudge.

Hi Kim, I'm just stopping by to say hello. Sorry to hear of the need for your procedure today but glad you got it taken care of. A close friend of mine had the same procedure on her scalp today. The scalp is certainly easier than the nose but plastic surgeons do amazing things.

Ancient Bones sounds very interesting. I'll be looking forward to your comments.

Hi, Kim. Sorry to have missed all the doings. I was offline for a bad week after sabotaging both my laptops. I've got one back, but the Mac is seriously dead because the necessary (and expensive) parts aren't available.

My wife had a cancer removed from her forehead, and the plastic surgeon who did it was so invested and enthusiastic. When he was done and Judi was in recovery, the surgeon came to me in the waiting room and showed me several dozen photos he took during the procedure. Oh my.

>207 weird_O: Too enthusiastic?

>204 humouress: Achoo! LOL.

>205 streamsong: No matter how much sun tan lotion I used, the tip of my nose always burned. Sigh. Hope you fare better than me! : )

>206 Oregonreader: Hi there! I am glad to have it taken care of. I had no idea how much I scrunch my nose in facial gestures; the worst is when I am tired and yawn--ouch!! LOL. Hope your friend heals quickly.

>207 weird_O: I read about your bad luck with the computers--dang! Glad you managed to revive one of them and that you're back on LT.

I have one photo of the nose after the Mohs visit and before the plastic surgeon visit. No idea what it looks like now under the bandages. Guess I'll see on Monday when I get the stitches out...it has to look better than a big hole!! : )

>208 humouress: Ha!

Hello Sweetiedarling. It's lovely to know you're recovering. Maybe more things can recover if good people do?

Hi, Kim.

I'm sorry/glad to hear about the Moh's surgery. It's a lifesaver, but I know it's a hassle to deal with. Both my sisters have had it. For one of them it was a "crater in the nose" one, too - and you'd never know it. I hope it's the same for you. The plastic surgeons are pretty amazing these days.

>194 RebaRelishesReading:, >197 Berly: Sounds like a great way to handle a 75er get-together, Reba. It's way beyond my Zoom capabilities, but maybe we have someone who'd know how to do the big group, break out into smaller groups, back to big group.

>199 LovingLit: Ha! I've had that happen, Megan. I'm glad that helped you realize it was a different book.

>200 Berly: Very nice of you to say I'm a good guy, Kim. Debbi gets driven nuts by people telling her I'm "easy-going". Her response: "Try living with him!" :-)

>203 Berly: oh good, I have it in the pile.

What everyone else said about your surgery, Kim. I hope the surgeon has made it invisible.

Reba, there's a download Bridge by Neural Play that's free, and you don't play with anyone else, just you and the bits and bytes. It's great for practice, and once you download it, you don't even have to be online to play.

I'm sure you will be able to find lots of bridge tutorials once you have time. I also have cheat sheets, aka tutorial notes, and if I upload them some time in the future, I'll send them to you. Feel free to nag me when the time comes!

Happy Friday, Kimmers! I hope you have a nice weekend planned. I also liked The Water Dancer but not nearly as much as you did. I am currently enjoying Utopia Avenue. Mitchell Rules!

Sorry to read about your surgery. I keep waffling on whether or not I'd like The Water Dancer because I'm not sure if the fantasy elements will turn me off. I guess I won't know unless I try it.

>214 ffortsa: Thank you Judy. I'll keep that in mind for after the move :)

>203 Berly: Hi Kim. I was able to place a hold on the book The Water Dancer. Hopefully it won't take my local library to notify me I can pick it up.

Wishing you all good things in your recovery from surgery.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend filled with plenty of rest :)

>193 BLBera: Hi, Kim. I'm trying to skim through and catch up - good luck with that! I'm another with MOHS surgery on the bridge of my nose. The scar is the first thing I see when I look at myself in the mirror, but other people don't seem to notice or are too tactful to comment. I'll take that. I wish that you may do even better!!!!!
Bridge??? My friends and I all learned from our parents as young teens. I didn't play after we graduated from high school until I was married. Covid has put an end to our meetings, but I did love to see three friends for a lunch and bridge afternoon every three weeks. They love the game; I don't love it, but I did love the time with them. Actually, I'm pretty bad, I guess.
>173 Berly: I won this one too, and I look forward to it. However, I now have 3 ER ARCs to read and review, all of which came this month. I won't get to *ABs* anytime soon. *sigh*

Ah, Bridge. My sister and parents all play but if I join them I inevitably get partnered with my dad (deliberately on the part of the ladies, I suspect) and then I might as well be Dummy. He's a stickler for the bidding but if I don't do it his way, I get 'Why didn't you...?' so I think for ages before bidding and then I get 'Why did you ...?' And then, even if I win the bidding, he takes over my hand 'to teach me how to play' and then moves too fast for me to follow. So yeah, I'm still 'learning' after all these years and am as clueless as when I started.

My dad's a sore loser, too, so my sister doesn't like playing with him but she prefers the version (I forget what it's called) where only three people play so you're kind of gambling on what the dummy may or may not have because she says it's more interesting. It definitely exercises the brain.

hej Kim, wish a good recovery for your nose and a quiet weekend

Hi Kim! I hope your recovery from the MOHS and plastic surgery is going well.

>203 Berly: We were supposed to read this one for book club’s December meeting, which won’t be happening. Too many of us have crap internet so Zoom or GoToMeeting or other video conferencing would not be all inclusive. I have his Between the World and Me on my shelves, as yet unread.

I'm not going to try to figure out bridge at this stage of my life, but appreciate the encouragement. My grandmother was a bridge whiz and played through her late 80s.

*smooch*

That is all.

>220 LizzieD: Hey TwinK! :)

>225 BLBera: Beth, would you believe I know the difference? I meant to be talking to Kim and don't know exactly how I linked to your post - got a number wrong, I guess. Maybe I was aiming for 195???
Anyway, good wishes for your reveal tomorrow, Kim. It's not going to be pretty yet, but I hope that this was a successful surgery and that you're happy with it in another month or two or three. One thing that nobody thought to tell me was that I should be massaging my scar as soon as it was healed enough to be rubbed, to keep it from hardening. Ask about that if they don't mention it to you, please.

Great to see you posting a good bit again, Kimmers. x

Kim, I am so sorry to hear about the Moh's surgery. That is what I had to have on my scalp last March, right as the pandemic was starting. The scar (crater -- I get it!!) will heal with time. But it would be hard to have that on your face. I love that this has turned into one good thing about having to wear face masks. I'm so angry right now about the pandemic (rant on my thread -- as the holidays approach and we can't visit family, I am infuriated!!) so it's good to find one up-side. Ha.

Anyway, there is nothing to say that will make it better. Just time. And knowing that the spot is cancer-free now.

I can hardly wait until we can gather for a meetup at Powell's with follow up at a good Portland brewpub.

xoxo

HI Kim

I am sorry that surgery awaits you.

I send hugs and lots of prayers.

Sorry to hear about your surgery and hope you are able to make lots of facial expressions after the reveal. A Zoom meeting sounds like fun!

Hi Kim! hope your healing is going well. 2020 is one thing after the other, isn't it?

>226 LizzieD: I couldn't resist, Peggy. :)

2020 should just be over already. I hope in two weeks, we will all be happier.

a gift of time reminds me of the Oppenheimer Alternative another book I read recently where the lead character gets a chance to go back in time and "fix things" in his past life.

This never ends well.

Is it only on Audible? Alway looking for new voices on Audible

>229 Whisper1:, Opps, sorry, I sent the wrong message. I meant to repeat my wish for your recovery.

Turning 68, and my brain cells are sleeping at times.

Wishing you lots of good things.

>211 richardderus: Hi there. I am praying for goodness asserting itself again in two weeks....

>212 jnwelch: Very glad that Mohs surgery is an option and that it took care of the problem. Crossing my fingers that the nose won't be too bad. ; )

>213 Caroline_McElwee: Which pile? LOL.

>214 ffortsa: Bridge is tons of fun, I just can't get any of my kids to play. Darn it.

>215 msf59: Hi Mark! Happy next weekend wishes to you! How was Utopia?

>216 thornton37814: The fantasy element is not that big a part of the book. Give it a try!

>217 RebaRelishesReading: And how is the move going? : )

>218 Whisper1: Yay and thank you!

>219 figsfromthistle: And the same to you for THIS weekend!

>220 LizzieD: Well, I am sorry you had to go through Mohs surgery, too. I didn't realize so many people had done it! And I am sure that you notice the scar more than others do and I am sure the same will be true for me.

I definitely enjoy the social aspect of bridge. In fact, I'd enjoy the social aspect of just about anything right now!!

>221 humouress: I feel you. My MIL was always the fastest bidder and player, which is why I made my Hubby be her partner, so I wouldn't get in trouble! LOL. I definitely caught on over time, but we stayed with the same partners.

>222 paulstalder: Thank you! The nose is doing better. Not painful unless I forget and rub it. Oops! Still have the steristrips on, which pretty much hides everything and the swelling is mostly gone. Thank goodness!

>223 karenmarie: We gave up on the book for November and are just doing happy hour. ; )

>224 richardderus: Smooches back.

>225 BLBera: TwinB!!

>226 LizzieD: The nose is still very red and has scabs, so I don't know exactly what it will look like yet, but the scar is not as long as I feared and I asked her to fix another problem on my nose while she was in there, and that seems much better, so yay!!

I have a followup visit in two weeks to talk about post care, so I will definitely ask about the massaging if they don't bring it up -- thanks!

>227 PaulCranswick: Hi, Paul! I have defiantly been a spotty LTer this year. I just don't seem to have a routine this year, but I am still trying! : )

>228 EBT1002: Yup, wearing the masks has had an upside for me! LOL. I just bought a Halloween one because I might as well have fun with the whole thing right? The scar will be what it will be, but I am glad I had a plastic surgeon close it up because I think that will give me the best chance and then I won't regret it later, I'll be able to accept it better and just move on. And, whenever we can, sooner rather than later, Powell's is a date!

>229 Whisper1: Thank you!

>230 Familyhistorian: Most of my facial expressions are pain-free now, except for if I really scrunch up the in distaste. Serves me right for being judgmental! ; )

>231 banjo123: My list of 2020 challenging things is VERY long. Can't wait for this year to be over.

>238 Berly: :0)

>240 Berly: Years ago I had minor surgery to remove a blocked salivary duct under my tongue. To camouflage the scar they made the incision along the crease in my neck (TMI? sorry) and then stapled it afterwards. My aunt happened to be in Singapore at the time so she came to visit me but I hadn't thought how it would look. The poor lady got a shock when I opened the door and she saw her niece doing a fair Frankenstein's monster impression! But it looked a lot worse than it felt and now you wouldn't know the scar was there.

ETA: point being, I doubt anyone but you will even notice your nose dimple by this time next month.

>232 BLBera: Amen to that sister!! I really hope the election polls are right this time round and that no foreign countries screw things up.

>233 magicians_nephew: A Gift of Time is an Audible original and I liked the narrator. Haven't heard of that one--thanks for the title. I just saw that the Bobiverse has a new title out, so that's gonna be my next Sci-Fi read!! Love this series.



Heaven's River by Dennis Taylor--bought it!! : )

>234 Whisper1: All good wishes gladly accepted. And my brain cells regularly don't work--it has nothing to do with age!!

Okay....off to start a new thread....

Hope I didn't miss anyone!

Ditto what you said to Paul in >240 Berly: I have defiantly been a spotty LTer this year. I just don't seem to have a routine this year, but I am still trying!

That's me too. Trying to get into some book that will grab me and pull me in. I've read several of those this year, but not so at this moment.

>237 Berly: We won't be moving until we're in escrow with our San Diego condo. Realtor is bring a photographer to take pictures this afternoon and then it should be up on line and hopefully we will be flooded with buyers :) On the Washington end, inspection has been done and seller agrees to fix the things needed so we're steaming right ahead there.

Glad your nose is healing well -- and now I'll follow you to your new thread.