Alcott Acre's Home, Room 3

Well, let's get the introduction out of the way. My name is Stasia and I have been happily married to the recently retired Kerry for almost 36 years. We have 6 children, 4 of whom are my stepchildren and 2 of whom are ours together. We also have 8 grandchildren. 2023 was a tough year for our family as we lost my father and stepdaughter, Nichole, within days of each other back in February.

I love to read and it has been a huge solace to me over the past year - I call it "burying myself in books." Since Kerry retired December 29th, it is going to be interesting to see how his retirement affects my reading! I am playing it safe and just shooting for 100 books read this year. I also suffer from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (known to me familiarly as 'stupid CFS') and it seems like my bouts are becoming longer each time it springs up, so it affects my reading for the worse. CFS drives me crazy because I hate sleeping!

That's about it, I think, so come on in and grab a cuppa!

Excellent Reads from 2024 (in the order in which I read them):

5 Stars
84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
Before She Was Harriet by Lesa Cline-Ransome
Cold Crematorium by Jozsef Debreczeni
King: A Life by Jonathan Eig
An Ordinary Man by Paul Rusesabagina
The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard

4.5 Stars
Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man by Emmanuel Acho
The Face in the Frost by John Bellairs
A Man's Place by Annie Ernaux
Heading North by Holly M. Wendt
Survival in Auschwitz by Primo Levi
Derring-Do for Beginners by Victoria Goddard
Thirteen Doorways Wolves Behind Them All by Laura Ruby
Bleak House by Charles Dickens
The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne
How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair
Storm of Steel by Ernst Junger
The Postcard by Anne Berest
A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
An Interrupted Life and Letters from Westerbork by Etty Hillesum
Foster by Claire Keegan

4.25 Stars
The Serial Garden by Joan Aiken
Freezing Order by Bill Browder
A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon
The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
The Witness for the Dead by Katherine Addison
All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews
My Hair Is a Garden by Cozbi A. Cabrera
Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts by Rebecca Hall and Hugo Martinez
Code Girls by Liza Mundy
Enchantment: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age by Katherine May
Strangers in Death by J.D. Robb
The Six: The Untold Story of America's First Women Astronauts by Loren Grush
The Art of the Wasted Day by Patricia Hampl
English Creek by Ivan Doig
Gin, Turpentine, Pennyroyal, Rue by Christine Higdon
Eden Mine by S. M. Hulse
Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher

For the past 2 years, I have concentrated on reading the works of one author in particular. In 2022, I read through all of Jane Austen’s works. In 2023, I read all of the volumes of In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust. For 2024, I have decided to do something a bit different and, using Classics for Pleasure by Michael Dirda as a guide, am going to go through each of the chapters of the book and select one work from each.

So for March we have:

Love's Mysteries:
Poems and Fragments by Sappho
Arthurian Romances: The Knight with the Lion by Chretien de Troyes, Tristan by Gottfried von Strassburg, or Parzival by Wolfram von Eschenbach
The Princes of Cleves by Marie-Madeleine de la Fayette
Diary of a Seducer by Soren Kierkegaard
Modern Love by George Meredith
Collected Poems by C. P. Cavafy
The Grand Sophy, Venetia, Friday's Child, Cotillion, or A Civil Contract by Georgette Heyer - My pick for the month is Cotillion - Completed March 29, 2024
Selected poetry by Anna Akhmatova
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

What would you have chosen? Why?

So for February we have:

Heroes of Their Time:
Beowulf
Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings by Abolqasem Ferdowsi
Njal Saga, Laxdaela Saga, Grettir Saga, Egil Saga (The Icelandic Sagas)
Plays and Poems by Christopher Marlowe
Germinal and other novels by Emile Zola
Storm of Steel by Ernst Junger - Completed February 28, 2024
Let Us Now Praise Famous Men by James Agee

So for January we have:

Playful Imaginations:
The True History; Lucius, or The Ass; Dialogues of the Dead by Lucian
Rameau’s Nephew by Denis Diderot
Crochet Castle by Thomas Love Peacock
Seven Men; A Christmas Garland; Zuleika Dobson by Max Beerbohm
The Good Soldier Svejk by Jaroslav Hasek
Brothers and Sisters; Manservant and Maidservant by Ivy Compton-Burnett
The Best of S.J. Perelman by S.J. Perelman - Completed January 9, 2024
Invisible Cities; The Castle of Crossed Destinies; If on a winter’s night a traveler by Italo Calvino
Amphigorey; Amphigorey Too; Amphigorey Also; Amphigorey Again by Edward Gorey

Shared reads:

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman - Completed February 14, 2024
Derring-Do for Beginners by Victoria Goddard - Completed February 12, 2024
The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne - Completed February 18, 2024
An Interrupted Life by Etty Hillesum - Completed March 30, 2024
Martin Dressler by Steven Milhauser - Completed March 5, 2024
The Hand of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard - Completed March 25, 2024
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell - Completed March 16, 2024
The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki - April? With Mark and Laura
The Razor’s Edge by W. Somerset Maugham - May with Mark and Jim
Here I Am by Jonathan Safran Foer - May with Kim
The Winter Soldier by Daniel Mason - August? with Mark, Ellen, and Linda P
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson - September with Mary (bell7)
Bound to Please by Michael Dirda - December with Ellen and Benita

March's TIOLI Challenges:

Challenge #1: Read a book with the common name of a fish in the title or subtitle
The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard - Completed March 25, 2024

Challenge #2: Read a book whose author has three names (or initials) - started by wandering_star
Eden Mine by S.M. Hulse - Completed March 31, 2024
Salvation in Death by J.D. Robb - Completed March 24, 2024
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell - Completed March 16, 2024

Challenge #3: The “It’s My Birthday Challenge” - Read a book that has either the numbers 03, 14, or 62 (each in the respective order) in its ISBN number
The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny - Completed March 22, 2024

Challenge #4: One word, many syllables: Read a book whose title has only one word, but the word is polysyllabic
Cotillion by Georgette Heyer - Completed March 29, 2024
Foster by Claire Keegan - - Completed March 31, 2024
Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut - Completed March 3, 2024

Challenge #5: Read a book where there is at least one embedded word of 3 letters or more in the author’s name
A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote - Completed March 2, 2024
Etty Hillesum: An Interrupted Life the Diaries, 1941-1943 and Letters from Westerbork by Etty Hillesum - Completed March 30, 2024
The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman - Completed March 30, 2024
Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher - Completed March 31, 2024
Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith - Completed March 5, 2024

Challenge #6: Saint Patrick's Day SHAMROCK rolling title challenge
All the Little Bird-Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow - Completed March 15, 2024
Cold Crematorium by József Debreczeni - Completed March 4, 2024
Martin Dressler by Steven Millhauser - Completed March 5, 2024

Challenge #7: Read a book for the Zodiac challenge (Pisces - cover w/ two (2) or more fish OR a mirror image/reflection)
A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow - Completed March 27, 2024

Challenge #8: Read a book connected to "the movies"
Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier - Completed March 8, 2024
An Ordinary Man by Paul Rusesabagina - Completed March 10, 2024

Challenge #9: Read a book about fire or with a picture of fire on the cover
Summer of the Dragon by Elizabeth Peters
Walk Through Fire by Yasmine Ali - Completed March 18, 2024

Challenge #10: Read a book where the author shares your first name or mine
Q’s Legacy by Helene Hanff - Completed March 10, 2024

Challenge #11: Read one of the Times Must-Read Books of 2023 (see list)
King: A Life by Jonathan Eig - Completed March 6, 2024

Challenge #12: Read a book that is set or was published in the 1960s
The Fairacre Festival by Miss Read - Completed March 7, 2024

Challenge #13: Read a book written by a Canadian and published in the last 5 years
Gin, Turpentine, Pennyroyal, Rue by Christine Higdon - Completed March 15, 2024

Black Studies Reading
Must reads for this year: King: A Life by Jonathan Eig and When We Ruled by Robin Walker
1. Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man by Emmanuel Acho - Completed January 5, 2024
2. Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts by Rebecca Hall and Hugo Martinez - Completed February 2, 2024
3. Before She Was Harriet by Lesa Cline-Ransome - Completed March 1, 2024
4. King: A Life by Jonathan Eig - Completed March 6, 2024

Jewish Studies Reading
Must reads for this year: The Instructions by Adam Levin and Jewish Literacy: The Most Important Things to Know About the Jewish Religion, Its People and Its History by Joseph Telushkin
1. 28 Days by David Safier - Completed January 25, 2024
2. The Archive Thief by Lisa Moses Leff - Completed January 28, 2024
3. Survival in Auschwitz by Primo Levi - Completed February 3, 2024
4. Cold Crematorium by József Debreczeni - Completed March 4, 2024
5. Etty Hillesum: An Interrupted Life the Diaries, 1941-1943 and Letters from Westerbork by Etty Hillesum - Completed March 30, 2024

Series Reading - I will post these as I read them:

The In Death series by J.D. Robb
Creation in Death - Completed January 3, 2024
Random in Death - Completed February 6, 2024
Strangers in Death - Completed February 22, 2024
Salvation in Death - Completed March 24, 2024

The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon
A Breath of Snow and Ashes - Completed January 18, 2024

The St. Mary’s books by Jodi Taylor
What Could Possibly Go Wrong? - Completed February 29, 2024

The Decker/Lazarus series by Faye Kellerman
Grievous Sin - Completed January 31, 2024

The Three Pines series by Louise Penny
The Brutal Telling - Completed March 22, 2024

The Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear
An Incomplete Revenge

The Jackson Brodie series by Kate Atkinson
One Good Turn

The Shetland Series by Ann Cleeves
White Nights

The War Literature Challenge - I will be attempting to read at least 2 books toward each monthly challenge.

JANUARY - The Ancients (Greeks, Romans etc)
A War Like No Other by Victor Davis Hanson - Completed January 9, 2024
The Battle of Salamis by Barry Strauss - Completed January 31, 2024
Persian Fire by Tom Holland - Completed January 29, 2024

FEBRUARY - The American War of Independence
Killing England by Bill O’Reilly - Completed February 3, 2024
Unlikely Allies by Joel Richard Paul - Completed February 22, 2024

MARCH - WILDCARD - Pick your own fight! (at least 2 of these):
An Ordinary Man by Paul Rusesabagina - Completed March 10, 2024
The Girl Who Smiled Beads by Clemantine Wamariya and Elizabeth Weil
Life Laid Bare, Machete Season, and The Antelope's Strategy by Jean Hatzfeld

APRIL - Wars of Religion

MAY - The Napoleonic Wars

JUNE - The English Civil War

JULY - Colonial Wars

AUGUST - World War Two

SEPTEMBER - The American Civil War

OCTOBER - American Follies (Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan and the Gulf Wars)

NOVEMBER - World War One

DECEMBER - The Spanish Civil War

The “Read More Sci-Fi” Challenge - using the Esquire list found here (https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/g39358054/best-sci-fi-books/) and the book Science Fiction, The 101 Best Novels, 1985-2010 by Damien Broderick and Paul di Filippo as guides
1. The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers - Completed January 22, 2024 (Esquire List #29)
2. The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut - Completed February 25, 2024 (Esquire List #18)
3. Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut - Completed March 3, 2024 (From the book - 1985)
4. The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell - Completed March 16, 2024 (From the book - 1996)

The “Indie List” Challenge with the list supplied by Berly
1. All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews - Completed January 29, 2024
2. The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne - Completed February 18, 2024
3. Eden Mine by S.M. Hulse - Completed March 31, 2024

The Around the World in 80 Novels Challenge inspired by the book of the same name. I want to try and expand my reading horizons to places I have rarely or never been. In addition to reading from the book that inspired this challenge, I will also be using Around the World in 80 Books as a reference.
1. The Missing File by D.A. Mishani - (Israel) Completed January 31, 2024
2. Bleak House by Charles Dickens - (England) Completed February 16, 2024
3. Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier - (England) - Completed March 8, 2024

The Monthly Nonfiction Challenge - I try to read at least 100 nonfiction books a year and this challenge is instrumental in helping me achieve that goal. Last year, I was just short with only 96 nonfiction reads in the year, so I am hoping to improve that number in 2024!
January The Archive Thief by Lisa Moses Leff - Completed January 28, 2024
February Code Girls by Liza Mundy - Completed February 12, 2024
February The Six: The Untold Story of America's First Women Astronauts by Loren Grush - Completed February 24, 2024
March Written in Bones by Paul Bahn (editor) - Completed March 16, 2024

The American Authors Challenge - This is one that I dip into and out of as the case may be
January The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain - Completed January 11, 2024
February Reborn: Journals & Notebooks 1947-1963 by Susan Sontag - Completed February 8, 2024
March A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote - Completed March 2, 2024

The British Authors Challenge - I have never participated in this one before and I suspect that, like the American Authors Challenge, it will be one into which I dip only on occasion
January The Serial Garden by Joan Aiken - Completed January 4, 2024
February Between Two Thorns by Emma Newman - Completed February 16, 2024

Now we are waiting for paint to dry, water to boil, and Touchstones to load. . .

Hai Stasia! How are ya? Also Happy New thread!

You are quite the busy reader with all those challenges. I enjoy how you have them all nicely organized :)

Happy new one

Happy new thread, Stasia.

Happy new thread!

Happy-Wednesday and -new thread *smooch*

Whew...I'm tired just reading your wonderfully organized opening posts!

I tried reading a classic every month or so, but gave up after about a year. I just don't have the quiet nor time to devote to something that deserves my undivided attention.

I did like Beowulf, reread it to understand it better.

Most of your other choices I've never heard of. So many books...

Oh, and starred!

Happy new thread, Juana. xx

Happy new thread!

>11 alcottacre: Hey, Lily! Nice to see you here! Thanks.

>12 Owltherian: Thanks, Anita. If I do not keep my challenges organized, I get completely lost, lol.

>13 figsfromthistle: >14 katiekrug: >15 drneutron: Thank you, Katie, Jim, and Richard.

>16 richardderus: If you have not tried the Seamus Heaney edition of Beowulf, I recommend that one. I read it several years ago here in the group.

>17 fuzzi: >18 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul and foggi fuzzi!

You're welcome!

Happy New Thread, Stasia!

>21 Owltherian: *Grin*

>22 vancouverdeb: Thanks, Deborah!

Well, that was interesting. I was cooking a stew for lunch today and had put the glass lid, which I have used numerous times, on top of the Dutch oven - and it shattered less than 2 minutes after I did. So, no stew for lunch today as I do not care to eat glass and I daresay, neither does Kerry. *sigh*

oh nooooo, i hope you got all the glass out eventually. For lunch i had some weird tasting chilli spaghetti from my school- which i wouldn't trust them with and some also weird tasting veggies.

Happy new thread, Stasia! So strange about the glass lid shattering. I've heard of that happening to others -- like you, it's always a lid they've been using for years that just decides to give up 🤷‍♀️

>24 alcottacre: Yikes! Sorry about your stew!

>25 Owltherian: Chili over spaghetti noodles is a weird Ohio thing, speaking as a transplant from several other places where this doesn't happen. I particularly dislike "Cincinnati Chili," which has a weird cinnamon-y flavor, in addition to being served over spaghetti. But I also recall school food being generally weird.

>27 foggidawn: Im pretty sure we mix chocolate in ours- not sure really though since its okayish. I remember when our school served lasagna- it was nasty

>28 Owltherian: Nasty lasagna is not okay! Lasagna should always be delicious!

>29 foggidawn: It was so hard and it was not good at all- and they don't even cook the fries basically they are raw soft potato sticks

>20 alcottacre: I'm fuzzi ;)

Happy Wednesday, Stasia! Happy New Thread. Sorry to hear about the stew. Bummer. I ended up really enjoying The Talented Mr. Ripley and may consider reading the next one in the series. I want to catch on some of my Watership Down: Graphic Novel and then I will start Martin Dressler later tomorrow or on Friday.

Happy new thread, Stasia!

Karen O

Happy new thread, Stasia! I hope that the CFS is easing off.

Happy new thread Stasia! Love all your book ideas at the start of your threads! Oh and me too, hoping that the CFS is gone.

>25 Owltherian: We did not even try and get the glass out, Lily. We had something else for lunch. Since I cook every day except Sundays, we always have plenty of leftovers.

As far as your school lunch goes, it is a wonderful argument for learning how to cook!

>26 curioussquared: Hey, Natalie! It was very strange, I must say - and ruined a perfectly lovely stew.

>27 foggidawn: Thanks, foggi.

>28 Owltherian: Chocolate in spaghetti? Weirder than weird.

>29 foggidawn: Definitely agree with that!

>31 fuzzi: Sorry about that! Now fixed.

>32 msf59: I am still waiting for Strangers on a Train to arrive from the library, Mark. I will see how I get on with it before venturing further into Highsmith's work, but glad to hear that you enjoyed The Talented Mr. Ripley.

>33 klobrien2: Thank you, Karen!

>34 Familyhistorian: Thanks, Meg. Unfortunately not yet.

>35 mdoris: Thanks, Mary. I hope my ideas give you ideas :)

>36 alcottacre: Yep, all i know how to cook is Grilled Cheese and things like that

>37 Owltherian: You have to start somewhere! The first thing my mother taught me how to cook was French toast.

>38 alcottacre: My mother didn't teach me much before she passed, just how to not act when you have kids, it was my father and his gf who taught me to make bread and baked goods.

I think there is chocolate in Mexican cooking. Isn't that what mole sauce is made from?

>39 Owltherian: I am sorry about your mother, Lily, but happy to hear that your father and his gf have taught you some baking basics.

>41 alcottacre: Yeah, i have a great stepmom now, and she taught me how to make chicken and dumplings! Its always delish.

>41 alcottacre: That is great, Lily!

I am off to take a nap. . .

>43 alcottacre: Welp, im sure i will be back when your back. Have a great nap!

Happy new thread, Stasia!

From your previous thread:
Sorry you didn't finish all the books you wanted to read, I am in the same situation. February 2024 is going to be my worst month since 2017... And I have no better hope for the next months.

Happy new thread Stasia!

>44 Owltherian: Thanks, Lily. I did!

>45 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita. I am sorry to hear about your troubles - I know it has got to be frustrating because it is for me.

>46 quondame: Thank you, Susan!

I am off to try and finish the books I was supposed to finish last night but could not due to stupid CFS. I was really hoping that the last day of the month would prove to be one in which I was not racing to finish a book at 10 minutes to midnight. *sigh*

>47 alcottacre: You're welcome, and i just read and am almost finished with Going Solo by Roald Dahl

Happy new thread, Stasia!

Happy new thread, Stasia!

>48 Owltherian: That's great, Lily! I cannot say that I have read that one by Dahl. You will have to let me know how it is.

>49 mstrust: >50 Kristelh: Thank you, Jennifer and Kristel!

>51 alcottacre: I will, i have read a whole bunch by him and so far they are great

Finished tonight:

62 - Hot Comb by Ebony Flowers - Graphic Novel; This was a recent recommendation from Mary (bell7) and while I did not like it quite as much as she did - I suspect that is because I really did not care for the art style - I still thought it was pretty good. My local library has a blurb about the book that says, "a poignant glimpse into black women's lives and coming-of-age stories," and I would very much agree with that. The book, while using hair as a common theme throughout, goes beyond that into the cultural morays of black women; Recommended (3.75 stars) Library Book

>52 Owltherian: Yeah, Dahl is a great author. I am not sure how that one escaped me.

Off to try and finish more books. . .

>54 alcottacre: Not sure either, i have a large pack of his books, in which most of them are good, it took me a while to finish Boy though

>56 Owltherian: Some books just take longer than others no matter how good they are :)

>57 alcottacre: Thats true, it was somewhat boring for my taste.

Finished tonight:

63 - Storm of Steel by Ernst Junger - Nonfiction; If you want a realistic look at war (especially the trench warfare of WWI) look no further than this book. Junger, who enlisted in the German army at age 19 in 1914, writes about his experiences fighting in France - he was at the Somme, fought at Passchendaele, and other major battles. He was wounded numerous times, saw men he respected wounded or killed, and lost many friends along the way. He does not embellish his experiences, just states them as a matter of fact. He does not philosophize, does not analyze the politics, he is just a soldier doing his duty as he sees it. Some of the most difficult reading is about the gas attacks that both sides suffered - I cannot imagine a much more gruesome experience than seeing a man literally drowning because of the damage the gas has done to his lungs. My one ding on the book is that there are no maps anywhere in the edition that I have, so all I know is that Junger was in France - Where is the Siegfried Line let alone Dragon Alley?? BTW - Junger lived to be over 100 years old; Highly Recommended (4.5 stars) Mine

"Nothing was left in this voice but equanimity, apathy; fire had burned everything else out of it. It's men like that that you need for fighting."

"In those moments, I was capable of seeing the dead - I jumped over them with every stride - without horror. They lay there in the relaxed and softly spilled attitude that characterizes those moments in which life takes its leave."

"In war you learn your lessons, and they stay learned, but the tuition fees are high."

Happy new thread, Stasia! I fell hopelessly behind on your last thread and I won't try to catch it up. I hope the CFS is better today.

>60 atozgrl: I am pretty much behind everywhere, Irene, so I understand. I am still having to take naps during the day due to the CFS unfortunately.

I am trying to finish another book yet tonight - I only have about 50 pages to go - and I have another 3 yet to go tomorrow. Even if I do finish The Postcard tonight - and that is a big if - I will probably not review it until tomorrow. I am tired and really should be in bed already, lol.

Nobody cold be more behind than I am. Anyway, I wish that you may soon sleep CFS away for this time. I also should be in bed already, and I'm going to go now. Love to you and Kerry and the girls and your mom and the rest!

>32 msf59: oh my, I didn't know there was a graphic novel adaptation of Watership Down!

Have you read the original book? How does the graphic novel compare?

>59 alcottacre: Horrifying, necessary reading. I truly believe if more young men were required to read memoirs like this, there would be fewer wars.

Thursday *smooch*

>64 richardderus: I absolutely agree, Richard. Junger does not glamourize what war is or the consequences of it.

((Hugs)) and **smooches** to you too!

Finished last night:

63 - The Postcard by Anne Berest - I am not sure what further I can say about this novel that reads almost like nonfiction at points. Berest, a nonobservant Jew, spends much of the novel trying to decide what it is to be a Jew. Her mother had received a postcard years before that simply had 4 names on it: Ephraim, Emma, Noemi, and Jacques. Anne learns that these are the names of her great grandparents (her mother's grandparents) and great aunt and uncle, all of whom were killed in the Holocaust. She decides that it is high time they discover who sent the postcard, hence the title of the book. She and her mother start trying to find out who sent it and in the meantime, Anne learns a lot about her family history. Donna was the first person that recommended this one although I have now seen several reviews of this outstanding reviews of it here in the group. Read it - you will not be sorry; Highly Recommended (4.5 stars) Mine

So, it is the last day of the month - and I still have 3 books to finish before midnight, lol. Two of them I am fairly sure I will finish - one of them I have less than 50 pages to go and the other reads pretty fast - but the third is very iffy. We will see. The third book is an audiobook that I am listening to although I also have a text copy - which has small print, hence the audio.

Having said that, it is my favorite time of the month. Wrapping up one month's reading and pulling the books that I want to read for the next month - I love this time of the month!

Do you have a favorite time of the month as far as your reading is concerned, or I am just an oddball? (Well, yeah, everyone knows that is true!)

>67 alcottacre: I don't know that I really divide my reading up by month in that way! I tend to pull a stack of books to get through and put it on my nightstand, and then I replenish the nightstand books once I'm through a stack, but I don't try to finish them all within a specific month. But I do like when it's time to replenish my nightstand stack ☺️

>68 curioussquared: You replenish your stack, I replenish my month. . . same principle, right? A nice sense of accomplishment :)

>67 alcottacre: My reading just kind of flows. I don't do TIOLI, so I'm not as tied to finishing things within a month, though I do keep track of which books I read and how many per month, so there is some satisfaction in finishing one off before the month ends. But mostly my books are just always coming in from the library (since I'm there every work day, it's way too easy to accumulate a big stack without even trying) or the occasional purchase, or I'm pulling something off my TBR shelf, regardless of time of month.

Finished this afternoon:

65 - English Creek by Ivan Doig - Audiobook; I am a big fan of Mr. Doig's books. I consider him to be a master storyteller. His books are not complex but they tell great stories and this book is no exception to that. It is a coming-of-age novel told from the perspective of Jick, a 14 almost 15-year-old, in Montana. The time is just before WWII and Jick is still trying to figure out who he is and who he wants to be when his older brother, Alec, announces that rather than go off to college as was planned, he is going to marry. This declaration causes a huge rift in the family and Jick (real name: John Angus) is trying to negotiate his was around it. If you like novels in which not a whole lot happens (other than dealing with a drunken friend, an obstinate brother, and a forest fire) this might be a good read for you. It certainly was for me; Recommended (4.25 stars) Mine

Sweet Thursday, Stasia. Storm of Steel sounds interesting. I also liked English Creek and I read the follow up too, Dancing at the Rascal Fair but I have not read the last of the trilogy. Shared read, perhaps?

I dipped into Martin Dressler today to get a feel for it. A fairly easy narrative. I think you will like it.

>72 msf59: I need to catch up to you since I have not yet read Dancing at the Rascal Fair yet, Mark, but I would certainly be up for a shared read of Ride with Me, Mariah Montana. I need to get a copy of it yet. It is not one that I currently own.

Good news about Martin Dressler. I am going into that one blind, knowing nothing at all about the book.

As far as Storm of Steel goes, I cannot recommend it enough. It is not an easy read, but one that is ultimately rewarding, I think.

Finished tonight:

66 - Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn - This is one of my 'Tribute to Julia' reads for February, a re-read of a book that I first read about 15 years ago or so. The book is an indictment of censorship couched in a humorous storyline - A sign with the pangram sentence "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog," a sentence that uses all 26 letters of the English alphabet, is slowly but surely losing its letters. The council on the island decides that as the letters are lost, then they cannot be used in speech, or writing, or in any matter on the island. You can imagine what happens as the letters become unusable: all the days of the week must be renamed (Saturday is now Satto-gatto), people whose names contain a lost letter must be renamed (Zachary now goes by his middle name of Isaac as the Z is lost), teachers can no longer teach their students the missing letters, and so on, to the point of ridiculousness; Recommended (4 stars) Mine

One more book to go and I can 'close the book' so to speak on February's reads. . .

Last book for February:

67 - What Could Possibly Go Wrong? by Jodi Taylor - When it comes to the historians at St. Mary's, this is not a good question to be asking because if it possibly could go wrong with them, it will. Max has decided to start a new trainee program in which the trainees go on actual time traveling missions so that they can see how things go and get on-the-job training - so, of course, numerous things go wrong while they are training. All in a day's work at St. Mary's; Recommended (4 stars) Mine

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/358903

Happy Friday, Stasia. How far did you get today with Martin Dressler? I finished the reading day, at the 95 page mark. I am enjoying Martin's journey. A real go-getter, right? I am curious where this story will go.

I have a copy of Ride with Me, Mariah Montana, so whenever we get to it.

>78 msf59: I have not yet started Martin Dressler, Mark, I will be reading it tonight. I doubt that I will get as far as you did though - I have a bunch of library books I need to complete before heading out of town, so I will probably read about 50 pages a day in MD until my library books are done.

I have ordered a copy of Ride with Me, Mariah Montana, but still need to read Rascal Fair first in any case. I will keep you posted :)

Finished tonight:

68 - Before She Was Harriet by Lesa Cline-Ransome - Juvenile; This one is a recent recommendation from Linda (Whisper) and she is right about it. Wow, is this a powerful book both for kids and adults. The illustrations by James Ransome really make the text come alive. We meet Harriet Tubman as a senior citizen, looking straight at us as readers, wanting us to know where she came from: as a suffragist, as a liberator, as a Union spy, as a nurse, as a conductor in the Underground Railroad, as a slave; Highly Recommended (5 stars) Library

Thank you again, Linda, for such a great recommendation!

Happy new thread Stasia!

>59 alcottacre: That looks like it's too intense for me, but beautifully written.

>81 humouress: Hey, Nina! Thanks.

Storm of Steel is intense. Junger does not pull any punches about the reality of war and WWI, to me, was particularly awful due to the use of poison gas by both sides. His descriptions of men wounded and dying men hit hard.

CFS is still hitting hard - another 12 hour night last night. I guess I should be grateful it was not more. However, that does not make it any last frustrating.

Thanks for letting me vent - again

>83 alcottacre: Oh, no! I just mentioned your health on my thread, and hoped you were feeling good…well, I send my best wishes for improvement!

Karen O

>84 klobrien2: Thanks, Karen. I know CFS is not the end of the world, but it sure is a pain in the rear.

Finished this afternoon:

69 - A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote - Prior to this book, the only other book of Capote's that I had read was In Cold Blood, which I have read several times. This book is so utterly different that it is almost as if different authors had written them. A Christmas Memory - the volume that I have from the library consists of the title novella and 2 short stories - is rich in details of Capote's childhood, especially his relationship with Sook, whom he considers to be his best friend, despite the fact that she is in her 60s and he is a mere boy: "Perhaps it was strange for a young boy to have as his best friend an aging spinster, but neither of us had an ordinary outlook or background, and so it was inevitable, in our separate loneliness, that we should come to share a friendship apart."; Highly Recommended (4.5 stars) Library Book

>86 alcottacre: I am also about to start something by Capote. Other Voices, Other Rooms, I have read Breakfast at Tiffany's which did nothing much for me and In Cold Blood which was excellent.

Have a great weekend, Juana.

Oh, sorry to hear about the CFS, Stasia. When I go to the dentist, I take a tranquilizer as I am anxious about it, and I often sleep for 2 - 3 hours after the appointment, and that is frustrating enough.

Happy Sunday, Stasia. Sorry to hear you are struggling with the CFS. I am nearing the halfway point in Martin Dressler. It has been a good solid read so far. I don't quite see Pulitzer Prize material here but that is perfectly fine too.

Happy Sunday, Stasia. I saw Sirens of Titan among your reading up there. I want to re-read that one. I loved it way back when. When I was a teen I was enthralled with the wisdom of Kurt Vonnegut. He and Ray Bradbury were my go-to authors for quite a while.

Sorry to hear about your recurring CFS. That’s got to be frustrating

I hadn’t realized what a big family you have. How do you like being a grandparent?

>87 PaulCranswick: I was kind of limited as to what I could get hold of where Capote is concerned, Paul, and I am very glad to have finally gotten around to A Christmas Memory. I have never read Breakfast at Tiffany's but it holds no interest at all for me. I will curious to see your thoughts on Other Voices, Other Rooms. Happy whatever!

>88 vancouverdeb: I think that if I had to take tranquilizers to go to the dentist, I would rather not go at all, lol. Thanks, Deborah.

>89 msf59: I am about 100 pages into Martin Dressler, Mark, so not as as far along as you are but I agree - I do not see Pulitzer Prize material either. I am enjoying the read though!

>90 jnwelch: Well, you enjoyed The Sirens of Titan more than I did, Joe, although I am getting on better with Vonnegut's Galapagos. Up until LT, I am pretty sure I had never read a single of his books. I prefer Bradbury myself.

I love being a grandparent. My oldest granddaughter, Alyssa, has been married for about 3 years now, so news that I may be a great grandparent may be coming soon. . .

Today is my traditional "day off" technology, so I will be back when I have something to report. I should be finishing the aforementioned Galapagos today if all goes as planned.

I hope you all have a lovely Sunday!

Finished tonight:

70 - Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut - Well, the good news is that I liked this one better than The Sirens of Titan, to which I only gave 2 stars. The bad news is that I did not like it that much better - I gave it 3 stars - so I think I am done with Vonnegut, at least for now. I did not care for Slaughterhouse-Five either - back to 2 star territory with that one. I think his satire just completely goes over my head. In Galapagos, we have a ghost telling a post-apocalyptic (I think?) tale of how humanity had to be re-started all thanks to its "big brains," which have done it no favors along the way. One of the most irritating things was that all of the characters who were going to die we denoted by an asterisk pretty much every single time they showed up in the story. Why would the readers want to know that from the outset?! We have a good number of characters, but most of them do not last long enough in the book for it to matter. Maybe that is the point? No idea; Not Recommended (3 stars) Library Book

Happy Monday!

>93 alcottacre: I have yet to read something by Vonnegut. Perhaps I will give this a try.

You are almost at the 75 books read!! Amazing!

>94 figsfromthistle: Happy Monday back at you, Anita! I hope you can enjoy and appreciate Vonnegut more than I do.

Thanks!

So, the work on the foundation started about 2 hours ago and my house now feels like a construction zone with all the attendant noise. I have no idea where my cats are, but I have a feeling they are cowering in corners, lol.

>66 alcottacre: I'm so glad you enjoyed/appreciated The Postcard. It was an interesting way to tell the family history and was so well done.

>79 alcottacre: You and Mark are in for a treat with the Mariah Montana book. I'm another big Ivan Doig fan. This one (according to my ratings) may have been the weakest in the McCaskill trilogy but Ivan Doig always writes a darn good book and this one tied things up nicely. It's a pretty good "ride" and I'm certain you will enjoy it.

Sorry about the recent bout of Stupid CFS. May it end soon so you can get back to your life of coping with just a few hours sleep. Maybe your body is trying to tell you something. ;-)

>97 Donna828: My body is always trying to tell me something, Donna, I just wish it did not have to be so rude about it!

Thanks for the input about the Mariah Montana book. I need to get to Rascal Fair soon, but it is definitely not going to happen in March between foundation work and going to Longview.

Thank you again for the recommendation of The Postcard. I found it excellent!

I am just flabbergasted. The Tuscaloosa public library cut another entire day out of the schedule. It is now open Tuesday through Saturday and that is all. I got back from Kansas and went to return some public library books and check out another. Boy was I surprised by that notice on the door. For a city of 160,000 with a big state university (enrollment 35,000) I can't believe that the public is letting the city get away with this. The small town in Kansas to which I will be moving has a public library that is open 6 days a week. (Closed on Sunday). What is wrong with the people in Alabama?

The Postcard looks interesting, Stasia. Apparently I'm not the only one who things so. I'm number 131 on the hold list and the library has 31 copies, popular book! Best of luck living through the foundation repairs.

>99 benitastrnad: Wow, Benita! That is unreal to me. No idea what is going on with Alabamans.

>100 Familyhistorian: Meg, I am not surprised at the popularity of The Postcard because it really is an excellent book. I hope you enjoy it when you get to it!

Finished tonight:

71 - Cold Crematorium by Jozsef Debreczeni - Nonfiction; Many thanks to Linda Panzo for the recommendation of this one recently. The foreword to this book, written by author Jonathan Freedland begins this way: "The laws of physics dictate that the farther away an object is, the smaller it appears. But the Holocaust does not obey that rule." Debreczeni, in this account of his time in the concentration camp system, certainly makes the Holocaust feel large and immediate. Freedland points out that Debreczeni was, by trade, a professional reporter and "a good noticer." Details do not escape his scrutiny and he seems to become an expert on the psychology both of the camp's inmates - at every level - and its guards. I cannot recommend this one highly enough, but it is far from an easy read; Highly Recommended (5 stars) Library Book

"A profound psychology undeniably lay hidden in the system. Those who dreamt it up knew the layers of instinct of the psyche. For their hideous work, the slave drivers the Germans appointed from among the prisoners received. . .power itself, that most intoxicating opiate of all. Boundless power over life and death."

"Hitler's slave strategy achieves the impossible. It penetrates the very primordial instincts of blood ties and manages to sever them: father and son fight over a morsel of food."

>96 alcottacre: Well, it might chase away the CFS for the duration? 😬

>103 humouress: It would be great if that actually worked, Nina. Thanks for the thought though!

The foundation work continues apace. Today is my meet up day with the girls. It ought to be interesting with all the noise underfoot!

My apologies, Stasia. I did not mean to discourage or ruin your experience on finishing MD. I should keep my comments to myself or until everyone completes the book. Like I said, I did enjoy a big portion of the book, despite not thinking it was Pulitzer worthy. I also think they are deeper themes going on, that I am still working my way through.

>106 msf59: No problem, Mark. I will evaluate the book on my own. I am sorry to hear that the end was a letdown for you though. I will keep you posted :)

Finished this evening:

72 - Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith - Mark mentioned Highsmith on his thread recently and I realized that I had never read anything by her. I read J. D. Robb's tribute to the book, Strangers in Death, last month and was curious to see how the original is. Probably everyone knows the story by now: Charley Bruno and Guy Haines meet on a train and the alcoholic psycopath Bruno suggests a plan wherein he murders Guy's wife and Haines murders Bruno's father. After all, who would suspect them? Strangers killing strangers? Haines does not take Bruno seriously until proves that he is the one who murdered Haines' wife - and now he expects Guy to reciprocate. This is very much a psychological novel as we see Guy deteriorate from a decent man to one wracked with guilt who is lying - to himself and to those who love him. What frustrated me the most, I think, is that Guy from the outset knows what kind of man Bruno is and rather than confront him or tell the police about him or anything other than what he did, goes along instead. When I started reading this, I did not realize that it was Highsmith's debut novel and I thought it was a very good debut indeed. It is undeniably dated in places though; Guardedly Recommended (3.75 stars) Library Book

"Guy pushed his hand into Bruno's chest and closed the taxi door. Bruno would not in a million years betray him, he knew. But if everything were as ambiguous as he believed, how could he really be sure?"

Finished tonight:

73 - Martin Dressler by Steven Millhauser - This was a shared read with Mark and I pretty much share his opinion of the book - the first 2/3 of the book was good, although not Pulitzer Prize winning material in my opinion - and the last 1/3 of the book, it went downhill. We first meet Martin Dressler as a child and watch him grow into a self-made man - the fulfillment of the American dream. That is fine and good until Martin gets married - and he certainly marries the wrong woman. From the point where the Vernon family - mother and daughters Emmeline and Caroline - enters the picture, the book begins to drag (at least for me). Millhauser does a wonderful job of setting the time and place at the beginning of the book and the period detail is terrific. I also appreciate that while Martin fails at the end of the book, there is still a sense of hope that he will come out all right; Guardedly Recommended (3.5 stars) Mine

"He had done as he liked, he had gone his own way, built his castle in the air. And if in the end he had dreamed the wrong dream, the dream that others didn't wish to enter, then that was the way of dreams, it was only to be expected, he had no desire to have dreamt otherwise."

>66 alcottacre: - The Postcard by Anne Berest -- to the TBR pile. Darn touchstones don't work, and if they do, it is hapzardly. this is the third book I've added tonight that did not reflect the correct title. I'll go in and try to fix it..but I resent time doing this when I could be reading (just saying.) I ended up cutting and posting from your thread. ugh...

You are really reading a top speed, Stasia! I cracked and purchased a book today, and ordered a couple, due to wanting to read from the Women's Long List.

>66 alcottacre: Hit by a bullet.

>83 alcottacre: There are days when the idea of 12 hours sleep would be bliss, but I know how frustrating not having control would be Stasia. I hope it passes soon.

>93 alcottacre: I've had this in the pile, unread, for ever. I've only read some of his oeuvre, I did really enjoy Time Quake, which is due a reread this year.

>108 alcottacre: Isn't that the plot of the movie "Throw Mama from the Train?"

Well, my Internet is being a pain. I have now replied to everyone twice - and lost my reponses twice. I will be back when it decides to behave!!

Just checking in and sorry to find that you're in the midst of both CFS and foundation repair. I believe I'd find the cats' corner and join them there for the duration. All this will pass, but I'm sorry that it's all taking its time.

I am glad you liked Strangers on a Train. I know you don't watch many films, but if you ever get to see Hitchcock's adaptation, try to do so. I think it may be better than the book.

Good review of Martin Dressler. I think you nailed it. I just posted my review too. I am always glad to do another shared read, especially with my favorite shared read companion. 😁

Finished tonight (and typing hurriedly in cast the Internet again misbehaves):

74 - King: A Life by Jonathan Eig - Nonfiction; I started this book in February and have deliberately taken my time in reading it. I did not want to rush it. Eig does, in my opinion, a spectacular job of telling King's life story. Eig does not glance over King's childhood, but spends time there allowing the reader to get to know the child King and his family, especially Daddy King, who was such a big influence on his son. Eig also makes sure that the reader gets to know Coretta, Martin's wife, and a very stabilizing force in his life - she stayed home so that he could do what he needed to do. One can get lost in the acronyms, so that is a bit of an issue, but any book about the civil rights movement is going to suffer from that. Eig presents King warts and all. He knows that King was not a perfect man and does nothing to persuade the reader that King was. Another book that I cannot recommend highly enough; Highly Recommended (5 stars) Mine

"Martin Luther King spoke prophetically of a world without prejudice and hate. It was enough to make even a battered people believe in better days."

>83 alcottacre: please vent all you like, it's your thread and we're your friends.

My Internet seems to be behaving itself today, so I am trying again to respond to everyone's posts :)

>110 Whisper1: Sorry about the Touchstones problem, lovey. I know what a pain they can be. I hope you enjoy The Postcard when you get to it!

>111 vancouverdeb: I still need to finish the Long List from last year, Deborah! I will get around to this year's eventually I suspect. I will be curious to see what you picked up.

>112 Caroline_McElwee: I hope you enjoy The Postcard if and when you get to it, Caroline. Let me know when you get to Timequake and I will try and get it read then too.

>113 The_Hibernator: I have never seen that movie, Rachel, so I do not know. Sorry!

>115 LizzieD: We will survive, Peggy, I am fairly sure. Lol

>116 msf59: I am definitely going to have to check out the Hitchcock film, Mark! I will check out your review of Martin Dressler forthwith.

>118 fuzzi: Thanks, fuzzi!

*smooch*

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/359104

Finished tonight:

75 - The Fairacre Festival by Miss Read - I find the Miss Read books rather comforting reads and this one was no exception. I have read several of them but it is not a series that I have actively pursued because you pretty well going in that everything is going to turn out right in the end. In this particular installment, a big storm blew through Fairacre causing quite a bit of damage to the church and the village needs to come up with a way to gather the necessary monies to have it fixed - without having to sell off the Queen Anne chalice that is the church's prized possession. Will they be able to pull it off? Of course, but how do they do it?; Guardedly Recommended (3.75 stars) Library Book

My mom really enjoyed reading the books by Miss Read, but she may have read them all, I'm not sure. Everyone needs a comfort read every now and then, Stasia. Are you planning to read anything besides Western Lane from the Womens Prize Long list ? I'm really enjoying Nightbloom right now.

Finished tonight:

76 - The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman - This is the first book of a series concerning a Library that is in an alternative universe and sending Librarians out to other alternative universes in pursuit of copies of works of literature that the Library needs for itself. We are introduced to Irene, who was actually born into the Library as both of her parents were Librarians, and Irene is handed an apprentice (whether she wants one or not), Kai, who is hiding a rather large secret. They are sent on a relatively simple mission which, of course, practically guarantees that everything that can go wrong, will go wrong, up to and including the Library's ultimate enemy, Alberich. For the most part, I enjoy this steampunk-y world that Cogman has built although I think that there are some chinks along the way. For me, I have now read this first book of the series 3 times, but never gone beyond it. Maybe this time I will finally find out where the series ends up?; Guardedly Recommended (3.75 stars) Mine

>123 vancouverdeb: After you posted the list this afternoon, Deborah, I checked my local library's website and they did not have a single one of the books on it. I did, however, order a couple from Book Outlet, 8 Lives of a Century Old Trickster and Hangman, since those were the two that they had available.

I am glad to hear that you are enjoying Nightbloom. When do does the short list come out, do you know?

>125 alcottacre: That's disappointing that your library had none of the books! My library only has five and I thought that was bad enough. I'm glad you were able to order from the Book Outlet. I just checked and the Short List comes out April 24 th.

Stasia! Congrats on 75 already 😊

Congrats on hitting 75!

>126 vancouverdeb: Thanks for letting me know about the short list, Deborah. I will likely _target those books first even though I have already bought 2 not knowing if they will be on the short list.

>127 curioussquared: >128 drneutron: Thank you, Natalie and Jim!

Finished this afternoon:

77 - Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier - Audiobook; This is a re-read for me. I am a fan of Du Maurier's books, loving the Gothic atmospheres she constructs and the strong women characters that she writes. In this book, Mary Yellan's mother has just died (her father is already deceased when the book begins), but before she passes away, Mary's mother has asked her to go to stay with her Aunt Patience and her husband, the owners of Jamaica Inn. Mary's mother does not realize the situation into which she is sending her daughter. The inn, sitting on the coast of Cornwall as it is, has been turned by Mary's uncle into a smuggling den and not only that, he has cowed Patience into a person that Mary does not recognize after 10 years absence between visits. The uncle is also a "wrecker," a man who, along with other men, lures ships to the shore so that they wreck among the rocks and can be ransacked - and often have to deliberately kill the passengers as well. Lovely fellow all around. My one big quibble with the book is that, although Mary is a strong character, she idiotically kisses her uncle's brother one time and decides she is in love with him. I am sorry, but that is just stupid; Guardedly Recommended (3.75 stars) Hoopla

One thing I will say after listening to the audiobook - I love Barbara Rosenblat as a narrator. The very first audiobook I ever listened to was narrated by her and I have been ever since. I have now been listening to audiobooks for over 30 years and my esteem for her has not diminished.

Happy Stasia. Good review of King: A Life. I may have to try that one on audio. How have you been feeling?

Congrats on reading 75 books already!! #75 looks like a fantastic read.

>122 alcottacre: Brava! You are in bonus territory already.

Never got into Fairacre, unlike Barsetshire it felt cloying to me.

>124 alcottacre: Never got beyond book one?! And you call yourself a bookish being! Shame! Shame! Shame! The Masked City aka book 2, is a tiny bit of a sophmore slump, so be prepared....

Adding my congrats on reaching 75 books in less than 3 months.

>132 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Anita. Actually 74 was much better than 75.

>133 richardderus: Thanks, RD. As far as the Miss Read goes, I have to take her in small doses and only read them every couple of years. Yes, they are a bit cloying, I agree.

I am reading The Masked City this month and I have picked up the next 3 for myself for my birthday, lol. Thanks for the heads up regarding TMC.

>134 Kristelh: Thanks, Kristel!

>122 alcottacre: Congratulations on reaching 75, Stasia!

You've done it already! 75, and it's only March. Congrats!

Congratulations on 75 reads!

Congratulations on reading 75 books so quickly, Stasia! Well, Dave's retirement draws nigh and I understand more about the rush to purchase books and in my case, puzzles , before he retires. He seems to think we will be impoverished, not really, be Dave thinks so. It's going to be a change. I'm looking forward to it, sort of , but it will be different after all these years.

Congratulations on 75 Stasia!

I'm only about 56 books behind you ...

>124 alcottacre: I came across a TV/ TV film series called The Librarians at around the time I read The Invisible Library which had a similar-but-different concept.

>136 FAMeulstee: >137 atozgrl: >138 quondame: Thank you, Anita, Irene, and Susan!

>139 vancouverdeb: I am still getting used to Kerry being retired, Deborah, and although it has been a change, it has been a pleasant one as we are spending more time together. I have cut down substantially on book purchases and it has not hurt all that much considering how many books I have around here to read :) Good luck with Dave!

>140 humouress: Thanks, Nina. Regarding The Librarians, I believe we own all of the movies and at least a couple of the TV series seasons :)

Today is my traditional "day off" technology and I really need to get some reading in as I barely read yesterday. There are a couple of books that I would like to finish today.

I hope that everyone has a lovely Sunday!

Good morning Stasia, up so early. Have a great day reading.

Congratulations on passing 75 Reads, the first I think. Puts my 16 in the shade.

alcottacre congratulations on 75+ books read!

>143 Kristelh: Thanks, Kristel. It has been a good day with not a whole heck of a lot of reading done just yet. I did finish a book, but I only had about 30 pages left to go in it :)

>144 Caroline_McElwee: Thank you, Caroline. Your 16 can stand proudly! They are a bunch of high-quality reads unlike me who does a lot of series reading. Plus I am retired.

>145 fuzzi: Thanks, fuzzi.

Finished this evening:

78 - An Ordinary Man by Paul Rusesabagina - Nonfiction; This book is a re-read for me. I originally read it back in 2008, a time when I gave out 5 stars to books more frequently than I do now, believe it or not. This true story of the man behind the movie Hotel Rwanda and the incidents that were behind it is almost haunting. A very simple way to instigate violence through the use of a radio station and its broadcasts. People killing other people with machetes because they are a different tribe. Roaming militias. The cost of eight hundred thousand lives in just over 3 months - sorry, I just cannot imagine that horror. Paul Rusesabagina, the manager of a hotel, took everyone in. He did not ask for identity cards. If they could get to the hotel, they found sanctuary. He does not consider himself a hero, but I certainly do. All he had to rely on was hit wits, his tongue, and his contacts. Everything could have gone sideways at any given time. Near the end of the book he states: ". . .a sign draped with purple cloth bears a pledge in four languates: 'Never Again.' We all know these words. But we never seem to hear them."; Highly Recommended (5 stars again) Mine

What do you do if you go to the bookstore and someone tells you that you can only buy one book? This guy has the solution: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qcETbPgsDCQ

>148 alcottacre: Excellent! All books with "the" in the text - also 1 book!

>149 quondame: Oo, good one, Susan! I will add it to the arguments I need to present to my husband whenever we go to a bookstore. Thanks!

Finished tonight:

79 - Q's Legacy by Helene Hanff - Nonfiction; One of my all-time favorite books is Hanff's 84, Charing Cross Road. It is the first book in a trilogy that she wrote which also includes The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street. This book is the third and to me, it is the one which I like the least. I still enjoy the book and recommend it, just not as highly as the other two. Hanff's rather wry sense of humor is on display again. In this book, she goes back before 84 CCR was written and talks about the way she set out to learn about English literature. She only managed one year of college for financial reasons, but she was determined to learn all she could about English lit and sought out the best instructor-by-book that she could find - and she stumbled across Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, commonly known as Q. Tracking down the books he recommended were how she came across 84 CCR and the rest, as they say, is history. So we begin a journey from New York to London and back again as Hanff's book gains notoriety and a following on both sides of the Atlantic, London stage productions, a British television movie - and she owed it all to Q; Recommended (4 stars) Mine

Congrats on hitting 75, Stasia. I am barely over a third of the way. An Ordinary Man sounds very good. I remember seeing the excellent film adaptation.

>151 alcottacre: Absolutely concur with you...enjoyable, but not as fresh as reading Hanff is when it is your first time. Nothing can repeat that, though, can it. *smooch*

Adding my congrats on hitting 75! Dang, you're fast!
>148 alcottacre: He has life figured out.
>151 alcottacre: Sounds good! I didn't know about this one.

>152 msf59: I cannot recommend the book, An Ordinary Man, highly enough, Mark. It is not that the writing is spectacular or anything, it is the story itself and the way he tells it that works so well for me.

>153 richardderus: Yeah, rarely can we repeat the pleasure of reading a book for the first time, can we? *smooch* back at you, RD!

>154 mstrust: Thanks, Jennifer.

Yeah, I like Ezeekat quite a bit. He does both books and board games like someone else I know :)

I hope you enjoy Q's Legacy if and when you get to it!

Today is my meet up day with Beth and Catey. I am sincerely hoping it is a better day than yesterday, a day on which I literally accomplished nothing. I think I read about 15 pages and that took everything I had. I took 2 naps yesterday but just could not beat the tiredness. Ah, well.

I hope everyone has a terrific Tuesday!

The best laid plans of mice and men and all that: I was supposed to be heading to my mother's on Thursday to visit her for a week and celebrate my birthday. However, the foundation work on my house is ongoing. It was supposed to be done by last Friday, but due to some setbacks, it is still not complete. On top of that, we are going to get some nasty weather Thursday and Friday - hail and high speed winds are predicted and the possibility of tornadoes is there. I am not driving in that mess.

So, change of plans - I will not be going to Longview until Sunday.

I saw this posted on Twitter today (or X or whatever it is called these days):

From a friend.

-- My dad has bees. Today I went to his house and he showed me all of the honey he had gotten from the hives. He took the lid off of a 5-gallon bucket full of honey and on top of the honey there were 3 little bees, struggling. They were covered in sticky honey and drowning. I asked him if we could help them and he said he was sure they wouldn't survive. Casualties of honey collection I suppose.

I asked him again if we could at least get them out and kill them quickly, after all he was the one who taught me to put a suffering animal (or bug) out of its misery. He finally conceded and scooped the bees out of the bucket. He put them in an empty Chobani yogurt container and put the plastic container outside.

Because he had disrupted the hive with the earlier honey collection, there were bees flying all over outside.

We put the 3 little bees in the container on a bench and left them to their fate. My dad called me out a little while later to show me what was happening. These three little bees were surrounded by all of their sisters (all of the bees are females) and they were cleaning the sticky nearly dead bees, helping them to get all of the honey off of their bodies. We came back a short time later and there was only one little bee left in the container. She was still being tended to by her sisters.

When it was time for me to leave we checked one last time and all three of the bees had been cleaned off enough to fly away and the container was empty.

Those three little bees lived because they were surrounded by family and friends who would not give up on them, family and friends who refused to let them drown in their own stickiness and resolved to help until the last little bee could be set free.

Bee Sisters. Bee Peers. Bee Teammates.
We could all learn a thing or two from these bees.
Bee kind always.

This story so reminded me of why I love the 75ers here on LT. Thank you for being my "bee peers" and "bee teammates."

>158 alcottacre: So fortunate that you arrived and gave the bees their best chance!

>158 alcottacre: That was really the BEST story! Thank you for sharing it.

>158 alcottacre: I love that story.

>157 alcottacre: sorry your plans are delayed. It's been my experience that delayed plans usually work out for the best.

>159 m.belljackson: >160 mdoris: >161 fuzzi: I am so glad that you all enjoyed the story!

Well, I certainly hope things work out for the best, fuzzi. The noise that they are making from underneath my house has kept me from getting any appreciable reading done this week, lol.

I'm sorry that Longview has been postponed, Stasia. However, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to YOU!!!!!

Happy birthday! I hope it's a good day despite not being able to see your mom.

Happy Birthday Stasia!

>91 alcottacre:. You may be a great-grandparent in the reasonable future! That’s a role hard to imagine with our grandwees at 6 and 4. But I’m sure that if I hang around long enough, the time will come.

As a teen I devoured all the Vonnegut and Bradbury I could get my hands on. I like Bradbury better, too. I’e wondered whether Vonnegut is best-suited to teens. I was certainly in the mood at that age to laugh and sigh at our collective foibles and villainies. It was not just sci-fi for me with Bradbury; dDebbi and I are re-reading Dandelion Wine theses days.

I hope all is well with you and the bools are being good to you.

Happy Birthday, Stasia!

Sweet Thursday, Stasia. I hope you are having a wonderful day. I am sure you are into the 2nd half of The Sparrow. 😁

>163 LizzieD: Thank you, Peggy. Hopefully we will get there on Sunday!

>164 mstrust: Thanks, Jennifer. I did get to talk to my mother today, so that helps make up for it.

>165 humouress: Thank you, Nina!

>166 jnwelch: I loved Dandelion Wine when I read it several years ago, Joe, so I hope you and Debbi continue to enjoy it. I wish I had read Vonnegut when I was a teen then I would have something to compare.

>167 quondame: Thank you, Susan!

>168 msf59: The Sparrow continues apace. I am hopeful of finishing it before I head to Longview. I really do not want to carry it with me nor do I want to leave it hanging before I get back!

Bad storms coming in here. Shutting down for now. . .

Stay safe from the storms and wishing you a very happy birthday Stasia! 🎂🎁🎉🎶💐

Happy Birthday, Stasia! Sorry to read about the bad storms coming your way. I hope you have a great birthday, despite that.

Happy Birthday, Stasia! I hope the storms were brief and caused you no trouble.

ETA: March 14th was my Grandmother's birthday as well (whose maiden name is the origin of my username here). She would be 121 were she still among us. She made wonderful pies!

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/359262

Happy birthday, Stasia! Hope the worst of the storms passes you by.

Happy Birthday, Stasia.

I hope you had a nice birthday, Stasia!

Belated birthday wishes, Stasia!

*smooch* for my bee-positive year-older sisterlady!

>171 mdoris: Thank you, Mary. The storms were in waves last night so as soon as one ended it seemed like another picked up. Luckily nothing came of the Tornado Watch that we were under last night.

>172 vancouverdeb: >173 laytonwoman3rd: Thank you, Deborah and Linda. The storms lasted pretty much all night, but other than keeping the foundation people from showing up today, there seems to be no harm.

>174 SilverWolf28: Thank you, Silver! I hope to be able to take part Friday and Saturday. I will be traveling Sunday.

>175 bell7: >176 Kristelh: >177 lauralkeet: >178 katiekrug: >179 richardderus: Thank you, Mary, Kristel, Laura, Katie, and Richard!

Well, it has been a day already. I slept until almost 11am this morning and when I got up, discovered that we had a leak in the kitchen sink. So, Kerry is now off to the hardware store to see if he can find the pieces to fix what is broken rather than us having to buy an entirely new kitchen faucet.

The storms last night guaranteed that the foundation people would not show up today and this has proven to be true. We thought that they would be finished yesterday, but that did not turn out to be the case. *sigh* What was supposed to be done in 5 days has now taken double that time and they are still not done. What is more, I am having trouble reading with all the pounding going on and with the CFS I am going to bed early so my evening hours are limited.

I am not having fun right now. . .Lol

Sorry about the seemingly unending foundation work. Home repair is the absolute worst thing about home ownership. I am ready for a retirement home! Haha. It's the cooking that is really getting me down...

Happy Belated Birthday, Stasia. I'm sure you will shake off all the bad vibes when you get to Longview. Hang in there!

Hope all the crap will pass, Stasia. Foundation work concluded, CFS gone, the leaky faucet repaired. After all, the storms passed by without making mess.

Happy belated birthday, Stasia! Sorry about the continued foundation woes -- hope the work is completed soon.

Wow! You are already past 75 read! Congrats!

Happy belated birthday!

>182 Donna828: Yeah, home repair is a pain and with a house that is almost 100 years old, it is seemingly never ending, lol. Thanks for the birthday wishes, Donna!

>183 weird_O: Thanks, Bill!

>184 curioussquared: Thank you, Natalie!

>185 thornton37814: I appreciate the congratulations, Lori!

>186 drneutron: Thanks, Jim!

I finally finished another book (it feels like forever!):

80 - All the Little Bird-Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow - Audiobook; I was struggling with reading this one when I attempted it last month - I think it was just the wrong time. However, when I listened to the book on audio instead, I was really able to get into the story. The book was longlisted for the Booker Prize in 2023 and I can see why. This book by an autistic author about an autistic woman is very good. I also have to say that the narrator did a great job in making the cadences of Sunday's speech match the speech patterns in the book. Sunday does not have an easy life, but she has a life that she knows. She has a daughter, Dolly, who is 16, and that she is close to - that is, she is close to Dolly until Vita and Rollo move in next door and Vita pretty much takes over. She takes over Dolly's life and, by extension, also takes over Sunday's. Sunday is not sure what she can do when Dolly spends more time with Vita and Rollo than she does with her own mother - and then Dolly goes to live with Vita and Rollo; Recommended (4 stars) Mine

"My ability to speak was retreating again, the words I wanted slipping away from me as if I had never had language at all."

Hope you had a wonderful birthday and were able to eat some delicious cake!

>188 alcottacre: I enjoyed this one as well. It took me a while to get into it however it is a book that really shines when read at the right time.

>189 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Anita. Not much of a dessert person but I had my favorite, blueberry pie.

Yeah, I am glad I put it off from last month to this because I was not in a good frame of mind for reading it in February. "Reading" it on audio worked really well for me since I am not getting a lot of reading done with all the banging for the foundation work going on at my house :)

Yikes, Juana, you are chugging along. Missed wishing you congratulations on already passing 75 and almost missed your birthday salutations too which I will proffer to you slightly belatedly.

Excuse is that work and home are pretty crazy right now. xx

>191 PaulCranswick: No worries, Juan. I know that you have a lot on your plate!!

Finished tonight:

81 - Gin, Turpentine, Pennyroyal, Rue by Christine Higdon - This was a recommendation from Deborah (vancouverdeb) and a very good one at that! Historical fiction is probably my favorite genre these days and this book that tackles so many issues still salient today is a wonderful example of the genre. We meet the McKenzie sisters: Georgina, Morag, Isla, and Harriet-Jean, each of whom has their own troubles. Their older brother, Roddy, survived WWI only to be brought down by influenza, so Georgina is now the oldest sibling. Morag is married to a police detective who is also a rum runner in Prohibition USA, but husband Llew has been having an affair with Morag's sister Isla, who becomes pregnant by him and has an abortion that nearly kills her. The youngest sibling, Harriet-Jean, falls in love with a woman. As I said, many issues that continue to this day. The only flaw in the book for me is the inclusion of Rue, the dog, as a narrator. I have read many books with animal narrators that have not bothered me, but in this book, it does and I am not really sure why; Recommended (4.25 stars) Mine

>188 alcottacre: Good to hear you liked it. I’ve been wanting to readit but waiting forever for the ebook from the library.

Happy Saturday, Stasia. I hope you wake up feeling better today and without any plumbing issues. 🤞

I am into the second half of The Sparrow. You should be wrapping it up.

>195 msf59: Yes, I did. Different plumbing problems today, but the kitchen sink is sorted. The bathroom sink, on the other hand. . .

Yes, I will be finishing The Sparrow at some point today.

Stasia, you may behind for you but you are on your second thread and I am still on my first thread. You’ve had a tough start to the year but still going strong.

Belated happy birthday, Stasia. Sorry to hear it's been on the stressful side and wishing you a more relaxed weekend.

>197 Kristelh: Thanks for the words of encouragement, Kristel.

>198 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky. Thus far the weekend has been more relaxing - and quieter! - than the week was.

Finished this evening:

82 - The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell - This was a shared read with Mark and Donna and I was very glad to re-read this one. I first read it over 10 years ago and remember the impact the book had on me then. It was not much lessened this time around even though I knew what was going to happen. We meet Emilio Sandoz, a Jesuit priest, who had been on a mission to another planet and was the supposed sole survivor. We see Sandoz both as he is when he comes back and as he was when he left. We also meet the other team members. These are characters that we come to care about and so when bad things happen it is especially devastating. What the scientists and priests did not understand when they arrived on the planet is that the two species are co-dependent on each other and when the people from Earth change things, they unknowingly knock that codependence out of balance and all hell breaks loose. There are a lot of questions behind the science fiction here, mainly having to do with faith. which just adds depth to the book; Highly Recommended (4.5 stars) Mine

Now I need to track down my copy of Children of God. . .

Finished tonight:

83 - Written in Bones by Paul Bahn, editor - Nonfiction; This is a good book for those with an interest in forensic archaeology. There is nothing in depth here, but there are a lot of photographs and some 30+ examples of bog people, mummies, etc scattered across the world. The reader learns about the various disciplines that are involved in discovering as much as possible from the remains of people whose bodies could conceivably be thousands of years old. The inclusion of a bibliography separated out by the specific find is a nice touch for those who would like to study a particular subject in more depth; Recommended (4 stars) Mine

I am leaving for Longview tomorrow morning to visit my mother and do not anticipate being back until the 24th. The Internet at my mother's house is notoriously unreliable. I will check in if I can!

Off to bed now. . .

I hope you enjoy your visit with your mom, Stasia .

>203 vancouverdeb: Thanks, Deborah! We are off. . .

So far behind here!! Happy belated birthday!! Safe travels! And I hope the second plumbing repairs went well, that the CFS behaves, and you continue to read great books! ( Loved The Sparrow!) (Do you think that is enough exclamation points?!?) : )

Congrats on being at 75 and beyond! And a late Happy Birthday to you as well!

An Ordinary Man sounds amazing. Like Mark, I remember seeing the TV/movie adaptation. I'll have to add it to my list

The bee story is the bee*stest. I wonder if those three bees could have been saved if they had not been removed from the hive. Would their sisters have figured out how to get them out of their predictament?

Is the foundation done? Or perhaps it will be done when you return from your trip?

>200 alcottacre: I loved your thoughts on The Sparrow, Stasia. I think your comment on the mashup with religion and sci-fi sheds light on why several people have commented on Mark’s thread about not liking the book. I’m not a big sci-fi reader so the religious aspect doesn’t bother me at all. I’m over halfway through on my second read (after 16 years) and am liking it just as much the second time around.

Hope you are having a wonderful visit in Longview!

Good summation of The Sparrow, Stasia. I should finish it today. I am kind of dreading the last 70 pages. Shudders...

I always enjoy these rereads with you.

Have a great time visiting your mother, Stasia! *smooch*

Belated birthday wishes Stasia. I hope your trip went smoothly on Sunday.

I'm behind and catching up. Belated happy birthday wishes, and I hope you are having a wonderful visit with your mom.

I guess my Bon Voyage!! is a bit late. Sorry. I'm trying to do too many things atone time. Too many disparate things. Say hi to your mom for me.

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/359476

Hi Stasia my dear, a very belated Happy New Thread, the time i have spare seems to fly by although this last week or two has seen me in a bit of pain. I have an MRI scan tomorrow morning and i am hoping that will show what damage has occurred since my last scan in 2017 and hopefully there is something that can be done or some new drugs that will hopefully give me some ease.

Sending love and hugs to you and the family from both of us my dear friend.

Hi Stasia, belated happy birthday and congrats on reading 75! Loved the bee story. I hope that your visit with your mum was good and your house is intact and fixed on your return!

I am home now. Thanks everyone for keeping my thread warm while I was gone! I had a great time visting with my mother.

I finished three books while I was gone. I am not going to "review" them, but rather just list them here:

84 - Walk Through Fire by Yasmine Ali - 4 stars (Hoopla Digital)
85 - The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny - 4.25 stars (Mine)
86 - Salvation in Death by J. D. Robb - 4 stars (Audiobook - Mine)

I have a ton to catch up on, but I will check in on threads as I can over the next week. Why is it when you go away for a week it takes twice as long to catch back up with your life??

>216 alcottacre: Happy homecoming, Stasia!

>217 richardderus: Thanks, RD!

Tonight I finished:

87 - The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard - I am just too tired to write a review. I shared this read with Mary (bell7) who has some wonderful comments about the book over on her thread. Suffice to say, I would give it 6 out of 5 stars if I could.

Good night.

>216 alcottacre: Good to see you back, Juana.

Go and get a rest dear lady.

>220 PaulCranswick: I did get some rest both Sunday night and last night, so I should be good to go. I am back to my "normal" sleeping right now as CFS has at least temporarily deserted me, lol.

Thanks, Paul!

Today is my meet up day with Beth and Catey. Catey and I are going to be meeting up early as a matter of fact as I am teaching her a new game. She was sick half the time that I was at my mother's - came home from work early Friday, Saturday, and yesterday - so I am really hoping she is feeling better.

I hope everyone has a terrific Tuesday!

Welcome back, Stasia!

It looks like I should take a look at the In Death series and find my sole Victoria Goddard story.

ETA: (looks like you posted while I was catching up on your thread) I hope Casey is feeling better.

>223 humouress: Nina, the In Death series is definitely my all-time favorite series. I highly recommend that you start at the beginning with Naked in Death and go from there. As for Victoria Goddard, nothing that I have read of hers has disappointed me yet. Yes, I rate some of the books higher than others, but there has not been a stinker in the bunch!

I will know in a few hours how Catey is doing :)

Welcome back, Stasia. I am glad you had such a nice visit with your Mom. Enjoy your game day with the girls. I hope Catey feels better.

Welcome home, Stasia! I'm glad that it was a nice visit and that CFS seems to finally be giving you a break (may that last for a long while).

I think that I would give it 6 out of 5 stars if I could is a most excellent "review" and completely agree with you. It's been a lot of fun to read these together!

Happy Tuesday, and enjoy the time with Beth and Catey.

*smooch* just cuz

Stasia, I just finished reading Call It Sleep, about the immigrant experience and specifically the Jewish Immigrant. It is fiction but you might be interested so I thought I would mention it.

>228 Kristelh: Oh, I found Call it Sleep depressing and relentlessly misogynistic.

>226 bell7: Thanks, Mary! I agree, it has been a lot of fun to read the Goddard books together! Looking forward to reading At the Feet of the Sun in April.

>227 richardderus: Aw, how sweet, RD :)

>228 Kristelh: Thank you for the mention, Kristel. Unfortunately my local library does not have a copy. I will have to look further afield.

>229 quondame: Ah, well. Different strokes and all that.

>230 alcottacre:, I found it on Hoopla Digital. I think it is a book that goes easier as an audio because of the dialect. The reader does a very good job.

>231 Kristelh: Thanks for letting me know, Kristel. I will see if I can get to it soon as I do have access to Hoopla Digital.

Happy Wednesday, Stasia. You may have missed me up there yesterday. I am sure you had a fun game day with the girls. I think I will start the Ozeki later next week, for just a heads-up.

>233 msf59: Oops! Sorry, Mark! OK on the Ozeki book. I have plenty to read in the meantime!

Speaking of which, I had better get some reading in before the foundation guys show up and start banging around - no, they are still not done.

Finished this afternoon:

87 - A Mirror Mended by Alix E. Harrow - This is a book that I probably would not have finished if it were not a shared read for TIOLI, I disliked it that much. I think my expectations of a fairy tale retelling were out of line with this book, which is heavy on the feminism which is fine, just not what I was expecting. I am more of a traditionalist and I guess I thought this would be a straight retelling, not really the fairy tale made over, so the problem is really me, not the book itself. I also took exception to the amount of swearing in the book - and this from someone who loves the In Death series. The cursing just does not fit in with what I consider to be a retelling of a fairy tale. The one thing in the book that I really did like was Eva using the mirror to move between the different worlds; Not Recommended (2 stars) Library Book

88 - Two Tribes by Emily Bowen Cohen - This graphic novel is a recent recommendation from Anne. It explores a teenage girl who has primarily been raised Jewish, but whose father is Native American. She decides to go visit her father, who is divorced from her mother and remarried, in order to learn more about her Native American heritage. The book's author is both Muscogee and Jewish so she speaks from the perspective of a person trying to deal with the dichotomy of her heritage; Recommended (4 stars) Library Book

Your foundation project brings back not-so-fond memories of the HVAC project we did in November-December. Why does it always take so much longer than they say it will? Hang in there, Stasia.

>236 lauralkeet: Thanks, Laura! I am not sure we have any choice but to hang in there, lol.

Saw this today:

The 2024 Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction shortlist -
The full list in alphabetical order by author surname is:

Thunderclap: A Memoir of Art and Life and Sudden Death by Laura Cumming, published by Chatto & Windus
Doppelganger: A Trip Into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein, published by Allen Lane
A Flat Place by Noreen Masud, published by Hamish Hamilton
All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake by Tiya Miles, published by Profile
Code Dependent: Living in the Shadow of AI by Madhumita Murgia, published by Picador
How to Say Babylon: A Jamaican Memoir by Safiya Sinclair, published by 4th Estate

I have only read the last book on the list and it was very good. I am hoping to get to the other two that my local library has - the Klein and Miles' books - soon.

>236 lauralkeet: Tell me about it! Our kitchen was supposed to take 3-4 months and started in April/ May last year. We're still chasing them for the finishing touches. I'm having trouble with the corner larder I asked for (they don't do corner cupboards well in this country, in my experience); the door is too narrow to put my microwave in (so it has to go out in the boy-cave), it doesn't fit snugly because - presumably - of the angle (not good, in the tropics) and I'm still waiting for the lazy susans for the shelves. They came and measured for them (for, what, the 3rd? 4th? time) last week and sent a template which was too small. And that's without all the other issues they haven't finished; but at least the kitchen is usable.

Oh, sorry. Did you want your thread back Stasia?

Oh, too bad about A Mirror Mended. I have been looking forward to reading her book, Starling House. I'll get it from the library, but you have given me pause for thought. I took a book out from the library from the Women's Fiction Longlist , The Dictionary People , but with my reading from The Women's Prize for fiction I don't think I will get to reading it right now.

Thanks for posting the Non- Fiction Prize on my thread.I'm not sure if I will get to any of them in the immediate future.

>238 alcottacre: None of the titles are available over here as yet.

>238 alcottacre: I have Thunderclap which I am looking forward to Stasia.

>239 humouress: That is one of the fears I have when going to re-do our kitchen - the room being out of commission for a long time. I cook every day, so that would be very problematic!

>240 vancouverdeb: Deborah, I do not want to dissuade you. I very much enjoyed Harrow's The Ten Thousand Doors of January which is why I was disappointed all the more in A Mirror Mended. However, I am in the minority on that one.

>241 PaulCranswick: Sorry, Paul! Maybe soon?

>242 Caroline_McElwee: I have another of Cumming's books here to read but not that one. I am hoping my local library gets a copy of it soon. I will be curious to see your thoughts on Thunderclap.

Tomorrow, Kerry and I are going to have our first ever gaming marathon day together and today we are going out to get supplies :)

I will be back later in the day, I hope! I still have a bunch of books to finish before month end too. Ought to be fun. . .

Here's the Easter readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/359643

>245 SilverWolf28: Thanks, Silver. I will be in as much as I can be!

Hope you found all the supplies you need for a stellar game day!!!

>243 alcottacre: I couldn't do any baking, obviously, but we put the kettle, microwave, air fryer and 2 ring gas hob in the spare room downstairs and the fridges in the dining room and managed.

>244 alcottacre: Ooh, sounds exciting!

>247 Berly: We did!

>248 humouress: I am sure we could find some way to manage too. Have no idea how though, lol.

OK, I am off for a day of gaming with Kerry - and then hopefully I can sneak some reading in as I have quite a few books to finish before month end!

I hope you all have a fantastic Friday!

Finished tonight:

89 - Cotillion by Georgette Heyer - This was such a fun read! At the end, I decided that it really should not be in the 'romance' category as in the 'humor' category because I felt like Heyer's tongue must have been planted firmly in cheek when she wrote it. We have one of the typical set ups for a romance novel: an impoverished heroine (Kitty Charing) forced to marry, although in this case, her guardian has set it up so that she gets his fortune when she marries one of his 6 nephews (although one is already married, which is pointed out repeatedly early in the book). She basically asks one of the cousins if he will agree to a phony engagement so that she can visit London - and then call the engagement off. In the meantime, she gets involved in the romances of one of her good friends and a French cousin as well as one of the original cousins and his lady love. The hero, Freddy, is not one expects in romance novels - that would be his cousin, Jack; Recommended (4 stars) Mine

Congratulations on reading 89 books thus far this year. You never cease to amaze me! Happy Easter Weekend dear friend.

>252 Whisper1: Thank you, lovey. I hope you have a wonderful Easter weekend as well.

Happy Saturday, Stasia. I should be ready to roll on the Ozeki mid-week. Have a good weekend.

>254 msf59: Thanks, Mark. I will join in with you whenever you start on the Ozeki. I appreciate the heads up!

Have a wonderful weekend!

>251 alcottacre: Hmm, maybe. I liked - I think it was - her The Foundling which ran contrary to trope.

>256 humouress: I have not read that one yet. I still own a couple of hers I need to get to first, but I will see if I can find a copy of that one too.

Finished this afternoon:

90 - The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman - Audiobook; This is the second book in Cogman's Invisible Library series and as Richard mentioned after I read the first one, it does suffer somewhat from sophomore slump. In this one, Kai is kidnapped and it is up to Irene, of course, to get him back. Unfortunately, Cogman threw in a little bit of everything into the book, which I could have wished had been more tightly plotted rather than adding in the fey, dragons, etc., especially since Kai is pretty much absent for the majority of the book; Guardedly Recommended (3.5 stars) Mine

>258 alcottacre: I am entirely in agreement. The Masked City was my least favorite of the Invisible Library series. But it wasn't painful, just a bit dull.

>259 quondame: Yeah, I am really hope the series picks up with book 3, Susan.

Finished this afternoon:

91 - An Interrupted Life and Letters from Westerbork by Etty Hillesum - Nonfiction; This was a shared read with Caroline - thanks for finally getting me to pick up this book! The book is actually two-in-one. Part of the book and, to me, the best part is Etty's diary. The second part of the book is letters that she wrote back to her friends after she volunteered to go to the Westerbork transit camp and I did not find that part of the book as engrossing as the first, where we are coming to know Etty. She was one smart cookie, a philosopher who questioned anything and everything and was, oh so wise for one so young. Every time I think of all the Ettys that were wiped out in the Holocaust, it breaks my heart all over again. So much potential wasted for one stupid man's bigotry. That is the thing - because it is a diary, we are learning about Etty from herself. We learn what it is she loved, what it is that frustrated her, what it is that she questioned, what it is she expected from herself and others around her. And then the book ends with the note: "Etty Hillesum died in Auschwitz on 30 November 1943." She was 29 years old; Highly Recommended (4.5 stars) Mine

>254 msf59:, >255 alcottacre: Hi Stasia. I'll be reading the Ozeki too, and should also be starting it this week.

>262 lauralkeet: Nice! Glad to have another perspective on the book!

Happy Easter morning to those who celebrate! Happy Sunday to those who do not! Today is my traditional "day off" from technology although I hope to be back later in the day with several completed books.

I hope everyone has a lovely day!

Happy Easter, Stasia. Enjoy your quiet, tech-free holiday.

>265 msf59: Thank you, Mark!

Finished this afternoon:

92 - Eden Mine by S. M. Hulse - This is one of the books off Kim's Indiespensible list, a list that I have not had a great deal of success with the titles I have read, but this one is definitely an exception (as was last month's The Heart's Invisible Furies). In this book we meet Jo, a 22-year-old dealing with a lot. Her parents are dead - her father in a mining accident and her mother, murdered at the hands of the same man who caused Jo to be permanently paralyzed. Jo's beloved brother Samuel has bombed a building that he did not realize was being used as a church - he thought the building empty - and as a consequence multiple people are injured. The book traces Jo and Samuel's backstory and allows us to get to know them through letters. We see them as real people and find out why Samuel is the way he is, why Jo the artist wants to change her style, what is going to happen to them after their land is taken away. The book is very good and I am sorry that only now am I discovering Hulse as an author. I am definitely going to have to track down a copy of her first book which got national attention; Recommended (4.25 stars) Mine

>267 alcottacre: - I gave Hulse's Black River 5 stars when I read it in 2016. Wonderful, wonderful book.

>268 katiekrug: Thanks for the input, Katie. I hope to find a copy of it soon.

Happy Resurrection Sunday, Stasia.

I finished out my reading month with several good reads today:

93 - Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher - Unlike A Mirror Mended which I read earlier this week, I very much enjoyed this one although it really was not much of a fairy tale retelling as much as it is Kingfisher writing her own fairy tale. Marra, the third princess of the kingdom, is safely housed in a convent while her first sister, Damia is wed off to a prince. When Damia dies, the second sister, Kania, is married off to this same prince. Marra unexpectedly finds out that the prince is abusing her sister and decides to do something about it - and herein lies Kingfisher's fairy tale. I loved it; Recommended (4.25 stars) Mine

94 - Foster by Claire Keegan - I have absolutely no idea how Keegan does it, but she manages to say more in a 100-page novella than many authors do in a full length book. In this one, we have an unnamed child narrator who is sent to live with relatives for the summer as her mother is due to have another child and the parents already have problems feeding the children they already have. This is a simple story, told simply, but it is so much more: "I am in a spot where I can neither be what I always am nor turn into what I could be" is the underlying message throughout. She is afraid at first that she is going to make some kind of mistake that will make her be sent back ahead of time, although she is never sure when that time might be. She grows to love her foster parents (who are, in fact, her aunt and uncle) but all too soon she has to return home; Highly Recommended (4.5 stars) Mine

Thank you, Mary, for putting these two on the TIOLI challenge lists for March or they might still be sitting around my house waiting for me to finally get to them!

>271 alcottacre: I agree about Keegan Stasia.