SALLY LOU'S REVISED THREAD -- Replaces Sally Lou simplifies her thread

It did not take me long to realize that I didn't like the way my initial thread was going to work. Thus, I'm going back to my more traditional thread. Once again, I will be recording my reading by months, but also listing the titles under the appropriate categories.

This year I am not hosting any months for CATs or KITs.

I will only do one BingoDOG card this year. In the past, I have usually started a second one (and usually finished it except for 2023).

As an elderly woman, I would like to have a relaxing year.

January reading:

1. (1) Why We Love Baseball: A History in 50 Moments by Joe Posnanski -- finished reading Jan. 8th -- 3.5 stars
2. (2) Necessary Trouble: Growing Up at Midcentury by Drew Gilpin Faust -- BingoDOG -- finished reading Jan. 12th -- 4 stars
3. (3) Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning by Liz Cheney -- BingoDOG -- finished reading Jan. 20th -- 4 stars
4. (4) Onlookers: Stories by Ann Beattie -- finished reading Jan. 23rd -- 3rd BingoDOG title -- 2.5 stars
5. (5) The Breach: The Untold Story of the Investigation into January 6th by Denver Riggleman (with Hunter Walker) -- 4th BingoDOG title -- finished reading Jan. 27th) -- 3 stars
6. (6) Susanna and Alice: Quaker Rebels: The Story of Susanna Parry and her cousin, Alice Paul by Leslie Mulford Denis —finished reading Jan. 29th — 5th BingoDog title -- 3.5 stars

Also, our family is dealing with an ill relative.

DNF: A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage. This is the monthly reading for one of our CCRC's book groups, but I just could not get interested in the book. I just read the introduction, chapter 1, and 13 p. of chapter 11 about coca-cola.

February reading:

7. (7) The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields -- Colonnades Monday book club (Feb.) -- finished reading Feb. 4th -- 3 stars
8. (8) Horse by Geraldine Brooks —Northside Book Group and BingoDOG — finished reading Feb. 10th -- 4.5 stars
9. (9) I Take Thee, Serenity by Daisy Newman -- pleasure and BingoDOG -- finished reading Feb. 16th -- 5 stars
10. (10) Walking With the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement by John Lewis -- CalendarCAT and BingoDOG -- finished reading Feb. 26th -- 5 stars
11. Big by Vashti Harrison -- AwardCAT (Caldecott) -- picture book -- read Feb. 27th.

March reading:

1. (11) Little House in the Ozarks: A Laura Ingalls Wilder Sampler: The Rediscovered Writings of Laura Ingalls Wilder, edited by Stephen W. Hines.
2. (12) Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland -- BingoDOG and JMRL community read -- finished reading Mar. 18th.
3. (13) An Uncommon Woman: The Life of Lydia Hamiton Smith by Mark Kelley -- CalendarCAT (Women's History Month -- finished reading Mar. 21st -- 3 stars
4. (14) Marmee by Sarah Miller -- CalendarCAT (Women's History Month) -- finished reading March 31st -- 4.5 stars

Short stories:
1. "An Elderly Lady Begins to Remember her Past" in An Elderly Lady Must Not be Crossed by Helene Tursten --read Mar. 26th
2. "Little Maud Sets a Trap" in An Elderly Lady Must Not be Crossed by Helene Tursten --read Mar. 26th
3. "The Truth about Charlotte" in An Elderly Lady Must Not be Crossed by Helene Tursten --read Mar. 26th

April reading:

1. (15) Plain: a Memoir of Mennonite Girlhood by Mary Alice Hostetter -- finished rereading Apr. 6th for Charlottesville Friends Meeting Big Read -- 4.5 stars (did not change from previous reading)
2. (16) To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee -- OLLI class -- finished rereading April 9th -- 5 stars
3. (17) The Women by Kristin Hannah -- finished reading April 14 - BingoDOG-- 5 stars
4. (18) Kindred - Octavia Butler (tradition of slave narrative) -- BingoDOG, Northside Library Book Group -- finished reading Apr. 17th -- 2 stars
5. (19) Enough by Cassidy Hutchinson -- finished reading Apr. 18th -- 3.5 stars
6. (20) Climate Justice: Hope, Resilience, and the Fight for a Sustainable Future by Mary Robinson with Caitriona Palmer -- finished reading on Earth Day 2024 (Apr. 22nd) -- 4 stars
7. (21) Medgar & Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story that Awakened America by Joy-Ann Reid -- finished reading April. 26th

May reading:

June reading:

July reading:

August reading:

September reading:

October reading:

November reading:

December reading:

BingoDOG



I'm limiting myself to only one card.

BingoDOG reading:
2. Epistolary or diary: Susanna and Alice: Quaker Rebels by Leslie Mulford Denis —Finished reading Jan. 29th—5th book read -- 3.5 stars
4. Written in another cultural tradition: Kindred - Octavia Butler (tradition of slave narrative) -- finished reading Apr. 17th (16th BingoDOG book read) -- 2 stars
5. Best seller: Horse by Geraldine Brooks — finished reading Feb. 10th —7th book read— 4.5 stars
6. Specific knowledge: Marmee by Sarah Miller -- finished reading Mar. 31st --13th book read -- 4.5 stars
7. Person's name in title: Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland -- finished reading Mar. 18th -- 11th book read -- 4.0 stars
9. Less than 100 copies in LT: Onlookers: Stories by Ann Beattie -- 28 copies in LT as of 1/23/24 -- finished reading Jan. 23rd -- 3rd BingoDOG title -- 2.5 stars
10. Big or little in title: Big by Vashti Harrison -- read Feb. 27th -- 10th book read
13. Read a CAT: An Uncommon Woman: The Life of Lydia Hamiton Smith by Mark Kelley -- March CalendarCAT (women's history) -- finished reading Mar. 21st -- 12th BingoDOG book -- 3 stars
14. Author 65 or older: Necessary Trouble: Growing Up at Midcentury by Drew Gilpin Faust -- finished reading Jan. 12th -- 1st BingoDOG title read -- 4 stars.
16. POC author: Walking With the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement by John Lewis -- finished reading Feb. 26th --9th BingoDOG title read-- 5 stars
18. Book from LT similar library: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (KatyNora's library) -- finished rereading April 9th -- 14th BingoDOG title -- 5 stars
19. Set in a city: Enough by Cassidy Hutchinson -- finished reading Apr. 18th -- 17th BingoDOG title -- 3.5 stars -- 1st BINGO (4th vertical column from left) Washington, DC
20. Warriors: Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning by Liz Cheney (consider Cheney a political warrior) -- finished reading Jan. 20th -- 2nd BingoDOG title read -- 4 stars
21. Reread a favorite book: I Take Thee, Serenity by Daisy Newman -- finished reading Feb. 16 --8th BingoDOG title read -- 5 stars
22. Friendship: The Women by Kristin Hannah -- finished reading April 14 -- 15th BingoDOG title read -- 5 stars
23. Set in multiple countries: The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields -- Colonnades Monday book club (Feb.) -- finished reading Feb. 4th -- 6th BingoDOG title read -- 3 stars
24. Only title and author on cover: The Breach: The Untold Story of the Investigation into January 6th by Denver Riggleman (with Hunter Walker) -- 4th BingoDOG title -- finished reading Jan. 27th) -- 3 stars
25. Publication year ending in 24: Medgar & Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story that Awakened America by Joy-Ann Reid -- finished reading April. 26th -- 18th BingoDOG title read -- 2nd Bingo (bottom row across) -- 4 stars

Candidates:
3. Featuring water: The Wager by David Grann -- in process of reading 4/29
8. Ugly cover: Mystery of Mysteries: The Death and Life of Edgar Allan Poe -- in process of reading 4/29
12. Food or Cooking: Upstairs Delicatessen --on hold at JMRL -- still in line for it
17. Three word title: In Farleigh Field -- in process of reading 4/29

CAT reading:

February CalendarCAT: Walking With the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement by John Lewis -- finished reading February 26th -- 5 stars -- Black History month

February AwardsCAT (award from own country): Big by Vashti Harrison --Caldecott Award -- read Feb. 27th

March CalendarCAT: An Uncommon Woman: The Life of Lydia Hamiton Smith by Mark Kelley -- (women's history) -- finished reading Mar. 21st -- 3 stars

April CalendarCAT: Climate Justice: Hope, Resilience, and the Fight for a Sustainable Future by Mary Robinson with Caitriona Palmer -- finished reading on (Earth Day 2024) -- 4 stars

KIT reading:

March AlphaKIT (R): Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland.

April AlphaKIT (O) Kindred by Octavia E. Butler.

Assigned reading (bookclubs, classes, early reviewers, etc.):

1. Necessary Trouble: Growing Up at Midcentury by Drew Gilpin Faust -- Colonnades Wednesday book club -- finished reading Jan. 12th -- 4 stars
2. The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields -- Colonnades Monday book club (Feb.) -- finished reading Feb. 4th -- 3 stars
3. Horse by Geraldine Brooks —Northside Book Group and BingoDOG — finished reading Feb. 10th
4. Walking With the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement by John Lewis -- Colonnades Wednesday book group-- finished reading Feb. 26th -- 5 stars
5. Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland for Northside Book Group and JMRL community read -- finished Mar. 18 -- 4 stars.
6. Plain: a Memoir of Mennonite Girlhood by Mary Alice Hostetter -- finished rereading Apr. 6th for Charlottesville Friends Meeting Big Read -- 4.5 stars (did not change from previous reading)
7. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee -- OLLI class -- finished rereading April 9th -- 5 stars
8. Kindred - Octavia Butler (tradition of slave narrative) -- Northside Library Book Group -- finished reading Apr. 17th -- 2 stars
9. Climate Justice: Hope, Resilience, and the Fight for a Sustainable Future by Mary Robinson with Caitriona Palmer -- finished reading on Earth Day 2024 and for Colonnades Wednesday Book Group -- 4 stars

Short reads (short stories, essays, etc. for which I do not read the whole collection):
1. "An Elderly Lady Begins to Remember her Past" in An Elderly Lady Must Not be Crossed by Helene Tursten --read Mar. 26th
2. "Little Maud Sets a Trap" in An Elderly Lady Must Not be Crossed by Helene Tursten --read Mar. 26th
3. "The Truth about Charlotte" in An Elderly Lady Must Not be Crossed by Helene Tursten --read Mar. 26th

Memoirs, autobiographies, and biographies:
1. Necessary Trouble: Growing Up at Midcentury by Drew Gilpin Faust -- finished reading Jan. 12th -- 4 stars
2. Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning by Liz Cheney -- finished reading Jan. 20th -- 4 stars
3. The Breach: The Untold Story of the Investigation into January 6th by Denver Riggleman -- memoir concerning investigation of Jan. 6, 2021 -- finished reading Jan. 26th -- 3 stars.
4. Susanna and Alice: Quaker Rebels: The Story of Susanna Parry and her cousin, Alice Paul by Leslie Mulford Denis
5. Walking With the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement by John Lewis -- finished reading Feb. 26th -- 5 stars
6. An Uncommon Woman: The Life of Lydia Hamiton Smith by Mark Kelley -- finished reading Mar. 21st -- 3 stars
7. Plain: a Memoir of Mennonite Girlhood by Mary Alice Hostetter -- finished rereading Apr. 6th for Charlottesville Friends Meeting Big Read -- 4.5 stars (did not change from previous reading)
8.Enough by Cassidy Hutchinson -- finished reading Apr. 18th -- 3.5 stars
9. Medgar & Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story that Awakened America by Joy-Ann Reid -- finished reading April. 26th -- 4 stars

Welcome to my revised thread.

I totally agree that we elderly ladies should first and foremost have a relaxing reading year. Good luck and I've moved my star to this thread.

>21 DeltaQueen50: Thanks.

Enjoy your relaxed reading year! We elderly ladies need to look out for ourselves.

Enjoying your reading year is the primary focus! In the past, I, too, have had to revise my set up and usually always just return to what I refer to as simple.

Good luck with your reading in 2024.

The first book I read this year is Why We Love Baseball: A History in 50 Moments by Joe Posnanski. John and I received it as a joint Christmas present this past Christmas. I particularly enjoyed reading about players I had watched (mostly in the 70s and 80s) or I was otherwise familiar with.

(Although they are about different sports, I did not enjoy this book nearly as much as the author's Paterno)

3.5 stars

Good idea to make it fit your life and reading style. Enjoy your reading year!

>26 sallylou61: I've always been a fan of Paterno's philosophies, so I'm going to put this one on my WL

The Paterno book was published at the time of the scandal following the firing of Paterno as coach. I think that it was a very balanced account.

For a book club at our retirement home, I read Necessary Trouble: Growing Up at Midcentury by Drew Gilpin Faust. This book is much more substantial than it sounds because of Drew's activism. Although she was raised in rural Virginia, she was sent out of state to school. She was continually looking for her place in life. As a teenager she became involved in the civil rights struggle, the protests against the Vietnam War, and life at Bryn Maur (over such things as whether students had to wear skirts!). Ms. Faust wrote this autobiography over half a century after these events occurred.

4 stars

For the Warriors or mercenaries square of BingoDOG I read Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning by Liz Cheney who I consider a political warrior. Ms. Cheney was concerned with about Trump's efforts to challenge the election results from the time even before the election, and his wide spread lies about winning the election. She urged Republicans in Congress and the Executive branch to agree that Biden had won the election. She became a hard working member/leader of the January 6th Committee even though she knew that it would probably mean her defeat in the 2022 Congressional election. She stressed the duty of government workers to respect and abide with the Constitution; something that Trump and his cronies were not doing.

4 stars

For the less than 100 people square of BingoDOG I read Onlookers: Stories by Ann Beattie, which 28 members have and was published in July 2023. This is a collection or unmemorable stories concerning Charlottesville around the time of the AltRight uprising. Very disappointed in it.

2.5 stars

For the only title and author on BingoDOG square I read The Breach: The Untold Story of the Investigation into January 6th by Denver Riggleman. This is an early book published re Jan. 6th. Mr. Riggleman worked for Jan. 6th Committee, but was not a committee member. He was investing what happened prior to the beginning of the Committee. Mr. Riggleman's book covers a lot about the mechanics of examining the breach. It names names but not those who had not testified before the Committee. I did not find this book as interesting as Liz Cheney's account in Oath and Honor.

3 stars

>31 sallylou61: From the outside, it's incomprehensible that the Republicans could get rid of a politician with integrity and support a man who encouraged an insurrection. Wishing you fortitude, and hoping that democracy will win.

I read The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields for a book club at my retirement community. Unfortunately, I was in the hospital when the club met to discuss it. This is the story of a fictional woman, Daisy, from her birth to her death. Although it won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1995, I found it very unmemorable. The story is set primarily in Canada (Manitoba) and the United States (Indiana) although Daisy's father-in-law goes back to the Orkney Islands from which he came to Canada as a young man. I was amazed at how decrepit Ms. Shields portrayed Daisy in her 80s.

3 stars

I just finished rereading Horse by Geraldine Brooks for one of my book clubs. It is a skillfully written historical fiction book about Lexington (formerly Darley) a famous 19th century racehorse who had a relatively brief career racing before he became blind, and then became a breeder of many horses, including many racehorses. The story describes life, particularly in the pre-Civil War South, in which Negroes (the term at that time) could not own horses or be jockeys in races but were depended upon to take care of the horses. It describes the bond between Jarret, the horse's enslaved groom and the horse; Jarret was the person Lexington trusted. Both Jarret and Lexington are sold from the farm where they lived to another slaveowner who took them to another trainer who treated Jarret particularly cruelly and would not let him take care of. the horse. This was before the owner brought both Jarret and Lexington from Kentucky to Louisiana to run on a racetrack he owned. Jarret also helped Thomas J. Scott, a painter, by preparing his palette, holding the horse still, etc.

The story of the living horse is interspersed with the 20th/21st story of discovering the history of the horse. Its skeleton was given to the Smithsonian as well as two of Scott's paintings (one of which became missing). Researchers including skeleton specialists and an art history doctoral student are trying to find out how the skeleton should be pieced together, why the horse became blind, etc. through the use of pictures. Theo, the doctoral student, wants to write his dissertation on Scott's paintings.

Throughout the book, racial relations play an important part. In addition to Jarret's relation with the horse, a young white girl/woman from his first plantation tries to have unapproved relations with him. Theo, the 21st century graduate student is black and works with/has relations with a white professional at the Smithsonian.

4.5 stars this time

I read Walking With the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement by John Lewis for one of my book clubs. It is a memoir of his
activism from a very young age through his first year in Congress (very briefly). He continued being active in the civil rights movement in spite of being beaten and being put in jail.

I just read one of this year's Caldecott Award winners, Big by Vashti Harrison, which features a young black girl who was happy when she was small but is bullied when she gets big. It is based on the author's personal experience. I'm using it for the big/little square in BingoDOG.

I just finished reading Little House in the Ozarks: A Laura Ingalls Wilder Sampler: The Rediscovered Writings of Laura Ingalls Wilder, edited by Stephen W. Hines. Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote numerous articles for farm journals, giving advice to farm women, before writing the Little House books for children. This collection of articles, many of which were written around the time of WW1, gives a good picture of Laura as an adult; she placed great value on being a partner with her husband, participating in running the farm well, and the value of being honest and kind to people.

4 stars

For one of my book clubs (and as part of our area community read) I read Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland, a novel based on a story of her ancestors. Florence Adler, a 19-year-old girl who is training to swim the English Channel, drowns in the Atlantic Ocean in the first chapter of the book. This event is treated as a family secret, keeping the news away from Florence's older sister, Fanny, who is confined in a hospital while waiting the birth of a child. Fanny's infant son had died a year earlier. Anna, an Italian young woman who is the daughter of Mr. Adler's former fiancee, is living with the family. The story, which ends after Fanny's daughter is born, shows how keeping the secret impacts the family and some close friends, including Florence's swimming coach.

4 stars

Yesterday I finished reading An Uncommon Woman: The Life of Lydia Hamiton Smith by Mark Kelley for women's history month for the current CalendarCAT. This is the story of a light skinned Negro woman who was a companion of Senator Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania. The true relationship between the Senator and Lydia Smith is not known. Lydia Smith kept house for the Senator, which included entertaining his colleagues and friends. She also raised his nephews and her own two sons. During his last years of illness, she nursed him. She was also a smart businesswomen who owned a number of properties. I feel that the book spent too much time and paper concerning problems with Senator Stevens' will and how much and what he intended to leave her after his death.

3 stars

I enjoyed reading Marmee by Sarah Miller, which tells the story of Little Women from Marmee's point of view. However, I felt that Beth's death was spread out too long and came at the very end of this story, much later than in Little Women.

4.5 stars

Plain: a Memoir of Mennonite Girlhood by Mary Alice Hostetter. I reread this book for our Charlottesville Friends Meeting Big Read, to be discussed tomorrow, April 7th. I first read it last year after Mary Alice gave a reading from it at a local bookstore.

Mary Alice grew up in a large Mennonite family (the tenth of twelve children) on a farm at the edge of Lancaster County. Mary Alice's parents were strict; she was not allowed to dance or go to the movies, and the family did not have television. The whole family worked on the farm. Mary Alice was exposed to a much larger environment when she left for college, and especially when she accepted her first teaching position in the Greater Philadelphia area. She constantly tried new things.

The final section of the book pertains to her finding her sexual identity (as a lesbian) in her 50s. A particularly moving experience occurs when one of her brothers tells to their father that he is gay, and Mary Alice's admitting to their father that she is also when their father wonders about her. By then their mother has died.

In practically the whole book Mary Alice is searching for who she is and what she should make of her life. She constantly comes through as a very intelligent person.

(I am calling the author by her first name, following the custom of Friends {Quakers}. This is a show of friendliness, equality and respect.)

Lots of interesting reading since I visited here last! Especially Horse, Walking With The Wind and Plain: A Memoir of Mennonite Girlhood. I added the latter to my audible wish list, which is already very long, but I might get to it one day.

>44 MissBrangwen: Thanks. I'm really behind in reporting my reading.

For a 3 session OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Course) I have reread on of my favorite books, To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee. Last week we started discussing the book, today we watched the movie, and next week we will compare the movie to the book.
Although the movie is excellent, it leaves out some important scenes from the book, in my opinion.

OLLI is a program of adult education classes connected with a number of universities (and colleges?) in the United States. Our OLLI is part of the University of Virginia.

5 stars

For pleasure and the friendship square of BingoDOG, I read The Women by Kristin Hannah. This excellent story is divided into two sections: serving in the Vietnam War, and experiences back home after the war. The women are three nurses who served together at Vietnam: Frankie, Barb, and Ethel. The doctors and nurses serving in the war had a camaraderie with each other. After coming home, Frankie had trouble adjusting to life. She lacked family support; her father, who was proud of his son who had been killed in the war, pretended that Frankie had been in Europe studying art! Barb and Ethel are very supportive of Frankie, coming to her aid when the situation gets tough. Finally her father realizes Frankie's worth when he and his wife go visit the Vietnam memorial in Washington, DC.

5 stars

For a book club and the written in another cultural tradition square of BingoDOG, I read Kindred by Octavia E. Butler. This book was written in the slave narrative tradition. It is a time travel book with the main character Dana (a black woman) and Kevin (her white husband) traveling back and forth from their Los Angeles home in 1776 (the bicentennial year) to a plantation in Maryland in the time of slavery. When she was a slave in the Maryland, Dana is treated like a slave. Going back, Dana meets some of her ancestors.

Time travel in specific and science fiction in general is not a genre I enjoy reading.

2 stars

I have finished reading Enough by Cassidy Hutchinson. This is a book which I started, lay aside thinking I would not finish it, and ended up reading the whole book. My difficulty with this book is that it is naturally, because of the author's experience, very political about a party and individuals whom I do not support -- in fact, am very opposed to. One of the aspects which really struck me was the way Ms. Hutchinson, a woman in her mid-20s, could boss people around, especially in relation to seeing the President or his chief assistant.

Although I do not agree with the book, I feel that it is not badly written.

3.5 stars

For CalendarCAT (Earthday) and one of my book groups, I just finished reading Climate Justice: Hope, Resilience, and the Fight for a Sustainable Future by Mary Robinson with Caitriona Palmer. In this short (144 pages of text) book Ms. Robinson, a former president of Ireland and member of several groups concerned with climate change, tells many stories how climate change is especially damaging to economically poor groups of people global wide. Most but not all of the leaders discussed dealing with climate change in their communities were women, often poor women. Wealthier nations are responsible for much of the climate change damage, and some, the United States especially, particularly during Trump's presidency, are not doing their share to combat it. This book was published in 2018, and predicts how serious climate change will be in the early 2020s, a time which has now passed.

4 stars

I recently read Medgar & Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story that Awakened America by Joy-Ann Reid. This book tells the story of Medgar and his wife, Myrlie, from the time they met at Alcorn A&M College (after Medgar had served in the army in WWII) thru the aftermath of Medgar's assassination. Myrlie and their children moved to California after the assassination to a place where Myrlie felt safer. However, Myrlie kept coming back to Mississippi to follow what was occurring concerning Bryon De La Beckwith, Medgar's killer. (He was tried twice in 1964 resulting in hung juries and finally convicted in 1994.) Myrlie lived a difficult life prior to Medgar's murder because she feared that the murder would happen.

4 stars