Beth's (BLBera) Pages in 2021 - The Final Chapter

My name is Beth. I love books – talking about them, writing about them, reading about them. I also love to read with my granddaughter Scout.

I am an English instructor at my local community college, so I am always looking for books I can use in my classes. I like to discover new writers. I suspect this will continue, even after I retire, which I am thinking will be in May.

I tend not to plan my reading, other than for my book club, which meets once a month. Each year my goal is to read more books from my shelves, but those shiny new library books always distract me.

Currently Reading

Read in 2021
🦃November🦃
132. The Vanished Collection*
133. Station Eleven* REREAD 💜
134. Conditional Citizens
135. Fight Night
136. The Sentence 💜
137. Jitney
138. Still Life

November Reading
Books read: 7
By women: 6
By men: 1

Novels: 4
Drama: 1
Essays: 1
Memoir: 1

Library (all physical copies): 5

From my shelves (all physical copies):2

🎄December🎄
139. Agatha of Little Neon
140. Intimacies
141. D Is for Deadbeat*
142. When God Was a Rabbit* REREAD
143. The Reading List
144. The Madness of Crowds
145. Five Tuesdays in Winter
146. All Systems Red
147. How the Word Is Passed
148. Kingdom of the Golden Dragon*
149. Heating & Cooling*
150. The Vixen
151. The Temptation of Forgiveness*
152. Burntcoat
153. The Bridge to Sharktooth Island*
154. Shunning Sarah*
155. King Hedley II

December Reading Report
Books read: 17
By women: 14
By men: 2
Man and woman: 1

Novels: 12
Short stories: 1
Essays: 1
Memoir: 1
Drama: 1
Young reader: 1

From the library: 10
From my shelves: 7

Read in 2021
📚September📚
106. Light Perpetual
107. It Begins in Betrayal
108. Fences* REREAD
109. The Bone Code
110. The Woman Who Smashed Codes*
111. The Life of the Mind
112. Averno 💜
113. Ariadne 💜
114. Mary's Monster
115. C Is for Corpse*
116. The Heron's Cry
117. Matrix 💜
118, The Women of Troy

September Reading Report
Books read: 13
By women: 10
By men: 3

Novels: 9
Poetry: 1
Drama: 1
Nonfiction: 1
Graphic biography: 1

Library: 11
- physical copies: 10
- audiobook: 1

From my shelves: 2 physical copies

🍁October🍁
119. The Performance 💜
120. Deep Pockets*
121. Death Comes to the Nursery
122. The Language Warrior's Manifesto
123. An Unhallowed Grave*
124. Poet Warrior
125. A Good Man Is Hard to Find* REREAD
126. Martita, I Remember You
127. Bewilderment
128. The President and the Frog
129. Curator of Ephemera at the New Museum for Archaic Media
130. Harlem Shuffle
131. The Window Seat 💜

October Reading
Books read: 13
By women: 10
By men: 3

Novels: 7
Nonfiction: 1
Essays: 1
Memoir: 1
Short stories: 1
Novella: 1
Poetry: 1

Library: 10
-Physical copies: 9
-Audiobook: 1

From my shelves: 3
- Physical copies: 2
- ebook: 1

Got to do better reading from my shelves!

* From my shelves

Read in 2021
🏖 July 🏖
79. The Dictionary of Lost Words
80. The Night Hawks
81. Everything You Wanted to Know about Indians but Were Afraid to Ask*
82. Night Waking* 💜
83. In the Company of Men
84. Red Knife*
85. How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House
86. American Sublime: Poems 💜
87. God Help the Child* REREAD
88. An Inventory of Losses
89. An Old, Cold Grave*
90. Magpie Lane
91. Seven Guitars
92. The War I Finally Won*
93. The Clothing of Books*
94. Autumn* REREAD

Reading Report - July
Books read: 16
By women: 13
By men: 3

Novels: 11
Nonfiction: 1
Essays: 2
Drama: 1
Poetry: 1
In translation: 3

Library books: 8 - all physical copies

From my shelves: 8
Physical copies: 7
ebook: 1

☀️August☀️
95. Burnt Sugar
96. Intimations*
97. The Secret to Superhuman Strength 💜
98. Vacationland* REREAD
99. The Secret Lives of Church Ladies
100. Two Trains Running
101. Postcolonial Love Poem
102. Great Circle 💜
103. B Is for Burglar*
104. Consent
105. Heaven's Keep*

Reading Report - August
Books read: 11
By women: 9
By men: 2

Novels: 6
Essays: 1
Poetry: 1
Drama: 1
Short stories: 1
Graphic memoir: 1

Library: 7
- Physical copies: 6
- Audiobook: 1

From my shelves: 4
- Physical copies: 3
- Ebook: 1

Read in 2021
Reading in 2021
☔️ April ☔️
38. Beheld
39. The Seed Keeper* 💜
40. She Walks in Beauty*
41. The Trouble with Goats and Sheep
42. The Liar's Dictionary
43. The New Jim Crow* 💜
44. Faithful and Virtuous Night 💜
45. The Western Wind
46. Death Comes to the School*
47. I Will Judge You by Your Bookshelf
48. Death Comes to Bath

April Reading Report
Books read: 11
By women: 10
By men: 1

Novels: 7
Nonfiction: 1
Poetry: 2
Graphic: 1

Library books - all physical copies: 7
My shelves - 4
physical copies - 3
ebook - 1

🌸May🌸
49. Klara and the Sun
50. The Dutch House REREAD
51. Exciting Times
52. Death and the Maiden
53. The Searcher
54. The War that Saved My Life*
55. Whereabouts
56. Ocean Prey
57. Jacob's Room Is Full of Books* 💜
58. The Carrying*
59. To Die But Once
60. Gem of the Ocean
61. One Two Three* 💜
62. Death on Tuckernuck
63. Miss Treadway and the Field of Stars*
64. Secrets of Happiness 💜

Reading Report - May
Books read: 16
By women: 13
By men: 3

Novels: 13
Poetry: 1
Memoir: 1
Drama: 1

Library: 11
- Audiobooks: 2
- Ebook: 1

From my shelves: 5
- All physical books

☀️June☀️
65. A Is for Alibi*
66. Life in the Garden*
67. The Arsonists' City
68. The Scholar*
69. Of Women and Salt
70. Joe Turner's Come and Gone
71. Piranesi
72. The Feast of Love*
73. Unsettled Ground 💜
74. All My Pretty Ones*
75. Castle Shade
76. No One Is Talking About This
77. The Center of Everything 💜
78. The Blood Promise

June Reading Report
Books read: 14
By women: 11
By men: 3

Novels: 11
Memoir: 1
Drama: 1
Poetry: 1

Library: 9 - all physical books

From my shelves: 5
- Physical books: 3
- Ebooks: 2

Read in 2021
❄️January❄️
1. Jazz*💜
2. News of the World* REREAD
3. Those Who Knew
4. Square Haunting 💜
5. The Boy in the Field
6. Glass Town
7. A Running Duck*
8. Faces on the Tip of My Tongue*
9. Perestroika in Paris
10. When You Reach Me*
11. Earthly Remains*
12. Pride
13. Teaching about Race and Racism in the College Classroom*
14. The Skeleton Road*

January Reading Report
Books Read: 14
By women: 14

Novels: 10
Graphic novel: 1
Short stories: 1
Nonfiction: 2
Translation: 1

Library books: 6
From my shelves: 8
- Physical books: 7
- ebook: 1

❄️February❄️
15. The Death of Vivek Oji
16. My Time among the Whites* REREAD
17. The Nickel Boys*
18. Las mujeres en la química*
19. Paradise* REREAD 💜
20. Devil in a Blue Dress*
21. So We Read On*💜
22. Banned Book Club
23. The Vanishing Half*

February Reading
Books read: 9
By women: 7
By men: 2

Novels: 5
Graphic novel: 1
Nonfiction: 2
Young reader nonfiction: 1
Spanish: 1

Library: 2
From my shelves: 7, all physical books

🍀March🍀
24. Outlawed
25. Sing, Unburied, Sing* REREAD
26. Summerwater 💜
27. The Jewels of Paradise
28. Love*
29. The Historians
30. Even as We Breathe
31. Hidden Figures*
32. American Delirium
33. Hardcore Twenty-Four*
34. Freiheit!*
35. What's Mine and Yours
36. How Beautiful We Were 💜
37. Infinite Country 💜

March Report
Books read: 14
By women: 13
By men: 1

Novels: 12
Nonfiction: 1
Graphic novel: 1
Translation: 1

Library: 11
Audiobook: 3

My shelves: 5
Ebook: 1
Physical copy: 4

* From my shelves

You Must Read This!

Happiness

I just finished the wonderful The Window Seat and have been thinking about Forna. This novel is also wonderful. When I read this three years ago, I commented:
Happiness is a wonderful, wonderful novel about people, animals, and how they connect to each other. I loved this novel. The writing is beautiful and the plot is seamless. My only complaint is the italics used for flashbacks. They are so hard on the eyes.

First, the writing. The details and description are meticulous:"A falling feather swung slowly through the air; drifting past the floors of the office block and his hotel window. A bright green feather. Attila watched it, lost sight of it and found it again, followed it as it became caught up in the traffic below, buoyed upwards on the rush of air of a passing taxi to recommence its rocking descent until it was tossed again. Up, up, down, down." The description in this novel made me stop and pay attention, over and over.

Attila, a psychiatrist from Ghana who is a specialist in trauma and Jean, an American biologist who studies foxes in urban areas, seem to have nothing in common. Yet they meet in London and soon find themselves allied in a hunt to find a missing boy. The search reveals a connection among people who come from different places, but also a resilience and innate desire to help. Forna shows us the ugly, in hateful Tweeters, but she also shows how good people can be.

And, it has a beautiful cover. Five stars. Highly recommended.

Happy new one!

Thanks Jim! 🍺

>1 BLBera: That coffee looks enticing, Beth.

Happy new thread.

Happy New Thread, Beth. Have a good week and enjoy those current reads.

Happy new one Beth. All three of your topper books are new to me, and all look very tempting.
I was in a huge bookshop at the weekend and a small girl in her mother's arms went past me towards the children's section. Her mum pointed in the general direction and the kid made impressed noises. Really nice to hear. (It is beautifully set up, with stuffed animals hanging from the ceiling and lots of bright colours, and loads of space for many many books).

Happy new thread, Beth! Hope your year ends well.

Happy new thread, Beth!

>8 BLBera: Sounds good, added to mount TBR.

>12 PaulCranswick:, >13 msf59: Thanks Paul and Mark.

>14 charl08: Hi Charlotte. I love bookstore love stories! Palmares is interesting, not sure about it yet at the 300-page mark...

>15 thornton37814:, >16 FAMeulstee: Thanks Lori and Anita.

Happy new thread! Happiness looks good ...

Thanks Steve. It is wonderful.

Happy new thread, Beth. Happiness caught my eye and I'm adding it to my list!

It is crazy raining outside and the wind is howling and I'm surrounded by books and cozy inside. Ah November! Happy new thread Beth!

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread, Beth!

>8 BLBera: Very disappointed that my local library does not have any of Forna's books so I am going to have to look further afield for them. Thanks for the review and recommendation of Happiness

Happy New Thread, Beth!

Happiness sounds wonderful. I've added it to my never-ending library hold list.

Morning, Beth! Happy new one! October was a good reading month for you. I agree with your choice of book for >8 BLBera:. Loved that book thanks to you who put it on my radar.

Happy new thread, Beth!

Hi everyone! Thanks for stopping by, Jan, Mary, Rhonda, Stasia, Janet, Mamie, and Katie! I hope I didn't miss anyone. Mamie also says that Happiness is a good one!

On a less positive note, I am going to DNF Palmares - I'm about 350 pages in but it is becoming such a slog that I think I'll return it to the library and maybe try again another time.

Hi Beth and happy new thread. I am slowly sipping on my last cup of coffee for the next 2 days. Need to eliminate caffine because of some medical tests. I'm not sure how I am going to get through the next 48 hours.

Luckily I have two good books on the go and hopefully they will keep me distracted from the coffee cravings.

>8 BLBera: I loved Happiness too and will look for her essays after your rave review.

<28 Hi Judy. Good luck with the no caffeine days! I hope you're OK.

>29 vivians: Hi Vivian - I've been eying the other books by Forna that I own. I want to get to them soon. Have you read others by her?

I loved both The Memory of Love and The Hired Man. I know there are others and must get to them!

Thanks Vivian. I have both on my shelves.

Lovely to see all the Forna love here. I want to read this new one and her memoir.

Forna is worthy of all the love, Charlotte. I want to read the novels I haven't read.

>8 BLBera: I love the cover, and the font is really appealing as well! I will see if my library has it. Eta: it does have it!

Happy new one!

132. The Vanished Collection
This is the story of Pauline Baer de Perignon's efforts to find out about her great-grandfather's art collection. Her great-grandfather, Jules Strauss, was a noted collector, who survived WWII in Paris. Baer de Perignon describes her journey from the moment a cousin first mentions that there was something shady about the sale of a number of Strauss' paintings. As she begins her research, she realizes that the family never talks about the war experience of Strauss and his wife and she finds that they didn't survive as unscathed as the family stories indicate.

If you're looking for a story of looted art, this is not that story. This is a very personal story, told in a rather scattered way, jumping from one topic and time to another with no transitions. This is Baer de Perignon's first book, and it shows. The writing is not great; how much of this is due to the translation, I'm not sure.

>35 LovingLit: Enjoy, Megan.

>36 figsfromthistle: Thanks Anita.

Hi, Beth! I've caught up on your threads, and it's so fun to see that my reading seems to be trailing yours by a few months, as far as specific titles! It is thus so helpful to see your reviews, knowing that my library holds will come up shortly and I'll have a better idea what to expect. Thanks!

Karen O.

Hi Beth! Belated happy new thread.

>39 klobrien2:, >40 karenmarie: Hi Karens! Thanks for stopping by.

Well, I was sure I had read The Hired Man, but my catalog says it's still in the TBR collection, so I need to remedy that.

On seeing how brick like Palmares was when it came in at the library I have returned it for someone else to read. I feel confident that if you were having to slog through it I should leave it for a time when I have more patience!

The new Ruth Ozeki also arrived and I am excited to read it.

>42 laytonwoman3rd: That is probably the Forna I will read next, Linda.

>43 charl08: I would be interested to see what you make of it, Charlotte. I haven't seen much about the new Ozeki. I'll have to see if my library has a copy.

Happy newish thread, Beth. I enjoyed Happiness when I read it and have a memory of the foxes in London, not that I've ever seen any when I was there.

Hi Meg - In her book of essays, The Window Seat, Forna talks about having a fox in her London back yard. I could maybe see some inspiration for Happiness. :)

>37 BLBera: Too bad about that one. The topic is right up my alley. I hope your next read is better for you.

Happy Wednesday, Beth!

Thanks to the parents who are resisting quarantine or any kind of mandates for students. My fully vaccinated teacher daughter caught COVID. So far Scout is negative -- and so close to getting the vaccine. :) My daughter is feeling pretty miserable.

They do have to wear masks in her school, and kids who test positive are supposed to stay home, but that is it. No quarantining for close contacts or mandatory testing for close contacts. So, right now her elementary school is a hot bed of COVID cases.

>47 alcottacre: Yes, Stasia, it seems a little amateurish.

>48 BLBera: I am sorry to hear it, Beth. I hope Scout is spared. Unfortunately the schools here in Texas are not any better. I am not sure what it is going to take to finally wake people up!

>48 BLBera: - Oh, no! I'm so sorry to hear that, Beth. I hope the misery doesn't last too long for your daughter.

>48 BLBera: Sorry to hear about your daughter Beth. Very frustrating. Very selfish of those resisting restrictions.

Hey Beth! Happy newish thread! These anti vac, anti mask, anti quarantine folks are driving me nuts! And then some lie about it, get fake cards! This is life or death people. *sigh* Hope your girls will be ok.

Thanks Stasia, Katie, Caroline, Lynda. It is a nightmare right now.

>48 BLBera: Aw, this is too bad, Beth. I really feel for all three of you. We live in such sad times.

That's awful Beth. We're never going to get out of this with people resisting.

I'm so sorry to read this news, Beth. I hope your daughter bounces back quickly and that Scout continues to remain healthy.

I'm sorry your daughter caught the damned plague, Beth. All digits crossed for a quick recovery, and no transmission to Scout.

Thanks Mark, Bonnie, Laura, and Linda. I hope she has a quick recovery. I think Scout will get her jab this weekend, if she is not sick.

133. Station Eleven

I love this novel set in a world twenty years after a pandemic has killed 99% of the world's population. It follows a few characters who are connected to an actor, Arthur Leander, who dies just as the pandemic starts. There's a Museum of Civilization, a Traveling Symphony, and a graphic novel called "Station Eleven."

I want to reread The Glass Hotel because some of the characters from Station Eleven appear.

>48 BLBera: Ahgagaga *cough * cough * Damn lunkheads! My younger son has two elementary-school girls, and he and his wife opted to homeschool them because their school district hadn't established rules and procedures to keep teachers and pupils safe and healthy. Both girls are scheduled for shots, but their sister, at 3, isn't on track for vaccination.

Best wishes for your daughter and your granddaughter.

Hope your daughter feels better soon, Beth.

Hope your daughter is improving!

>48 BLBera: - Beth, that is terrible. I am so sorry to hear this. Are other teachers vaccinated? I am guessing there is no vaccine mandate for education workers?

I do hope your daughter bounces back quickly and doesn't suffer too much, given that the vaccine should give her some protection.

>61 weird_O: Thanks, Bill. Last year in her school, they had all kinds of protection in place. This year, there was so much protest just over having the kids wear masks, that they eliminated all of the other safeguards. The result is that there are lots of cases of COVID in the school, while last year, they didn't have any.

>62 charl08:, >63 SandDune:, >64 jessibud2: Thanks Charlotte, Rhian and Shelley. She texted me that she was feeling a little better.

>65 BLBera: Oh that just makes me so angry! So selfish and irresponsible. Glad to hear your daughter feels better.

>66 vivians: I know, Vivian. I would think that people would want to protect their kids... I just don't get it. I just pray that Scout doesn't get it; she's so close to getting her jab!

People who think their 'freedom' is more important than their community are a terrible problem in this country. When even a crisis such as COVID can't get people to look out for one another, it's a bad time for our society.

>48 BLBera: Things are exactly the same in my school system. We've had 4 COVID exposures in 3 weeks. IL2, IL2 AND M9, then M9 again. The school nurse got snotty with me when I asked whether I should keep M9 home. She told me masks mean there's almost no chance of getting COVID. But M8 caught it last year in exactly the same conditions, so there's a much higher than "almost no." 😡

I test M9 on Monday. Good luck with Scout.

So sorry about your daughter, Beth and so angry about the people who refuse to do the right thing. Hope Scout stays well and that your daughter recovers completely and quickly.

>60 BLBera: I get to dodge that particular BB as I have already read - and loved - that one.

Thoughts and prayers are still with your daughter and Scout!

>68 ffortsa: Hi Judy - Today my book club met virtually, and one of the members asked how she could convince her daughter to get vaccinated. The daughter is anti-vcxx, and sadly, none of us had any suggestions. One member suggested appealing to her feelings for others, keeping others safe. We'll see what happens.

>69 The_Hibernator: Hi Rachel. So far Scout and her dad are negative, so fingers crossed. My daughter says she feels better today. I think Scout is going to be able to get her shot tomorrow.

>70 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks Reba. Fingers crossed.

>71 alcottacre: Thanks Stasia.

My book club met today to discuss Station Eleven, and we had one of our best discussions ever.

Hi Beth, so sorry to read about your daughter. Fingers are crossed that her recovery is quick and that no one else in the family comes down with it. I have an anti-vac in the family as well, my husband's sister and her husband were totally against the vaccine but then the husband's sister came down with a bad case of Covid and had to be hospitalized. She apparently begged all the members of her family to get the vaccine and luckily my sister-in-law and husband did listen and finally got their first shot. I still see red though when I think that it took almost losing a member of their family to get them to budge on their stupid stance.

Thanks Judy.

Our governor in Ohio tried Vax-A-Million. Get your shot and you're entered into a drawing for a million bucks or a college scholarship. I've read, it really didn't have people lining up to get vaccinated.
He's now has a contest for those 17 and under. College scholarships from $10,000 to $100,000.
Every little bit helps.

>75 Carmenere: Hi Lynda - Yes, I think we need to do whatever we can to encourage people to get their shots.

134. Conditional Citizens is an excellent collection of essays in which Lalami discusses white privilege, sexual harassment, and treatment of immigrants, among other topics. She talks about checkpoints in the US that stop people to check their citizenship status. I had no idea something like that existed. In fact, Lalami's essays reveal that immigrants, even naturalized citizens, live very precarious lives here. Yet, she doesn't despair. Her final essay is a call to action. As she says, "What I want is freedom, not better conditions of subjugation." We can do better.

I haven't loved Lalami's novels, but her essays have made me a fan.

I hope your daughter continues to feel better, Beth. I have the Lalami collection on my shelf. Guess I should pull it down.

Thanks Katie. The last two collections of essays that I have read have been excellent! I think you'll like the Lalami collection.

>77 BLBera: My local library has a copy of that one. Woot! I enjoy reading essays.

Happy weekend, Beth!

Glad your daughter is a bit better, that's so frustrating. Here the schools are super cautious, all my staff with kids have had to take a bunch of time off for testing and quarantining, every time a kid gets the sniffles or a headache. I feel for the kids... all that testing and anxiety. Luckily, no positive cases so far (amongst the kids I know).

>77 BLBera: That goes on the list Beth. Another fan of essays here.

>80 alcottacre: Enjoy it, Stasia. I hope your weekend is going well.

>81 banjo123: Hi Rhonda - I know that kids are suffering now. I think Scout will be happy to finally get her vaccine.

>82 Caroline_McElwee: I think you'll like it, Caroline. I really enjoy essays, and I've read a couple of excellent collections recently.

135. Fight Night
Swiv is the nine-year-old narrator of Fight Night. She is currently suspended from school for fighting: "I don't understand adults...Grandma was the one who got me kicked out of school in the first place because she was the one who told me that people sometimes have to be punched in the face to get the message to leave you alone and not bully you, but only after double-digit times of trying to use words to no avail and only up to the age of ten or eleven."

At first, I found her amusing, as she parrots what her mother and grandmother say, but as the novel progresses, we begin to see that Swiv is an anxious little girl trying to hold on to her family and trying to understand difficult issues like depression and aging. The humor lightens the serious issues. I did laugh out loud with some of her comments: "Grandma said there are no winners or losers when it comes to bladder control."

Swiv's mother is pregnant, and Swiv worries that her mother will try to kill herself, as her sister and father did. While her mother works, Swiv is left with her aging grandmother, who takes a lot of medication, and who Swiv worries is about to die.

If you are not a fan of child narrators, this probably isn't for you, yet I find myself hoping that Swiv will be able to continue to fight and survive and thrive.

>8 BLBera: I gave Happiness 4.5 stars when I read it back in 2018. I will look for a copy of The Window Seat.

>48 BLBera: GRRR! I hope your daughter has a smooth recovery and that Scout is spared and is able to get her shot. SO frustrating!!! I feel like educators and health care workers have just been left out in the cold in this whole national dynamic.

Hang in there.

Thanks Ellen. Scout did get her first shot. My daughter seems to be feeling better. She is just very frustrated.

>84 BLBera: Hmm. Not a fan of child narrators, but I do like Toews.

>84 BLBera: Dodging that BB as the book is already in the BlackHole. Whew!

Have a wonderful week, Beth! Glad to hear that Scout was able to get her first shot.

>84 BLBera: Great review, I am tempted. I thought it was available here but it looks as though I will have to wait until June 2022! Hopefully the library will get hold of a copy when the time comes.

Look what I brought home from the library!



Perfect timing because I just finished a book.

>87 banjo123: You might give it a try, Rhonda. The parts about the challenges of aging are well done.

>88 alcottacre: Thanks Stasia.

>89 charl08: I'd be interested in your comments, Charlotte.

>90 BLBera: I'm super interested to see what you think of this one, Beth. It seems like a departure from her previous works but it's also intriguing.

>90 BLBera: Lucky you! i look forward to seeing what you think of it.

>84 BLBera: Miriam Toews is a favorite of mine and I'm really looking forward to this one Beth.

Hi Beth,

I hope your daughter is feeling better! This anti-vax nonsense is truly insane and utterly frustrating.

>90 BLBera: Yay you!! I was just reading a review of it over the weekend and am intrigued!

Beth, so sorry to read about your daughter - I'm glad she is feeling better. I'll just echo Joanne's comment about all the anti-vax nonsense. Very prevalent in these here parts of Georgia, unfortunately. Makes me want to pull my hair out. I'm so happy that Scout was able to get her first jab.

Adding Conditional Citizens to The List - thanks!

>92 lauralkeet: I've just started it, Laura, but it seems promising.

>93 mdoris: Hi Mary - it's a long one, and I've been busy with school work as the semester winds down. It might take me a while.

>94 brenzi: Hi Bonnie - I've loved everything I've read by Toews although some of her books have been sad. This was a little lighter.

>95 Copperskye: Thanks Joanne - My daughter seems to be feeling better. I'm looking forward to the Erdrich.

>96 Crazymamie: Thanks Mamie. It is just amazing the garbage that people believe. Happy to return the favor with Conditional Citizens, another great essay collection, after getting The Window Seat recommendation from you. :) We take care of each other.

>84 BLBera: Not a fan of child narrators here. Not big on coming of age stories either. Though the occasional one slips through.

Hi Caroline. I know that not everyone likes the child narrators, so I made sure to include that aspect in my description. I think some are better than others.

Hi Beth! I spent my lunch period catching up with this thread and the two previous. Wow - terrific reading! Lots of hits for me and ideas for my holiday gift giving, notably the Lane Winslow series, Magpie Lane, A Town Called Solace (I didn't see that you had read this, but that the book was on a prize list. I've loved Mary Lawson's books), Alison Bechdel's books, The Performance, The Window Seat and Happiness, and Conditional Citizens. Whew!

I am so sorry that your daughter has been sick with COVID. I feel something like despair that we have the end of the pandemic within our grasp... and we (collectively) don't grasp. It's infuriating. We have the second highest COVID case rate in the mountain area, and ours is a tiny school. I've had two colleagues get sick - one last year between vaccine doses, and one breakthrough case this year. Both are certain they caught it from students. Everything about COVID (and now public health) has become politicized and it's ridiculous. I hope she feels better very soon, and that Scout stays healthy. Yay for Scout's first jab! I had my book fair recently, and the first day I was open a parent arrived and announced her kids had just gotten their vaccines at the public library. My book fair positively cleared out, and I was thrilled! Even more so when I found out that everyone who had left succeeded in getting their kids a jab.

Do you have a long Thanksgiving break? We have the whole week and boy, are we counting down!

Thanks Anne! Educators are so frustrated. As you say, we could end this, but people have dug in for political reasons, refusing to listen to science.

I just have Thursday and Friday off, a week for Thanksgiving sounds great. I have had some good reading recently. I hope you enjoy whatever you pick up.

Stay well!

Shannon Gibney, author of "Fears of a Black Mother," one of the essays in our Common Book came to our college today. The theater was fairly full, which was nice to see. She was enthused to see the students so engaged and thought they had great questions. It was a great way to start our Common Book A Good Time for the Truth celebration.

Gibney brought her books with her and I bought See No Color and Dream Country.

>8 BLBera: This book is on my TBR since 2018, I will check to see if my library has this one. I would buy it, but I am on a mission to read my own books.

I've spent some time every day sorting through books. Thus far, I think I've given 350 to the local library. My son in law always notes all the books I have whenever he visits. His voice indicates awe, but I also know he wonders why in the world I've collected 3,000 plus books.

>90 BLBera: Curious to see what you think of that one, Beth. I did not realize she had a new book out.

>103 Whisper1: Hi Linda. I should be reading more of my own books as well! Good job getting rid of books. I am trying to give them new homes as I read them, but I never get through as many as I would like.

>104 alcottacre: I am enjoying it so far, Stasia.

>90 BLBera: I just picked up "The Sentence" by Erdrich too! But I am reading it with my RL bookclub for February, so I have to wait. :(

Hope your daughter is on the mend. : )

I am loving it, TwinK! My daughter seems to be feeling better. And no one else has gotten sick, so that is good.

Cases are really high here now, though, so I am wondering what we should do about the holidays...

137. The Sentence
I love this book. The Sentence is a love letter to books, readers, and bookstores. There is also a ghost, COVID, and the George Floyd murder, making this a novel firmly set in the present. This novel most resembles The Round House in its concern for justice.

Tookie, the narrator, sells books, and is one of the memorable characters who work in the bookstore. She is haunted by the ghost of a customer who died. This is also her story. She says, "I was hardened when I first started selling books. I resented those who came into the store, disturbing my communion with the books on the shelves. But the people who love books softened me." She is a "city Indian," has never lived on the rez and has lost some of her history. Yet she is still part of an indigenous community in Minneapolis.

The bookstore is very much a character in this novel. Though the name is never mentioned, it is Birchbark Books, the store that Erdrich owns, and she, as the owner, also appears. When COVID hits, and the store closes to in-person customers, the store, like many businesses, changes to curbside pick-up and online orders -- and thrives. The employees soon realize that people need books to survive, that they really are "essential workers." After the death of George Floyd, orders increase even more, as people try to understand what is happening.

This is the first "COVID" novel I've read, and it's a good one.

Morning, Beth! Hoping Sunday is kind to you.

>108 BLBera: SOLD! I'll add my thumb to that excellent review if you posted it.

Hi Mamie - Sunday will be a getting-ready-for-the-week day. I think most LTers will love The Sentence. What's not to love about a novel extolling the virtues of books and reading -- AND there are lists of books at the end.

>108 BLBera: The first sentence. That's all I needed to see, and I skimmed the rest because now I'm on the hold list!

Have a great day ...

>108 BLBera: I've just got The Sentence home from the library, and your review got me all excited to start reading! This one moves to the top of the stack! Thanks!

Karen O.

Hi Beth!

I am so sorry to hear that your fully vaccinated teacher daughter caught Covid. People not taking this seriously have a lot to answer for.

I’m glad she’s feeling better and that Scout has gotten her dose. Do young’uns get two doses too?

>108 BLBera: I had pre-ordered that directly from Erdrich's bookstore, so it sits here staring at me. I'm glad to see your enthusiastic recommendation for it.

>111 lauralkeet: Enjoy, Laura. I worried that my comments were spoilers, but I think most of the information I included is the description on the cover.

>112 klobrien2: I hope you enjoy it. I'll watch for your comments.

>113 karenmarie: Yes, Scout will get a second dose. It is just frustrating to know we could be done with this. Instead, we're still hesitating to have large family gatherings. My daughter said many of the parents think it's not any worse than the flu, so they don't feel the need to take precautions.

>114 laytonwoman3rd: Hooray for Birchbark Books! After reading this, I really want to work there! I'll watch for your comments.

the continued COVID cases are discouraging, aren't they? I just read an article about cases in rural Oregon, and it's so frustrating.

Thanks for the review of The Sentence. Oddly, I am not a huge Erdich fan, but I may give this a try.

>108 BLBera: As I mentioned, I am reading The Sentence for my February book club. Plus I have been to Erdrich's bookstore in Mpls (with you!) so now I really can't wait!!

Got my booster yesterday and feeling it today....

>108 BLBera: Woot! My local library has that one! Thanks for the review and recommendation, Beth.

>116 banjo123: Very discouraging, Rhonda. I feel families have really sacrificed over the past couple of years to keep vulnerable members safe, and yet, here we are.

I love Erdrich, but I think if you are not a fan, this might be a good one for you.

>117 Berly: You'll love it, TwinK. Fingers crossed that we can visit Birchbark Books again next summer. :)

>118 alcottacre: I hope you like it, Stasia.

>108 BLBera: I had been managing to actually reduce the height of Mt. TBR recently but you got me with this one. I'd been eyeing it but holding firm but your description did me in.

The Sentence is at the top of my Christmas list :) Glad to hear it was such a good one for you, Beth!

Hi, Beth. I am so glad to hear that The Sentence was a good read. I had mixed feelings about her last one, The Night Watchman. Boy, she is prolific.

Happy Monday, Beth! Last year, I read Towes Women Talking. I suspect if Fight Night is similar in nature, it offers a bit of redemption.
Glad you enjoyed The Sentence. It's been on my radar but I needed some feedback so thanks for yours.

Your review has tempted me to read The Sentence Beth even though I've avoided Erdrich because I don't think her later books compare to the early ones which I really loved. On my Overdrive list now.

>119 BLBera: I am definitely planning on visiting MN next summer. It better happen!! And thank you for the book you sent, A Good Time For The Truth: Race in Minnesota. Interesting that several authors give their feedback.

>120 RebaRelishesReading: I think this one is worth reading, Reba.

>121 katiekrug: I thought this was better than The Night Watchman.

>122 msf59: I haven't read Women Talking yet. Give The Sentence a try.

>123 Carmenere: I agree her earlier work is her best, Bonnie. Of her later work, The Round House is very good, and I did really love The Sentence -- it's set in a bookstore!

>125 Berly: I have it in writing! You are welcome. Shannon Gibney came to talk and read at our school last week. Hers is the first essay.

Happy Tuesday, Beth!

>126 BLBera: How cool is that?! Hoping to have more reading time after the Thanksgiving hoopla.

>127 alcottacre: Hi Stasia. Happy Thanksgiving. Or as Tookie from The Sentence says, "Happy Thankstaking." :)

>128 Berly: Good luck with that! Have a great Thanksgiving.

137. Jitney is set in an office for a car service; the characters come and go as rides are requested. Becker, who runs the station, tries to keep the peace and uphold rules for the drivers. Becker's son has just been released from prison, and the rest of the drivers are in varying stages of their lives, including a couple of veterans, one from the Korean War and one from the Vietnam War. Set in 1977, the play shows the failed promises of urban renewal and the continued lack of possibilities for Blacks during a time of prosperity.

What really strikes me about this play is how Wilson is able to take a bunch of drivers and through dialogue, give them distinct personalities. When I saw the cast list, I thought I would never be able to keep them straight, but from the beginning, Wilson made them individuals.

I'd really like to see this one.

I'm almost through the century; I have two plays left to read.

Hi Beth, I have heard nothing but raves about The Sentence so onto the list it goes! I hope you and your family have a great Thanksgiving.

>130 BLBera: I do not normally read plays, but I may give that one a try. It sounds interesting. Thanks for the review, Beth!

Hi Beth, you got me with The Sentence. There's a COVID picture book out that is really lovely called Outside, Inside by LeUyen Pham. It doesn't actually name the virus, only depicts the lockdown in a very child-friendly, reassuring way.

>131 DeltaQueen50: Thanks Judy. It will be very low key with a small group. I think book lovers will embrace The Sentence.

>132 alcottacre: I find Wilson's plays very readable, Stasia, but I would really love to see them staged.

>133 AMQS: It is so good, Anne. I will look for the COVID picture book.

>134 BLBera: I would be curious to know if they are online anywhere. YouTube maybe?

Ah, book lists!
https://apps.npr.org/best-books/#view=covers&year=2021

>135 alcottacre: A couple have been filmed, and you can see scenes online, but most of the plays have just been done on the stage.

>136 BLBera: Oo, I love book lists!

>136 BLBera: Too bad. I would love to watch the plays.

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.

Beth, to a friend in books and more this Thanksgiving

>137 alcottacre: The Piano Lesson, Fences, and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom have been filmed. They are the only ones I know of.

>138 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul.

Happy Thanksgiving, Beth! Have a good day with the family.

Happy Thanksgiving, Beth!

Beth, I am so very grateful for you, my wonderful friend and Twin here on LT. Can't wait 'till you retire and can come here and climb rocks with me!!

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

Happy Thanksgiving, Beth

>136 BLBera: I love book lists but that one goes on forever! Some I have read, some I have heard of and many I don't have a clue about. Happy Thanksgiving to you and family Beth.

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, Beth. Happy Friday!

Thanks to all for stopping by; I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving, Mark, TwinK, Mary, Stasia, Shelley, Karen.

>136 BLBera: Well this list completely derailed my good intentions not to order any books. Thanks for posting, Beth!

Hope you had a good Thanksgiving.

>147 charl08: Happy to help you add to your collection, Charlotte. :)

Hope you had a nice thanksgiving, Beth! And lots of reading this weekend.

Thanks Rhonda. Thanksgiving was quiet, just my daughter's family and me. On Friday I hosted a baby shower for my godson and wife, another small gathering of only vaccinated people. It was fun to entertain after two years not.

My unvaccinated idiot nephew is currently in the hospital with COVID. His youngest child, 2, also had it, but is better. He has four kids, 12 and under. I think he's the only one in the family not vaccinated. We've gone from no one in the family getting sick for the last two years to three family members in the last month. My daughter had a break-through case as she is vaccinated.

I hope my nephew recovers and rethinks his stance on the vaccine.

"I hope my nephew recovers and rethinks his stance on the vaccine." I fervently hope so too, Beth.

138. Still Life
"It's what we've always done. Left a mark on a cave, or on a page. Showing who we are, sharing our view of the world, the life we're made to bear. Our turmoil is revealed in those painted faces-- sometimes tenderly, sometimes grotesquely, but art becomes a mirror."

Winman is good at creating characters we care about. In this novel that covers about forty years, we get to know Ulysses Temper and his friends and family well. We celebrate and grieve with them. If the endings to some of the stories seem a little contrived, well, I forgive Winman. The setting, Florence, is the real star here, though. I want to move there tomorrow, despite the riveting portrayal of the 1966 flood.

A few minor things kept this book from being perfect. The last chapter about Evelyn seems out of place, and I found the references "if only the character had done this..." tiresome. But these are minor annoyances, and if you love a sprawling character-driven novel, this is one you might enjoy.

>151 laytonwoman3rd: Thanks Linda.

Hi TwinB!! Sorry to hear your nephew is an idiot. Sigh. Hope he recovers and wises up. Nice review of Still Life. LOL--I thought you were reading a version I knew! Like Robbins, or Penny or Hiaasen. There are a lot of Still Lifes. ; )

There are a lot of Still Lifes, TwinK! The Winman was a good one. I think it's one you would like.

Yes, well, his dad, my brother, is kind of an idiot as well. :) But my brother is vaccinated.

>150 BLBera: Beth, I'm keeping you and your family in my thoughts. I hope your nephew's condition improves.

>152 BLBera: I had some of the same criticisms of Still Life, but it's still enjoyable if, as you say, you like a sprawling character-driven novel.

Thanks Laura. My mom just called to tell me they put my nephew on a ventilator, so it isn't looking good. Fingers crossed that he will rebound. Another of his kids has tested positive as well.

I thought you had commented favorably on Still Life; it was a good read. I loved the characters.

Sorry to hear about your nephew and his family Beth. Keeping you all in my thoughts.

Still Life is on my list to read in the next week or so.

>157 BLBera: I'm so sorry to see this update, Beth.

Sorry to hear your nephew isn't doing well and even sorrier for the kids who dad didn't protect them.

>152 BLBera: I just got in a copy of that one and hope to get to it soon.

>157 BLBera: I am so sorry to hear about your nephew. I will keep him and his family in my prayers, Beth.

I'm sorry to hear about your nephew, Beth. That is tough. And frustrating.

I have the new Winman on my Christmas list.

>152 BLBera: I am loving this book, Beth. Yes, I am only a 100 pages in but I sure got swept up with this wonderful cast of characters and her narrative style is simply beautiful.

Thanks Caroline, Laura, Reba, Stasia, Katie, and Mark. Things don't sound good. Fingers crossed that he will come out of this.

So sorry to hear about your nephew, Beth.

I just finished Oh William! - really loved it, I think possibly the most of all the Lucy Barton ones. Lots to chew over.

Great to hear that Oh William! is a good one, Charlotte. I am looking forward to it.

>157 BLBera: Oh no! I am sorry to hear your nephew is on a ventilator. And another child tested positivity. Dang. Sending best wishes.

Thanks TwinK. It doesn't look good, but I haven't gotten any updates since Monday, so I think no news is good news at this point.

>157 BLBera: Oh my gosh, Beth! I was getting the feeling that covid was winding down but boy was I wrong!
Sending prayers for your nephew and all those affected.

Thanks Lynda. At this point, I don't think it will ever end. Very discouraging.

It IS so discouraging, and I can say from first hand experience that it is hard for young adults to feel positive or hopeful about the world right now. I am sorry to hear about your nephew.

Hi Beth, I am sorry to read about your nephew and his family. This pandemic seems to just keep lingering on ...

139. Agatha of Little Neon
Agatha is a nun, one of four sisters who were novitiates together. When their diocese goes bankrupt and the convent closes, they are sent to a small town in Rhode Island to work at a kind of halfway house. None of the nuns has any background in addiction counseling or social work. Luchette paints a portrait of energetic women who are at the mercy of the men in the patriarchal church and who have little say over what they do.
Their energies and talents are wasted. Still, Agatha paints a picture of day-to-day simple joys and the rewards of sisterhood.

These were different from the nuns I have known, who were formidable women who got things done. Nuns built Saint Marys Hospital after a tornado leveled this city in the late nineteenth century. They built it with the agreement that Dr. Mayo would staff it. Sisters administered the hospital into the late twentieth century.

But I have no knowledge of the inner workings of the convent, so Luchette's portrait may be accurate.

Thanks Anne and Judy.

I got an update late yesterday, and things are looking better although he still has a way to go.

Beth, I hope the news continues to improve, and that your nephew recovers without the long covid effects I've heard reported.

>174 BLBera: "things are looking better" I'm glad to hear this, and keeping you and your family in my thoughts.

>175 ffortsa: Thanks Judy. I'm sure if he recovers, there will be a long recuperation period.

>176 laytonwoman3rd: Thanks Linda. What is frustrating is that this could have easily been prevented.

Not to be provoking but do you know if your nephew has *reconsidered* the issue of vaccines since this happened to him? I'd be curious...

That will be a question we'll ask if he survives, Shelley. I have a feeling his wife might have something to say about it as well.

Keeping my fingers crossed for your nephew and his family, prayers too.

I hope he continues to improve. I am so sorry, Twin.

140. Intimacies
"...there were great chasms beneath words, between two or sometimes more languages, that could open up without warning. As interpreters it was our job to throw down planks across these gaps."

The narrator of Intimacies is an interpreter at The Hague. She moved a lot as a child and is rootless and fluent in several languages. She is working, deciding whether she wants to continue interpreting at the Court and stay in The Hague. Interpreting for war crimes tribunals is stressful; as she describes her work, we understand the challenges involved in interpreting stories of atrocity.

Kitamura's style reinforces the gaps between languages. The narrator reports what happens in her daily life, what others say and do, with no direct quotations, distancing us from the events. I'm not sure I am a fan of the style, but the story surrounding language and interpreting is interesting.

I was a medical interpreter, so it was interesting to see the conversation around language. Anyone fluent in more than one, understands the "chasms" that exist.

>180 Carmenere:, >181 Berly: Thanks Lynda and TwinK. No new updates so far today. I guess Friday night was a bad one, but he's still hanging in there.

>180 Carmenere: I've heard hospitals in the Cleveland are are overflowing and many surgeries are being placed on hold. This is so nuts!

>182 BLBera: If my son read fiction, I would recommend this book to him. He loves the nuances of different languages and I'm sure he'd fall back on interpreting Russian if nothing else panned out.
Have wonderful Sunday!

>182 BLBera: This sounds interesting Beth.

>184 Carmenere: Our hospitals are the same, Lynda. I think anyone interested in language might find this one interesting.

>185 Caroline_McElwee: It's one that would be a good discussion book, I think, Caroline.

Even during this busy time of the semester, we do get to laugh occasionally. One of my colleagues just sent this excerpt from a student essay.

While Gertrude Stein was an American author and poet best known for her modernist
writings, extensive art collection, and literary salon in Paris in the 1920s, she was also was Hamlet's mother. After the murder of King Hamlet, Gertrude Stein married his brother, Claudius, and had a son with him. The death of King Hamlet and the wedding of Gertrude Stein to Claudius occurred immediately.

A lovely poem from Naomi Shihab Nye's collection

Where Children Live

Homes where children live exude a pleasant rumpledness,
like a bed made by a child, or a yard littered with balloons.

To be a child again one would need to shed details
till the heart found itself dressed in the coat with a hood.
Now the heart has taken on gloves and mufflers,
the heart never goes outside to find something to "do."
And the house takes on a new face, dignified.
No lost shoes blooming under bushes.
No chipped trucks in the drive.
Grown-ups like swings, leafy plants, slow-motion back and forth.
While the yard of a child is strewn with the corpses
of bottle-rockets and whistles,
anything whizzing and spectacular, brilliantly short-lived.

Trees in children's yards speak in clearer tongues.
Ants have more hope. Squirrels dance as well as hide.
The fence has a reason to be there, so children can go in and out.
Even when the children are at school, the yards glow
with the leftovers of their affection,
the roots of the tiniest grasses curl toward one another
like secret smiles.

>187 BLBera: what?!! That's so funny, Beth.

>187 BLBera: - That sounds like that piece by Richard Lederer, from history as kids wrote it! Hilarious!

>173 BLBera: Already in the BlackHole, so I get to dodge that BB!

>174 BLBera: Glad to hear that things are looking up for your nephew, Beth. I hope the improvement continues!

>182 BLBera: That one sounds interesting. Thanks for the review. I will add it to the BlackHole.

>187 BLBera: OK, there is my laugh for today. Really?!

>188 BLBera: Not much of a poetry fan, but I like that one.

Happy Tuesday, Beth!

>189 lauralkeet: I laughed out loud, Laura.

>190 jessibud2: It does like almost satirical, Shelley.

Hi Stasia.

Regarding my nephew, things are pretty serious. The update yesterday sounded pretty bleak. I haven't heard today.

>192 BLBera: I am so sorry, Beth. I hope the latest update is not so bleak.

Happy Wednesday, Beth. I like the "Where Children Live" poem. I have not read anything by Nye in awhile. I should remedy that.

Sorry to hear about your nephew and his kids, Beth. Glad to hear he is on the mend and that your daughter was over her illness in time to spend Thanksgiving with you.

>193 alcottacre: Thanks Stasia. I haven't heard anything for a couple of days, but right now I think that no news is good news.

>194 msf59: Mark, I'm reading a collection of hers right now that has selections from several books. It's a long one, but I am loving it.

>195 Familyhistorian: Thanks Meg. I am hoping that my nephew does recover. It will be a long recovery process for him; he is very ill.

Beth, I forgot to tell you, I think it was your recommendation that sent me toward Of Women and Salt. I started it earlier this week and I'm loving it so far!

Hi Beth, It's been too long since I've stopped by! I'm planning on reading The Sentence after the holidays and so I'm very glad to see you love it!

I also plan on reading Still Life next year. I have a copy on my kindle so I really have no excuse except other books keep pushing it back.

Sending best wishes to your nephew for his recovery.

>197 EBT1002: Great, Ellen. It was a good one.

>198 Copperskye: Thanks Joanne. You have a couple of really good books coming up. I think The Sentence is one of my favorites this year.

I read your review of The Sentence just in time to submit it for next week's voting-for-next-year's-books at my library's book club.

I also added Fight Night to my library hold list - and then suspended it for three months since I have soooo many books at home right now. Will I be caught up by March or will I just have brought more books home? I enjoyed Women Talking. I hope you do get a chance to read it.

One of the multitude I have from the library is Happiness. I have several that I need to read quickly before I can get to it, but all the comments on your thread are so positive that I'm looking forward to it.

I am so sorry to hear about your nephew. It often seems to have a forward and back and then hopefully forward progression. I hope he does well. Why oh why did this thing ever get politicized?

>187 BLBera: So funny! Great way to start my morning.

>188 BLBera: And what a beautiful poem.

141. D Is for Deadbeat
In this fourth installment, Kinsey Millhone is hired to deliver a cashier's check by a man who pays her with a bad check. When she tracks him down, she finds that the man's real name is John Daggett and he has just been released from prison after killing five people while driving drunk. After Daggett dies, his daughter hires Kinsey to investigate his death.

I didn't like this one as much as the previous entries; the plotting seemed pedestrian and the "victim" was so unlikeable even Kinsey has a hard time drumming up enthusiasm for the investigation. Much of the action was Kinsey going from one person to the next, looking for a clue, which doesn't make for a page turner.

I might give the series a rest; now that I know they make for good audiobooks, I can return to them later.

142. When God Was a Rabbit was a reread for me, and I still loved it. It was interesting to read it in conjunction with Still Life. Winman is good with quirky characters. We discussed it today in my book club, and people did like it. They liked the characters and the description. One moment that stood out to a couple of people:

"...we saw again what our life here had been. There was the sledge our father had made, the one we took to school, the envy of all, and the ghosts of swings and climbing frames that had held us, and dropped us; the sounds of our tears. And we saw again the cricket and football matches that had scuffed the grass bare at the bottom lawn. And we remembered the tents we had made and the nights spent within: imaginary countries, us the explorers. There was suddenly so much to say good-bye to."

One member compared it to The Dutch House, how it is the story of siblings. Another person commented how Winman uses real events in her stories. This member had actually seen the Vermeer exhibit Elly referred to.

Our January book will be The Glass Hotel; people loved Station Eleven and wanted more Mandel.

>201 BLBera: That series was one that never captivated me. I never moved beyond A is for Alibi. I will have to give it another shot at some point, I think.

>202 BLBera: I have that one and really need to read it!

Have a wonderful weekend, Beth!

>200 streamsong: Hi Janet - Did your group choose The Sentence? I think it would be great for discussion.

My nephew is still very sick, not much has changed in the past couple of days, which is good, I guess.

>203 alcottacre: The Grafton books are good audiobooks, Stasia. I thought the first three were really well plotted, but this last one, not so much. I'll revisit them at some point.

v
143. The Reading List is a novel that will appeal to readers. It follows a group of people from North London who find a list of books. Through the list, they form friendships, and as the novel progresses, we see the importance of books and libraries in building community. It was interesting to see that even the widower Mukesh could appreciate a book like Little Women.

This was an enjoyable light read.

>205 BLBera: - Added that one to my library WL. Have a good Sunday, Beth!

>205 BLBera: - Looks like fun

>205 BLBera: My local library has a copy of that one, so I hope to have it soon. Thanks for the review and recommendation, Beth.

>205 BLBera: My library too! Have added it to the Xmas reservation pile!

>206 katiekrug: It's a fun read, Katie.

>207 jessibud2: I think most LTers would enjoy it, Shelley.

>208 alcottacre: You are welcome, Stasia. I hope you enjoy it.

>209 charl08: Enjoy, Charlotte. I had thought I heard about it from you...

I just finished watching season 6 of "Shetland." It was good, but I am peeved that it ended on a cliffhanger. I don't know when the next season will be out...

Sorry about your nephew, Beth. That's hard.

>173 BLBera: I have known a few nuns, and I think that different orders can be really different. So I bet this is realistic for some, but not all. It sounds like an interesting book.

>211 BLBera: I was annoyed about that too. But in one way it ended how it usually does for us: with us deciding that we really need to go on holiday to Shetland!

>211 BLBera: We'll be watching the final episode of Shetland when it is available on Britbox tomorrow. I'm not surprised to hear it ends on a cliffhanger; as of Episode 5 there are still a lot of moving parts.

>213 SandDune: I'd love to visit Shetland, too. I have to get my fix through this TV series and the program, "This Farming Life," as some seasons have profiled farms in Shetland.

We haven't watched series 6 of Shetland yet but I must say that I enjoy how they make each series one complete story rather than just a story per episode. It does make me glad we've been watching older series so that we can watch an episode per night and not lose track of what has happened in earlier episodes as we would if we were watching them further apart.

Any body heard when The Long Call will start airing?

>212 banjo123: Hi Rhonda - yes, today he's getting a tracheotomy so they can lower the sedation. You are right about orders of nuns. It was an interesting book.

>213 SandDune: Yes, Rhian, I have spent years trying to convince people we should visit Shetland!

>214 lauralkeet: It is already available, Laura. I was surprised when I turned it on that episode 6 was there! Nice surprise for my Saturday viewing.

>215 RebaRelishesReading: I watched "The Long Call" on BritBox as well and enjoyed it. I like shorter story arcs, but this is so good that I can live with it.

>216 BLBera: Well I'll be, Beth. I assumed you were watching with a VPN or something. This could affect our evening viewing plans ...

We liked The Long Call, too.

Hope you have a wonderful week, Beth! I continue to keep your nephew in my prayers.

>217 lauralkeet: well that was a cliffhanger indeed!

>216 BLBera: I think we might get to Shetland one day. We've been to Orkney twice. It's only a little bit further ....

>217 lauralkeet:, >219 lauralkeet: Luckily we know that they are already filming the next season, so we won't have to wait two years to find out what happens. Still, it's annoying.

>218 alcottacre: Thanks Stasia. We're wrapping things up here. I have a bit of grading to do, but I feel like I am in good shape to be able to finish by the end of the weekend.

>220 SandDune: I might get there too, Rhian. Maybe we can have an LT meet up!

>216 BLBera: I didn't realize it had been released so hadn't looked for it -- must so soon. We've been re-watching Shetland, in part because we had missed some of the early seasons. We just finished season 5. We plan to continue in the new year (rather than right away) because I find we need to watch an episode a day to keep from getting lost in the season-long stories. I thought The Long Call was a sequel but guess not since Shetland is still going. Lots of good, moody TV to look forward to in the new year.

>221 BLBera: It's funny Beth, how accustomed we've come to instant televisual gratification. Watching the latest season of Shetland has been like a return to the olden days: one episode a week, and a long wait for the next season.

>222 RebaRelishesReading: Reba, The Long Call was based on a book (books?) by Anne Cleeves, as is Shetland (and Vera for that matter), but that's where the resemblance ends. The Long Call has an entirely different cast, setting, etc. from Shetland.

>222 RebaRelishesReading: I recently rewatched it as well, Reba. It's such a good series. See Laura's explanation of The Long Call.

>223 lauralkeet: True, Laura! I was just peeved because they haven't done the cliffhanger at the ends of previous seasons, so it surprised me. I guess I'll have to find another series to focus on while I wait. Or I could read the books in the series that I haven't read.

Are you on your Christmas break now, Beth?

Hi TwinB! I am reading The Sentence for my January bookclub. : ) Sorry to hear about your nephew still not doing well. Sending good thoughts.

>225 Familyhistorian: Friday is the last day of the semester, Meg. I hope to finish my grading over the weekend.

>226 Berly: Great! It's wonderful. Thanks for the good karma for my nephew. I didn't hear anything yesterday, so that is a good think, I guess.

>205 BLBera: that sounds a lovely book!

It was very enjoyable, Megan.

144. The Madness of Crowds
Armand Gamache and his family are back in Three Pines in this novel. His children and grandchildren are visiting to celebrate Christmas. In the middle of the holiday celebrations, Gamache is asked to provide security for a speaker at a nearby university. He soon understands why he, a senior police officer, is asked to do this; the speaker is controversial and there was violence at a previous speech.

The novel addresses the pandemic and extremism and shows what can happen when good people remain silent.

Fans of this series will appreciate this one and enjoy being back in Three Pines. I listened to it, and the audiobook was very good.

RIP bell hooks.

>230 BLBera: I really love the Three Pines series. Most of the instalments are solid.

Have a great Sunday!

I agree, Anita. Thanks.

145. Five Tuesdays in Winter is a great short story collection about the stories that define us, and each of the stories is good, without a weak one in the bunch. One of my favorites is "Timeline." The narrator is a writer who ponders the power of stories: "...I thought about words and how, if you put a few of them in the right order, a three-minutes story about a girl and her dog can get people to forget all the ways you've disappointed them." King really does know how to put words in the right order.

>182 BLBera: I've nearly finished this, and really liked it Beth, so thanks for posting about it.

>234 BLBera: I really liked her Writers and Lovers. Adding this to the list.

Hi Beth, I am dropping by with a wish for you to have a Merry Christmas, as I am not sure if I will get back here before. I am already looking forward to the many book bullets I will be getting from you next year!

Happy Sunday, Beth. I am so glad you read and enjoyed Five Tuesdays in Winter. I warbled about it, a while back but I don't think I sparked any action. Maybe, you will be able to. King has been on a very nice roll.

>234 BLBera: Hi Beth! Thanks for the heads up about the Lily King collection. I'm not usually a short story reader but will certainly read these.

>231 BLBera: So sad about bell hooks. She was too young to die. I haven't read anything by her, but perhaps it's time?

Hope you are having a good weekend, Beth.

I love short stories and have neglected them this year. Maybe I can squeeze this one in this year Beth.

>235 Caroline_McElwee: Hi Caroline - I'll look for your comments on Intimacies. Five Tuesdays in Winter is an excellent short story collection.

>236 DeltaQueen50: Hi Judy - Thanks. By the new year, you will almost be ready for a new thread!

>237 msf59: Hi Mark - I've really liked all of King's books so far. I can't wait to see what she does next.

>238 vivians: Hi Vivian - I don't read a lot of short stories, and I don't know why because when I do, I really like the. I have quite a few collections on my shelves.

>239 banjo123: Yes, Rhonda, I was sad to hear about bell hooks. I have several of her books. Mostly I've read her essays, but she was a great thinker.

>240 brenzi: Hi Bonnie - I'm pretty sure you will love the King stories.

Thanks visitors!

I bought the King story collection on Mark's recommendation. Glad it was a winner for you, too!

146. All Systems Red is entertaining science fiction narrated by the self-named "Murderbot." Murderbot has an engaging personality, and I found myself laughing as I listened to this.

>242 katiekrug: I hope you like it, Katie.

147. How the Word Is Passed is a much-needed exploration of how we talk about our history in the United States. As Smith says, "The history of slavery is the history of the United States. It was not peripheral to our founding; it was central to it...It must be a collective endeavor to learn and confront the story of slavery and how it shaped the world we live in today."

Smith visits various landmarks in the US and Gorée Island and discusses what he discovers as he tours the sites and interviews people involved with the education. When he talks to his grandparents, both of whom grew up in the South, he finds that though progress has been made, it's not enough.

I have one minor quibble about his writing style; he overdescribes the people he interviews, almost as though someone told him he has to include more description. But that was very minor. And maybe I've been grading too many student essays. :)

This collection is thought provoking and worthwhile.

>245 BLBera: I heard a NY Times interview with Clint Smith and thought the book sounded fascinating. Glad you enjoyed it. The Murderbot series is great fun and a perfect palate cleanser too!

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed All Systems Red, Vivian. I am not much of a science fiction reader. The audiobook was very good.

You will like the Smith book. It certainly gives us a lot to think about.

Hi Beth, I've been reading your thread when I can, but haven't posted in awhile. I LOVE the poem you posted in >188 BLBera:. I don't know that I am well versed enough in poetry (groan, I know) to say that I have a favorite poet, but if I had such a list, Naomi Shihab Nye would be on it.
>187 BLBera: LOL!

>205 BLBera: this book appeared in a School Library Journal feature on "Best Adult Books for Teens" and it caught my eye. I bought it to give to Callia for her birthday, though she isn't a teen anymore. Glad to see your review.

Ooooh Murderbot! I've heard the audiobooks are good - I may try them when I reread, which I certainly will! Are you going to read any more?

I hope 2022 is a year with special moments Beth.

Anne - I will continue with the Murderbot series. I like that the audiobooks are only about three hours long! I've already reserved the next two. I think The Reading List would appeal to readers of any age.

Thanks Caroline.

Hooray for joining the Murderbot Club, Beth! These are so much fun.

Yes! Murderbot!

>245 BLBera: I put that in the Someday Swamp after seeing it in Publisher's Weekly's best books of the year. I think I may bump it up.

Also: Yay Murderbot!

I am happy to have joined the Murderbot fan club, Mark, Jim, and Steve. :)

>243 BLBera: >254 BLBera: Ooh! A Murderbot audio book! Perfect. Excuse me I have to go get the next one....

>230 BLBera: Yeah, this is one of the series that I need to catch back up with - not that the Three Pines books i already own are going anywhere. I know I will not be getting rid of this series.

>231 BLBera: I saw that and immediately ordered her memoir, which was in the BlackHole forever, to read.

>234 BLBera: >245 BLBera: Already in the BlackHole or I would be adding it again.

>243 BLBera: I love the Murderbot series and am currently rereading them. I just read All Systems Red last month and fell in love with Murderbot all over again.

>255 Berly: I reserved the next one as well.

>256 alcottacre: I am surprised at how many fans the Murderbot series has, Stasia. I'm glad I finally read one.

By the way, Wells won two Hugos for Best Novel (Network Effect) and best series (Murderbot Diaries) this year!

I still have yet to read Murderbot, do like all the enthusiasm on LT for it though.

I read hooks as a compulsory text years ago, it would be good to pick up one of hers by choice. A goal for me for 2022.

>258 drneutron: Cool, Jim. I don't follow the Hugos and really am not much of a SF reader, but the first one won me over. I'll be reading more in the series.

>259 charl08: Hi Charlotte - I also read hooks in grad school and have a couple of her books on my shelves. Maybe 2022?

Hello, Beth! I also love that Murderbot series. You got me with Five Tuesdays in Winter - adding it to The List.

Just popping in to say Hi! TwinB!!

>257 BLBera: I did not realize that this was your first read of any of the Murderbot books, Beth. You are in for a treat if you decide to keep going with the series.

>261 Crazymamie: I'm happy to add to your list, Mamie. You will love this collection.

>262 figsfromthistle: Thanks Anita.

>263 Berly: Hi back at you, TwinK! Merry, merry.

>264 alcottacre: Yes, I am a latecomer to the series, Stasia.

Happy holidays to all my LT friends!

We plan a small celebration of fully vaccinated and tested family. My daughter, son-in-law, and Scout are in Hawaii, so I will celebrate with them when they return.

Happy Holidays to you too, Beth!

Thanks Stasia.

Or in other words: Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!

Same to you, Rhian.

Hi Beth! Wishing you and your family a joyous Christmas full of good cheer.

Hi Beth!

I was just going to skim because I'm so far behind, but see that your nephew has COVID. I hope that no news continues to be good news and that once he's on the road to recovery he'll get vaccinated.

Best wishes to you and yours for now and the new year!

Have a great holiday with the family, Beth.

Have a lovely holiday, Beth.

Beth, I hope your holiday was a good one, and that your daughter and family come home happy and rested. When are you back in school?

Twin!! 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 to all of my LT friends for the Christmas wishes.

>277 AMQS: School starts on Jan. 10, Anne. I will start preparing tomorrow.

>278 Berly: Love the ornaments.

I'm late to the game for holiday wishes but I will say an early Happy New Year, Beth.

Happy New Year to you as well, Shelley. I hope you're having a happy and healthy holiday. How's that for alliteration? :)

>281 BLBera: - Well done! ;-)

Thanks.

Belated Merry Christmas greetings and best wishes for a healthy and happy New Year!

I'm sorry to read about your nephew and hope he'll soon be on the mend.

I missed the Shetland discussion above - we love the series, too. After the first couple of episodes of S6, we rewatched S4 and the background of the current storyline all came back We realized we forgot so much we went back and are in the midst of rewatching the entire series. I'd love to visit, too.

I'm so glad you liked Five Tuesdays in Winter, too. She is a talented writer.

Favorites from 2021
Fiction
The Sentence
The Performance
Night Waking
The Seed Keeper
Secrets of Happiness
Unsettled Ground
Paradise

Nonfiction
The Window Seat - essays
Square Haunting - biography

Poetry
Averno

HI Beth, It is so great to see people's favourites of the year!

>285 BLBera: Nice! Thanks for sharing. I think I have mentioned I have The Sentence coming up in January--glad it was a favorite!!

>286 mdoris: It's one of my favorite things at the end of the year as well, Mary.

>287 Berly: It's the best one she's written in a long time. Enjoy.

Oh, and I hit 150 this year!

>285 BLBera: Nice to see your best of list, not familiar with many of these, other than the Fuller and the Erdrich. So glad to see the latter on there. I am planning to kick off the year with Love Medicine. I still can't believe I haven't read this one. And hooray for #150!

Congrats on 150, Beth! Most exciting. I have never reached that number. I love that Unsettled Ground and The Window Seat made you list.

>285 BLBera: A list!

Great to see you mention Square Haunting, what a great book. I think I will ask for a copy of the Forna essays for my birthday. It would be nice to read about travel, especially!

>292 charl08: Yes, and Square Haunting, which I meant to also mention - I loved that one.

>290 msf59: You have a great book ahead, Mark. Enjoy Love Medicine.

>291 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie - Thanks to you for The Window Seat - I loved it! I've never reached 150 before either. I think audiobooks helped me get there.

>292 charl08: Yes, we all love book lists, Charlotte. :) I think I first heard about Square Haunting from you. You will love the Forna essays.

>293 Crazymamie: Great minds, Mamie.

>285 BLBera: Great list! I am going to have to see if I can track those down. I have not read any of them.

>289 BLBera: Wonderful Beth. And glad Square Haunting was a favourite too.

Hi Beth, I'm passing through to wish you an early Happy New Year! Hopefully 2022 will prove to be a peaceful and healthy year.

Love your list of yearly favorites and that you love the snarky Murderbot - sometimes when I am deep into a book and people come along and disturb me, I feel much the same as Murderbot does when pulled away from it's soaps!

Awesome job!!

>295 alcottacre: I hope you can find them, Stasia. They were great reads.

>296 Caroline_McElwee: Thanks Caroline. It's always fun.

>297 DeltaQueen50: Hi Judy. Thanks. I hope 2022 will be more normal although I hardly know what that is anymore.

>298 Berly: Thanks TwinK!

Beth, your introducing me to the work of Felix Doolittle is dangerous! You know I love bookmarks so I looked him up. All his artwork is so delightful!

It is sad to me that I have not read a single one of your favorite fiction works from 2021 with the exception of Paradise. I'm making note of the list and hoping to get to them in 2022! Of course, I have looked at the Erdrich on bookshop shelves a few times already.

>289 BLBera: Congratulations on reaching 2 x 75, Beth!

Wow! Congratulations on reading 150, Beth!

Wow! 150!!

>300 EBT1002: Hi Ellen - I had only seen the Felix Doolittle bookmarks in the indie bookstore I visited when I was in Florida. He has so much cool stuff.

I recommend all of my favorites.

>301 FAMeulstee: Thanks Anita.

>302 Copperskye: Thanks Joanne. I can hardly believe it. I did read several audiobooks this year, so I think that helped.

>303 banjo123: Hi Rhonda - I know! I've never reached 150 before.

Congratulations reaching 150!

153. The Bridge to Sharktooth Island is a good book for second or third graders.

Daniel and his cousin Joy are building a snowman when they hear drums and are magically transported to a rock just off the coast of a tropical island. They are joined there by Kimani, another girl with a similar story. Each of the children has different strengths and they have to work together to find a way off the rock and onto the beach.

I read this with my eight-year-old granddaughter who gives the book a thumbs up. She says kids will like it because it is exciting and it's fun to see how the kids figure things out and what they will try next. She also likes the magic parts. She liked Kimani the best because she is smart.

After the story ends, there are various projects kids can try. My granddaughter says she will try them. She hopes the kids have more adventures.

>305 bell7: Thanks Mary.

>306 BLBera: That sounds like a winner! I trust Scout. Well, and you, too, obviously. : )

Scout and family just got back from Hawaii, and I got to spend the afternoon with her. We read the entire book, and then she spent some time working on her fort and art. It was great. I missed her so much.

>309 BLBera: Happiness!

150 - Wow! I delighted to just make 75 (+plus a bit). Congratulations to you.

>243 BLBera: Just making sure I don't miss out entirely on people's threads at the end of the year. Morgan and I both read the first 3 Murderbot books this year and really enjoyed them as well. I'm also not much of a scifi reader but these were very entertaining.

>309 BLBera: Sounds like a good time was had by all. Lovely!

>310 Berly: :)

>311 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks Reba.

>312 ursula: Hi Ursula - I know the Murderbot book was a surprise to me. I listened to it, and it was a great audiobook.

>313 charl08: As always, Charlotte. I am so lucky. When I asked her which character she liked the best, she said Kimani because "we have a lot in common." When I asked her what, she said, "We are smart."

Isn't it amazing how much we miss our little girls whenever they're away from us Beth? Sigh.

I read 132 books this year which is the most I've ever read. Your 150 seem like so much more.

My girls are a joy, Bonnie. I wish they lived next door.

132 books is a great amount. Before this year, 130 was my highest amount.

I should finish two more before the end of the year.

Any news on your nephew yet Beth?

Thanks for asking, Caroline. He's still in the ICU, very sick, but there is hope. It will be a long recovery period, if he does recover.

>318 BLBera: well hopefully he has the stamina and will to get through it Beth. Crossing everything.

Thanks. At this point, no news is good news.

>318 BLBera:, >319 Caroline_McElwee:, >320 BLBera: Thanks for the update, Beth. I can't imagine how difficult this is for your family. I'll keep everything crossed for you as well.

Thanks Laura. What is so heartbreaking is the fact that this was totally unnecessary. I hope that he pulls through, but I suspect that his health will be permanently affected.

Brief comments from recent books:

149. Heating & Cooling - Memoir written as a series of vignettes. I frequently laughed out loud as I read.

150. The Vixen Disappointing novel from Francine Prose, set mainly in the McCarthy era right after Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were executed. I thought the setting would be vividly portrayed with parallels to the present day. Instead, I read the adolescent fantasies of Simon Putnam, the narrator, a twenty-something Harvard graduate who falls in love with any attractive woman who is nice to him. I expected more of Prose

151. The Temptation of Forgiveness Another Guido Brunetti mystery. Plot wasn't compelling, but it's always fun to visit Venice.

152. Burntcoat A dying artist considers her past and the place art and literature have in coping with the pandemic. Lovely writing. Lots of pandemic sex.

154. Shunning Sarah follows investigative TV reporter Riley Spartz as she looks into the case of a murdered Amish woman. The author is a TV reporter, and says the newsroom in real life is very similar to the cut-throat setting of her novels. Fun setting. In this book, Riley does a lot of stupid, dangerous things that made me lose patience with her.

I'll finish King Hedley II tomorrow, and that will wrap up my 2021 reading.

Sorry your nephew is still in the ICU. Man.

Look at you go on the books!! You've almost doubled my reads. : ) And you're not even retired yet....

His wife and mother have been to see him. In the last update, she said that he squeezed her hand. They are trying to wean him off the sedation, but he gets agitated and tries to pull out his trach tube, so it is a process. He's still very sick.

I think you have more of a life than I do. :)

Sorry to hear about your nephew Beth! Good luck to him and his recovery!

Thanks Rachel.

>325 BLBera: so sorry about this long struggle. I hope he rallies soon.

Hi Beth.

Congrats on 75 x 2.

I'm so sorry to hear your nephew is still in ICU and still so very sick.

I am sorry to hear your nephew is still struggling and hope they can get him weaned off the ventilator soon.

Happy New Year!

Thanks Judy, Karen, and Stasia. I just got a text; he is off the vent!

Hurray!! That's a huge step in the right direction!

>331 BLBera: Woot! Wonderful news for the new year!

BTW - I just finished The Reading List. Thank you for the recommendation of that one. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

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, Beth.

Happy 2022, all! I will join you all in the 2022 thread.