ffortsa reads and hopes in 2021 - still

Hi again. I'm Judy. Maybe we haven't met. In 2020, I read 78 books! Halfway through this year, I may get as far.

As is true for most of us 75ers, I have too many unread books on my shelves, in my Kindle library, in my mind to read. I belong to two book groups, neither of which is actually CALLED a book group, so that slows down my browsing a bit. Still, that should only account for 24 titles a year. Lots of room for more.



Maya Lin created this stand of drowned pines using trees from New Jersey's Pine Barrens to illustrate the effects of climate change. They are buried some 8 feet into the lawn in Madison Square Park, amid both the living flora and the stone and brick buildings. Standing in front of them is very affecting. If we were allowed to walk through. I think I'd end up hugging one.

Here's another hopeful ticker:



January:

1. ✔ The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon
2. ♬ The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
3. ✔ The Map Thief by Michael Blanding
4. ✔ Where Crime Never Sleeps edited by Elizabeth Selvin
5. @ Cat of the Century by Rita Mae Brown
6. @ Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout
7. @ Force of Nature by Jane Harper
February

8. @ Foreign Affairs by Alison Lurie
9. @ The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern by Lilian Jackson Braun
10. ♬+ Stiff by Mary Roach
11. @ Grey Mask by Patricia Wentworth
12. @♬Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry
13. @ The Case is Closed by Patricia Wentworth
14. @ Paradise by Toni Morrison
15. @ Lonesome Road by Patricia Wentworth
16. @ The Tenant by Katrine Engberg

March

17. @ Emma by Jane Austen
18. @ The Lantern Men by Elly Griffiths
19. @ Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke
20. @ The Red and the Black by Stendhal, trans. by Horace B. Samuel
21. @ From Doon With Death by Ruth Rendell
22. @✔ Still Midnight by Denise Mina

April

23. Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter
24. @A Question of Belief by Donna Leon
25. ✔Beautiful Girl: Stories by Alice Adams
26. @Gun Street Girl by Adrian McKinty
27. @Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor
28. The Long Call by Ann Cleeves

May

29. Interior Chinatown by Charles Wu
30. @The Cat Who Saw Red by Lillian Jackson Braun
31. ✔Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen by Alix Kate Shulman
32. @White Corridors by Christopher Fowler
33. The Drop Edge of Yonder by Donis Casey
34. ♬Y is for Yesterday by Sue Grafton read by Judy Kaye
35. @The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson
36. Paint the Town Red by Harold Adams

June

37. @The Golden Calf by Helen Tursten
38. @The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin
39. @The Summons by Peter Lovesey

July

40. @The Quiet American by Graham Greene
41. @The Black Path by Asa Larsson
42. ✔Bloodhounds by Peter Livesy
43. @Wolf to the Slaughter by Ruth Rendell
44. @Best Man to Die by Ruth Rendell
45. @The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
46. @Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss
47. @The Risk of Darkness by Susan Hill
48. Regeneration by Pat Barker
49. The Second Deadly Sin by Asa Larsson

August

50. Weeping Waters by Karin Brynard
51. The News From Paraguay by Lily Tuck
52. She Lover of Death by Boris Akunin
53. @The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths
54. @The Coronation by Boris Akunin
55. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (dnf)
56. The Postscript Murders by Elly Griffiths
57. @The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
58. @The Return by Hakan Nesser
59. @The Vows of Silence by Susan Hill

September
60. @A Fatal Obsession by Faith Martin
61. @A Fatal Mistake by Faith Martin
62. @A Fatal Flaw by Faith Martin
63. The Eye In The Door by Pat Barker
64. @Munster's Case by Hakan Nesser
65. @The News From Paraguay by Lily Tuck
66. @Miss Lonelyhearts by Nathanael West

October
67. @Hour of the Wolf by Hakan Messer
68. @All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny
69. The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver

November
70. @Three Junes by Julia Glass
71. @The Victoria Vanishes: A Peculiar Crimes Mystery by Christopher Fowler
72. @In the Darkroom by Susan Faludi
73. @The Moving Target by Ross MacDonald
74. ♬The History of the Ancient World by Susan Wise Bauer
75. @Rain Dogs by Adrian McKinty
76. @There's Nothing to Be Afraid Of by Marsha Muller

December
77. @The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan
78. @The Second Mouse by Archer Mayer
79. @Running Dog by Don DeLillo
80. @Laidlaw by William McIlvaney
81. @The Rat Catchers' Olympics by Colin Cotterill

And another one, for culling:



Crime Never Sleeps edited by Elizabeth Selvin
Stiff by Mary Roach
The African Trilogy by Chinua Achebe
Beautiful Girl: Stories by Alice Adams
Through a Glass Darkly by Donna Leon (two copies!)
Uniform Justice by Donna Leon
Drawing Conclusions by Donna Leon
23 as listed in #213 and #215 below
Bloodhounds by Peter Livesy
The End of the Affair by Graham Greene
The Prose of John Milton
The Abascal Way by Kathy Abascal
Organizing for the Creative Person by Lehmkuhl and Lamping
The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Possession by A.S. Byatt

Icons denote ebooks, library Wherebooks, off the shelf, etc. modified from Bianca's list
♬ audiobook
✔ off the shelf
@ e-book
✿ TIOLI
↩ reread
✗ dnf photo

And so immediately, my first message is lost. Sigh.

I have two books currently borrowed from the library - real books, on paper. The News From Paraguay for an August meet-up, and Weeping Waters, recommended by - uh oh, not on the list. Well, you know who you are. In the meantime, I've started The Quiet American and it's got me in its teeth. Just as well, since we are discussing it on Tuesday!

I've started working with a nutritionist, because I just can't get my weight down. She is a strong advocate of the intermittent fasting regimen, and I don't find it particularly difficult, but other rules are harder to maintain and I find myself kicking against the traces a bit after about two weeks. Still, it's instructive regarding my eating as well as my resistance to being told what to do. Jeannie is very nice, and no drill sergeant, but I still kick. Mornings are easy. The rest of the day, not so much.

And we are going away in the middle of July to meet friends at Williamstown and Boston, and they are foodies, so I'd better watch myself. There will be a lot of temptation.

I'm also in physical therapy for rotator cuff tendinitis. It seems to be working, which is good. The PT place is just downstairs! So convenient. But I've put the fiddle down for a while until this is under control, more so that I can separate out where the damage came from than because playing hurts (because it doesn't). In the meantime, I heard a Beethoven serenade (or rhapsody?) for violin and orchestra that probably has a piano score as well, and it's gorgeous, and I'd love to play it. Didn't sound all that hard. So maybe August.

Today we are doing laundry - how practical - and then I don't think we have anything planned! And it's deliciously cool out, so maybe a long walk is called for.
Yum.

Happy new thread, Judy!

That image in your topper is very striking. I imagine even more so in person.

Sorry about the tendinitis. And the food temptation. It's a constant struggle...

Happy new thread, Judy. Love the Maya Lin photo up top. Also curious about your intermittent fasting since I've been toying with trying that myself. What periods are you fasting?

Oh my, Judy. I had heard about the Maya Lin/drowned pines and yours is the best picture that I've seen. I'm still reading The Overstory, so I am getting the message doubled.

Sorry about the tendinitis. Sorry about the weight. I've never been attracted by the fasting and would really find it difficult now that my mama depends on my cooking for her. My weight crept up (like the curious cream-colored cat) last year but not so far that I'm motivated to do more than maintain where I am now. That's battle enough.

We just walked, and it was not cool, delicious or otherwise. Hope you're making the most of your better weather.

Hi Judy, and happy new thread. Lovely photo of the Maya Lin pines. I think I’d try to hug one, too.

From your last thread, china. Thirty years ago we registered for china and flatware and got an abundance of each. We use them at Thanksgiving and whenever special occasions indicate sitting down in the dining room. You’re right, though, the china has to get hand washed. It was less expensive 30 years ago, but even now our pattern doesn’t come close to $90 for a dinner plate.

>4 ffortsa: I’m sorry about the rotator cuff tendonitis and hope the PT works.

Happy new thread, Judy. Interesting image of the drowned pines. How are they illustrative of climate change?

Happy new thread, Judy.

Happy new thread, Judy!

OOO - visitors!

>5 katiekrug: Yeah, the food is a struggle. I'm upset because I'm right at the top of my historic weight, and at 5 feet (maybe - if I stretch) every pound counts. Of course, I hate to do what I'm told, but then there's my waistline.

>6 RebaRelishesReading: Reba, the intermittent fasting is a famously misnamed plan, at least in my mind. The idea is to let your body work without interruption introduced by more food. So I generally have a cup of black coffee when I wake up, about 9am, then wait to eat until somewhere around noon. Dinner is generally at 7PM. I'm not a fanatic, but I figure if I can eat within an 8 hour window, that gives me 16 hours of 'fasting'. Some people get more ambitious and try to eat within a 6 or even 4 hour window. That might be tough. Of course, I'm also supposed to watch how much I eat and stay away from quick carbs like refined grain products and sugar.

>7 LizzieD: Peggy, it would be very difficult to do this schedule of eating if cooking for someone else. Luckily, Jim always takes care of his breakfast himself, and we have been able to work out dinners so far. Sometimes we eat different meals.

>8 karenmarie: the PT seems to be improving the situation. It's one of those things I have to keep reminding myself is for my own good between appointments, resistant little thing that I am.

>9 Familyhistorian: Meg, the drowned trees in the Pine Barrens died because of salt water incursion caused by rising seas, which in turn is caused by polar ice melt, which in turn is caused by.... So yes, climate change.

>10 PaulCranswick: and >11 FAMeulstee: Hello! Thanks for stopping by.

40. The Quiet American by Graham Greene

Our downtown f2f (now zoom) reading group meets Tuesday to discuss this Graham Greene novel. Ouch, does this hit home. Beautiful writing about a terrible time. More later, maybe.

It's so delightfully cool today I decided to take a walk before noon, and headed over to the newest public park, the Little Island. Here's a picture of the entrance at about 10:45 am, when you can just walk in. If you look closely, you'll see that a lot of people have decided to do just that.



I can see that in the heat of the summer, it will be as Casey Stengal said. "No one goes there anymore- it's too crowded."

There are a myriad of staircases and ramps, a performance space on the north side, a cafe, and no shade whatsoever. Huh? But the views are terrific.



This photo was taken on the topmost overlook, straight down to the mouth of the harbor, with Jersey City on the right and the Wall Street area on the left. In the center, so unattractive, is a working pier for the fireboats.

I'll surely go back there, very early (they open at 6am) or with a timed ticket (noon till 8PM, I think), so the foot traffic is not quite so horrid. Or I'll wait until autumn!

>12 ffortsa: Thanks for sharing that. I've been (sort of) trying to do something similar. We're going to Hawaii with friends next February and I would like to lose a chunk of weight by then. Here's hoping :)

Little Island looks like a delightful place. Hope it doesn't get over-run and that you can continue to enjoy it.

41. The Black Path by Asa Larsson

I actually read this before The Quiet American but somehow didn't list it. An interesting entry in the Larsson series, but there is so much impact brought forward from her previous entries that I might have to read them again. Rebekkah is recovering in her grandmother's house from the events in the second book of the series when people begin dying in the town.

Happy new one!

Hi Judy - I'm always looking for NY diversions for my mother (she's on the UES) - can you tell me if there are benches alongthe way on Little Island or is it just one long walk? Thanks!

>18 vivians: Hi Vivian! I'm not real happy with the design of Little Island, particularly as I didn't see any benches or shade. There is a cafe with shade on the entry level, but no view, and the performance space is also on the entry level, which must have some seating. Also, I didn't see any bathrooms on the island (a friend of mine asked and was told that), although there are bathrooms a block down by the kiddie playground. I walked up the steps to the top, but some people had strollers so I assume there is a ramp.

All in all, I'd say this is not a good place for people who are not spry.

eta: This is the list of ADA accommodations. Emphasis is mine.

All spaces in the park, including pathways and all overlooks, are fully ADA accessible with a handrails and landings for rest.
All restrooms are accessible, including a single-user gender neutral restroom. so there must be some
The Amph has eight (8) wheelchair accommodations, and the amphitheater itself is accessible by wheelchair via two entrances. To reserve wheelchair accommodation in The Amph, please email ticketing@littleisland.org to check availability.

>19 ffortsa: Thanks for the great information Judy! I think we'll give it a try this weekend as long as it's not too hot.

Happy new thread, Judy! The only Graham Greene I've read is The Heart of the Matter, which I did like. Maybe I should try The Quiet American too.

>21 bell7: Hi, Mary. Yes, I think it's one of his best.

Hi Judy.
Happy New Thread!

Back to your prior thread, I was interested in your thoughts about The Finkler Question. This is one of the Booker winners that I have been unsure I want to read. Your comments make me more interested in giving it a go.

The only Graham Greene work I have read is The Power and the Glory although I have a couple more on my shelves.

I'm glad you had a cool and lovely fourth. We are experiencing an ongoing drought with brutally hot temperatures. I'm ready for rain!!!!!

>23 EBT1002: Thanks for stopping by, Ellen. I know your part of the country is suffering with the heat. Kim (Berly) and her husband went to a hotel because their air conditioning is on the fritz (what timing!). My cousin in North Portland loves the heat, but even she was a little overtaxed.

I haven't read The Power and the Glory. Some of Greene's 'entertainments' like Our Man in Havana are more satiric, more comic, but the later ones are filled with his Catholic convert guilt. A little hard for me to take. This one hints at that, but it's earlier, and I'm happy to say that my reading group, while offering some criticisms, generally liked or loved the book and the writing. So deceptively simple.

42. Bloodhounds by Peter Livesy

A good entry in this series, complete with eccentric English mystery story afficionados, improbable coincidences and even a locked room mystery! I did wonder why one character was so underplayed, and my suspicions were rewarded at the end.

43. Wolf to the Slaughter by Ruth Rendell

The advantage of e-books from the library is you can just plow along if you want. This police procedural has some interesting characters, and some decidedly noir touches. Wexford and his team try to find a woman they presume dead, although no body has been found. What they do find is dark enough.

It's amazing. I actually got things done today. I figured out how to fix the curtain hooks in the bedroom (not rocket science, of course) and fixed them. And I went through all my paper bags (when did I begin to hoard them?) and offered some of them up on a local Buy Nothing group, and organized the rest. I let these little projects hang around much too long, and they get me down, and then I do them and I wonder why I was procrastinating.

Maybe it was reading that whisper1 (Linda) painted her whole house herself that inspired me to get going.

If Linda inspired you, you have now inspired me! I sorted through my dresser drawers today and found things I didn't know I had. Tomorrow I'm tackling some trim painting. I hope this feeling lasts!

>27 Oregonreader: Me too! I have so much that I've left undone or half done - I just tackled the easiest yesterday. And we plan to be away most of next week, seeing friends in Massachusetts, including some from this group. What a trial, having to see friends and read and swim.

>28 ffortsa: Lol, yes, sounds like trial. Hope you have a great time and congratulations on getting some projects done.

Reading the June14/21 issue of the New Yorker from 2010, I found short stories from 20 authors under 40 that the editors felt had a good future ahead of them.
They are

Gary Shteyngart
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi
Fivka Galchen
Wells Tower
Nicole Krauss
Joshua Ferris
Tea Obreht
Karen Russell
Dinaw Mengestu
ZZ Packer
Philipp Meyer
Jonathan Safran Foer
Yiyun Li
David Beszozgis
Nell Freudenberger
Chris Adrian
Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum
Salvatore Scibona
Daniel Alarcon
C.E. Morgan

I've heard of almost all of them in the intervening 11 years, and read something by most. I think they put out a list in 2020 as well - I'll look for it.

We are off! Kicking down these walls and heading for the wilds of Massachusetts, where we will meet friends, among them MichiganTrumpet and Cameling. Finally!

Nice! Say hello to Marianne and Caroline for me.

>31 ffortsa:, >32 kidzdoc: And for me!

>31 ffortsa: Have a great trip!

>30 ffortsa: How cool is that. I only recognize a few of those names but I love that The New Yorker was so spot on.

If I'm not to late, please add me to the "hello" list for Marianne and Caroline. Two great LTers!!!

>30 ffortsa: I have heard of about 4 of them, and they have done well, for sure!

>31 ffortsa: wonderful! I remember the days when it seemed every second weekend there was an LT meetup somewhere in the US :) (pre-covid, I guess)

Pictures will be taken tomorrow, for sure.

proof positive!



Caro (Cameling), Marianne (MichiganTrumpet), me and Jim (magicians_nephew) taking a break from a sensational barbeque dinner at our friends near Boston.

43. Wolf to the Slaughter by Ruth Rendell

I'm continuing with the Rendell series as long as my library has the ebooks. In this case, we discover that even police detectives can be misled, can have weaknesses that work against their suitability to the profession. And that perceived crimes are not necessarily those that have occurred.

44. Best Man to Die by Ruth Rendell

And another one. Sometimes a deep friendship occurs between people who are good and those who are not. So who killed Best Man Charlie Hatton, and who stole his money, and are they the same person? And where did he get that money anyway? Interesting and complicated.

45. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

I loved this. What characters! After I finished the book, I missed them so much! The alternating sections of narrative and diary were great complements to each other, and the police detectives' discomfort nicely poised. And of course, a very satisfying ending.

46. Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss

This is my first Sarah Moss, and I'm glad it was short. The writing is fine, but the situation in this instance was quite disturbing. The subject of domestic abuse, of mother and daughter, was painful, and not really made right by the arrest of the father. Moss does a credible job of showing how fear can take over the lives of the abused, so much so that it was hard to read.

47. The Risk of Darkness by Susan Hill

My third Serrailler mystery. Hill likes to interlace a real police procedural with deeply delineated characters, and with a common thread. In this case, the thread is death itself, in the various ways it occurs and how it affects those left behind. Simon is seeing himself in a more critical light, which promises more development in the subsequent books (I hope). And Hill leaves loose threads, as she has done before. I'm looking forward to book #4.

So now you know what I read. What was I doing in Massachusets? Well, for one, seeing the wonderful exhibit of Basquiat and his contemporaries and the MFA.

Also going to Williamstown to see an exhibit of turn-of-the-last-century Norwegian painter and printmaker Nikolai Astrup, which was wonderful. He spent his life in a poor farming village in Norway, capturing the extraordinary landscapes as well as the homes and sometimes the people of the area. The show includes portraits of him by his contemporaries. You can see how his travels to France introduced impressionism to his work, and how patient and creative he was as he made individual prints, often taking months to wait for each color ink to dry before the image could be completed.

Also at the Clark, some remarkable and inventive sculpture by Claude and Francois-Xavier Lalanne, much of it quite funny. Anyone for a cabbage with chicken feet? Or a rhinoceros desk?

I'll gradually post pictures, but the Clark Art Institute website has lots of great images of these shows.

And there was theater! Two productions, one outside in a small theater comprising three one-act plays by Black playwrights (part of a series of nine). The ones we saw were about entrapment in many forms. The second production, entitled 'Row', illustrates the life of Tori Murden, the first woman to row the Atlantic, staged at the reflecting pool of the Clark. I couldn't leave humming the music, but the acting was fine, and the tech in that outdoor space used all sorts of lighting to incorporate the water, the trees in the background, and of course the players. A very interesting evening.

>40 ffortsa: Sounds like a most interesting and fun trip...and you got a lot of reading done. Welcome home!

>38 ffortsa: Thank for sharing, Judy, so nice to see LT-meetups again!

>40 ffortsa: Sounds so good, visiting museums and theatre!
I am waiting until reaching the two weeks after 2nd vaccination (next week) to resume some of my previous life.

Hi Judy!

>38 ffortsa: Great photo, and thank you for labeling with names/usernames.

>39 ffortsa: I love Ruth Rendell, but like Wexford less than her standalones. Loved The Thursday Murder Club and just realized that a sequel, The Man Who Died Twice will be out in September. Of course I pre-ordered it. I love the Simon Serrailer series, too.

>40 ffortsa: Ah, kul-cha. Your museum and theater experiences sound wonderful.

Sounds like a great getaway, Judy!

>44 katiekrug: Would have been, but some tension between our hosts was wearisome.

I may have a short hiatus in posting. My computer is getting slower and slower, and I'm thinking of taking it in for a clean-up, which probably means a day or two without. I still have my tablet, but typing isn't as easy.

I've started reading Pat Barker's Regeneration for my next book gathering. So moving, and I'm only half-way.

>26 ffortsa: I am in awe, and appreciation that you noted my painting spree. Though it took a lot of time. Because of fusion at C1 and C2, I am not able to turn my head sideways. Thus, I had to hire people to paint the ceilings.

I gave away a lot of my furniture to people who needed it. The large dining room table that Will owned, was given to a family who did not have a table. I gave away a couch and love seat to another needy family. My too- large kitchen table is dismantled, and placed in the garage. I really am fond of that table as it was a mark of my independence when I left husband #2. I owned two different houses since then, and in each one the table took up too much space.

A very talented friend made a lovely table that fits the kitchen space nicely. She pulled this together from a large bank of drawers. The two drawers are very functional, and contain baking materials. Underneath the drawers are three lovely baskets that contain kitchen towels and cloths, and odds and ends of baking materials. The top was taken from another and she used a router to make it fit, with an overhang extension for two bar stools.

Every room is different. I needed to make this house mine. I moved into this house that was Will's. I tried, but it never really felt like mine.

There are woods in the back on my yard. Today two adult deer and spotted baby deer came to the bird feeders. They watched me look at them, and they stayed and ate for a goodly amount of time.

I still need to go through my books and get rid of many that I bought on a whim at bookstores.

When I am finished, most like by next summer, I hope you and Jim will come visit. I am only an hour- long bus trip from NYC.

I remember our conversations, during the two meet ups where we met, with much fondness. I send a lot of love!

>46 Whisper1: Oh, there's so much I didn't realize. I thought Will moved into your house, and now I see it's the other way around. Good for you for making it your own. I am very cheered to learn how you gave away what didn't fit your needs, doing good.

And it's good to have such a talented friend. Is furniture building her occupation? We've been talking a long time about how Jim needs a custom desk that fits the location and his needs. Not knowing anyone who does this is a handicap, and we are not so adventurous as to interview cabinetmakers cold!

I have often thought I'd made a mistake taking my mother's dining room set for my apartment. It's lovely, mid-century, round and graceful, but I don't think it's right for the space it's in. But I haven't gotten to the point of wanting to give it up. Although I have gotten to the point of wishing all my flat surfaces were glass so would wipe clean! Wood takes care.

We would love to come out to see you, and will probably be in awe of the house. I'm a sucker for other people's decor (grin). And it would be lovely to see you to, of course!

Hi Judy. My friend who made the table from a bank of drawers does this sort of thing as a hobby. I am in awe of her abilities, but she is way too shy to realize her talent.

Regarding moving into Will's house (now mine), it was a big mistake. I purchased 50% of the house, and my name was on the deed. That made the situation even more difficult. My furniture was in storage while all of his took up the space, including his silver and china. When I calmly told him that this arrangement wasn't working, I went from room to room and quietly listed all the items that contained his stamp of ownership. At first I was calm, then midway, I cried (something I usually do not do).

He deeply apologized and tried his best to rectify this, but alas, stubborn as I am, when my feelings are very hurt, I don't forgive easily. Over the years, the appliances, out of necessity, were replaced and became ours. My furniture was moved from storage to the house, but again, this was because his items were showing wear and tear.

Now that the house is mine, I admit it is very cathartic to give his things away. And even my older items, were replaced with new ones. It is a new beginning without anger, and an acknowledgement of memories that were positive about him.

I take responsibility for allowing this, but suffice it to say, that it really feels good to claim the space, and to give away his items to people who really need them.

I imagine him in my position and what he would have done if I would have passed first. The books would be a liability and way too much to go through.

I believe Jim moved into your space. How did/do you accommodate each other, and what stays, and what goes?

>48 Whisper1: Jim did move into my space, but kept his studio in Queens, so most of his furniture is still there for use when he goes back each week to have some alone time. I appreciate that too. Living the two of us in a one-bedroom apartment is not the easiest.

We have bought bookshelves together, and a couch, but most of the rest was here when he came, or was stuff I inherited from my mother. I consider getting rid of them, although they are beautiful, because I think we can make a little better use of the space we have.

In the meantime, it's tough fitting our desks, his piano keyboard, my music and sewing, and all the other stuff we have accumulated. I keep trying to pare down, but as you know, it's hard to do that. There have been times when I have wished that we could hire burglars to just carry off everything, leaving us with a completely fresh start!

Well, the computer has been somewhat analyzed, and the upshot is that there are some problems with the hard drive, and the registry. According to Staples, I could get it fixed for $300 or so, or buy a new laptop, but finding one with the speed and space of this one isn't so easy. Prices are high. So I've taken it back. (Now that I've scared it, it's working beautifully, so maybe I'll do a registry cleanup and keep my fingers crossed.)

48. Regeneration by Pat Barker

A tremendously engrossing, imaginative story of WW1 soldiers sent to a psychiatric facility when various forms of shell shock incapacitate them.

Rivers, the head of treatment in this place, is a real historic figure, as is Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen, and others. Sassoon is placed there when Robert Graves pulls strings to prevent him from being court-martialed for writing a protest against this interminable war, without stated goals or purpose. As he is an officer and from the upper class, this is a serious offense, but if he can be regarded as mentally unfit, discounted.

The men's damage is all psychological, but no less real. One man cannot eat because of a horrific accident that he associates with food. One cannot walk, although not wounded, many cannot speak, some can only stutter, some have become paranoid about spies. One, a doctor, can no longer stand the sight of blood.

Barker's imagined life within this real situation is magical. The dialog is so natural and real, the relationships between the men, and some women, so real. One man goes on a day trip and meets a woman, a munitions worker yellowed by the substances she handles, which even rub off on the sheets, and we learn about how the war has opened opportunities for women who otherwise would have been servants, how the social order is being upended. Rivers and Sassoon, a fictional inmatef named Prior, and others have conversations that deeply affect each other, each knowing that to be proclaimed 'cured' means getting sent back to the horror of trench warfare.

This is the first of a trilogy of WW1, and I intend to read the other two as soon as possible. A powerful read.

49. The Second Deadly Sin by Asa Larsson

The sin, of course, is greed, but it is difficult to see how it ties in to the murder of a grandmother and the pursuit of a very young boy. The reader learns about the family history through a parallel story two generations back, and so knows more than the police, until Rebekka Martinsson connects the murder to other family disasters. In the meantime, the usual political idiocy prevails. A good entry in this series, but I suspect the author has a bleak view of human frailty.

>45 ffortsa: I took my limping laptop to Staples, but they told me they couldn't do their diagnostics because of damage to my hard drive. Jim and I were suspicious. So Jim suggested a surface scan and a registry cleanout, and that plus the salutary effect of frightening my laptop with the prospect of surgery seem to have done the trick. Staples likes to sell hardware, of course. Have to keep that in mind.

I'm reading a mystery set in South Africa, Weeping Waters, recommended by someone whose name I didn't note on my rec list (silly me). So far it's very good, with a real gritty feel for the land.

Next up is a reread of The News From Paraguay by Lily Tuck, for Tuesday's discussion.

It is a ravishingly beautiful day here in NYC, so I think I will take WW out to a park and read. Must waste the good weather.

I hope you had a lovely day today and enjoyed some good weather.

Regeneration sounds like an interesting book and I'm adding it to my list.

Ummm. Regeneration. I really need to reread it and to continue the trilogy. My respect and appreciation for Pat Barker grows and grows.

50. Weeping Waters by Karin Brynard

A nice start for a new-to-me mystery series, set in the dry bush region of South Africa. A city detective, posted here because of a scandal in his previous post in Johannesburg, must get used to the heat, the spiders, the sheer rural nature of his new assignment and of course, a murder. Livestock has been stolen - does the murder relate to this? Or is it something else entirely? Is the farm foreman what he seems, or not? And will the white Boers cause too much unrest and upheaval to allow the transplanted detective time to solve it all.

This book was complicated, but not too complicated to follow. I liked the fact that I didn't always know from the name of a character that person's position in the racial complexities of the post-apartheid landscape.

51. The News From Paraguay by Lily Tuck

This was a reread for a reading group meeting. I think I enjoyed it more the first time around. Then again, I had deaccessioned my copy quite a while ago, so clearly I hadn't intended to reread it, even though I was the one who suggested the title this time round!

I'm not in the mood for another mystery, so I've borrowed Jim's copy of The Night Circus, but I'm not sure it's a book for me. I'll see how it goes.

Libraries are dangerous places. I returned two books yesterday and found the library was again allowing browsing. Big mistake! How did they know I wanted these books? A Boris Akunin mystery (oops, skipped the previous one in the series), The Postscript Murders by Ellie Griffiths, and Shuggie Bain! Just sitting there waving at me!

And so much for not being in the mood for mysteries. I read the Akunin, She Lover of Death, immediately. To add some confusion, one of the main characters has the same name as one in The Night Circus. For a minute there, I didn't know where I was.

Hi Judy!

>49 ffortsa: I'm glad you both get your alone time.

>55 ffortsa: I’ve added Weeping Waters to my wish list. It sounds fascinating.

>56 ffortsa: Our Library's been allowing browsing for quite a while, but the traffic isn't nearly as much as they expected it to be after the shutdown.

Hi Judy! Hope your shoulder responds well to the PT. Love all the talk about changing spaces and fitting furniture. I think I have a couple years left in this house before I can safely (as in I don't think kids will be returning to live with me) downsize. My FIL wants us to come over next week to see his condo. He's thinking of purging and redecorating. Not sure I want to acquire any of his things, but my kids might...

Glad the library books waved at you. ; ) I just got Shuggie Baine on my Kindle.

>56 ffortsa: At least libraries are less dangerous than bookstores. No impact on the pocketbook, just the shoulders etc. (from carrying) and perhaps the spare time. and you eventually have to give them back, so your home doesn't wind up looking like a horders episode. ;-)

>59 ArlieS: It sort of looks that way now, at least in terms of the books!

One mission accomplished (sort of). In the face of a wedding scheduled for Labor Day weekend, I had to evaluate shoes, of which I have MANY. It's partly because my shoe size is not easy to find, and partly because, well, you know -- but I LIKE them. I was able to designate four pair to give away or toss, and discovered that I have enough of the right kind of shoes to service the wedding outfits. Whew. Some pairs need some TLC. I also discovered that I don't need to buy new walking shoes or sneakers, as I have a stockpile of each! I didn't remember that at all. So, one chore done. Of course, I should probably get rid of another four or five pair, but not quite yet.

Jim and I did go shoe-shopping today, up to the New Balance store, but no joy for either of us. His are the largest feet ever, and mine, it seems, are the smallest. By the time we are truly doddering, we will probably need to have them custom-made.

I didn't get to the library today to return the Akunin and pick up the next Pat Barker. The branch is far enough away from me that I get a good walk in, much needed.

52. She Lover of Death by Boris Akunin

This is a strange mystery, a sort of mock Sherlock Holmes adventure with a little Chesterton mixed in. Someone is convincing people to commit suicide, and Fandorin decides to find out how this could be. A bit more hysterical than most of the series. I wonder where Akunin is going?

53. The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths

The precursor to The Postscript Murders, although I don't know how connected they are. Another odd mystery, although there is indeed a murderer. The motif of beautiful women in danger, mixed with horror stories, is a little off-putting, I think.

>61 ffortsa: *grin* I had a similar task last week, but the wedding was last Saturday. And my problem wasn't needing to sort through an excess as much as finding suitable options in a hurry. (I almost never where clothes this dressy.) Amazingly, I only needed to buy a clutch purse - everything else I either already had, or could borrow. (Hurrah for friends that wear almost the same dress size, and keep clothes they've just slightly outgrown ;-))

54. The Coronation by Boris Akunin

I circled back to read the Fandorin book I'd missed, and Akunin is also doing strange things in this narrative. The story is told from the point of view of an unreliable witness, but the 'unreliable' part is constantly corrected by Fandorin, which I suppose is a way to keep the reader on track with the wildly gyrating plot. The wild gyrations are a pity, because the novel is set amidst the coronation planning for Tsar Nicholas (yes, that one), and some of the incidents are historically accurate. Our narrator keeps complaining that Fandorin lectures him, and in the same way the author lectures the reader. Sigh. Not sure what to do about a series I had initially enjoyed.

>64 ffortsa: I actually stopped reading the series because of some of the puzzling directions that the books took.

>64 ffortsa: I just started the Fandorin series, get the second book from the library yesterday.
The Coronation is the last book in Dutch translation, so for me it will end there.

>66 FAMeulstee: I'd be interested in what you think of the series and how it changes.

I am steadfastly dodging BBs, Judy. That's almost a metaphoric impossibility, which makes it accurate.

Shoes! Even though my feet & ankles puff up during the day, I still have to buy the narrowest possible (almost: my aunt wore size 11 AAAAAs) because of my heels. I hold onto shoes simply because I'm afraid that manufacturers will eventually stop making them.

Shoes!! I love shoes. I have all mine in their original boxes and I take a photo to put on the front so I can find them quickly. Luckily I am average length and width. : ) Glad you found enough to handle the wedding needs.

I have read a few of the Elly Griffiths and liked them fair enough, but I am not racing around to find more of hers either.

>68 LizzieD: I completely understand you. The thought of not being able to find shoes that fit is a recurring nightmare!

>69 Berly: I think I got the idea of putting pictures on the boxes from you! Now that I've rearranged and sorted, I need to get new pictures. It does help, in spite of the fact that my shoeboxes are (supposedly) transparent.

Some time ago, I saw an article about someone moderately famous, which said that every time she moved, she had her cabinetmaker set up a pocket-door style shoe storage device for her, hidden behind another built-in cabinet, so all her shoes could be displayed when she pulled it out. Now that is luxury.

I like the Elly Griffiths because I like Ruth, but the soap opera is rather trying.

56. The Postscript Murders by Elly Griffiths

What a fun read. Griffiths seems to have hit her stride in this series. It's both complicated and funny, and kept me reading right through the day. Griffiths' coterie of retirees and misfits are delightful and in spite of the murderous plot, she brings the people we like to (mostly) happy endings.

Building new habits is not easy, especially for a person who doesn't like being told what to do. I've managed to walk a good bit, but I keep telling myself to get out earlier, when it's cooler, and when it will do me the most good. My intermittent fasting program is doing ok, but some days I watch the clock just waiting for noon, although I'm not exactly starving! I urge my friend to get a grip on her clutter without really getting a grip on mine. I'm sure some of this sounds familiar to at least a few people, but I'm in an introspective (read trying-to-escape) mode, and wrestling with this stuff is SO much easier than doing whatever I'm avoiding.

But I'm still reading mysteries. Is there a better way to avoid the shoulds of life??

57. The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa

Don't worry if the first chapter or two of this book feels slow. There's a lot of setup, but it's worth wading through it to the full story. Lampedusa looks back over his own family history to illustrate the gradual downfall of the Sicilian noble class as the area weathers the upheavals of Italian unification. Sicilian princes such as Fabrizzio are not schooled in change, or even maintaining the profit of their estates, so much as they are in the niceties of respect and the gradations of class. When the story begins, Fabrizzio has already sold off some of his land to maintain his position and lifestyle. He is an observer of life, while his nephew Tancredi has the more modern viewpoint, but no money to maintain his position. Fabrizzio's family life, religious life and household are described in lush language and often funny detail, quite remarkable writing. Ultimately, I came to admire Fabrizzio, who becomes almost in spite of himself more and more philosophical as the world begins to bewilder him. It is the end of an age, presented with love and candor.

58. The Return by Hakan Nesser

I'd missed this one in the march through the Van Vetteren series. A man released from prison after serving two twelve year sentences, each for a murder he claims he did not commit. Shortly after he returns home, a headless, handless body is found by some children in the woods, and the ex-convict has disappeared.

Hi, Judy, I read The Postscript Murders and really enjoyed it. This is the first of her books beyond the RG series and I also was surprised at her humor. I don't know if you've ready The Thursday Murder Club but there are many similarities.

I read the The Leopard many years ago. I remember how much I loved the language. I think I'll put in my stack to reread.

>75 Oregonreader: Yes, I did read The Thursday Murder Club, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It was a good antidote to my blahs, which I think have been brought on by heat and procrastination. It was hotter here in NYC yesterday than in my sister's place in San Antonio! Blech.

currently reading a set of short stories from the Askashik series, Delhi Noir. Noir indeed. Lots of local words I sometimes have success looking up, but they don't spoil the effect.

Also currently reading the next Serrailler mystery The Vows of Silence.

Not much else going on. We leave for my nephew's wedding in San Francisco on Friday. I'm a little unnerved by the virus reports, but we are all vaccinated, so I think it will be ok. My friend in San Francisco, in a senior residence, is once again not allowed visitors because of virus concerns, but we will go out somewhere and give her a treat.

deleted - duplicate

59. The Vows of Silence by Susan Hill

Simon's town is deeply rattled by a lone shooter targeting young women, mostly brides. And he seems surrounded by other deaths, to the point where I wondered how he was sustaining the blows. Add to that his childish reaction to his father's new liaison, for no other reason than his own continuing grief over his mother's death (in the last book, I think). Hill does her usual multi-threaded format, so that the reader knows all of the points of pain. And I never saw the hints, if there are any, to lead me to the shooter.

As usual, Hill leaves us hanging on a number of levels, personal and professional, even as the main events are wrapped up. I may take the next one on vacation with me!

Hmmm. I could be reading *Vs of S*. Why am I not???

I wish you good prep, a safe trip, and a wonderful time at the wedding in San Francisco. I'm glad that some people are able to reclaim their lives. We aren't, what with delta cases soaring and vaccination numbers on a par with Alabama's. I wish we were not terminally stupid.

>80 LizzieD: Oh, sorry you're in a hot spot. San Francisco isn't doing very well at the moment, but we will be with family most of the time, and I'll get tested when we get back, just in case. New York is having a little upsurge, but not too bad yet, anyway. This delta variant has me worried, but I won't miss this wedding. Hope it's not stupid of me.

Stay safe and cool. Thank goodness we are readers, and can at least escape through books!

oh, today is my mother's birthday. She would have been 97, and she came close. Her last years were pretty tough, but I'm happy to say she and my father had a very good and long marriage, and raised three kids who could take care of themselves and appreciate the family. The wedding on September 5th isn't in her honor, but we will have our memories.

I agree with you about Delta, it has me worried too. I'm also worried about what the next major mutation is going to be like since there's a huge part of the world that has no access to vaccine and a much-too-large group of self-centered idiots people in the U.S. that refuse to be vaccinated.

That said, I hope you have a great stay in SanFrancisco, that the wedding goes off without a hitch and that you return to NY with no health effects.

How good that you can be with your family near your mother's birthday! Precious time!

I echo Reba!

Hiya, Judy. Good for you for getting a nutritionist, and we’ll have to compares items on rotator cuff therapy. On losing weight, I don’t think there’s any realistic solution that doesn’t involve getting used to eating less. I could see periodic fasting being part of that. I’ve had to do it because of the stroke; they’re watching all of my numbers more closely.

You exchanged with Linda on moving into a spouse’sspace were interesting, as were Linda’s comments on changes after Will passed away. I remember our father surprised us by taking an interest in the decor after our mother passed away first. He got new carpeting and a new couch that did spruce up the place.

I’m pretty sure Osman is going to get our Thursday Murder club friends back together for a caper in a new book this fall. I got a kick out of the first one, too.

60. A Fatal Obsession by Faith Martin
61. A Fatal Mistake by Faith Martin
62. A Fatal Flaw by Faith Martin

I acquired these titles in an omnibus edition and read them on vacation, one after the other, not because they felt compelling but, rather like potato chips, because they were light and a bit unsatisfying. The premise: a probationary female police officer in the England of 1960, naive and not welcome in the male culture of the Oxford Constabulary, finds herself teaming up with a coroner to solve murders the police veterans do not think are crimes. I found little sophistication in the plots, characters, or writing, and the deliberately dated social milieu annoyed me. The coroner, once a surgeon, has a Medical Secret he is hiding, but is (a bit condescendingly) happy to tutor the young woman in the art of detection. The young woman is easily embarrassed by her male colleagues, but eager to prove herself. And Oxford itself is caricatured as elitist gown and class conscious town.

It reminds me a bit of the Maisie Dobbs series, which I do sometimes enjoy, so if you would like an easy read, not too dark, your mileage may vary. I think the Dobbs are better.

Hi Judy!

I realize that I haven’t posted in over a month, although I’ve lurked.

>72 ffortsa: Clutter is the bane of my existence. Every time I try to do something about it, something else gets in the way. Like reading, or knee problems, or … you get the idea.

>79 ffortsa: I love this series but for some strange reason have had the latest one, The Benefit of Hindsight, on my shelves, unread, since March 2020. I’m in a bit of a fiction reading slump, so perhaps this is the one that will bring me out of it..

>86 ffortsa: Back from the wedding/vacation?

>87 karenmarie: I'm the same way with the Susan Hill series. For some reason, I'm not in a hurry to read the next one.

We are flying back tomorrow - or maybe it's today already where you are. Friday. I'll be glad to be home.

I reread The Stranger Diaries after talking to my sister about it because I could barely remember it, even though I'd read it so recently! That's what comes from wolfing down a good story. Second round was just as good as the first.

Welcome back home!!! Hope the wedding was fun. I had to laugh at your description of intermittent fasting and watching the clock for it to hit noon--I can so relate!! And I do love me some Elly Griffiths.

Enjoy the weekend. : )

Welcome home, Judy!

Thanks Kim and Peggy! Home feels good, except that I got on the scale today and learned the truth about celebrations. It turns out desserts at weddings do count after all.

>92 ffortsa: :) Glad you're safely home, Judy and assume you had no flood damage waiting given you live on a higher floor.

I liked the first few Maise Dobbs books but the series ran out of gas pretty quickly for me.

>93 RebaRelishesReading: Right, Reba, as long as our windows were closed, we weren't vulnerable to the storm. Some of the pictures of the subways were wild, though. Have you seen the PBS series 'Sinking Cities'? Four episodes on how London, Tokyo, Miami and New York are vulnerable based on their geography and development, and what they are doing about it - or not. Very interesting.

Hi Judy. I started the Susan Hill Serrailler series many moons ago. I need to return to it. I was so heartbroken by the surprise plot twist in the very first one but I need to give Simon a chance. :-)

'Sinking Cities' sounds interesting. We thought about water a lot in Seattle, especially what could (can) happen if an earthquake initiates a significant tidal wave.

My current read is Once There Were Wolves and it's a good one.

>96 EBT1002: Ah, I just checked on OTWW. A mystery! I'm irredeemably hooked on mysteries, so I'll put this on the list.

>95 ffortsa: I'll have to look for that one, Judy. It sounds interesting although sometimes there are things I can't do anything about that I think I'd rather not know about lol. When we moved to Washington we were well aware of the Cascadia subduction and actually decided to look at any houses near the elevation of the river because of the possible tsunami that would result from a major earthquake there.

I'm not as young as I used to be - imagine that. I donated blood yesterday, left feeling fine, did some shopping, and almost passed out when I got home. And the cookies weren't anything special either.

>99 ffortsa: Wow! Hope you're feeling better now Judy.

>100 RebaRelishesReading: Oh yes thanks. I just needed some water and some rest - and time. I'm a long-time member of the Gallon Club here, and always glad to do my part. Yesterday I had no trouble fasting for Yom Kippur.

Today I took a long walk before eating - almost 8000 steps, and just had my first meal of the day. So I'm back to my routine.

63. The Eye In The Door by Pat Barker

This sequel to Regeneration follows three of the characters in that book as they struggle to contend with the war. Rivers has taken a post as neurologist in London, Sassoon is wounded, back from another tour of duty, and Prior, the main focus of the book, has been declared unfit because of his asthma and works in a sector of the Intelligence agency.

Everyone feels watched. The British home command and their peers have become virulantly homophobic, even more than in peacetime, blaming them for the horrific losses of the war, and, in addition to attacking suspected homosexuals, has been attacking the pacifics protesting the war. This strains many, and allows Rivers in his capacity as neurologist (read analyst) to delve even deeper into his patients' lives.

As a member of intelligence, Prior is deeply divided between the people he knew growing up, active in the pacifist cause, and his own service requirements. His bisexuality doesn't give him any ease either, and he begins having totally dissociative episodes after which he cannot recall what he has done. Barker's portrayal of this is ultimately breathtaking.

Rivers, deeply involved as he is, takes on more and more of his patients' pain, to the point of having their nightmares.

"This was a dreadful place. Nothing human could live here. Nothing human did. He was entirely alone, until, with a puckering of the surface, a belch of foul vapours, the mud began to move, to gather itself together, to rise and stand before him in the shape of a man. A man who turned and began striding towards England. He tried to call out, no, not that way, and the movement of his lips half woke him. But he sank down again, and again the mud gathered itself into the shape of a man, faster and faster until it seemed the whole night was full of such creatures, creatures composed of Flanders mud and nothing else, moving their grotesque limbs in the direction of home."

I'm waitlisted for the third book in this trilogy. There's no closure here.

>101 ffortsa: Glad you recovered quickly.

btw I've been trying the "intermittent" fasting for a few weeks now and am having a slow-but-steady loss. I try to do my treadmill walking before I eat which I think helps too. I'm finding it surprisingly easy. You too?

>103 RebaRelishesReading: My feelings vary. Sometimes it's dead easy to wait until noon or later to eat. Sometimes I want to eat the paint off the walls. When I was in California visiting family and attending a wedding last week, I more or less didn't worry about it, and did gain some weight back (desserts, booze) but lost it immediately when I came home and climbed back on my schedule. It didn't hurt that I fasted for Yom Kippur either.

It's easiest when I get involved in something in the morning, so I just don't think about it. Today I joined a group for a stroll in Central Park, three miles of parkland and some additional to get there and back, and ended up logging 5 miles on my step counter, all before breakfast - even before coffee! It was a great day for a walk, but I came back wiped out. I'm not in the shape I used to be, in either sense of the word. If I don't get busy with something, I have to be more conscious of waiting for noon.

Glad it's working for you.

>97 ffortsa: It's a mystery and not a mystery. But I gave it five enthusiastic stars. :-)

I'm back to reading old New Yorkers again. The project goes by fits and starts, depending on the content of the particular ancient issue, but August 2010 so far is quite good. When I get through the month I might add it as a 'book' to my reading count.

Mostly, I've been walking. There's a group on Saturday for three-mile walks in Central Park, with interesting paths I've not really explored. Last Saturday was my first participation, and the total with transportation, etc. was 5 miles. Then I went on my first Shorewalkers tour, of Audubon-related murals up in the Washington Heights area, which was a little longer, and involved a monumental number of stairs. I was pleased that I wasn't achy afterwards, or this morning.

The walk yesterday was to see part of a sponsored set of murals depicting birds in honor of Audubon, who is buried in a churchyard in the area. You can find the entire project at
this link. Here are a few shots I took:


This one was painted on a store security gate, and you can see the original business moved to an address indicated on the bird's eye.




The portrait on the upper right corner is of Audubon



And for sports fans, we found this plaque comemmorating a very long wooden stairway that allowed residents of Washington Heights to cross over to the Polo Grounds!

That looks like an amazing walk, Judy. I could get into that myself, I think.

WOW! That bird building is fantastic!!!!

Happy walking and please take more pics to post here for us.

Wonderful photos!

Thanks, all. Considering I was using my cellphone and jockeying for position, I am rather pleased with the pictures.

My neighbor told me that he and his wife got their Covid booster shots, encouraged by another couple in the building. We qualify based on age, but I'm not so quick to get mine, at least until the 8 months originally suggested happens. No way of knowing if my forbearance will mean someone more needy will get a shot somewhere in the world, of course.

PSA: The Brooklyn Book Festival is back in a combination of in-person and virtual events, culminating in festival day on Oct. 3rd.

>111 ELiz_M: PSA indeed! I'll look into it. Amazing how busy we've gotten now that we can get out of the house! Thanks for the heads-up.

>110 ffortsa: As to waiting for the booster....... I'm still waiting after almost 8 months; we got our first in mid-January. I'm thinking that even though my county is criminally under-vaccinated (still not quite up to 40%), there are doses here that are ageing out and being tossed. What's here won't go anywhere else, so I'll get mine when I can and not feel more than passing guilt.

Children's was very quick to offer booster doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech to fully vaccinated members of the medical staff on Friday afternoon, as the vast majority of us got our second dose at least eight months ago. Only those who received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in December and January are eligible for this booster, and I'll get mine on Wednesday morning.

>113 LizzieD: and >114 kidzdoc: Thanks both of you.

>110 ffortsa: Bill and I are waiting for call backs from our doctor's office to get the booster shot there. I do not feel guilty at all for getting a booster.

64. Munster's Case by Hakan Nesser

I've rarely enjoyed a police procedural as much as I did this one. A man is killed, violently, while sleeping off a drunken night out, in his bed. His wife finds him and will a little delay calls the police. Who could have done it? The doors were unlocked, but that was typical. Nothing was taken, and the violence suggests something personal. Munster starts investigating the friends, the family, and any other connections he can find. It's as if he's pulling up a whole rotten tangle of ropes and weeds long drowned in the canal. Excellent.

Because I was so caught by this book, I started the review of The News From Paraguay for one of my book groups late, and the writing so pulled me in I couldn't skim it. I'll probably finish it again today.

Judy, I'm always excited to find a new mystery and this one fits the bill. Adding it to my list.
I just got my Covid booster and annual flu shot today so I feel like I've earned a day of reading!

>117 ffortsa: Very underrated Hakan Nesser, I think, Judy.

I have read a number of his Van Vetereen books and liked all of them.

I don't know Hakan Nesser and feel that I should. Meanwhile, both my DH and I got Pfizer3 today. Yay!!!

>120 LizzieD: Good for you! Jim and I got the Moderna originally, and we're waiting for news. According to one article I read, it maintains over time a bit better than the others.

>119 PaulCranswick: and >120 LizzieD: Nesser's Van Vetereen books are quite readable, aren't they, Paul? And my library has them in e-reader format, so I can get the next one instantly.

65. The News From Paraguay by Lily Tuck

A re-reread. This time much more mesmerizing this time than it was in August. I wonder why it appealed to me more now?

I usually get magazines in the mail and then age them until they are either no longer relevant or too old to bother with (excluding the New Yorker, which is a whole other story in my life). But I breezed through this month's issue of the Smithsonian, reading everything but the essay on diphtheria (thanks but no). It includes a short article on Brasidas, a Spartan general who would rather negotiate than fight, another on the Olmec language being deciphered from a jadeite statue, orca behavior off the coast of Norway, a native of Japan who moved to Arizona and makes award-winning sake from the pristine aquifer, and the quirkiness of physicist Avi Loeb, who keeps curious and suggests that the odd flat object 'Oumuamua, whizzing past the Sun on an unknown trajectory, might be an alien civilization's light-powered sail. After reading this issue, I renewed my subscription. After all, only $11 AND with a gift subscription for my cousin, who had gifted a sub to me a few years ago.

Walking in the park again tomorrow. October is always the best month for beautiful weather in NYC. Even so, we are flying to Portland mid-month for an installation of my cousin's artwork that opens in a week, and a meetup, of course, with whoever is available in the area. There's a thread for 'Oregon meetup' in our list, if you are in the geographic area and want to get in touch.

Hi Judy! I love your photos. I can't wait to travel again, and NYC is definitely on my list. I have a friend who has never been, and we have been talking about a visit.

I hope your shoulder is improving.

Mysteries are my go-to comfort reads as well. I need to get back to the Susan Hill books. I really liked the ones I've read. I think I read the first three, so I know I have some catching up to do. The Regeneration trilogy has been on my list for years, so I would like to get that started this year. The library books slow me down; I am too tempted by the shiny new ones and have been neglecting ones on my shelves.

Have a lovely weekend with lots of steps!

>117 ffortsa: One more for my list. Thank you.

66. Miss Lonelyhearts by Nathanael West

A re-read, according to my records, for one of my f2f reading groups.

This is a dark, dark classic. A young man, having accepted a job as a agony columnist with a title 'Miss Lonelyheats', finds himself driven to despair by the letters he receives, and the lack of help he can provide. By turns angry, cynical, depressed, helpless, drunk, he searches for some sort of meaning, while being teased and scorned by his fellow journalists, who are misogynistic and cynical in the extreme, venting their anger on whoever they perceive as weaker and more downtrodden than they are. Through the story, he is only referred to by his title, teased, emasculated and virtually erased. By turns he gets involved with one of the letter-writers, a predatory woman married to a man she scorns; tries to find solace with a woman he has proposed to recently but cannot really connect with; is haunted by an obsession with belief and unbelief and ferocious nightmares.

This whole novella felt like a nightmare to me, almost underground, set in 1932, in dark speakeasies and bare apartments. In one episode, he and his fiancee attempt to go back to the land, try to recreate in a weekend the Eden out of which all people have been cast, but it doesn't help. At the very end, having found what might have been an epiphany, he encounters violence, making him in some ways a Christ figure but not guaranteeing any redemption.

67. Hour of the Wolf by Hakan Messer

I couldn't resist the next book in the series, excellent for both the portrayal of crime and the slow, frustrating work of police detection. We see an accident and its aftermath as it works on the person responsible, and at the same time the police work that eventually ties the action to the source.

68. All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny

I started this Three Pines mystery, set in Paris for a change, with great enthusiasm. The first quarter of it carried me along so powerfully that I missed my stop on the subway while reading it. But as the story continued, Penny's depiction of capitalism in the modern age became so harsh and convoluted that my enjoyment vanished. Capitalism in its rawest form may justify paranoia, but it could not support the usual tropes of a Three Pines mystery, its romanticism and personal perfection. At each turn, it seemed to me that the last event was reinterpreted to keep the story and the confusion going. I kept reading to see how she would end it, who the real good guys were and the bad. And of course, the good guys win (could you doubt it?), family rifts are healed, the dead walk again. It is not my favorite in this series at all.

>126 ffortsa: I agree, definitely not the best but the new one, however, is great! Keep reading :)

>126 ffortsa: I will have to give the West novella a try. As far as I know, I have never read anything by him.

I have not yet gotten to that entry in the Three Pines series. I will have to temper my expectations when I get to it.

>1 ffortsa: What a sad, sad image, but it is a very stark learning experience. Thanks for posting this.

Love the bird paintings on the buildings!!

Until Covid locked us all away from each other, I was tutoring reading for a small program in Brooklyn, and lately I volunteered to help the woman who runs the program with her reporting requirements. Talking about perhaps doing more for her, in terms of database, etc., it came up that she is unvaccinated, and of course at this point doesn't want to talk about it. It makes me so sad. I don't know her reasons, and they may relate to her ethnicity ( she is Black), but I can't see my way to working with her face to face as she suggested.

Many of her students are from Yemen and West Africa, women trying to gain the tools to live in this society, and I wonder how many of them saw their way clear to vaccination. It hurts me to think that they may be vulnerable to this disease, as well as everything else in their complicated lives.

>131 ffortsa: - That's tough, Judy. I was recently chatting with a woman at a restaurant, had been for at least 30 minutes, when she said something that made me suspect she was not vaccinated. I exited from the conversation as quickly as I could...

A meetup! Kim is in town for a few days and came downtown to see us and raid the Strand. Jim (magicians_nephew) has the picture proof on his phone, and I'm sure will post soon. And since it was a meetup visit, I HAD to buy some books. The small haul:

At Night All Blood Is Black by David Diop (International Booker Prize)
The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante (how could I resist)

Everyone found something, and Jim and I found the book that was published for the Julie Mehretu exhibit that we saw earlier!

We will see Kim again, with other Portlanders next Friday at the Jewish Museum in Portland.

Hooray for meetups!

and here's the proof! Including the bag o' books from the Strand

>135 magicians_nephew: I am jealous! I wish I could have been there. Looks like a great time was had by all.

Great meetup photo!

Bookstore and a meet-up, a perfect day.

>135 magicians_nephew: - Sorry I missed seeing those smiling faces in person!

Ooooo. I'm with Katie, sorry I missed the meetup.

Looking forward to Friday!

>139 katiekrug: and >140 weird_O: It was something of a surprise. Kim was in for just a couple of days and was mostly commandeered by her family and a search for her daughter's wedding dress. So we just managed to squeeze in the afternoon.

Maybe someone can plan a Phillie meetup for next year? Maybe D.C.? We make our our annual trip to Mohonk on for the second weekend in November. And we will be in Saratoga Springs one weekend in December, with maybe a day or two tacked on in Boston. If anyone is close to those venues, let us know.

That's about my limit for travel this year. Of course, if anyone is coming to NYC, we are always interested in saying hello.

>135 magicians_nephew: It was so great to hang out with you two!! Can't wait to see you again next week in my neck of the woods. : ) Still in NY. Flying home tomorrow. Then maybe I'll get some LT time....

We take off for Portland on Wednesday, and I'm pondering what to bring to read. I picked up a copy of The Bean Trees from our swap shelves downstairs, and it's skinny enough to haul across the country. For the rest, I'll probably just use electronics. At our next book club meeting we will discuss Amor Towles's A Gentleman in Moscow, which I read fairly recently and might not reread (well, maybe the ending), so I have some time to read without deadlines.

Portland is just cold enough compared to NYC at this time that i have to make a trip to the storage locker to pick up some warmer sweaters. That and laundry today. It's pretty gray here, so I don't mind.

For anyone interested in my cousin's exhibit at the Jewish Museum in Portland, you can search for 'Mending the Social Fabric', or look for Bonnie Meltzer on FB. She has lots of pictures posted. I'll post some when we return.

I read The Bean Trees earlier this year and loved it.

Safe travels!

Hi Judy!

>131 ffortsa: Sad about that woman not being vaccinated and I completely understand about your not being willing to work with her face to face. We recently got invited to some friends for dinner, but it was just before we were able to get boosters and even though all four of us are vaccinated, I know that they do a lot more socializing with friends and family than we do. I said no, perhaps when we're all boostered, and all I got back was an "Ok. Hang in there." I think she was offended.

>135 magicians_nephew: Thanks for the pic, Jim! Lovely to see all three of you looking happy.

>144 ffortsa: Safe trip, and I hope the one paper book and electronics at least get you to Portland and perhaps Powell’s?

Safe travels, Judy. I'm envious. We met in Portland a few years ago. Maybe it will happen again.

>146 karenmarie: I just checked how many hooks I had available on my two devices. I could probably stay until 2022. Still, I'm going to check for a few series titles from the library.

>147 BLBera: gosh, I'd better look for a picture, alhough Kim is sure to have one. I need a really long roadtrip to see al the people i know from here! Time flies. We will make the effort.

>144 ffortsa: The Bean Trees is pretty good, Judy. I hope you enjoy it!

Judy, it was so good to be able to put a face to a name! I'm so glad we had a chance to meet. The Oregonian carried a large picture of Bonnie's art installation in today's paper. I didn't realize that October is " celebrate textiles" month here in Portland and her's was featured in the article. She's so talented.

The Bean Trees was the first Kingsolver novel I read and remember how much I liked it. I think I need to reread it.

It was great to meet you Judy, and to see Bonnie's work. Thanks for arranging the meet-up!

Posted our dinner picture!! Still can't believe I got to see you twice in a week on two different coasts! It was so much fun! : )

69. The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver

I liked this book, and its portrayal of a part of our American society that I have had no experience with. Taylor is on a road trip, her first, to get away from rural Kentucky and find her own place in the world. Almost immediately, she finds herself caring for a very young Native American child, thrust into her care, a child we later learn has been brutally abused. The two of them continue on their way, swapping work for motel rooms, until they reach Arizona and find a kind of family. But then Taylor discovers that she has no legal right to raise the toddler in her care, unless she can legally adopt her, and that requires a trip back. Interlaced with this is the story of immigrants from Latin America who are not legally allowed to stay in the U.S.

While I enjoyed this book, I kept thinking I'd read a similar story about Native American adoption just recently, but I can't find it. That story is very vivid to me, but I'm not sure it was a novel - maybe non-fiction?

Last night, Jim and I went to a play put on by one of our favorite theater companies, Bedlam, which specializes in a style of story theater. This time, they were telling the story of Jane Austen's "Persuasion", one of my favorites, and it was marvelously funny and truthful to the original. Most of the actors played several parts, moved the stage furniture, sang songs, played the piano, danced, and were generally both outrageous and honest.

Bedlam is an off-off (and occasionally just off-) company that has done many of these story theater productions before, always at least very good and sometimes brilliant. If it comes your way, make sure to pay them a visit!

Here's the link if you want to see some examples of their past work. I hope they stream this one.

That sounds pretty neat!

So far, a profitable Monday. Jim and I got our flu shots, I dealt with an scheduled appointment, and friends and I walked down to our early voting location and put in our ballots. I've been rereading A Gentleman in Moscow for our reading group tonight, although I won't get to the end in time. Now I have to assemble a few notes on Amor Towles, and think about an early dinner.

Once this book is discussed, I will turn my attention to Three Junes, to be discussed on Election Day, a week away. And I'm contemplating some changes in the kitchen, to give me some hanging space. Improvements!

>135 magicians_nephew: I LOVE the Meet Up photo! I was blessed to have met up with Kim back in April. She is such a special person.

Hi, Judy. I have no idea why I haven't visited you sooner. I have no excuse but I will try to do better. Thanks for stopping by my thread and asking about my FIL. I see you enjoyed The Bean Trees. I did too, including the next Turtle book, Pigs in Heaven.

Hi Judy!

>148 ffortsa: Having books available is not the same as having books available that one’s in the mood to read! Of course you have to check a few series titles at the Library.

>154 ffortsa: Bedlam’s production of Persuasion sounds wonderful.

>156 ffortsa: Yay for flu shots and voting.

>157 msf59: Don't worry about not visiting. I can't keep up with your thread, but when I saw on someone else's thread that your FIL was in the ER, I wanted to see what was going on. As I said in my post to you, the poetry you've posted is something I want to take time to read, so I'll be back!

>158 karenmarie: Hi Karen! How right you are about matching books to moods. I have some I am halfway through but can't quite get up the energy to finish. It's not that they are bad books, just that they require a certain mindset that is not always available.

Thanks for the yays for my morning accomplishments. I'm trying my best to do what needs to be done promptly, avoiding that side-eye self-imposed guilt for chores marinating. Today I joined Jim at the gym for a while, getting in my 8000 steps, and took in some dry-cleaning. I was out of the habit - so few things really need that kind of treatment these days. But I had unpacked my winter stuff, and some were put away carelessly. Bad girl.

I was rereading A Gentleman In Moscow for reading group number 2, but couldn't finish it in time. Now I'm rather caught by the great storytelling again, and may finish it anyway. But I have to read Three Junes by next Tuesday, too. Such problems.

70. Three Junes by Julia Glass

I was really surprised to find out how many of our reading group members didn't particularly like this book. The common word was 'contrived', but then, what fiction isn't in some way? I very much liked the writing, which drew me in intensely, especially in the large center section.

The novel is set in three sections, in three generations of a Scottish family and the people they encounter, parents and children.

The first section of the book relates the marriage Paul and Maureen, a couple from markedly different classes and personalities. Paul remembers most of this while on a tour of Greece after his wife's death. Maureen is strong-willed and clear in what she wants right from the beginning, while he accepts the easier route into his father's newspaper. He recalls their history as he contemplates the time ahead of him and reacts to his fellow travelers.

Fenno, their first son, has the center (and much longer) story, a grown man also not sure of what he wants. He strikes me as a characters who is, for various reasons, intensely private, yet we are privy to all his musings and secrets. We hear about his intensely private, emotionally contained life in New York City, how he does not participate in the gay scene of the 90s until a critical seduction by a free-spirited housesitter, Tony, how he builds a deep friendship (non-sexual) with a young, inventive and sharp-tongued neighbor, Mal, ill with AIDS. During this time, Fenno's father dies, and he returns to Scotland for the funeral.

The last section of the book is perhaps weakest, drawing together people from the past two parts of the story, showing how the lives of even minor characters cross and recross while we have read about other things. At the last, the reader knows enough about the crossings to anticipate what will come next.

71. @The Victoria Vanishes: A Peculiar Crimes Mystery by Christopher Fowler

Sigh. After the intimacy of Three Junes, this mystery was an annoying hack. It does not aspire to great literature, of course, but the contrast was unpleasant.

72. In the Darkroom by Susan Faludi

One day, out of the blue, journalist Susan Faludi received an email from her estranged father, coyly announcing that he had gone to Thailand and had a sex-change operation. He was now Stefanie. How this squared with the macho mountain climber, wood worker, and explosively angry parent she had known was a question that drove her to fly to Hungary, where her father had repatriated himself after years in the U.S., to find out exactly who this person was.

Over the years, as she investigates her newly created parent, we learn about her life, her father's life during and after WWII, the history of Hungary, her parents' marriage, a somewhat surprisingly far-flung and never-met collection of relatives, and the state of Hungary under Viktor Orban, which continues today.

Faludi accepts her father's change, and refers to her father using the feminine pronouns throughout the book, which sometimes can create reader dissonance. Finally she resorts to introducing Stefanie as her mother. But she never questions his decision. Rather, she reports what she can, what he is willing to tell her, show her, or let her deduce.

In some ways this is an intimate story, but Susan's father keeps her such a teasing distance, tells such contradictory stories, that she and we her readers are indeed in the darkroom, hoping a recognizable picture emerges. What we do find out about her father and his family, and about Hungary, is well worth the exploration.

>73 ffortsa: I remember being a little bit proud of myself for reading that one! (The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa.)

>131 ffortsa: >132 katiekrug: It is so tricky, isn't it. We are having issues with an employee who does not wish to be vaccinated, and - as the board- we have to go by the advice of the public health officials and change her role to non-public facing.

>135 magicians_nephew: but, meetings with LTers on the other hand, are hassle-free and a joy!

Happy weekend, Judy! I hope you and Jim have a great one!

Thanks for stopping by, >163 LovingLit: and >164 alcottacre:.

I've been remiss about posting about our return to the theater. Did I mention the play we saw in Portland, Oregon? A one-woman show about Frida Kahlo that is well worth seeing, if it travels to a venue near you.

After we came back, we've been to the theater several times. I mentioned the first in >154 ffortsa: above. Last week we saw 'Lackawanna Blues', another show that may travel. It's set up as a one-man, one-music director show starring Ruben Santiago Hudson, exhibiting a superb actor's skill in playing different parts using only voice and body language. You always knew who was speaking, and the stories he told were deeply affecting. I think there is a film version, but all the speaking parts are individual. This is great acting.

Unfortunately, the musical we saw last night broke our lucky streak. 'Girl from the North Country' is a story excuse to sing old Bob Dylan songs, and it doesn't really work. I could have left any time, even though the acting was good, especially Mare Wittingham. I would ot recommend it, even for Dylan afficionados.

I'm sure we have some plays coming up on the calendar, so I'll keep recording them here.

I've been remiss keeping track of the art exhibits available here in this city of museums, but will rectify that this weekend. We are members of the Whitney, so we will see the Jasper Johns show one of these days soon. No sense living here if we don't take advantage.

Speaking of which, I've been walking every Saturday in Central Park with the Everwalk organization (did I mention them?), and today was an exceptionally beautiful outing. Autumn is the best time to be in NYC, cool and crisp and changing color moment to moment. Lovely. And adding in my shopping trip afterwards, I've walked almost 6.5 miles today!

We saw Girl from the North Country at the Public a couple years ago and were similarly disappointed.

You remind me that I need to check out what our small community theatre is running here, Judy. We enjoy going but it has been a couple of years now since we have been.

We are off to our annual puzzle weekend at Mohonk Mountain House. So I should get some reading done. I'm in the middle of The Long Road to the Deep North, which somehow I put down half-way through to catch up on other things. I've reread The Moving Target for my uptown book circle, and it's so short I might read it again, just for details. And then my downtown Meetup group is discussing John Gardner's Beowulf the beginning of December. There's room to get in some other stuff. But it looks like I will easily reach 75 this year!

Have a great weekend!

>168 ffortsa: Hooray for reaching 75, Judy! Have a wonderful weekend!

>170 alcottacre:. Yikes! Don't tempt fate! I still have two to go.

>169 katiekrug:. The sun came out half way to New Paltz, and the golden leaves are still on the trees. Hooray!

>171 ffortsa: I was not tempting fate. I was putting my faith in you :)

>165 ffortsa: the walks sound wonderful! I have been neglecting my walks lately. Even with my audiobooks, which were what usually encouraged me to get out for my walk, I seem to have been prioritising other things.

I thought In the Darkroom was really good. I keep meaning to read more by Faludi.

74. The History of the Ancient World by Susan Wise Bauer

O.M.G.

I am finally finished with this incredibly detailed recital of the ancient world, with all its mayhem. Billed as covering the facts from 'the earliest accounts' to the fall of Rome, it tells with relentless detail the stories of war, fratricide, patricide, matricide, and all matter of disaster as people chased after power. Bauer moves from Mesopotamia (and myths thereof) to China, back to the Mediterranean, over and over to keep us on an approximately even timeline, but the stories are depressingly the same. I am sure there is more to plumb in the history of our species than this lust for control, but it's not reflected here.

The audio voice is plummy, which is sufficiently soporific that I could only really listen when I was walking or traveling. Once the narrative got to the era reflected in stories of Egypt, Palestine, Greece and Rome, where I have more grounding, the names stopped blurring together. I suspect (or hope) the printed version has maps which might aid the reader - once in a while I resorted to Google and Wikipedia to show me the geography discussed.

All in all, a traditional overview of inferred and recorded time in Asia, Europe and North Africa.

ETA: I would correct the touchstone, but LT is not presenting me with any choices just now. I hope this omission is being addressed.

ETA again: ah, now the option is showing up. Whew.

So I had my Covid booster shot on Wednesday, and had foolishly arranged for an intro to Pilates class at the fancy uptown gym on Thursday. Just be fore it started, someone stole all my bones, and by the time I got home, I could barely hold my Kindle in my hand. All better today, but typical of my 'nothing will bother me much' attitude toward vaccines and other medical stuff.

Add to that my allergies, which have suddenly bloomed in NOVEMBER! between masks and congestion, maybe I'm just not getting enough oxygen to the brain.

We will be discussing the Ross MacDonald book on Monday night - I wonder what everyone will say besides the obvious mysogynistic slam.

And I've been very active in the 'Buy Nothing' community this week, offering a whole stack of purses, tote bags, scarves, etc. I may post another set of stuff next week. There's an awesome computer backpack, barely used, from the era when I had a 17" laptop, and I might consider trying to sell that one instead of just gifting it. But the top of the coat closet is EMPTY. It would be easier just to donate everything, but it's more satisfying to meet new people, even for a couple of minutes, and see their pleasure in getting something they really want.

Sorry about the allergies! One would like to get a break from that in the winter! Glad you're better from the Covid shot now though.

Glad you got your booster, but dang, those reactions! I finally got off the meds and passed my TKD test, so now I can schedule a shot. Course now it's open to anyone over 18 so I hope it's not too booked out....

Have a great weekend!!

>175 ffortsa: I am still working my way, off and on, through that one.

>176 ffortsa: Yay for the booster! Boo for the allergies!

Happy weekend, Judy!

Congrats on getting the booster and for being just on the cusp of reaching 75, Judy.

And here it is! Number 75!

75. Rain Dogs by Adrian McKinty

Another great entry in the Sean Duffy series. It's 1987. Jimmy Saville is a star on the way even higher, the country to the south is working to get its hands on the burgeoning tech economy, and bad things are happening to boys in model reformatories. A young reporter looking for her first big story ends up falling from the castle wall, and an old policeman is finally caught by the IRA - maybe. Duffy is as stubborn as ever, the alcohol flows like the Shannon, and a few tiny sparks of optimism peak out amidst the mess. Highly recommended, especially if you've been following the series.

On another topic altogether, I've started the book 1177, a history of the end of the Bronze Age, and here's the warning. The author, Eric Cline, recorded the updated and expanded text himself. DON'T LISTEN TO HIM. I'm sure everything he has added and corrected is fascinating, but he is a TERRIBLE READER! The 2014 text is read by a professional reader, or maybe just a professor better at talking than Cline is. I deep-sixed the updated edition after about a chapter, and got the earlier recording. I'm sure it will have enough blood and misery without the updates.

Tonight we will discuss Moving Target and I'll talk some about it here after that.

>180 Familyhistorian: Meg, thanks for your prescient congratulations. It was a good book to hit the mark on. Considering that we have a month and more to go for the year, I may even get to 80!

>181 ffortsa: Strange to see Jimmy Savile's name come up in passing in a work of fiction, considering the sex abuse scandals that surfaced after his death. Jarring. The real world intrudes.

Congrats!

!!!!

>181 ffortsa: Congratulations on reaching 75, Judy!

Congrats on reaching 75, Judy, and hooray for boosters! I keep meaning to start the McKinty series. Maybe next year?

Congrats on 75, Judy! And I'm another fan of the McKinty series.

Congrats on reaching 75! Hope you've fully recovered from your Covid booster now and that you have a lovely Thanksgiving.

Hi Judy!

Congrats on #75, congrats on getting your booster, and I’m sorry you had such a bad reaction.

I hope you and Jim have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

>183 magicians_nephew: That's exactly the point. The reader sees the name and knows more than the characters in the story. McKinty is a master at weaving real history into his stories, using real names where subsequent news has enlightened the public. In this case, he also used the story, but not the name, of a Finnish industrialist whose actions would be known to those who lived through the intervening years.

And thanks to >191 karenmarie:, >190 RebaRelishesReading:, >189 katiekrug:, >188 BLBera:, >187 FAMeulstee:, >186 alcottacre:, >185 Berly:, >184 drneutron: for keeping tabs on me. Your cover is blown! Seriously, thanks for the recognition.

We did discuss The Moving Target in our small zoom meeting last night. The consensus was that it is a fundamental example of California noir, imaginatively written, with very distinct characters and setting. I certainly agree. All the tropes about women, money, and the seaminess of LA are present; their congruence makes them integral to the story. And the plight of young men coming back from World War II to find themselves jobless, or subordinate to older men who did not serve in the war, is true to the post-war setting.

I was struck that so much of the story takes place in Santa Teresa, which seems to be a stand-in for Santa Barbara. Sue Grafton took over the same town some 30+ years later for her Kinsey Millhone 'alphabet' series, which starts in 1982.

It's a constant question in my mind as to why I have this obsession with reading New Yorkers in order, even though I am more than 10 years behind. It has long defied reason. But today I read a profile from August 9th, 2010, on Gil Scott-Heron, and once again found out how clueless I have been about contemporary culture.

Scott-Heron wrote the satirical spoken word piece "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" back in 1970, and had a long and successful career after that, in blues and spoken word, influencing many including the hip hop and rap of today, in spite of a positive HIV status, heavy drug use and consequent prison time. There are two documentaries about him that I am now determined to see.

So maybe my obsession comes from feeling like I haven't properly observed my own times, and this is a little way to catch up.

And right after the profile of Gil Scott-Heron, George Packer profiled the Senate of 2010. Bleak. It sounds like the Senate of today, except that the Democrats don't have a decisive majority (if any, considering the outliers). It's painful to read. The deliberative body de Toqueville thought he had found is not lofty anymore, of course. It is partisan and locked. At the end of the article, which details the fight for health care reform and financial reform that actually happened, Packer states
Harry Reid announced that the Senate would not take up comprehensive energy reform legislation for the rest of the year. And so climate change joined immigration, job creation, food safety, pilot training, veterans' care, campaign finance, transportation security, labor law, mine safety, wildfire management, and scored of executive and judicial appointments on the list of matters that the world's greatest deliberative body is incapable of addressing.

Sound familiar?

I know, no politics. but...

A Thanksgiving to Friends (Lighting the Way)

In difficult times
a friend is there to light the way
to lighten the load,
to show the path,
to smooth the road

At the darkest hour
a friend, with a word of truth
points to light
and the encroaching dawn
is in the plainest sight.

Judy, to a friend in books and more this Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to you and Jim, Judy!

Exactly what Reba said, Judy!

Judy, I am so very grateful for you, my wonderful friend here on LT. I loved visits the Strand with you and meeting your friends here in OR. Twice in one year--we should keep it up!

I wish you Jim happiness and health on this day of Thanksgiving. And cookies. : )

>196 PaulCranswick:,>197 RebaRelishesReading:, >198 karenmarie:, >199 Berly: Thank you for the visit and the wishes, and thanks, Paul, for that heartfelt reminder that friendship is so precious.

As are cookies!

We went to friends for Thanksgiving yesterday. They always serve a groaning board of delicious food, but this time I was startled to be asked to carve the turkey! Great struggles ensued. As a reward, I ate that turkey, and the steel head trout from the grill, and the sea bass, and the spinach, Brussels sprouts, squash, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, mushrooms, and a dizzying array of deserts. I felt like I'd eaten for three people. So far only a small increment on the scale, but I suspect a bushwacking tomorrow.

Today is Jim's birthday, and we are going to a favorite restaurant - oh no, more food! It's a lovely place at the northwest corner of Washington Square Park - I recommend it.

AS to reading, I'm hip-deep in Proust, loving the language and coping rather well with the long sentences. I've also started one of Harold Bloom's books, The Western Canon: The Books and School of the Ages, where the sentences are shorter but the words are longer. What possessed me? I still haven't finished The Narrow Road to the Deep North, and I have to squeeze a reread of Grendel in before next week. Busy busy busy.

I wish all my friends here a merry holiday season at the end of this trying year.

Sounds like a lovely Thanksgiving and birthday, Judy and I'm most impressed by that reading.!

Sounds like a great thanksgiving! I am glad that the Proust is working for you.

rats. I lost a post. Nothing particularly important. I started a mystery story, but unfortunately it's not one of the cozy cupcake kind. That's what I really needed. I watched some Youtube instructions and repaired a couple of wool sweaters that had small holes. Of course the holes were in the front. And after only 25 years or so. I'm affronted. We'll have to see how long the fixes work.

and Saturday on my Everwalk group walk in Central Park, we were able to meet one of the co-founders of the group, Diana Nyad! How cool is that!! (That's my friend Faye on the left)

>204 ffortsa: Very cool beans!

>204 ffortsa: Very cool indeed!!

>204 ffortsa: Wow!!!! Y'all knew it was cool at the time: look at those zipped jackets, scarves, and hats! No way I can catch up, but I enjoy all your doings at second hand, Judy. (And I hope that you'll get to Pigs in Heaven to follow the story a little further.)

76. There's Nothing to Be Afraid Of by Marsha Muller

The not-quite-right choice for my mood. Alas. Sharon McCone is called upon to help Vietnamese immigrants living in the Tenderloin. People get killed. The usual.

eta: The proofreading or slap digitizing is awful. So many times I had to put in missing pronouns or mentally respell words. Annoying.

>205 alcottacre:, >206 RebaRelishesReading:, >207 LizzieD: Just cold enough for the hat, Peggy. We walked a little longer than usual, about 3 1/2 miles to the newly re-opened carousel and back to our starting place.

It's no surprise that New York City has the most active group of Everwalkers. For one thing, it's a walking town. For another, our leader, Ann-Marie is a wonderful, enthusiastic organizer.

Everwalk is planning a special trip to Santa Fe in the spring, a little different from the usual. People will start out at a motel (remember those?) and walk 10 miles in the morning. In the afternoon, we will play in Santa Fe. And at least one night, we will drive out to the deep desert with an astronomer to experience the night sky, and I suppose have some meaningful discussion. I'm thinking of going, especially since I have never been to Santa Fe, and have seen a truly dark sky only occasionally.

>209 ffortsa: Sounds like a great trip, Judy and Santa Fe is lovely. Eat at Cafe Pasqual's and don't buy more art than you can carry home :)

>209 ffortsa: - Echoing Reba, Santa Fe is *wonderful.* We would love to go back. Go to the Secreto Lounge at the Hotel St. Francis and get the smoked sage margarita :)

Great picture of the die hard walkers, Judy, and the Santa Fe trip sounds like an adventure. Congrats on reading 75! You reminded me that I need to get back to the Sean Duffy series.

I've made the mistake of having too many books going at once, and I'm not getting any reading done as a result. I've turned back to my (ancient) collection of New Yorkers to keep going.

And I've been walking. Yesterday was the standard Saturday park walk with the Everwalk group. Today I walked with the Shorewalkers group on a scheduled 6 mile jaunt from 59th St. and 3rd Ave. to Chinatown, but I hit a wall at about the 4 mile point and dragged myself home. My feet and knees are fine, but maintaining energy not so good. At least the people on the walks were interesting, and the weather divine. I'll post some pictures a little later if they are any good.

>213 ffortsa: That sounds like a great group, Judy. Serious walkers obviously.

We had a quite exhilarating day yesterday. First, the Jasper Johns show at the Whitney Museum. What I knew of his work doesn't compare to its effect on me standing in front of it. It was too much to absorb. Why are his icons so thrilling? I couldn't stop grinning. For more, you can go here and look at the exhibit on the 5th floor. I'd post photos, but looking at the ones I've taken does not compare with the feeling of being there. The museum guide is much better.

Then in the evening, we saw the opera "Eurydice", based on the legend and the play by Sarah Ruhl, who wrote the libretto. It's a magnificent production, close to the play, wonderful acting, singing, all of it. We attended a repeat of the broadcast at our local movie house, and if there is any program nearby I encourage attending. It's in English and quite intelligible, in spite of being sung (There is a little Latin the use of which completely cracked me up), the sets and direction are wonders. We saw the original stage play, and all I can say is see it if you can.

I was just looking for a book my LT list says I have, and I can't find it. But looking for it reminded me of all the books I do have that I haven't read, or reread, or remembered I even had, and that's just the ones in paper. This coming year, I must adhere to a plan to read the books on my shelves, or get rid of the ones I won't ever touch. I look at them every day and I'm still shocked.

>174 banjo123: I like the look of In the Darkroom! And luckily for me the local library has it.

>215 ffortsa: I love Jasper Johns too! Would love to see his work in real life.

I am also a Jasper John’s fan.

>216 ffortsa:. Glad that I am not the only one with lost books!

77. The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan

I had a hard time reading this book, not because it was poorly written- it's gloriously written - but because it depicts so graphically the horrors of the attempt by the Japanese in World War II to build a railroad through the jungle in Thailand, using slave labor. The slaves are Australian POWs, and they are driven mercilessly, starved and beaten, and many, many died. They develop a deep attachment to each other, with the goal to keep each other alive.

The primary witness to this is an Army doctor, Dorigo Evans, who struggles make moral decisions in the face of intractable orders. His story is told in flashbacks to his childhood on Tasmania, his formal rise in Australian society, his marriage and his deeply passionate affair with his uncle's wife. At every turn, he struggles with the idea of morality - what is a good man? While he is ultimately a hero both during the war and afterward, he feels a failure at the end.

The novel follows the survivors of the Thailand atrocities, Australian, Japanese and Korean, after the war. Some strive to forget. Some cannot forget. Some forgive themselves, some do not. Memory, the inevitable forgetting, is a constant theme.

It is a powerful book, horrific in that it portrays a real event and real actions, committed by people on people. Terrifying.

78. The Second Mouse by Archer Mayer

After reading the last book, I thought I'd go back to mysteries for a while, and this is a reasonably good entry in the Joe Gunther series, but my mind was full of the last book, and read this one grudgingly.

Love all the walking you're fitting in! I'm jealous. And the Sante Fe trip sounds awesome. (You should go!) Hope you find the missing book. And Jasper Johns and an opera?! And #78?! You are one busy woman. : )

>220 Berly: and relatively exhausted today!

I honestly don't think I can work up to 10 miles by the time of the trip, and I'm sure my sister can't. Jim would be interested in the desert excursion, but not the walk. So a less exertion-filled family outing might be more in order.

The exhaustion comes from a trip to Saratoga Springs this weekend, followed by a couple of days near Boston. Present at Saratoga Springs, along with others, was MichiganTrumpet! So a sort of undercover meetup amidst other folks. After the Saratoga trip, we were driven eastward, stopping at the Clark Museum on Sunday, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum on Monday, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston on Wednesday. Marianne joined us for the museum trips. In between the two Boston museum trips, I got antsy in Arlington, and decided to take a walk around town. 4 miles later Jim was ready to send the search and rescue out, but it was a great walk, even if I did get just a little lost on the way back (when you reach a fork in the road, take it, according to Yogi Berra). It's a good thing I walked; the trip was marked by numerous hearty meals with accompanying libations. Luckily I escaped further weight gain, according to this morning's scale!

I just learned that an old and lovely friend of mine died this week after a fall. He'd been in failing health for a while. We hadn't been seeing each other much of late - just inertia and the pandemic, I think - it's a slightly less colorful world knowing he's gone.

>222 ffortsa: I'm sorry to hear this.

Sorry to hear about your friend, Judy. The pandemic has made seeing people who are important in our lives much more hit and miss. It's sad.

I'm sorry to hear about your friend, too, Judy.

Sorry to hear about your friend, Judy. I sincerely hope that 2022 is a year that puts us all in a better place.

80. Laidlaw by William McIlvaney

The original dark Scottish procedural, written by a poet, and it shows. The language is surprising, sometimes very funny, which is saying a lot considering how dark this book is. Set in 70s Glasgow, the story follows the detective Laidlaw as he searches in his less than conventional ways for the murderer of a young woman.

Laidlaw is the model of the wounded detective, sustaining family troubles and doubts about his profession, society, and humanity at large. Speaking of professional athletes, he calls them the 'temple prostitutes of capitalism', and that sounds just right. It is an intensely visual book as well; so much of the time I could see the setting even when the parties spoke in the dialect of lower-class and underground criminal Glasgow (once in a while I had to look up a slang word, just to be sure.) All the people are real, often angry, sometimes desperate, weighed down by their particular loss.

There are two more Laidlaw books written by McIlvaney, and I am told Ian Rankin has been tapped to continue the series. I'll read up and see how he does.

I managed to take my makeshift desk apart yesterday, looking for my blue-framed glasses. Of course, I didn't find them, but in the process I had to take everything out of the attached bookshelves, so I had a chance to re-evaluate, and consequently will give away a few hefty books that I will either never read or get from the library if necessary or get electronically, so they don't clog up the shelves. They are

The Abascal Way by Kathy Abascal, a book on controlling inflammation by diet (a friend talked me into it, but it doesn't appeal)
Organizing for the Creative Person by Lehmkuhl and Lamping (but then, I'm not a particularly creative person - I'm just indecisive)
The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (too heavy to lift, and I prefer hearing it on radio anyway)
Possession by A.S. Byatt (I have it electronically already, and it's another heavy book)

There were a few others, but I reconsidered.

In addition, I found a 64GB thumb drive I bought ages ago and then promptly lost. Yay!

Part of my decision to take the desk apart was that I bought a new scanner (mine had died) and it needed to be plugged in and there were SO MANY CORDS. Now I can scan what needs to be scanned and discarded, and clear my desk (I hope).

An odd way to spend Christmas Eve, perhaps, but satisfying.

>228 ffortsa: I love little projects like that. Not so much the doing, I admit, as the results. Finding things - and organizing things - is always good. And when you move everything, you can really clean properly.

To you and Jim, Judy! I appreciate the Christmas card.

>230 alcottacre: Oooh, Christmas cards are traveling fast this week! I'm glad it got to you.

Sorry to hear about your friend. "The world is a little less colorful" is sad but beautiful.



These were our family ornaments this year and, despite COVID, a merry time was had by all. I hope the same is true for your holiday and here's to next year!! Thanks for the card and I hope you get mine soon!

Thanks to all who offered my their sympathies.

>232 Berly: I love the percentages in 'One day of coal, 364 days of fun... I'll take my chances'.

I've been eying the 2022 threads cautiously, because I have so many threads on my 2021 list that I've been completely unable to keep up with. I won't mention names, but you know who you are. This next year, I don't know how I will arrange to follow all of you wonderful folks. But I will try. I also can't decide how to select my reading for the year; I greatly admire the purpose some of you show in setting up reading lists and even sticking to them!

Aside from the desk cleanup, I've managed to sew the second of two pillow covers that have been lingering for months, and feel really accomplished just now. The glasses are still evading capture. I've succeeded in giving away some stuff I realized I'd never use again, and made at least one young man very happy with a Case Logic backpack for his large laptop. Hey, it's out of my closet! I'll do another round pretty soon, and take anything unclaimed to the local thrift shop.

Jim and I are ok, but considering pulling in our horns a bit because of the latest Covid news. We do have three outings scheduled for January, but we will try to resist other temptations. There are plenty of books to read, TV to watch, little projects to catch up with, to keep us in for a while. Jim does have one weekend away scheduled - fingers crossed he doesn't run into any of what my mother would call bad buggies.

I plan to start the New Year with a couple of city walks on the 1st and a cautiously curated party at a friend's apartment. I'll report on that and other incidents on the January thread.

Still four days left to bookhorn in some reading. And not too much else to do. Hurrah!

Judy--Trying not to overplan my 2022 reading, but I really do need to read more of what I already have on try shelves. LOL. Nice job cleaning house; that is also on my list. : ) Enjoy your year-end reading!!

81. The Rat Catchers' Olympics by Colin Cotterill

Another in the delightful series about Dr. Siri and company, this time set in the Soviet Union at the 1980 Olympics, the one most of the western countries boycotted. Laos has been invited at the last minute to send a team, and Civillai is the so-called manager of the trip. Of course Dr. Siri and Deung and Dtui end up going, and of course there is a murder - two in fact! And a lot of gawking from those of the third world Laos was at the time. Siri and Deung are as irrepressible as ever.

This is undoubtedly the last book to be finished by me this year. I've got a title due on January 4th for my downtown reading group, and I haven't started it yet. On the 1st, I'll list all my half-finished titles at the top and actually try to finish them before I start my next random walk, but no guarantees, of course!

I wish everyone a happy and healthy 2022. (At first I typed that I 'will' it, and I certainly would if I could.) See you all next week!

>234 ffortsa: I am with you, Judy. It's impossible to keep up. Still, it's fun to pop in and see what people are doing/reading. Happy New Year.

Forget your stresses and strains
As the old year wanes;
All that now remains
Is to bring you good cheer
With wine, liquor or beer
And wish you a special new year.

Happy New Year, Judy.