Jim's (drneutron's) Reading in 2022, page 5

I'm Jim, 59 60, husband of 37 years, father of a son in finishing a PhD program in Comp Sci at Notre Dame, who reads pretty much anything. We're in central Maryland with roots in Louisiana. I like to read (obviously), cook, want to learn to fly fish, and trail bike riding/kayaking with mrsdrneutron. Of course, LT is a big time sink, but mrsdrneutron seems to have come to terms with my LT addiction...

1. The Shadow by James Patterson and Brian Sitts
2. The King of Confidence: A Tale of Utopian Dreamers, Frontier Schemers, True Believers, False Prophets, and the Murder of an American Monarch by Miles Harvey
3. The Sanitorium by Sarah Pearse
4. Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters by Steven Pinker
5. Velvet was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
6. Know Thyself by Ingrid Rossellini
7. My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk
8. Klaus: How Santa Claus Began by Grant Morrison
9. King Richard: Nixon and Watergate An American Tragedy by Michael Dobbs
10. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
11. The God of Lost Words by A. J. Hackwith
12. Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell
13. Stonemouth by Iain Banks

14. The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt by Toby A. H. Wilkinson
15. The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
16. Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett
17. The Dim Sum Field Guide by Carolyn Phillips
18. Nothing but Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw
19. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab
20. Fever Dream by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
21. Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon
22. Madam by Phoebe Wynne
23. The Story of China: The Epic History of a World Power from the Middle Kingdom to Mao and the China Dream by Michael Wood
24. The House on Vesper Sands by Paraic O'Donnell
25. The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester
26. The Old Guard Book One: Opening Fire by Greg Rucka
27. Girl Waits With Gun by Amy Stewart

28. The Power of Geography by Tim Marshall
29. Axiom's End by Lindsay Ellis
30. Slow Horses by Mick Herron
31. The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix
32. The Heron's Cry by Ann Cleeves
33. Undertakers by Nicole Glover
34. Dune by Frank Herbert
35. Dark Horse: An Orphan X Novel by Gregg Hurwitz
36. Roar of the Sea: Treachery, Obsession, and Alaska's Most Valuable Wildlife by Deb Vanasse
37. River Kings: A New History of the Vikings from Scandinavia to the Silk Roads by Cat Jarman
38. The Dragon Reborn by Robert Jordan

Total Books: 38

Author Gender
Male: 22 (54%)
Non-male: 18 (46%)

Author Status
Living: 35 (92%)
Dead: 4 (8%)

Publication Medium
Hardback: 11 (30%)
Trade: 5 (14%)
Mass Market: 0 (0%)
eBook: 22 (57%)

Category
Fiction: 26 (68%)
Nonfiction: 12 (32%)

Source
Library: 34 (89%)
Mine: 4 (11%)

ARC: 1
Re-Read: 1
Series: 13
Group Read: 2

And we're open!

Happy Wednesday, Jim. Happy New Thread! I hope you are having a good week.

>7 msf59: Thanks, Mark! So far so good... I hope you are too!

Update Time!

39. The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb

Slocumb pulls from his experience as a professional violinist and as a person of color in the very white classical music world to write a good mystery centered around a missing Stradivarius and a rising star soloist who's lost it. More than that, the story of this musician and the behind-the-scenes look at how all this musical world works turns out - for me - to be the most interesting part of the story. It's not a difficult or tricky mystery, but well worth reading for its unique perspective.

40. Our Lady of Mysterious Ailments by TL Huchu

Second in the Edinburgh Nights urban fantasy series, Huchu's continued to provide a well-built world with an unusual look at magic and society. The best part of the book, of course, is the main character, Ropa, a ghost talker who wants to be more and use that more to make a comfortable life for her grandmother and sister. She's smart and resourceful, Huchu voices her perfectly. I'm enjoying the heck out of this series!

Happy new thread, Jim!

Happy new thread, Jim!

>10 FAMeulstee:, >11 SirThomas: Thanks, Anita and Thomas!

Happy new thread!

Hi Jim, and happy new thread.

From your last thread, I’m in a non-thriller genre phase, bodice rippers if you must know, so just put a Library hold on the newest Orphan X for 6/15. I hope to be out of the BR phase by then. 😊

>5 drneutron: Look at you, 89% Library. Even though I’m 9 years older than you are, I still want/need to keep adding books to my overcrowded shelves.

>13 mstrust: Thanks, Jennifer!

>14 karenmarie: Yeah, I'm in a mode where I don't want to add too much to the collection at home. Probably not for a decade or so, but at some point, we'll be downsizing and moving to be closer to The Son, wherever he settles. And frankly, it's not just books - we just need less stuff.

Plus, I pay a lot in taxes to live in a county with a really good library, so I'm gonna take advantage of it! 😀

Oh my goodness, don't mention stuff. I've still got 8-10 sets of twin sheets and we don't have any twin beds set up in the house, although we've got two antique brass twin beds in a storage space upstairs. That's just the tip of the inherited-stuff iceberg. Can you say 7 sets of dishes/china? *shudder*

I'm hoping that when Jenna comes home this summer to regroup and figure out her next step she'll help me go through stuff. I've been holding off for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is making sure I keep what she wants.

Happy new one, Jim!

>16 karenmarie: We're holding on to some things for the son as he moves from grad student living to being gainfully employed. I'm hoping that he'll take some furniture off our hands in particular. 😀

>17 katiekrug: Thanks, Katie!

Happy new thread, Jim. Good luck getting rid of stuff. My kids were never as keen to take things as I'd hoped.

I have moved plenty of times in my life and I can tell you I have too much stuff. Particularly clothes. Since I will be moving a year or so I am also in a cleaning out phase. The one thing I will not be getting rid of is my books. Of course, it is the books that will cost the most to move, since I don't own much furniture. The heaviest item in my house other than my books is my Temperpedic mattress. That thing weighs a ton and is impossible for me to move by myself. I don't have a couch and all of the arm chairs in my house will fit into my Outback. It is the clothes! Since I am a sewer I hate to get rid of them because I made most of them. (I even have the patterns.) If clothes don't have labels in them, donation places will send them straight to the landfill. Then there is one box of fabric.

I do have lots of kitchen stuff - (I have 4 different bundt cake pans.) And of course, there is my liqueur cabinet. Lots of valuable and hard to find cooking stuff in that. But surely, I can find somebody willing to haul that in their car for me - in return for an opened bottle of Chartreuse.

>19 BLBera: Thanks, Beth! I'm seeing some waffling on his part - but the one thing he gets whether he likes it or not is his foosball table. It's been sitting in my basement taking up space for more than a decade now, and it's time he took ownership... 😀

>20 benitastrnad: Don't get me started on mattresses! We bought a Purple mattress (queen-sized, no less) for my mother-in-law. It took three of my friends helping me to get it moved into her apartment, then when she died, another three friends to help me get it on a UHaul truck to go to Texas. I hear the Temperpedics are just as bad!

Happy new thread, Jim. Has your wife's glorious quilt made its way to its place of honour at your place of work? How about a pic?

Speaking of *stuff*, I once heard something that really rings true: we spend the first half of our lives accumulating things, and the last half of our lives trying to get rid of them. I know for me, Decluttering is a full time job, which is good since I am retired... ;-)

>9 drneutron: I'm so pleased you liked The Violin Conspiracy! I thought he was a very promising debut novelist.

Happy new thread.

Such a clutter. My sister and I take after our mother, accumulating, accumulating. Both of us are now living alone in big houses with way too much...ah...STUFF.

What a topic you've broached in this, your latest new thread. There's so much that can be said. Well, have a good one, whatever a good one is to you.

>22 jessibud2: Thanks, Shelley! It's hanging outside the big conference room in the building where we integrate and test spacecraft, so in a pretty good spot. Unfortunately, I can't get a great picture of it hanging there as the hallway isn't wide enough to really get a good shot. But it's been well received by folks.

>23 richardderus: Yup, I'll read his next - I understand he's got another in the works.

>24 weird_O: 😀 I knew the subject would be a popular one!

>20 benitastrnad: Hi, Benita. I'm shocked that thrifts and other donation places will landfill clothes without labels. Do you know why? Maybe it's the unknown fiber content? Seems weird to dump wearable clothing.

I just unpacked my summer clothes, and must say I have too many clothes as well. Hard to know what to give away. It's a good thing I didn't go shopping during the latest heat wave!

Dr. N, you caught me with The Violin Conspiracy, especially as I play the instrument (badly). It must have gotten some good reviews in the media, as there's a long wait list at the library.

>26 ffortsa: I heard about it on NPR one morning and got interested. I suspect many others did too.

Happy New Thread!!

>28 hredwards: Thanks!

Happy new thread!

>15 drneutron: >16 karenmarie: .... Ah stuff. I love/hate my stuff. I'm still addicted to more stuff. I can't contemplate moving, and the idea of having to clear out the bedroom to paint or change carpets is a sort of definition of a nightmare. I still remember living on a bed island under plastic groundcloths while the condo was being re-wired/re-painted. Plaster dusts everywhere, probably still in the bureau crevasses. And I was relatively stuff-lite in those days and could bend in lots more places.

>30 quondame: Thanks, Susan! I'm bending in fewer places these days too... 😀

Happy New Thread mate.

Thanks, John!

Happy new one!

>30 quondame: and DrN: Exactly my problems. I'm reasonably bendable (if I ignore my hamstrings) but Jim and I have a lot more in the bedroom than the last time I had the place painted, about a century ago. And it needs it very badly - I suspect primer and two coats after some small wall repair. That means we will be sleeping in the living room for at least a few days - and we will have to move BOOKS. So it's taking some time to face the task.

Happy new thread, Jim.

Your description of the book reminds me of Trouble in the Brasses - it's in the middle of a mystery series, but relatively stand-alone. Like you, I found the information about an orchestra and its conductor at least as interesting as the mystery.

Lucked out and found a copy of The Violin Conspiracy at one of my libraries (as an ebook) and grabbed it. I'll read it soon, probably.

Happy new thread, Jim!

We all accumulate too much stuff. I’m trying to make some space in my apartment as well, but it isn’t easy. The main problem is books! Of course. Buying books is too much fun, and I support our local booksellers doing it. Letting books go is soo difficult.

>34 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Anita!

>35 ffortsa: We did that - ok, moved into a spare bedroom - when we did the bathroom/bedroom remodel. Glad to be done with it! 😀 also not looking forward to the kitchen remodel we need to do.

>36 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul!

>37 jjmcgaffey: I’ll see if I can find that one.

>38 EllaTim: Thanks, Ella! I’m being pretty merciless about downsizing the books. Fortunately, we have several charities locally that love to take and redistribute books. Plus a book exchange at work. So I think they’re going to good homes.

Some of you may remember my annual battles with groundhogs living under our shed. Haven’t seen any this year (managed to trap and release all of them last year) and about a week ago all the rabbits and squirrels around the house disappeared.

Found out why this morning… while making my morning coffee, I got to watch three juvenile foxes play around the shed. I haven’t seen the mother yet, but it looks like they’ve occupied the old groundhog den. I’m going to try to get pics at some point, but it’s a long distance shot and I’m not sure I’ve got a good enough lens for the camera to see them well.

Happy new thread, Jim!

Yay for foxes! Very cool that you have them as neighbors.

Ooh foxes! That's pretty cool, Jim.

>9 drneutron: Adding Edinburgh Nights to the
>13 mstrust: Gosh darn it I live in a city with one of the best library systems in the world - why the heck don't I make more use of it? Time to dig out the old library card.

>41 scaifea: Thanks, Amber!

>42 lauralkeet: I'd imagine there are some out your way, Laura. They're getting more and more common here.

>43 magicians_nephew: I hope you like the series!

Hi Jim!

We have a queen-sized Tempurpedic bed. I can’t imagine moving it, frankly. I'm definitely looking forward to Jenna coming home to help get rid of stuff.

>40 drneutron: We have ground hogs and I wish a den of foxes moved in and got rid of them all. Squirrels, too, although I would feel bad about the rabbits. Still roasting your own beans?

>44 drneutron: Jim, we walk our dog down a gravel road pretty much every day and there's a certain spot where we've seen a fox scamper across the road more than once. It's nowhere near our house, but close enough that I would not be surprised to see one one our property one of these days.

>45 karenmarie: Yep, still roasting, but not as often as I'd like now that I'm in the office again most days. I've got some Guatemalan beans that have been roasting up pretty nicely, but need to shop soon - almost out!

>46 lauralkeet: Yep. I'm not expecting these to stay long-term. I think the pool of squirrels and rabbits will dry up and they'll move on. Hopefully, it'll be enough to keep the groundhogs away for the summer, though. 😀

We have foxes in the neighborhood, too. I love seeing them.

>48 drneutron: Don't worry about running out of rabbits, Jim. They'll make more.

>50 weird_O: 😀

Just sittin' here chucklin' about everyone's hopes for offspring taking their stuff out of the house. About 50% of what is stored in our attic technically belongs to a person who hasn't really lived here since graduating from college almost 20 years go, and who has resisted all efforts to "go through your stuff". But we're warned against throwing anything away. She'll be sorry one day. If we ever move out, it's ALL going in the dumpster. If we don't, she'll have to deal with it when we're gone. Meanwhile what happens in the attic stays in the attic.

>52 laytonwoman3rd: Heh. Sounds like a sound approach.

>52 laytonwoman3rd: Oye! I recall helping my sister move several vanloads of stuff from my mother's house to her own, including plenty that was in fact wanted by me or our other sister, who lived far away. And I just *finally* unpacked 2 boxes of books that came from mom's place, and sat in boxes for years for lack of any obvious room on my shelves, or time to make room.

>54 ArlieS: We're finally closing in on dispositioning all of my mother-in-law's stuff - only took almost a year after her death. And she was in a small apartment at the end. I can't imagine having to go through my parents' house when they die. And I here there's an attic dumping ground in that one.

My FIL has been purging his stuff already and now I am the storage facility for all the stuff my kids want but don't have room for yet. Well, at least 2 of my 3 kids. The oldest has a house. : )

Someday I'll start going through my stuff. I moved around a lot as a kid and one advantage of that was regularly purging. But I've lived in this house for almost 20 years so....

>54 ArlieS: We've been the repository of the accumulation of stuff from both sides and are now dealing with my MIL's downsizing. There just isn't a totally satisfactory solution to it, other than "Simplify, simplify, simplify!"

Here's the Memorial Day readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/341983

>58 SilverWolf28: I was there in spirit although I didn't show up in your thread until it was over...

>58 SilverWolf28:, >59 fuzzi: I made it, even finished a couple of books - but only on Saturday...

Update Time! Two really good ones this time.



41. Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead

Yet another winner for me from Whitehead, where he really brings to life Harlem of the late 50s and early 60s. Ray Carney's become one of my favorite characters here lately, and I loved following his struggle to care for his family while riding the line between being a legitimate business owner and being pulled into the criminal underground of his father. Like many of Whitehead's books, this one isn't a heist novel or about the crimes themselves, but about how Ray treads this line.



42. Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark

Clark mixes Jim Crowe Georgia in the 1920s with Lovecraftian horror to make a great fantasy novella. We've got monsters disguised at Ku Klux Klaners feeding on hate, African Americans fighting them with guns and magic, ring shouts, a confrontation at the Stone Mountain monument to the Confederacy. I'll say this - Richard's right that Clark's sweet spot is the novella. The pacing here is perfect, and his setting is as imaginative as his previous work. Highly recommended!

>61 drneutron: Oh yay! #42 was a hit for you! I think he's best off leaving novels to people who absolutely knock it out of the park, like #41, every.damn.time.

I think you'll really like the book I reviewed today, Jim. The Redshirt seems to me something that's got "you" written on its title page.

>62 richardderus: Gonna go check that review out now!

>61 drneutron: Dodged those bullets by having already been previously hit. heh. ow.

>64 swynn: I'll have to try harder next time... Got the new Candice Millard on deck, River of the Gods - the story of Burton and Speke looking for the source of the Nile.

>65 drneutron: Rats, I didn't know Millard had a new one. You just got me without even posting a review.

Happy Wednesday, Jim. I am so glad Harlem Shuffle worked for you. It fell short for me. It happens sometimes. I won't get to an audiobook for a while but River of the Gods will be next up.

Harlem Shuffle wasn't a book that I found memorable, but Whitehead does a terrific job of describing the Harlem scene of the late 50's and 60's. When I was reading/listening to it, I could see the streets and the people. His descriptions were so amazing that I think you could smell and touch the scene's as well as visualize them.

I got my plane ticket for the ALA conference in Washington, D. C. so I am getting ready to party! We should start talking about a meetup as the conference starts on Saturday, June 24 and runs through Monday morning June 27, 2022. It will be held at the Washington Convention Center with the Marriott at the Convention Center the headquarters hotel. Registration for the Exhibits only is $75.00 in advance and $120.00 on-site the day of the Conference. If you are interested in going to the exhibits wait just a few days and I may have more information for all of you.

I would like to have an ALA/LT meetup. Last time ALA was in Washington D.C. we had a great meetup with lots of people. (I think there were about 20 people in our group.) We met for Happy Hour at Poets and Busboys on 14th Street. Maybe we can meet there again? I will have more information starting next week, and will let everybody know the latest news as it is available.

>66 swynn: 😁

>67 msf59: You’re gonna like it! But you knew that… 😀

>68 benitastrnad: That was one of the high points for me - the experience of Harlem in the 60s. I get it wasn’t for everyone, this was not a plot-driven book.

>69 benitastrnad: cool! I’ll be waiting to hear what you find out!

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/342128

>71 SilverWolf28: looking forward to it!

Cool! See you there!

Update time!



43. River of the Gods by Candice Millard

Been a fan of Millard’s since River of Doubt, and have been eagerly watching her Facebook page to see what her latest would be. It’s a great rendering of the story of Richard Burton and John Speke looking for the source of the Nile in east Africa, and it’s got the whole shebang I love in exploration stories - disease and disaster, driven and quirky people, conflict over if they did and who did it first…

Loved it! Can’t recommend it highly enough!

44. The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

What’s a Kaiju, you ask? Think Godzilla, or Pacific Rim. Monsters - BIG ones! And they come from a parallel universe. And there’s an NGO dedicated to saving us from them, and them from us. And an out-of-work, down-on-his-luck English major gets recruited to the adventure of his life…

This was one of the funniest books I’ve read in ages. I’m mean, it’s by the author of Redshirts, so it *had* to be good. But I laughed so hard over the vaccination scene that I almost wet my pants, and it got funnier from there. Scalzi spent 2021 writing a pop song of a book that was just what I needed. You *have* to read it!

>74 drneutron: I already have both on hold at the library. Thank goodness, o Raving Book-Bulleteer.

>75 richardderus: Was just about to visit your thread with ‘em as suggestions!

If I remember correctly, congratulations are in order today - All the best, Jim!
And thanks for the many BB's - for example the Susan Ryeland series and of course Joe Scalzi!

Happy Birthday, Jim!

>77 SirThomas:, >78 katiekrug: Thanks, Thomas and Katie! Gonna celebrate by… mowing the grass… 😂

Birthday wishes from me too!

Happy Birthday, Jim.

Thanks, Shelley and Beth!

>79 drneutron: Wow, you know how to celebrate! Ha. Happy birthday Jim!

Happy birthday, Jim!!

Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday! Cake! Liquor! Balloons! Neighbor complaints!

Happy Birthday, Jim! I hope you're having a wonderful day so far.

>84 lauralkeet: Yeah, that’s me - party animal. 😂 Thanks, Laura!

>85 scaifea: Thanks, Amber!

>86 SandDune: Thanks, Rhian!

>87 mstrust: Thanks, Jennifer! At least, there will be rum later. 😀

>88 karenmarie: So far, Karen!

Have you decided what kind of cake you're going to overeat from? It's the only reason to Notice birthdays like this decadal-survey one.

Happy Birthday Jim!

Hope you'r having a perfectly wonderful birthday, Jim!

>90 richardderus: Mrsdrneutron surprised me with a chocolate cheesecake!

>91 quondame: Thanks, Susan!

>92 RebaRelishesReading: So far, so good! 😀

Happy birthday, Jim!

Mowing the grass & chocolate cheesecake as reward sound perfect to me :-)

Happy birthday, Jim. And for that I get smacked with a couple of bbs. I'm thankful for them. Really, I swear it's the truth.

>94 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita! I actually enjoy mowing for the most part - alone time on the mower can be nice.

>95 weird_O: 😀 Happy to help! You’ll enjoy them.

Happy birthday, Jim! Mowing the grass and chocolate cheesecake sounds like an excellent celebration :)

Happy belated birthday!

>97 bell7: Thanks, Mary!

>98 fuzzi: Thanks, fuzzi!

I haven't heard back from the LT people about any free passes to the ALA conference. I did learn that some of them are planning on being there, but they are making last minute plans. They will let me know if there are passes as soon as they know.

I wondered if we should just go ahead and plan a meetup for those who are going to be there, and those who live in the area? In 2019 we met at Poets and Busboys because it was close to the convention center. Would that be a good option? Or should we look at a different place that might be more convenient for those who live in the area?

>100 benitastrnad: I suppose we should ask who might be interested, then see what happens. I'm pretty much only available on Saturday that week. If folks aren't going to the exhibits and just want to get together, lots of options are available depending on who's coming from where.

Happy Birthday, only slightly belated.

And your praise of Kaiju makes me want to read it all the more. It already was on my last, as I like all things Scalzi, but glad to hear it was worth it.

>102 mahsdad: Thanks! I think you'll enjoy it.

>101 drneutron:
I agree. It is just a little over 2 weeks away so I will post in some other threads and see if there is any interest for a meetup and then we can figure out where. Do you remember who was the person in Washington, D. C. who sort of organized the meetup last time?

>104 benitastrnad: I think Nora (norabelle414)...

If you're doing a DC meetup soon, I will opt out this time. Too many people I know have recently come down with covid so I'm staying away from crowds now.

Here a day late to wish you Happy Birthday, Jim!!

>104 benitastrnad:, >105 drneutron: Yep, it was me. I am happy to make a thread in the Meetups group and help organize but my mom is visiting that week so it's unlikely (but not impossible) I'll be able to attend

Happy Birthday Sir!
Better late than never...

Happy Birthday, Happy New Thread (very late)

>109 hredwards:, >110 Kristelh: Never too late for good wishes!

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/342254

Hey, Jim. I am glad to see but not at all surprised that you loved River of the Gods. I just started it today and it feels like another winner. I hope you had a good birthday.

>112 SilverWolf28: Thanks, Silver! Planning to participate this week.

>113 msf59: I did - it was mostly low key relaxation and getting some yard work done.

Update Time!



45. Dark Country by Monique Snyman

In a mix of mystery and magic, Snyman introduces us to paranormal crimes investigator Esmé Snyder, who's chasing a serial killer in Pretoria trying to build his magical power through gruesome killings. It's a bit of a fresh take on the trope, as Snyman's version of magic is different from what we often see in urban fantasy like this from US authors. But outside the cultural differences, it's plotted much like many of these stories - an engaging enough read, but nothing out of the ordinary. Pretty good beach read, I'd imagine.



46. Origin: A Genetic History of the Americas by Jennifer Raff

Back in March, I attended a conference (The one in Montana!) and Raff was a guest speaker - we often have technical but non-space people as keynote speakers at these things. Her talk about how paleogenetics is changing the models for how people migrated from Siberia and East Asia to the Americas was fascinating, and as it turns out, this book was immanent. And it’s a fantastic read - just the right level of science and technology for us non-experts with a good explanation of how her work (and others) lend knowledge to the problem of human arrival in the Americas. Plus, she spends time talking about the bad aspects of how anthropologists and geneticists have interacted with Indigenous people, how a group of them are trying to do better, and how they can do better yet. Fascinating stuff!

Belated "Happy Birthday" from me, Jim. Sorry to have missed it!

Have a wonderful weekend!

>115 drneutron: *ow*ow*ow*ow*

dark and sulphrous mutterings about the abuse of power and the inevitable wages of sin

>116 alcottacre: No worries - Thanks for the good wishes!

>117 richardderus: 😀 Not sorry...

So far now word from LT about the free passes.

I think we should plan a meetup. Are we still thinking about Poets and Busboys for Saturday night? 5:30 - 6 PM? the exhibits close at 5 PM. That should give people time to get there. Or is there another place that somebody local would have in mind? Close to convention center but where we can sit and talk? I also thought of Farmers & Distillers. It is also close, but not as close at Poets.

I don’t know if I’ll make it yet - gotta see what’s on the calendar. I don’t have a preference on location.

Happy Thingaversary! We celebrate on the same day, although you've been here a year longer than I have!

Oh, that's right - yesterday was my 15th Thingaversary! I need to buy some books! 😀

Happy LT Day to you too.

Happy Thingaversary, Jim! 15 years? Can you believe it??

>122 drneutron: hmm. Maybe that's why I've been buying books recently, my 11th Thingaversary is coming up in a couple weeks!

>115 drneutron: Ooh, Origin looks good.

Oh boy! What sixteen books are coming home to celebrate?

>123 msf59: I know, right? Apparently I joined LT just before starting to work on Parker.

>124 fuzzi: 😀 Definitely!

>125 swynn: It is - you should give it a go.

>126 richardderus: There may be a long process for deciding. I might have to hold auditions. Get some independent reviewers. Heck, I might even take a trip to a bookstore!

Happy Thingaversary. Enjoy the process!

>128 Kristelh: Thanks!

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/342385

Thanks! Hopefully I'll get a few hours in.

Update Time!



47. The Family by Naomi Krupitsky

Two women raised together in Brooklyn are best friends, raised together in a Mafia family, and how the disappearance of one of their fathers ripples through their lives. Well written, different sort of view of life in a 30s and 40s Brooklyn surrounded by violence and fear. I really enjoyed it, will be looking for more from this new author.



48. Mountain of the Dead: the Dyatlov Pass Incident by Keith McCloskey

Back in the late 50s in the Soviet Union, ski tourism was a thing - not as we think of tourism, but what we'd call adventure sport. A group of college and post-college amateur athletes went on a winter trip to the top of a mountain in a remote part of the Urals about 400 miles north of Sverdlovsk. When they didn't come back, eventually a search was mounted, and all nine were found dead near their final camp in very unusual circumstances - some evidence of a fight from some, a slashed tent, all the bodies severely underclothes as if they ran out of the tent in a hurry, yet no additional footprints were found and no evidence of struggle was found in the tent.

McCloskey's short book lays out the story as best it can be reconstructed (the investigation was seriously flawed all around), and tries to lay out the possible explanations for what happened. And it's mysterious, because, you know, post-Stalin Soviet Union meant everyone was trying to cover their ass and blame someone or something else. Mcloskey is no Candice Millard, but the story's a fascinating set of events and the mystery isn't close to resolved.

Hey Jim, Happy Weekend, and Happy Thingaversary. It was my 15th as well last month. Amazing how time flies.

>132 drneutron: #48 sounds like the short version left you with questions, so...Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident by Donnie Eichar , resident on my Kindle three-plus years and quite lovely timing for catching my eye.

>133 mahsdad: Ain’t it the truth!

.>134 richardderus: I saw that on the page for McCloskey’s book - gonna hunt that one down too.

I saw the paper about that, published in 2021 and with an explanation for the whole thing (actually, I think I saw a story in ... Smithsonian Magazine? ...about the paper). They've done some more analysis since. I don't know when McCloskey published, or what he concluded (if anything). But here's a site with an overview of the paper and the further analysis.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/03/confirmed-avalanche-is-likeliest-explana...

>136 jjmcgaffey: Have I been oblivious or have you not been around on the treads, Jennifer?

Hi Jim, mate, Happy 15th Thingaversary, doesn't time fly when you are enjoying yourself.

>136 jjmcgaffey: McCliskey covers the avalanche theory (which I think is the likeliest scenario), but also pretty much all the others, including (tongue in cheek) Yeti. But he never draws a conclusion, just offers the alternatives. He published in w010, so about 12 years ago and didn’t have this analysis. Nice article!

>137 quondame: we all seem to fade and jump back in. I’ve been really busy at work, so have been a rare sighting for a bit.

>138 johnsimpson: It does indeed!

>137 quondame: I've been reading pretty steadily, but not enough time to post (even on my own thread!) very much.

I haven't heard back from the LT folks so I would guess that they are not going to ALA. That also probably means that there are no free passes to the exhibits. Would you still like to meetup? Saturday night? I am going to try to hunt down Norabell7's thread and ask her about meeting up. I was thinking that Poets and Busboys was convenient so we could meet there. I will let you know for sure.

I'm game depending on the schedule. A friend needs some help earlier that day with maintenance on an elderly parent's house, but that'll probably be done in time for me to make a meetup in the evening. Ill keep an eye open for the plan and see if I can fit it in.

happy thing-a-versery!

>61 drneutron: I enjoyed "Ring Shout" immensely. It's such a clever take on the KKK and racism in the 20s.

>143 banjo123: Thanks!

>144 ocgreg34: Yup. Clark hit that one out of the park!

>74 drneutron: My friend Caro(formerly Camelling on here ) recommended this one to me. I'm enjoying the heck out of it

Anybody here who is in the Washington D. C. area on June 25, 2022 and might like to meet with other LT members. We will be having an LT meetup at Poets and Busboys, 450 K Street NW, Washington D.C. 20001

We will meet about 6 PM. The exhibits close at 5PM so this will give some of us time to get to Poet's and Busboys.

>146 magicians_nephew: I’ve met Caro! She’s great, isn’t she. Glad you’re enjoying it.

>147 benitastrnad: I’ll see if I can make it.

>141 benitastrnad: From the June "State of the Thing" newsletter that arrived in my email today:

"The American Library Association's 2022 Annual Conference & Exhibition is returning to an in-person event this year for the first time since the pandemic began, and LibraryThing's founder Tim Spalding (timspalding) will be there!

Tim will be showing off an exciting new "Lists" feature for Syndetics Unbound, LibraryThing and ProQuest's (awesome) catalog enrichment product for public and academic libraries. Lists allow libraries to make attractive, custom lists in their catalog, and to share them with other libraries.

Tim will also have a limited supply of TinyCat and LibraryThing pins to give out to LibraryThing fans. (See below for more info.)

The ALA Conference is being held in Washington, D.C., at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. You can find Tim at the ProQuest/Clarivate booth #2507! (Send him a message on LibraryThing or email tim@librarything.com to make sure to connect with him.) "

https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/State_of_the_Thing

Adding my happy thingaversary wishes! I hope it was full of books!

>122 drneutron: Happy Thingaversary, Jim. I just celebrated my 16th in May. Us oldtimers need to stick together, right?

>132 drneutron: Adding both of those to the BlackHole. Thanks for the reviews!

Happy Thingaversary!

>150 mstrust: Thanjs, Mark!

>151 alcottacre: That we do! I hope you like them.

>152 BLBera: Thanks, Beth!

So…. The business trip from hell…

Left Monday to fly to Huntsville, Alabama, for a meeting on Tuesday. 10 minutes before boarding my first flight, it got canceled - no first officer. Sat around the airport working for 5 hours until my rebooked flight, made it to Huntsville late, but not too late.

Meeting went well, had some good barbecue on Ruesday.

Got to the Huntsville airport today, everything was looking great, nice flight to Charlotte with reasonable layover to change planes. Got on the flight to Baltimore, was delayed due to anticipated thunderstorms in Baltimore. Sat on the tarmac 2.5 hours before they brought us back to the gate. Sat around for another 1.5 hours before they canceled because the plane was too hot and they couldn’t cool it down. WTF???

So I’m spending the night in Charlotte and have a 7 PM flight tomorrow - another work-at-the-airport day…

Do not fly right now. The system is completely in collapse. 😱

>154 drneutron: Oh no! Sorry to hear about your travel woes, Jim. Hope everything goes smoothly tomorrow!

Yep, me too! 😀

>154 drneutron: - Should have Zoomed it. Here in Canada, especially in Toronto, the country's largest airport, same thing. I am surprised people are event trying to fly, knowing this. It's one thing if you *have to*. But who wants to spend half their vacation in the airport? And as of this week, almost all covid restrictions for travel have been lifted here (bad move, if you ask me, though no one did), and they say this will make things better and move more quickly. I can't see how. If they are short-staffed, they are short-staffed. Removing restrictions will cause more people to want to travel and if the staffing isn't addressed, I can't see how that makes things better.
Sigh.

>154 drneutron: GROSS

And I totally concur with ^^^ >157 jessibud2:

>157 jessibud2:, >158 richardderus: Yep, I don't understand why anyone would fly if they don't have to right now. This was one of those time for me, but there were tons of people on the plane who were visiting family or going to the beach, etc. Why risk missing days off if you don't have to?

>159 drneutron: we drive to Chicago to visit the granddaughters every July. It's 960 miles one way, so we take our time and stop halfway for the night.

It's not a bad drive, mainly through pretty places like West Virginia, and I always rent a car so we don't have to worry much about breakdowns.

The last time we flew was back in 2018 I think 2016, with an all day delay at O'Hare. They didn't have their stuff together then, either. No more.

>160 fuzzi: We drive to Louisiana pretty much every year to visit the family and such. It's about 1200 miles each way, and like you, we'l stop overnight. No way I'm flying there this year. 😀

I think the biggest problem with the system right now is that there's no capacity margin, which means there's no room recover from unexpected events like weather or a missing crew member. Which means it can take up to three days to get someone where they're going if a flight gets canceled. So we get these cascading events that ripple through the whole system. It's no wonder crew are retiring and ground agents are leaving - I don't think I'd work those jobs either.

>160 fuzzi: Yeah, I am not hearing a lot of good things about the airline industry right now. I hope they get things straightened out soon!

We didn't have any major problems on our trip - train out (Bay Area to Chicago to DC), plane back (DC to Seattle, overnight, and back to Bay Area). Minor delays (under 2 hours on the trains, under an hour on the planes), no cancellations. The overnight was a surprise (noticed a couple weeks before we left), but only because we weren't paying attention when we booked - it was exactly what we booked.

So it's possible to have a good plane trip - but it's purely a matter of luck. As you said, >161 drneutron: the problem is lack of backup/margin for error.

I am soooo thrilled to hear of your travel woes, Jim. NOT! My older son invited me to accompany his family on a trip to Copenhagen, Amsterdam, and Dublin. His daughter Helen is in Copenhagen now, taking an architectural design course. Her flight was routed through Iceland, and I don't think it was delayed. Three of us are supposed to depart for Copenhagen next Thursday and be joined by two others several days later. I've read news reports about delays and disruptions. Well, at least I'll be with family.

>163 jjmcgaffey: You hear so much about the glory days of transcontinental railroad travel - fun to see it still can be accomplished.

When I was in college for no good reason I took a train trip from New York City to Atlanta which was approximately 18 hours. Seats were comfortable and reclined all good lots of pillows, good food in the diner car and waking up to see the dawn coming out over tidewater Virginia out our window.

memorable. Not sure I'd try coast to coast though

I am so not ready to travel. I don't even have a current passport or real ID. And my sister is having her 80th birthday bash in Texas. I don't want to spend a cent in Texas. Grumble.

>163 jjmcgaffey:, >165 magicians_nephew: That does sound like a fun trip. I’ve only done a train ride from Baltimore to New York and Milan to Florence. Both relatively short trips.

>164 weird_O: Well, I hope yours goes better than mine!😀 sounds like a fun trip too!

>166 quondame: Wouldn’t have done this one if there had been an option. 🙄

We took an overnight train from Chicago to Dallas. And Wayne has done the overnighter from New York to Miami. He is more of a fan than I am, but that may be because I had to take the top bunk :-P

When we were contemplating overseas trips for later this year, I was insistent that it had to be somewhere with a direct flight. That doesn't guarantee smooth travel, of course, but it does provide less opportunity for things to go wrong!

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/342518

>154 drneutron: Eek! I'm so glad I don't need to go anywhere outside my driving range.

>165 magicians_nephew: The last time I took an Amtrak train was also the first, and quite possibly the last. Incorrect information in how/where to buy tickets, leaving me forced to download and app and purchase that way; no option for those lacking smart phones. Food that made pre-911 airline food look tasty. (Nothing could make the peanuts and pretzels of current airline fare look tasty.) The seats were OK though, and it was running on time.

I had much better experiences with train travel in Germany, though I don't recall ever trying to buy food on the train. (The food available in the stations was excellent, however.)

>171 ArlieS: OK, I had to check trains from LA to Dallas, and it's possible. I could buy wee compartment. There is some mention of one that is accessible, which has it's own toilet, but no way I could find to book that. It would take about a week for 3 days (on the ground) in Texas. I may chase it a bit more to see if it's a real possibility.

Sorry to hear about your travel problems - hope you have enough books with you....
I wish you a wonderful weekend in spite of everything

Sorry to hear about your traveling woes. I think it's chaotic in any airport. Toronto's is a mess partially due to labor shortages , union issues and the fact that they are now allowing unvaccinated travellers to fly. 50% of the flights are either delayed or cancelled. I would have gone to Europe but have decided to wait until things settle down.

>168 katiekrug: I definitely do nonstops if I can. The fewer elements to go wrong the better. Unfortunately, no nonstops to Huntsville from Baltimore. But I did find out that there are nonstops from Washington National, because, you know, Pentagon/Redstone Arsenal.

>169 SilverWolf28: Thanks! I may not get much reading done this weekend - gonna help a friend's elderly parent do some home maintenance.

>170 ArlieS:, >171 ArlieS: Yeah, safest to stay put. 😀 I will say the "food" experience on the Amtrak I took from Baltimore to NYC was pretty miserable.

>172 quondame: You'd at least be traveling through some pretty country!

>173 SirThomas: I always travel with 2 paper books and my iPad with at least a couple loaded up. I can't imagine getting stuck on a long flight with a book I don't like and no alternatives. 😀

>174 figsfromthistle: It is. Charlotte was especially bad because it's an American Airlines hub, so a hit there ripples through the entire system.

I hope you have a fantastic Friday, Jim, and that your traveling woes are soon forgotten.

I travel by train frequently between Toronto and Montreal (a 5-hour trip each way) and while the food option is not as good as it used to be, I still will often pack my own lunch to bring along. Sometimes the best option. And yes, at the very least, 3 to 5 book options, in case I finish/don't like/ or am not in the mood for. And there are 2 local bookstores I frequent in Mtl to help, in case none of the ones I pack are enough. We do what we need to do, right? ;-)

>176 alcottacre: The woes are fading fast. 😀

>177 jessibud2: Yes we do!

And just to cap off the week, tested positive for Covid. Only symptom is a runny nose, but really?! *sigh*

You've had a really tough week! Crawl in a hole and pull the hole in after you.
Hopefully your version of Covid will be the easy one, just cold-like symptoms. I hope next week is better for you!

>165 magicians_nephew:, >167 drneutron: I actually did a similar trip...good lord, nearly 40 years ago. DC to San Diego, via Chicago, on my way to college. It was enormous fun (I was 18! Everything new was fun...). If I recall correctly, I went coach the whole way, no bed; and I don't remember the food at all. If I could find the printout of the notes I took on the trip, I'd know more...I stopped off in Chicago to visit family there, so broke the trip a little; I don't remember being late. But again, I really want to read my notes.

This trip was my mom and me, and we got a room. There are three levels - coach, which is a seat (slightly better than modern airline seats) and toilet down the hall; roomette, which either has no toilet or has one hiding under one of the two seats in the space, but no sink (so you still need to go down the hall to wash your hands), and the two seats turn into one (twin-ish sized) bed and there's a pulldown cot-sized top bunk; and room, which has a tiny little toilet room which is also the shower (rather neat, if somewhat claustrophobic), a sofa and a chair and a tiny table in between, a sink and some cabinets. The sofa turns into an almost-full size bed (full, double, you know, that size), and there's a pull-down twin-ish sized upper bunk.

The other thing is that if you get a sleeping space (room or roomette), it includes meals. If you get a coach seat you can buy meals in the "cafe", which did not appeal. The dining car had adequate to quite decent meals - nothing exciting, but nothing too awful (that we chose). A room is _extremely_ expensive - $2000 or so for the whole trip, for one person, and over $3000 for the two of us. But worth it. The other thing getting a sleeping space gives is access to the lounge in the stations - a place to leave suitcases, snacks, wifi, space to sit...Very useful, both in Chicago and in DC.

It worked rather well for us. I sleep in a loft bed at home, so had no problem taking the upper bunk. There's two basic cross-continental routes, and we took the northern one (same as I did going to college); I'd love to do the southern route some time. Saw some gorgeous stuff - they time the trip to do the Rockies in daylight, for instance (I saw a herd of mountain goats (sheep?)! Those things are huge - I thought they were ponies at first). Fascinating geology, too. You don't get to get out very much, or for very long - 15 minutes was a long stop. But we took advantage to get a little movement in, there's not a lot of room to walk on the train (even tramping up and down the corridors, the spaces are extremely tight).

There were very different setups on the trip from Chicago to DC...no dining car? Or just much more limited meals, or something. We got on after dinner and got off just after lunchtime - and didn't eat lunch, since we knew we were going to DC's Union Station and there was good food there. So we basically had (a rather basic, but tasty) breakfast on that train.

I took notes on this trip too, but I need to consolidate them.

>180 mstrust: Yeah, me too!

>181 jjmcgaffey: sounds like a fun trip!

>179 drneutron: Well, isn't that just the moldy cherry on top of this shit sundae of a day.

Yup. But at least I’ll get some reading done this weekend.

Happy belated birthday and Thingaversary!! Sorry about your airplane woes. I just keep hearing about them and now I am not excited to try and see my parents this summer...Sigh. And I am wishing you a happy weekend of reading while you recover from COVID. Dang it. My FIL was exposed and is quarantining and so now he can't pop in and say Hi! at the bridal shower tomorrow at his condo's rooftop. It will be weird to be in the same building without him. So done with C. Oh, am I whining? Sorry. : )

>185 Berly: No worries - we’re all a bit whiney these days.

Travel plans are not something to be entered into lightly these days, I guess, Jim.

Have a great weekend buddy and I am sorry I missed your birthday with my own family issues over the last week or two.

>187 PaulCranswick: No worries - things have been rough for you lately.

Covid Update Time!



49. Rouge Street by Xuetao Shuang

In spite of the harsh setting - Yanfen Street, Rouge Street, in a north China city - Xuetao Shuang (and translator Jeremy Tiang) brings us characters living, loving, and losing life. Hauntingly beautiful comes to mind, with a dash of magical realism. Good stuff.



50. Hide by Kiersten White

14 people join a hide-n-seek game worth $50K to the last person standing. Except this gets very Lovecraftian pretty soon, ‘cause there’s more going on than they’ve been told.

White’s story is pretty good, decently written, character forward. After this one, I’ll definitely read more of her stuff.



51. Ordinary Monsters by J. M. Miro

Fantasy, but really horror, about Talented children and the plots swirling around them. Miro’s one to watch.

Just to let you know, Jim, your last post was the 1,000th on your threads this year. Way to go Doc Roc!

My trip,was very smooth. No delays in Charlotte. Train ride into D.C. was smooth. Got in early enough that I had to wait on my hotel room.

>190 PaulCranswick: oh, wow! Didn’t realize. But I noticed the other day that I’ll probably have more threads this year than in previous.

>191 benitastrnad: I’m glad! Wouldn’t wish that experience on anyone. How was the meetup?

Morning, Jim!

Tomm's been having nightmare trips lately, too, with flights being canceled and such. Crazy.

>189 drneutron: Well, you got me with #49 and #51. The Miro is one I've been wavering about but you make it sound irresistible.

Have a lovely week-ahead's reads.

>193 scaifea: I feel his pain… 😀

>194 richardderus: I think you’ll like both!

>183 richardderus: Lovely turn of phrase. I'll try to remember it, and use it myself some time.

>184 drneutron: I admire your ability to look on the bright side.

>185 Berly: We all need to whine sometimes.

>196 ArlieS: 😀 I've always been a bit of an optimist, I suppose. And I actually did get a fair amount of reading done.

Taking a BB for Hide, looks good!

>196 ArlieS: It's so universally applicable, isn't it.

>198 mstrust: Enjoy!

>199 richardderus: Yup.

Here's the Fourth of July readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/342669

Have been seriously neglecting my thread. Update Time!



52. A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians: A Novel by H. G. Parry

The French Revolution as led by magicians. If you liked Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, this will likely work for you. I love how Parry has taken the British and French history of the time and woven this magical story into it. Really, one of my faves of the year so far!



53. Alaric the Goth: An Outsider's History of the Fall of Rome by Douglas Boin

I knew Alaric led the Goths to sack Rome in 410 AD, one of the events that supposedly led to the breakup of the Western Empire and the “Dark Ages”. But of course, the story is much more complicated. Alaric was born on the empire’s border along the Danube, and spent his life bouncing between his Gothic heritage and trying to be Roman. And in the end became a real, fascinating person. Boin brings him to life nicely, though not without imposing some of his modern thoughts and attitudes onto the Alaric portrait he paints.



54. The Riddler: Fantastic Puzzles from FiveThirtyEight by Oliver Roeder

Math, logic, and statistical puzzles from Roeder’s online column, “The Riddler”. These are fun, and in some cases, true stumpers that I even wrote up a simulation or two to check out. If you’re a math lover, this will be your jam. If you twitch at the thought of algebra, well, probably not for you…



55. Hell's Half-Acre: The Untold Story of the Benders, a Serial Killer Family on the American Frontier by Susan Jonusas

Southeast Kansas, early 1870s. People traveling along the Osage Mission Trail began disappearing. A family named Bender, who ran a traveler’s rest stop from their house on a homestead along the trail, became the first really big serial killer story in the US. And got away with it - disappearing into the frontier after the heat got to be too much.

Jonusas reconstructs the story from public records, wading through all the hype and outright made-up stuff printed in the papers of the time, to try to get at reality. Mostly with some success, but not as well done as my favorite narrative nonfiction authors. It’s a solid book, but not as captivating as it could have been.

I'm very behind on the threads. Just been skimming through and saw your travel post. Sorry you had such a bad trip. Air travel is in the same state here in Australia, although we hear more about it during school holidays when a lot more people are traveling. They seem to blame it on staff and crew being out sick with covid and no one being available to replace them. I think they can't replace them because they can't entice people back to the industry after jobs were lost during lock down.

Yep, I think that's a lot of it. I know here in the US, the airlines offered early retirement packages to pilots when covid hit, many of them took it, now we're paying the price.

>204 drneutron: they also fired a bunch of pilots who didn't want to take the Covid shots. And now a number of those pilots are being forced to retire due to myocarditis, a possible side effect of the shots.

I don't plan to fly again, unless my grandchildren relocate to California.

Yeah, I'm not getting on a plane anytime soon if I can help it.

>202 drneutron: That sounds interesting. I like books on subjects like that, kind of historical mysteries. Have you read anything by Harold Schechter?

>207 hredwards: I read his book about Earle Nelson back in 2015, Bestial: The Savage Trail of a True American Monster. It was good, so put a few more of his on my wishlist.

Thanks for the comments on Roar of the Sea, Jim. I'm always looking for books for my dad, who only reads nonfiction, and he loved this one. He lived in Alaska for many years, so he appreciably it even more.

>202 drneutron: Can't resist The Riddler: Fantastic Puzzles from FiveThirtyEight , but the book about Alaric sounds pretty interesting too.

>209 BLBera: Great! Glad he liked it.

>210 swynn: 😀 Yeah, that one was fun. I think you'd like the Alaric one as well.

>202 drneutron: Too bad that Hell's Half-Acre wasn't better, I would have picked that one up too. That was one messed-up "family".
As >207 hredwards: was referencing, Schechter wrote a really fascinating book of the Benders called Little Slaughterhouse on the Prairie. Very well researched.

>212 mstrust: Ah. I need to find that one!

>212 mstrust: I was trying to remember the name of it, it was good. Pretty quick read.
I also enjoyed a book of his called Hell's Princess about Belle Gunness who killed a bunch of men on her farm, and the first one I read was Depraved about H. H. Holmes. I read it and enjoyed it, and then The Devil In The White City by Eric Larson came out which seemed to be much the same and kind of stole the thunder from Depraved I felt, as I think Devil was more popular. But I enjoyed both.

The Devil in the White City was much more of a larger perspective on the times. While Holmes played a pivotal role in the narrative, its just as much about the world's fair and architecture and landscape architecture and the race to electrical prominence.

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/342791

>215 blackdogbooks: I definitely enjoyed Devil in the White City, more for the World’s Fair story then Holmes. But I’d be willing to give Schecter’s take on Holmes a go.

>216 SilverWolf28: Thanks, Silver!

>215 blackdogbooks:
I agree with you about Devil in the White City. I think that Larson spends too much time setting up conflict where there isn't any in all of his books. I thought this tactic was especially egregious in Isaac's Storm. That said - I continue to read Larson's books and just finished Thunderstruck. I liked it for the succinct history of Marconi's development of radio. The murder - meh.

All the best to you and your family, Jim - have a wonderful weekwnd!

Thanks, Thomas!

>214 hredwards: I also read Hell's Princess and was so impressed with Schechter's research of that horrible woman. Recommended!
I haven't read Depraved, so thanks for the rec. I've read his Maniac: The Bath School Massacre.
I read The Devil in the White City and found the chapters about Holmes were the ones that moved quickly while the chapters about getting the fair put together were a series of "then this guy joined and they had a meeting." Once the fair was opened it became more interesting.

Hey everyone, gonna be sparse around here until later this week. I’m in the middle of rural North Carolina doing some disaster recovery work and there’s hardly cell service, much less internet. See you soon!

Hi, Jim. You nearly got me with Hell's Half-Acre. I really like the premise. Speaking of nonfiction, I am thoroughly enjoying The Immortal Irishman by our man Egan. If this isn't on your radar it should be.

>221 mstrust: We seem to have the same taste in serial killers. ;)
He has a book on Ed Gein also, but I haven't read it yet. I did read one of his about a boy murderer named Jesse Pomeroy that was very interesting also, can't think of the name. I'll have to check out Maniac.

>224 hredwards: Ha! I guess so, and now I've started writing true crime myself, so I'm picking out terrible people to research. It really takes a certain type of person ;-D
The Pomeroy book is called Fiend:The Schocking True Story of America's Youngest Serial Killer. I haven't read it, or the Gein, which I probably won't read. Gein really creeps me out.
I wonder if Jim realized the conversation his one book review would start?

>225 mstrust: I was just thinking I guess we kind of took over...
I like Schechter's detail and research and sometimes I wonder how he gets through the day dealing with all that creepiness.

>223 msf59: onto the list it goes…

>224 hredwards:, >225 mstrust:, >226 hredwards: Have at it! I’m collecting book ideas!

>226 hredwards: I looked at his list of books and wondered the same thing! Maybe he's really into aromatherapy ;-D

>227 drneutron: Thanks for being cool!

>186 drneutron: Okay so now I really am shining. COVID round two and I wound up in ER yesterday for asthma flare. Soooo done with this!! But today I can breathe so I am hoping this round is over soon.

>202 drneutron: Great reviews and they seem to have really kicked off a killer conversation! (get it?!)

>228 mstrust: >226 hredwards: Hi guys! ^^ LOL

I just got a National Geographic link to see photos from the new NASA telescope. Can't wait to check them out! Happy Tuesday.

>227 drneutron: Reverse book bullets?

>229 Berly: Love the killer conversation comment and the aromatherapy comment also. You both made me laugh.

I'm enjoying the pictures from the new telescope, also. Amazing.

>222 drneutron: - "doing some disaster recovery work "

Did the solar probe fall out of the sky?!?!

*smirk*

>231 hredwards: I was looking at the new space pictures last night. They're spectacular. Deep space isn't just a black void to me now, it's incredibly beautiful.

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/342888

>228 mstrust: No problem!

>229 Berly: Wow! I hope you’re recovering! Lovin’ the convo.

Webb’s pics are stunning!

>230 jjmcgaffey: Yup! Bringin’ ‘em to me!

>231 hredwards: I’ve got friends who worked on the telescope for most of their careers. This is a great finale!

>232 katiekrug: 😀 Nah, we’ve been in North Carolina working on a building used as a food pantry. They operate on a shoestring, but still give away more than 200 boxes of food a week and provide over 500 free hot meals a week to a pretty poor area. Spent the time tearing down and rebuilding a ramp they use to run pallet jacks of food in and out of the building. Plus helped pack their give-away boxes this week.

It was a great time using my hands to get something useful done, but man, it was hot! 😀

>233 mstrust: Yup. And many of those things that look like stars are galaxies with billions of stars in them. Just astonishing.

>234 SilverWolf28: Thanks, Silver!

>235 drneutron: we’ve been in North Carolina working on a building used as a food pantry.
Oh wow, that sounds like time well spent, Jim. And here I thought it was boring work-related travel ...

>235 drneutron: Good on you, Jim!! Hope you get some cool time to recover from the heat now.

>236 lauralkeet: Nah, definitely not boring. Work, but not *work* work. 😀

>237 RebaRelishesReading: We finished up on Friday and since we were less than an hour from Myrtle Beach decided to VRBO a condo on the beach for the weekend. Home now, slightly burnt, had a great time!

Welcome back! Glad you were able to get a bit of sun and enjoy the beach!

>239 figsfromthistle: Thanks! It was very relaxing!

Come join in the new chapter!

>222 drneutron: whereabouts were you?

I'm catching up on neglected threads...

>242 fuzzi: Whiteville/Tabor City area, nearly to Myrtle Beach.