Joe's Book Cafe 2015 Door 13

Illustrations by Japanese illustrator Shinya Okayama

Welcome back to the cafe!

Best of 2014

*= favorite of year

Fiction

Lila by Marilynne Robinson*
Redeployment by Phil Klay
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

Nonfiction

The Way I See It by Temple Grandin*
An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield
Five Days at Memorial by Sheri Fink
The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman
Agent Zigzag by Ben Macintyre

Young Adult/Midde Grade

Gracefully Grayson by Ami Polonsky*
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
Brian's Winter by Gary Paulsen
If I Stay by Gayle Forman
Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Science Fiction/Fantasy

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel*
The Martian by Andy Weir
Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber
The Peripheral by William Gibson
Cress by Marissa Meyer

Graphic Novels

Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant by Roz Chast*
Boxers and Saints by Gene Luen Yang
The Graphic Canon Volumes 1 and 2 edited by Russ Kirk
This One Summer by Jill Tamaki
Exit Wounds by Rutu Modan

Poetry

Blue Horses by Mary Oliver*
Incarnadine by Mary Szybist
Americans' Favorite Poems edited by Robert Pinsky
Black Boy Suite Black Boy Sweet by Danez Smith
View with a Grain of Sand by Wisława Szymborska

American Author Challenge 2015

January: Carson McCullers - Ballad of the Sad Cafe and Other Stories
Feburary: Henry James - Turn of the Screw
March: Richard Ford - The Sportswriter
April: Louise Erdich - The Round House
May: Sinclair Lewis - Babbitt
June: Wallace Stegner - Where the Bluebird Sings
July: Ursula K. LeGuin (read tons of hers) - Isabel Wilkerson The Warmth of Other Suns
August: Larry McMurtry - Lonesome Dove
September: Flannery O'Connor (read enough) Chaim Potok The Promise
October: Ray Bradbury - (read tons of his) Truman Capote Breakfast at Tiffany's
November: Barbara Kingsolver - Bean Trees
December: E.L. Doctorow - World's Fair

British Author Challenge 2015

January: Kazuo Ishiguro - Never Let Me Go
February: Evelyn Waugh - Scoop
March: Daphne Du Maurier - Jamaica Inn
April: Angela Carter - The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories
May: Margaret Drabble/Martin Amis - Jane Gardam The Man in the Wooden Hat
June: Anthony Burgess - Nothing Like the Sun
July: Virginia Woolf - Mrs. Dalloway
August: Iris Murdoch - The Bell
September: Salman Rushdie - Midnight's Children
October: David Mitchell - The Bone Clocks
November: William Boyd - Restless
December: Hilary Mantel - A Place of Greater Safety, and maybe a Wodehouse for fun

Books Read in 2015

January

1. Ruddy Gore by Kerry Greenwood
2. Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
3. Ballad of the Sad Cafe by Carson McCullers
4. Saga Volume 4 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
5. Rose Gold by Walter Mosley
6. Serenity Leaves on the Wind by Zack Whedon
7. A Thousand Mornings by Mary Oliver
8. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
9. Urn Burial by Kerry Greenwood
10. The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan
11. Lexicon by Max Barry
12. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
13. Coventry by Helen Humphreys
14. The Rosie Effect by Graeme Simsion
15. First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen
16. The Lost Garden by Helen Humphreys

February

17. Turn of the Screw by Henry James
18. White Teeth by Zadie Smith
19. The Sculptor by Scott McCloud
20. Son by Lois Lowry
21. Raisins and Almonds by Kerry Greenwood
22. Scoop by Evelyn Waugh
23. The Evening Chorus by Helen Humphreys
24. Death Before Wicket by Kerry Greenwood
25. Dinner with Buddha by Roland Merullo
26. The Leaning Girl by Benoit Peeters
27. Claire of the Sea Light by Edwidge Dandicat
28. Stumptown by Greg Rucka

March

29. Consider the Lobster and Other Essays by David Foster Wallace
30. Away with the Fairies by Kerry Greenwood
31. No Time Like the Past by Jodi Taylor
32. March Book 1 by John Lewis
33. El Deafo by Cece Bell
34. Murder in Montparnasse by Kerry Underwood
35. Jamaica Inn by Rebecca Du Maurier
36. Mrs. Queen Takes the Train by Willaim Kuhn
37. Stumptown Volume Two by Greg Rucka
38. The Castlemaine Murders by Kerry Greenwood
39. Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs
40. The Real Jane Austen by Paula Byrne
41. Endangered: A Joe Pickett Novel by C.J. Box
42. The Graveyard Book Volume One and The Graveyard Book Volume Two by Neil Gaiman and P. Craig Russell

April

43. The Best of It: New and Selected Poems by Kay Ryan
44. Night Film by Mariah Pessl
45. March Book Two by John Lewis
46. Queen of the Flowers by Kerry Greenwood
47. Obsession in Death by J.D. Robb
48. Death by Water by Kerry Greenwood
49. The Round House by Louise Erdrich
50. Younger Next Year by Chris Crowley
51. Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs
52. The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter
53. Murder in the Dark by Kerry Greenwood
54. Perfect State by Brandon Sanderson
55. The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
56. The Two Mrs. Abbotts by D.E. Stevenson
57. The Late Works of Hayao Miyazaki by Dani Cavallaro
58. Bones Crossed by Patricia Briggs

May

59. The Man in the Wooden Hat by Jane Gardam
60. Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs
61. River Marked by Patiricia Briggs
62. Displacement by Lucy Knisley
63. Bangkok Rules by Harlan Wolff
64. The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson
65. And Sometimes I Wonder About You by Walter Mosley
66. Golden Son by Pierce Brown
67. Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis
68. To Dance with the White Dog by Terry Kay
69. Ross Poldark by Winston Graham
70. Artificial Absolutes by Mary Fan
71. Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf
72. World of Trouble by Ben H. Winters
73. The Chimes by Anna Small

June

74. Crown of Embers by Rae Carson
75. The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson
76. A Spy Among Friends by Ben Macintyre
77. Cordelia's Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold
78. Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs
79. Nothing Like the Sun by Anthony Burgess
80. Where the Bluebird Sings to the Lemonade Springs by Wallace Stegner
81. Demelza by Winston Graham
82. The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer
83. Velvet Volume 1 by Ed Brubaker
84. The Mask A Vanessa Michael Munroe Novel by Taylor Stevens
85. The Graphic Canon Vol. 3 edited by Russ Kirk

July

86. The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
87. Stumptown Volume 3 by Greg Rucka
88. Agent of Change by Sharon Lee
89. Two Tales of Korval and Fellow Travelers by Sharon Lee
90. Conflict of Honors by Sharon Lee
91. Ghettoside by Jill Leovy
92. Carpe Diem by Sharon Lee
93. Plan B by Sharon Lee
94. Local Custom by Sharon Lee
95. Scout's Progress by Sharon Lee
96. Particle and Wave by Benjamin Landry
97. Lumberjanes by Noelle Stevenson
98. Charles Simic Selected Poems 1963 - 1983
99. I Dare by Sharon Lee
100. H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald
101. Landline by Rainbow Rowell
102. Duty Bound, Certain Symmetry and Trading in Futures by Sharon Lee
103. Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

August
104. Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant by Tony Cliff
105. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
106. A Liaden Universe Constellation: Volume 2 by Sharon Lee
107. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson and Denise Mina
108. Night Broken by Patricia Briggs

High Summer it is! What a wonder. Nice to see your new café open and ready for reading in a quiet corner, with an excellent cup of coffee, and perhaps a croissant or two.

Hiya, Karen! Happy High Summer!

Glad you found the new place. We're open and ready! Here you go:

Mary (Storeetllr) found this great list of banned books in the LA Times, http://www.librarything.com/topic/192777#5220327. As she says, it makes me want to run out and read the ones I haven't gotten to yet.

From the LA Times article, the top 10 most banned and challenged books of 2014:

1. "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian," by Sherman Alexie. Reasons: anti-family, cultural insensitivity, drugs/alcohol/smoking, gambling, offensive language, sex education, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group, violence. Additional reasons: “depictions of bullying”

2. "Persepolis," by Marjane Satrapi. Reasons: gambling, offensive language, political viewpoint. Additional reasons: “politically, racially, and socially offensive,” “graphic depictions”

3. "And Tango Makes Three," Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell. Reasons: Anti-family, homosexuality, political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, unsuited for age group. Additional reasons: “promotes the homosexual agenda”

4. "The Bluest Eye," by Toni Morrison. Reasons: Sexually explicit, unsuited for age group. Additional reasons: “contains controversial issues”

5. "It’s Perfectly Normal," by Robie Harris. Reasons: Nudity, sex education, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group. Additional reasons: “alleges it child pornography”

6. "Saga," by Brian Vaughan and Fiona Staples. Reasons: Anti-family, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group.

7. "The Kite Runner," by Khaled Hosseini. Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited to age group, violence

8. "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," by Stephen Chbosky. Reasons: drugs/alcohol/smoking, homosexuality, offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group. Additional reasons: “date rape and masturbation”

9. "A Stolen Life," Jaycee Dugard. Reasons: drugs/alcohol/smoking, offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group

10. "Drama," by Raina Telgemeier. Reasons: sexually explicit

Nice new thread, Joe! The opening illustrations are fabulous, as usual.

From that challenged books list I think I only own The Kite Runner, and possibly The Bluest Eye. I haven't read any of those books yet.

Happy New Thread, Joe! Lucky 13! Love the Okayama toppers.

It is a beautiful summer day. I hope you can pop out for lunch.

It fascinates me how people can declare sex to be unsuitable for children to learn. They will learn it any way, perhaps in ways which encourage unsafe exploring. So much better to have them learn in while sitting near a trusted adult.

Oh, well. It is an old argument, eh? Life does somehow keep going on, regardless of human efforts to control it.

I am off to a Storm game this evening with good friends, and my porches are all painted! The big worry now is how can I sell my nice little yard when all the plants are turning brown, dropping leaves, and looking like they may die. Damn weather. Go back where you came from.

>6 kidzdoc: Thanks, Darryl! If I was going to pick one for you, it'd be The Absolutely True Diary. Really good. But others would come close behind. Persepolis is one I often recommend for serious readers who are new to graphic novels. It worked with my very skeptical English prof BIL.

>7 msf59: Thanks, Mark! Glad you love the toppers. I'm just about to pop out for lunch. I almost kept going (staying outside) when I came into work today. :-)

>8 maggie1944: I'm with you on the reading, Karen. Kids are going to learn about it all anyway. These authors have created special works which hold a whole lot more than whatever sets off the censorship alarms.

Being on the banned list does seem to help get more readers for the book, doesn't it? What could be more enticing to a kid than a book that adults are trying to keep from her/him?

Go Storm! I've been enjoying our Chicago Sky, with the remarkable Elena Della Donne. They're having a good year, even without Sylvia Fowles, but so far they can't solve Minnesota. Loved the pics of you when you unexpectedly got the chance to move to those great Storm seats!

Hope the weather improves for you, and your poor garden gets a chance to bounce back. All the rain has helped on that front in our part of the world.

Hey, Joe! Nice new thread ~ great illustrations up top!

On the subject of the banned books, my favorite "reason" is one for The Bluest Eye: contains controversial issues. Um, isn't that a good reason to actually read a book? To get a bit of education on controversial issues? Honestly, some people.

Ha! that banned list includes three of my favourites.

Darryl's threads mention of Rupert Brooke has me wondering if there are any honey related products going on at the cafe? I'm guessing 'tea' not an option as a mealtime (as opposed to a drink) but I'm adaptable...

>10 Storeetllr: Ha! I love that "controversial issues" one, too, Mary. Thanks for finding the list! I similarly thought "political viewpoint" was a head-shaking reason to ban Persepolis. What country are we in again?

Thanks re the thread - aren't those illustrations cool?

>11 charl08: Hi, Charlotte! I know, there are some terrific books on the banned list. Among others, I thought The Perks of Being a Wallflower was a knockout, and the Saga series is one of the best GN series I've ever seen.

Hmm, honey related products. That's an interesting one. How about honey cakes?

You always find such wonderful opening images! You send me scurrying to find more about the illustrators.

>13 Whisper1: Thanks, Linda! She's really good, isn't she? I love what she's able to do with the natural backgrounds.

Found the new cafe!

>15 lkernagh: Great! Hi, Lori. Glad you found us!

Our manager is busying ordering new tantalizing edibles. She seems to particularly like dishes involving nuts.



Illustration by Franco Matticchio

Happy Hump Day, Joe! I have a short week coming up, so I am looking forward to a long weekend. We are going to visit friends in the U.P.

Love the Bears reading pictures. I'll have to find one to share.

>17 msf59: Happy Hump Day, Mark! A short work week sounds like just the tickets, as does a visit with your U.P. friends. Are you driving?

Yesterday I read in a National Council for the Teacher's of English journal that YA publishers are not wanting to publish historical fiction. One publisher went so far as to tell the writer of the article that "historical fiction" as a genre for YA's was dead because there simply was no interest in it from readers. Instead publishers are moving towards the SciFi/Fantasy books because they sell so well. The article then pointed out that this kind of move from publishers becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. It did make me think about what I have been reading in the last few months and it seems that much of it has been YA fantasy. I have also been reading some non-fiction along the way, but aside from Ross Poldark I haven't read much that would be considered historical fiction in the last four months. I don't think that there has been much in the way of best sellers in adult fiction that are historical fiction lately, either.

>19 benitastrnad: Very interesting, Benita, thanks. It may be that at that stage of their lives young adults are more concerned with "now" than whatever happened during their parents', grandparents', etc. lifetimes? So the realistic ones that do well are the John Greens, If I Stay, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and so on?

You did make me think of Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly, in which a girl from our time travels back two centuries to Paris, and King of Shadows, in which a boy from our time is transported back to Shakespeare's time. You see where I'm going with this. A hook that might work with a lot of YAs could have a character from now that they can identify with, who travels back in time in a historical fiction book.

Or the publishers could simply be wrong, and it's not that historical fiction for YAs is dead, but that there's a dearth of well-written books of that sort targeted to YAs. That self-fulfilling prophecy idea.

What's different about YAs? We can all think back to our clueless selves. I can also tell you from a parent's POV it took a while for our son's frontal lobe to mature, and it made all the difference once it did. For me, history and historical fiction both became much more interesting when I got out of my teens. I don't think I would've given a moment's thought or time to A Spy Among Friends back then, and of course I loved it when I read it now.

Sci-fi/fantasy - those were pretty much my favorite kinds of books in my teen years. A time of possibilities and imagination?

P.S. Historical fiction: I think I would've enjoyed the Poldark books when I was a teen, if I'd known about them. I wasn't much out of those years when I enjoyed the first BBC Poldark TV production.

>19 benitastrnad: Ann Rinaldi is a wonderful YA author who writes historical fiction very well. Actually, she uses historical fact and builds a story around that.

I so disagree with the publishers decision. I think that writing about history in an interesting way is a great way to get both adults and non adults interested.

>20 jnwelch: I'll let Benita respond, Linda, but I like that.

P.S. I see The Book Thief, considered a YA title in the U.S., is back on the NY Times bestseller list. That's certainly historical fiction, and it's been hugely successful.

your thread toppers are simply faaaaahbulous, dahling.

because i like them, i'm foolishly thrilled that you also liked Guns of August and Mary Oliver's Blue Horses. i've just been revisiting her Pulitzer winning American Primitive and from that suggest In Blackwater Woods for your enjoyment.

am currently stuck into Life after life (such a great title). took me about 3 hours to really get engaged and now i feel like the RCA Victor dog. she had an indecent amount of fun with this as she continues to write beautifully, simply and without a wasted word or phrase. one of my favorite things is that she doesn't use phrases like "the scent of her" rather than "her scent." blessed by narrator, too. not only does she voice same characters at different ages convincingly but also speaks French and Italian fluently, to my untutored USean ear. oh god, i'm rambling. sorry. bye.

I think that one of the best writers of historical fiction for children is Christopher Paul Curtis but there are others who do a good job as well. Deborah Wiles with her book Countdown and the work of Graham Salisbury is another. However, those authors are considered children's authors. YA is a different story. Funny that you should have mentioned Jennifer Donnelly - as she was the person who wrote the article for "The Alan Review." She was recounting how hard a time she had getting her book A Northern Light published. (this was her first novel for YA's and it was a Prinz Honor Book.) Ann Rinaldi is a good author, but she has not published anything since 2011. We just ordered a series of books by Katherine Longshore that begins with a book titled Gilt a book about the short tragic life of Catherine Howard in Tudor England, but just in looking at what is out there for purchase it is hard to find a YA historical novel that has much traction. I think the emphasis on fantasy is a fad and that balance will soon be restored. However, the whole article pointed out to me how tough it is out there for authors who have good stories written and aren't getting noticed because the fad is in a different direction and publishers are so profit driven. As a reader, I know that I tend to forget that publishing is a for-profit business.

^It looks like we could use these bookends, right?

>18 jnwelch: Yes, Joe, we are driving. It is about a 5 hour drive. We will head back, about midday Sunday.

>19 benitastrnad: Interesting about YA historical fiction. I have to say that maybe it is a US publishing decision as here, for example, in New Zealand and also Australia there always seems to be a market for YA historical fiction, especially the military stuff.
I've just finished the 2015 Carnegie Medal winner, it's a UK prize, this year it was Tanya Landman's Buffalo Soldier which is set in the US just after the Civil War, a wonderful story based on true events and really gets to the crux of what it is to be free.

Just adding to the YA discussion: the other day I walked into our local Barnes & Noble and was amazed at the rows of shelves of YA fiction, SciFi/Fantasy and Graphic Novels in the store, all aimed at the teenage market. For a bookstore that seems almost 50% non-books (gifts, games, toys, etc.) these days, I thought that was an interesting development. Not that long ago the "teen" books were a small shelf tucked away in a corner of the children's department; today they're up front & center in the store.

There may be a lack of interest in YA historical fiction (yes, lamentable), but it seems like kids are reading a lot, or at least *buying* a lot of books; so much so that it's now an important market for places like B&N. There's got to be a bright side to that.

Dear, dear, dear, dear Joe,

WOW/OMG your reading this year! Congrats on reading so many amazing books!

A couple of thoughts: 10. "Drama," by Raina Telgemeier. Reasons: sexually explicit As if!! I did read it recently, and find it a little risque for elementary, but there is NO sexual content at all (a same-sex crush, but that's about it). Wow. Why is this so scary?

YA/Historical fiction -- definitely my daughter Marina's favorite genre. Maybe she's an anomaly, but she can't be alone, can she? I think the "industry" goes where the money is, but hopefully authors will continue to write compelling books for all ages in all genres. My library finally has Revolution on audio, so I have requested it, as my audiobook season/school year is about to start. *sniff*

>23 mirrordrum: Good morning, Ellie! I'm glad you find those thread toppers fabuloso. Guns of August and Blue Horses were, too. Seems like you're one of the few (I wish there were more) who notices the poetry books. I read Mary Oliver's A thousand Mornings, too, and then went out and picked up a copy of her New and Selected Poems. I'll look for American Primitive and In Blackwater Woods after I finish that one. You're the one who got me reading her, so thank you!

I listened to Life After Life on audio, too, and thought the narrator was terrific. I'm glad you've gotten caught up in the story, because it becomes mesmerizing. There are scenes I don't think I'll ever forget. You're right, she has a very clean writing style. I've told those learning to write to be suspicious whenever they use the word "of", like your example "the scent of her", which lacks the zip and immediacy of "her scent", and uses four words where two will do. There are times, of course, when a writer will want to use the longer form for one reason or another, but in general the longer phrases begin to pile up, so the reading becomes a slog rather than enjoyable, you know? Life After Life had an engaging momentum to it.

Please come and ramble here whenever time permits! I love it.

>24 benitastrnad: You know, I've never read Christopher Paul Curtis, Benita. I need to fix that. I assume Bud, Not Buddy is a good one to start with? How intriguing that Jennifer Donnelly, a successful writer of YA historical fiction, wrote the article on publishers' dim view of that genre! I keep thinking that great books transcend genre. Would anyone have guessed that The Book Thief would be such a huge success? Death as the narrator of a WWII period story? I suppose bean counters would reject it (wrong genre), while a lover of great books would see its value.

The other thing that keeps going through my mind is there are so many outlets now to get good books to the right readers. The Martian started out as a story Andy Weir was telling on his blog, for goodness sakes, as he relates in an entertaining Youtube video. When blog fans wanted to be able to have it in a single volume, he put it up on Amazon, cheap. An agent saw iit and offered to represent him to traditional publishers, and the book eventually took off. There are self-published books that have gone on to be great successes. The Fifty Shades of Grey books are a famous (infamous?) example, and Still Alice maybe a more respectable one.

I'm guessing the YA fantasy popularity is not a fad - it's been popular for as long as I've been involved with books. I'm sure there are theories as to why, but you and I know the enjoyment of being carried away by a good fantasy.

>25 msf59: Ha! Nice one, Mark. Bear with me, but I can hardly bear how excellent those bookends are.

That's a much shorter drive than I thought it was. I've never tried the Wisconsin route - you don't have to go around the bottom of the lake to Michigan, so that makes a big difference. When do you leave?

>26 avatiakh: A peculiar U.S. decision at that, isn't it, Kerry? I don't know how they come up with these mastermind ideas, but I hate to see more obstacles to publication for authors. The more I think about it, the more insupportable this one seems.

I saw you commending Buffalo Soldier elsewhere. It does look like a really interesting one. I haven't seen it get much publicity on this side of the pond, but that may change.

>27 kac522: Hiya, Kathy. Yeah, we go to a B & N in Ann Arbor when we're there, and I've noticed the same thing - a huge expansion of the teen section. It does seem like a positive sign. I also think a lot of adults are buying YA books these days - the Harry Potter books seemed to be a catalyst for a lot of that. Towards the end of her life my mother used to love YA books - good stories, "cleaner" than the adult books she was reading, and often upholding traditional values. Obviously, she wasn't reading more challenging ones like Speak and The Perks of Being a Wallflower, although I suspect she would've appreciated those, too.

>28 AMQS: Thanks, Anne! It helps to be in a community of booklovers, and get tips on so many great ones. Sometimes they're lifechangers - Being Mortal has positively affected our whole family, and I swear even some of the doctors we now encounter.

I wondered about Drama on that list. I haven't read that one, but I read her Smile, and I had a feeling that the censorship view of Drama had to be cuckoo. Both those books are big sellers, so the intent to quash has failed miserably, thank goodness.

You're daughter can't be alone on loving YA historical fiction, I agree. I'm not sure how to put this, but it makes me think of the multitude of cable channels we have - a show can be a "hit" with far fewer viewers now, because the audience is so fragmented. I'm sure there are a lot of YA readers who love good historical fiction.

Sweet Thursday, Joe! Sue works until noon tomorrow and then I will scoop her up and we will be on our way.

Have you read Jonathan Strange? And if so, are you a fan? I am considering starting it on audio.

Barnes & Noble announced at ComiCon that they are going to expand the graphic novel section of their stores. I have been telling my colleagues to go to B&N on Friday night and go see who is sitting in the aisles on the floor reading graphic novels. In the past the largest demographic group that was reading graphic novels was young men between the ages of 18-25. That is rapidly changing. It isn't men. It is girls. Tweens to be specific. Manga is especially popular with teen girls. This is driving the market so much that publishers are expanding their title lists for graphic novels - and manga to be specific. It was also announced recently that one of the big graphic novel publishers (company like Dark Horse or Fantagraph) has signed an agreement with a big French graphic novel publisher to translate and publish these graphic novels here in the U. S. The French have just about cornered the market in Europe for graphic novels and were looking for a place to expand. The U. S. was it. I think it is rather funny as it was the French who invented the graphic novel. Remember Astrix? Max and Moritz? If you haven't read any of those try to find them.

It was several years ago that I began to notice the younger teen girls in the graphic novel aisles. The numbers of girls reading those has steadily grown and a couple of times it has been almost like an impromptu book discussion group in there. I can't wait to see what B&N does with the new layouts and what part of the store they decrease in order to get enough space for the expanded graphic novels.

#32
I was a fan of Jonathan Strange. However, I read it. It is huge - 750 pages and a great deal of it is in footnotes. I don't know how the footnotes would work in an audio recording, but you can try it and find out. The footnotes in the book are extensive. Sometimes one footnote will be two pages long. They are integral to the story so I don't think they can skip them.

>32 msf59: Sweet Thursday, Mark! Yes, I'm a big fan of Jonathan Strange. It may take you a while to get into the rhythm of it (it did me), but then it's a grand journey. I read it, but I'd think it would be a very nice one on audio.

Perfect for your travel plans, particularly since it's a shorter trip than I thought. Enjoy!

>33 benitastrnad: I love that graphic novels are getting to be more popular with tween girls, Benita! (And everyone else). I'm not a manga fan for the most part (the appeal eludes me), but there are plenty of other types. I also am happy about the the globalization of GNs. I love the Belgian The Leaning Girl, the works of Frenchman Moebius (Jean Giraud) and many others that are not originally from around these parts. Exciting times!

It seems like B & N is constantly reorganizing the Ann Arbor store. Sections move all over the place for reasons beyond me. There are certainly plenty of candidates for less space, from my POV, but I'd (of course) choose to trim down their non-book space to create more room for GNs. I'd also worry about the floor readers who aren't purchasing GNs, but that's a tough problem.

>34 benitastrnad: Hmm, I'd forgotten about the Jonathan Strange footnotes. How does the audio publisher deal with those? Does anyone know?

JSaMN is wonderful on audio! I listened to it first and then, a few years after, read it in print, and I greatly enjoyed both versions. The audio version includes the footnotes, and I thought that aspect was handled very well. Have to say I think I actually preferred the audio version, but only by a bit.

>36 Storeetllr: Thanks, Mary! That should be reassuring for our friend Mark.

Hey Joe--made a great haul at the Newberry sale today--only made it to a couple of rooms, but had to stop--had 2 bags full, which was all I could carry home on the Brown Line. I guess I'll just have to go back tomorrow....

>38 kac522: Ha! Way to go, Kathy. Two bags full - you'd give our book-acquisitive daughter a run for her money. What did you get?

Morning Joe! Happy Friday! Getting ready to run a few errands, before I pick up Sue!

That is great news about the audio of Jonathan Strange. Hugs to Mary! I started The Sixth Extinction, (more cheery reading, LOL, but really compelling) but J.S. will be my next audio. Have you watched any of the BBC series?

>40 msf59: Morning, Mark! Happy Friday, buddy. I look forward to hearing your reaction to Jonathan Strange - yes, way to go, Mary! That would've reassured me, too.

We decided to wait to watch the BBC series all together when it comes out on Netflix or On Demand. We've gotten hooked on Poldark, so that's the one we're watching on a weekly basis. The previews for JS and Mr. N look good, and the buzz for it has all been positive, as far as I know.

I have been watching it and it is good. The special effects are great for a TV show. It has been a long time since I read the novel and I have to keep thinking about what exactly was in it, so I am not sure how much of it has been changed in the TV version. It is a BBC production and I generally trust them to be true to the spirit of the book. However, it does seem to me that parts of it were emphized more than they were in the book. For instance, Mr. Strange's participation in the Peninsular War was bigger in the production than I remembered it in the book. But it is a huge book, and I can't remember all the parts of it anymore. I am enjoying the TV show.

I am loving the BBC miniseries of JSaMN. It is only 7 episodes, though, out of a nearly 1,000 page book (800 pages? it's been awhile since I looked), so they had to leave a LOT out, though nothing new was added in that I can tell. But what is there is wonderful! And, considering the scope of the novel and the briefness of the miniseries (about 7 hours), they did a fabulous job! I just hope Susanna Clarke finishes the sequel (and that it is at least half as good as the original).

I've been watching each episode as it comes out and then rewatching the series On Demand. Can you tell I'm impressed with it?

You are all whetting my appetite for Strange... I've avoided looking for the program on tv because I want to read the book first. And it is on my 2015 reading list (along with about 40 other titles). But I'm turning to it very soon, you betcha.

>24 benitastrnad: yes, yes, Christopher Paul Curtis is one of my favorite authors! Bud, Not Buddy is a great book.

>24 benitastrnad: yes, yes, yes Christopher Paul Curtis is an incredible author. I highly recommended The Watsons Go to Birmingham, and Bud, Not Buddy.

>39 jnwelch: Went back today, but didn't get as much. Between the two days, came home with lots of Trollope (all lesser-known stuff); Heyer's The Grand Sophy (based on your thread here); a 1943 Avon Monthly Short Story magazine of 15 James T. Farrell stories; Willa Cather's The Professor's House; E. L. Doctorow's The Book of Daniel; among other things.

>42 benitastrnad: Good to hear that you're enjoying the Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell BBC tv series, Benita, after having read the book. Sometimes the adaptations come up short, but the BBC sure seems to do better than most. Have you taken a look at the new Poldark series they've done? I was skeptical after liking the original, but it's really well done. I know you like the books.

>43 Storeetllr: Oh, that's high praise for JSaMN, Mary. When you find yourself re-watching, that says a lot. We may have to move up our schedule with it. Do you remember whether they travel on the Kings Road? I loved that section in the book.

>44 weird_O: Me, too, Bill. Looking forward to hearing what you think of the book. It certainly cast its spell on me.

>45 Whisper1:, >46 Whisper1: You're a Christopher Paul Curtis fan, too, Linda? OK, I've got to read this guy. The Watsons Go to Birmingham in addition to Bud, not Buddy? Good to know.

>47 kac522: Oh, The Grand Sophy! Excellent, Kathy. I enjoyed the heck out of that one. Bear with it (if you need to) until Sophy shows up. Lots of Trollope, Farell stories, Cather's The Professor's House, and a Doctorow, among others. Sounds like a great time, and a great haul.

We're not going to make it to the Newberry sale this year, unfortunately. Madame MBH is at a writer's workshop, and I'm having too good a time being at home after our being away so much. Went over to the library and got the newest Longmire book plus a 100 Bullets volume, and wrote a review which I'll post next.

H is for Hawk is a beautifully written memoir in which Helen Macdonald recounts her struggles after the unexpected death of her beloved father, and her efforts to reassemble her life by training a goshawk. She has had experience training falcons, but goshawks are more difficult and less predictable. Taking this on reminds her of a book she was fascinated by as a child, The Goshawk by T.H. White, the author of The Once and Future King. In it White recounts his own flailings and failings in trying to train a goshawk. She learns more about White, and begins to research him, learning he was tormented his whole life by inner compulsions considered unacceptable by society. An insightful biography of White becomes threaded through Macdonald's own story, and his experience intertwines with hers with her goshawk, Mabel.

Whenever a "trained" goshawk like Mabel flies from the hand, the question is whether it will choose to return. Would it be better to continue to fly, and be free in woods and fields, enjoying the thrill of hunting and the abundance of tasty prey, such as rabbits, pheasant, and grouse? Or would it be better to return to the human who has been her companion, and who also is a reliable source of food? Every shared journey may be the last.

An example of the gorgeous writing in this book:

{M}y heart is beating like a fitting beast, but she's back on the glove, beak open, eyes blazing. And then there is a long moment of extraordinary intensity.

The goshawk is staring at me in mortal terror, and I can feel the silences between both our heartbeats coincide. Here eyes are luminous, silver in the gloom. Her beak is open. She breathes hot hawk breath in my face. It smells of pepper and musk and burned stone. Her feathers are half-raised and her wings half-open, and her scaled yellow toes and curved black talons grip the glove tightly. It feels like I'm holding a flaming torch. I can feel the heat of her fear on my face.

Being with the hawk is an adrenaline-filled escape from her loss. "{O}ut with the hawk I didn't need a home. Out there I forgot I was human at all. Everything the hawk saw was raw and real and drawn hair-fine, and everything else was dampened to nothing".

This is a great book that you won't want to miss. Highly recommended.

More amazing illustrations to top your thread, Joe. Absolutely gorgeous!

>51 ronincats: Thanks, Roni! Aren't those great? I really love her work.

I really enjoyed H is for Hawk too, Joe! Looks like you read it in print. I loved listening to the author read it on audio, but I have been thinking of getting a print copy and enjoying it that way too.

As for traveling The King's Road, there was a bit of that, but not to the extent I would have liked. It was a pretty short miniseries for such a long book. Obviously, they left a lot out. The disappointment of missing so much may be why I'm planning a re-listen to the novel in the next few weeks.

>50 jnwelch: Lovely quotes. I can totally understand why this book won so many awards, despite the unusual topic.

Coming in after my TDF Hiatus .....

great to see the love for Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell my copy is 1000+ pages - suspect there are various prints out there ...

Great to see you loved H is for Hawk was lucky enough to see Helen at Book festival down here ... still on my read list.

Y.A Fiction - when I was young it didn't exist which gave us ability to go into Adult books full throttle not a bad thing ... personally think this genre ( like some others) is more about selling more books than anything else .... anything else I say will not be liked by protective parents so will say shtum :)

I picked up a copy of H is for Hawk on my recent travels, too many interesting comments about the book not to.

Morning, Joe - happy Sunday!

I want to weigh in on YA books. My take is that they provide full aged adults an opportunity to read books which do not weigh too much, are easily read and provide entertainment. Or they give these parents a chance to read the same book as their kids are reading without being bored.

Oh, hi! Joe. Happy Sunday?

Pouring rain here.....yay!

Morning Joe! Happy Sunday. Great review of H is For Hawk. I am so glad you loved it. Like, Mary I would also like a print copy to reread and pass around to friends.

I was warbling about the memoir, to friends the other night, as a Must Read.

Hope the weekend is going well.

>53 Storeetllr: Yes, I read H is for Hawk in print, Mary. Now you've got me curious about hearing the author narrate it. I'll bet that worked well.

The Kings Road portion of JSaMN really got me. I'm glad it at least shows up in the BBC series.

>54 charl08: Right, Charlotte. I've actually always been fascinated by hawks (love the way they fly!), so the book was a natural for me, but I agree with you. It's the exceptionally fine writing that has gotten it the awards, I imagine, and its wide success.

>55 roundballnz: Oh yeah, I think you'll love Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell, Alex, even with its length. Immersive, once you get caught up in it.

How was Helen Macdonald in person? She comes across as shy in the book, but dead honest.

I know what you mean about the YA category. I'm not sure what all the categorizing gains, and they go crazy with it at B & N in the teen section, splintering it even further (e.g. Teen Fantasy).

Off to breakfast. Back later.

Good Sunday Morning, Joe. My favorite part of the day is the morning when I can sit at my lap top and watch Sunday Morning on CBS and play on the computer during ads and boring moments. My favorite way to watch TV.

Hope your breakfast was a good one!

The talk of you and others have prompted me to put Edith Wharton back on the shelf and take up Susanna Clarke.

>56 avatiakh: Oh, we'll see, Kerry, but I think you're a natural for H is for Hawk. Look forward to hearing your reaction to it.

>57 scaifea: Morning, Amber - Happy Sunday! We're taking it easy today, catching up on things, reading. We finished reading Little House on the Prairie to each other, and we liked it, so we're going to go back to the beginning next, with Little House in the Big Woods.

We did notice that baby Carrie gets forgotten a lot in LHOTP, and started making jokes about that. But a cousin fan of the whole series assures us that she gets lots of attention elsewhere in the series.

Hope you're having a good one.

>58 maggie1944: I like your take on YA books, Karen. The good ones do work well for adults, and I like the idea of being able to read what your teen is reading. We certainly did the Harry Potter books with our kids, and occasionally they'd recommend books to us - Speak and Thirteen Reasons Why come to mind, rec'd by our daughter, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower is her best friend's favorite book. Oh, and we read Tamora Pierce with our kids when they were younger, and Becca's favorite book was The Westing Game, so we all read that.

It is a Happy Sunday here - hope yours is, too! We're very glad to be home for a while.

>59 msf59: There's Mr. Mark! Thanks for checking in from the wild country up there.

I can heartily recommend the print version of H is for Hawk. You guys have intrigued me about the audio. It would be interesting to hear her narrate it.

It's probably my bookstore-working past, but it would be unusual for me to call a book a Must Read, even though I like it when you do. People's tastes differ so much, that for me it's rare to say that. The one I can think of right now is Being Mortal - that one fits for everyone.

Everything's going very well here in the lower 48. We just visited Becca and the estimable Sherlock; he's taken up smoking a pipe and playing the violin, which is impressive for a miniature poodle.

>61 maggie1944: Good Sunday Morning, Karen! Madame MBH loves that Sunday morning show on CBS, too. We're often out and about when it comes on here, so she doesn't get to watch it as much as she used to.

The breakfast was excellent. We sat outside at John's Place on Roscoe, enjoying the nice weather and having chilaquiles (Debbi) and huevos rancheros (yours truly). Then we got some Starbucks chai/coffee and visited the beloved daughter and her pup.

>62 weird_O: Hope you enjoy the Susanna Clarke, Bill. I don't know your tastes well enough yet to know whether it'll be your cuppa or not, but I'll look forward to hearing what you think. You can't miss with Edith Wharton, but she'll wait for you.

The finale of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell was great - special effects were outstanding. It ended differently than I remembered the book ending, but it was a long time ago that I read it. I would recommend the series. It was another quality effort by the BBC.

>65 benitastrnad: Great to hear, Benita, thanks. We may start the BBC JSaMN series today, if time permits.

>60 jnwelch: Love immersive books - I want the whole "down the rabbit hole" experience ....

I like the way the festival did things, more a conversation & lights dimmed so authors did not get a shock at how many people were there .... so while shy in nature you got to see the love for the topic/story .... win/win

When you're finished with the Little House, you should come and visit us on your way to the *actual* Little House in the Big Woods, which is not too far from here... We visited it on our way to Minneapolis last summer.

Morning Joe! Hope your Monday cruises along smoothly. I agree with your thoughts on "Must Reads". I just get a little excited sometimes. Warblers suffer from this affliction.

>67 roundballnz: Down the rabbit hole to the Kings Road, Alex. Have a good time!

That sounds just right for an author appearance. "More a conversation . . ."

>68 scaifea: Woo, I didn't know there was an "actual" Little House in the Big Woods, Amber. That sounds like a plan. We've love to visit you guys. We had a good time with Little House on the Prairie, and expect to enjoy the others as we work through them. Madame MBH also has the annotated Pioneer Girl, Wilder's autobiography, so we'll be learning more as we go.

>69 msf59: Morning, Mark! Welcome back, buddy. Ha! No worries about "Warblers' Aflliction". I enjoy your "Must Read" enthusiasm and take it to heart. Your tastes are pretty similar to mine anyway, although I'm more likely to carry a flashlight into those dark ones you find.

I'm reading the new Longmire, called Dry Bones, and so far can recommend it highly.

hey, Joe. while everyone else is out buying books, i finished Nella Last's War: the Second World War Diaries of 'Housewife, 49', the audiobook. extraordinary. it's her unselfconscious detailing of the quotidian face of home-front war that makes Nella Last's life memorable and remarkable, not to mention her keen insight and honesty. beautifully written, superbly narrated.

finished the third man and it had an almost Raymond Chandlerish noir feeling in spots. it was good, short and left me with questions. i like that. well, it's Graham Greene. for me, nuff said.

also, just left the Berghof where Ursula was dallying w/ Eva Braun in Life after life. must now have schwarzwälder kirschtorte. since it's Monday, and to save you stress, i brought one along. it is good to share.

Happy New Thread Joe. I love the pictures on top. They are lovely!

>71 jnwelch: Oh, I love Calvin. Always makes me smile.

>70 jnwelch: Yep, the actual cabin is still there, and amazingly small. When we were there, we met a mother/daughter couple who were makes a tour of all of the historical spots from the books - all of the various places they lived, which is apparently a Thing to Do. Sounds like a hoot to me. This one, the original settlement is just outside of a small town, in which there is a LIW museum. We stopped at it, too and it was lovely.

>71 jnwelch: Love it! That's Charlie to a T - he's a big fan of streaking through the house when he's fresh out of the bath...

>71 jnwelch: This reminds me of how much I loved Calvin and Hobbs! What a great way to start the day -- with a hearty laugh.

>72 mirrordrum: Ooh, is the café serving schwarzwälder kirschtorte today?

>72 mirrordrum: Woo, Ellie, I'm glad you mentioned Nella Last's War. I hadn't heard of this one, or the Mass Observation project. What a great idea. This is going on my WL.

I remember the excellent Third Man movie (Joseph Cotton), but never read the book. You make that one sound appealing, too.

Ah, Ursula and Eva. I can hear that narrator's voice right now. What a book, eh?

Thank you for the schwarzwälder kirschtorte, and for showing me how to spell it. I've already got my fork out, and I expect others do, too.

>73 connie53: Thanks, Connie! Good to see you. I'm glad you like the illustrations.

>74 charl08: Me, too, Charlotte. Calvin has a knack for getting into trouble that I can really relate to. :-)

>78 jnwelch: Am I remembering it right, that Station Eleven the cartoonist quotes Spaceman Spiff as an influence? or am I thinking of something else I've read / heard recently...?

>75 scaifea: Cool beans, Amber. I was thinking about how small the cabin seemed like it must be in Little House on the Prairie. Sounds like it was true to life. I could see touring to see the historical spots from the books. It's hard not to be nostalgic for those wide open times, dangerous as they were in so many ways. Oh, I know Madame MBH would love a visit to the LIW museum. I have to remember to mention this to her.

We're signing up today for an all-day Jane Austen tour as part of our London trip in the fall. Can't wait!

Ha! I'm sure Charlie will find Calvin's a kindred spirit when he starts reading the books. Brilliant.

>76 Whisper1: He always makes me laugh, too, Linda. You're right, perfect way to start the day.

>77 kidzdoc: LOL! I should've known you'd be familiar with schwarzwälder kirschtorte, Darryl. Yup, it's Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte Day at the cafe, and whoever can say it correctly three times fast gets a free slice. Ellie will be pronunciation judge.

>80 jnwelch: Schwarzwälder kirschtorte, schwarzwälder kirschtorte, schwarzwälder kirschtorte!

>79 charl08: I'm not quick enough to keep up with the cafe patrons this morning, Charlotte. I remember the Spaceman Spiff reference - was it The Martian? No, you're right, Station Eleven. Someone mentions it on Goodreads, my Google Fu says.

ETA: from "American Microreviews" review of Station Eleven:

Although {book character} Miranda models Dr. Eleven after the farcical Spaceman Spiff stories from Bill Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes, her comic evokes the moodiness and allegorical prowess of 1960s sci-fi novelists like Samuel Delany. Ultimately, there’s more Ballad of Beta-2 than Spaceman Spiff in her comics, and that’s a very good thing for the novel.

>81 kidzdoc: Not sure when we'll get judgment from Ellie, but that sounds like a winner to me, Darryl. :-) Here you go:

>82 jnwelch: Thanks, Joe!

Caffè Greco on Columbus Avenue in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood remains my favorite café, and it serves a delightful Brasiliana cake that looks similar to schwarzwälder kirschtorte:

>83 kidzdoc: Oh my, I'll have to remember Caffè Greco for our next San Francisco trip, Darryl. I'd go for that in a blink. Our son's godfather lives there, and we owe him a trip.

I may have to suspend work for a year to clear our schedule for travel. We're already talking about all the trips we want to make next year.

>85 jnwelch: Caffè Greco is also a short walk away from City Lights Bookstore and Chinatown. Even though I usually have to take a bus to go there I normally start my days in SF with breakfast at Caffè Greco, and I'll sometimes go there in the evenings for espresso and a slice of Brasiliana cake. The café has a great atmosphere, as it's mainly populated by local residents and the guys who work there and the owner are very friendly. It has both indoor and outdoor seating, and it's both a nice place to watch residents and tourists walk past and an excellent place to read in a very relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

I may have to suspend work for a year to clear our schedule for travel. We're already talking about all the trips we want to make next year.

You're preaching to the choir, Brother Joe.

>70 jnwelch: Yes, Joe, always keep that proverbial "flashlight" handy. LOL.

Love all the food and cartoons. Keep 'me coming.

I highly recommend The Sixth Extinction. More warbling to come...

Looking forward to getting back to The Fifth Business, at lunchtime.

>86 kidzdoc: Ha! I know you're sympathetic to the idea of suspending work to allow more travel, Brother Darryl. We're looking forward to spending time with you in London in September.

I've been to City Lights bookstore multiple times, and wish I had known about Caffè Greco. It sounds great, and of course the best recommendation is your going back repeatedly, as well as it being "an excellent place to read in a very relaxed and friendly atmosphere."

>87 msf59: I'll keep that flashlight at the ready, Mark. :-)

The Sixth Extinction sounds worthy, but may lose out to other TBR and WL contenders.

Have a good time with The Fifth Business. I'd expect that one to help the work day.

>77 kidzdoc: it is indeed schwarzwälder kirschtorte day at Joe's, Darryl. i fell in love with this tasty piece of overwhelm in Berzerkely in the 60s-70s. there was a coffee cafe on Northside that served, amongst other delights, outrageous schwarzwälder kirschtorte, German chocolate cake and also a very good Sachertorte. having won the 3-times-in-a-row contest, you have your choice of any of these. :-D

>80 jnwelch: how does one do Jane Austen in a day? shouldn't one at least visit Bath?

and for Charlie and his fans:

>89 mirrordrum: Mm, German Chocolate Cake. When I was growing up, a family friend made the best GCC ever, and she loved to see our faces when she appeared at the door with one. Sachertorte is new to me, but it sure looks good.



Here's how we're going to do the Jane Austen tour, Ellie: http://www.hiddenbritaintours.co.uk/site/jact.asp A friend and her daughter recommended it most highly. We did spend a few days at Bath on an earlier trip, but I'd sure like to go back.

Nice Calvin and Hobbes pic!

Ooooh, Sachertorte!

I thought the same thing about the Caffe Greco - I wish I had known about it when I went to City Lights!

>91 scaifea: Doesn't that Sachertorte look awfully good, Amber? Wow, that and a cup of java and I'm all set.

City Lights + Caffe Greco is worth daydreaming about. When we all win the lottery, we can arrange for an LT meetup out there.

>90 jnwelch: Okay that looks delectable ..... Nice find on the Hidden tours

>93 roundballnz: I know, right, Alex? I want a RL piece now.

Good morning to you, friend at the other end of the world! Thanks re the Hidden tours - a friend had a great experience with them, and this guy has gotten raves for the Jane Austen tour.

OK, now we've got me day dreamin' about going to SF for City Lights and Caffe Greco! I have always thought it would be great fun to fly from Seattle to SF for a long weekend of shopping and sights... I love the museums in that lovely city, too.

you people are making me homesick.



the City in the 50s--still looked pretty much the same in the early 60's when i got to Cal.

my parents met at Cal and my Dad worked on the golden gate measuring the sway. there was no Oakland bridge and they rode the Oakland to San Francisco ferry as entertainment during the depression. Dad said it was like a fairytale.

I saw those pieces of cake, and now I'm wishing I had a cake in the house. I won't be able to bake one before at least Thursday. I'm tied up most of the day tomorrow.

>96 mirrordrum:, Ellie, we still ride our ferries in Puget Sound for fun! They are no fun any more for going any where as they are as crowded and as tough to use as are our roads! But for a cheap fun day on the water, they are the best!

>95 maggie1944: Me, too, Karen. SF MOMA is terrific. I saw one of my favorite Sarah Sze sculptures there, Things Fall Apart:



A bit hard to capture via photography, but in person it's remarkable.

>96 mirrordrum: Oh, I love that b & w photo, Ellie.

How great for your folks to have experienced SF like that back in the day, and you in the 60s. The 60s must have been quite the wild time to be there!

I took the ferry to Sausalito a few years ago, and loved that.

>97 thornton37814: OK, so we won't all come to your house until Thursday night, Lori. Cake is that important.

I was going to say we should always have cake on hand at home, but I realized I'd have trouble fitting through doorways if we did.

>98 maggie1944: You remind me that we took the ferry from Seattle to the San Juan Islands, Karen, and it was beautiful. The SJ Islands may have been our favorite family vacation. Gorgeous, different from anywhere else, and so relaxing.

Happy Hump Day, Joe! It is thick and mucky out here. I hope it clears up, like they have forecasted. Fingers crossed.

I am really enjoying the Fifth Business. I love his writing style.

>99 jnwelch: well, Joe, is it any wonder her things fall apart? look at it and you can see the center cannot hold. pretty soon there'll be a widening gyre and vast shapes in the desert with slow thighs and indignant desert birds and a lot of slouching and i don't know what all. but srsly, it's amazing. how nice for me that you got so much kulchah. :-)

and speaking of things falling apart, i gotta go to the rheumatology wallah and who knows what will come of that besides a shot in the wrist. nothing prolly.

glad you liked the photo. i forgot to name the photographer. but yes, the 60's were an extraordinary time to be in the Bay Area, both for good and for not-so-good. wouldn't trade it even tho so much was sadly misspent. ah, youth.

>98 maggie1944: hi, Karen. the ferries across the bay from Sausalito and environs to the City are presumably still going. that is, or used to be, a nice run.

hope to be back laytah.

oh, do you know where Darryl's Booker site is? i can't find the damn thing. you know me. hopeless.

>72 mirrordrum: Thank you Ellie for mentioning Nella Last's War. I was on a tear several months ago reading about British women on the home front but I knew I had missed one! BTW I can recommend Henrietta's War, & Good Evening Mrs. Craven which are in a similar vein. My fave is Penelope Fitzgerald's Human Voices, a fictionalized version of the author's war years working at the BBC. I'm off to hunt down Nella's Last!

And Joe, both Bud, not Buddy and The Watsons Go to Birmingham are wonderful books that I'm confident you'll love.

>102 mirrordrum: Oh, I love that, Ellie. Yeats' Slouching Toward Bethlehem brought to life. The center cannot hold. The sculpture is amazing to see up close - a mixture of what seems organic and inorganic.

I'm figuring and hoping you're doing much better on the things falling apart aspect of life? I hope it's a shot and a chase yer right out of there (a "shot and a chaser") at the rheumawallah's.

Loved the photo. B & w can be so atmospheric. I'll bet that was an extraordinary time in the Bay Area. I'm looking forward to reading your memoir. :-)

This is the Booker longlist from Darryl's site, http://www.librarything.com/topic/193380#5227672:

The Booker Prize longlist has just been announced:

Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg
The Green Road by Anne Enright
A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James
The Moor's Account by Laila Lalami
Satin Island by Tom McCarthy
The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma
The Illuminations by Andrew O'Hagan
Lila by Marilynne Robinson
Sleeping on Jupiter by Anuradha Roy
The Year of the Runaways by Sunjeev Sahota
The Chimes by Anna Smaill
A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

If you're looking for the Booker Prize site, it's here: http://www.themanbookerprize.com/news/man-booker-prize-announces-2015-longlist

ETA: See what Darryl has to say in >106 kidzdoc:

>103 NarratorLady: Oh, more good WWII ones, thanks, Anne. I'm hoping to get to Nella's Last War sooner rather than later.

Linda (Whisper1) is helping me get my hands on those two Christopher Paul Curtis books. Sure glad to have your recommendation on them. Now I'm extra-inspired.

I'm currently working on Mrs. Dalloway and The Warmth of Other Suns. I was saying to Mark that I'll be working on the latter for a long time to come. It's excellent, but not a fast one for me. I'm interspersing other reads as I work my way through it.

>102 mirrordrum: do you know where Darryl's Booker site is?

Here's the link to the Booker Prize group, Ellie: http://www.librarything.com/groups/bookerprize2008

If anyone is or near San Francisco from Aug 8-12 and would like to meet up (especially at Caffè Greco or City Lights), please let me know!

>106 kidzdoc: Oh, many thanks, Darryl. I didn't realize that's what Ellie was asking for.

Wish we could join you in SF. Have a great time!

>107 jnwelch: Thanks, Joe. I'll visit SF for a few days, then fly back across the country to spend two weeks with my parents in suburban Philadelphia. There will be an LT meet up in Philadelphia on the 15th, and I'll spend the following weekend with Caroline and her husband Edd in Boston.

>108 kidzdoc: Nice! Love hearing about all the LT get-togethers. Some day we're going to meet Caroline and Edd. We used to be in Boston on a regular basis, and now that I've gotten to know Caro online, we haven't been in ages.

>109 jnwelch: You definitely have to meet Caroline and Edd. They are the loveliest of people, and Caroline is a great host and an amazing cook. I'll never forget the dinner she made for me and a classmate from medical school two years ago at her house.

Hopefully you can meet some of the NYC area LTers as well, especially Zoë, Judy, Jim, Tad and Julie, along with Jane (@janepriceestrada) and Peg (plt) from Club Read.

>110 kidzdoc: Sounds great, Darryl. I see Caro's food posts, and can tell she's an ace cook. NYC: Judy and Jim definitely; in fact, I misunderstood, and didn't realize they lived in Manhattan. I'll have to learn more about all the others. We're in NYC every Spring these days, if not more often, so that one should happen soonish.

>111 jnwelch: Judy & Jim live in Manhattan, as do Zoë & Mark. As far as I know Jane still lives in Brooklyn, and I think Peg also lives in Manhattan. Tad & Julie live in North Jersey. When I'm visiting my parents I'm a short drive away from Trenton in central NJ, which is a little more than a hour by train from Penn Station NYC. After I decided to apply to medical school I moved back in with my parents, and commuted every day to work from Trenton to NYC, so it's easy for me to get to Manhattan as well.

>112 kidzdoc: Maybe we'll be able to coordinate something next Spring, Darryl. Zoe, Mark, Jane, Peg, Tad & Julie are new to me, I think, unless I know them under LT names and I'm not realizing it.

Very cool that you have such a solid relationship with your parents. I lost one a few years ago and have another way up there in years, so that kind of thing has taken on added meaning for me.

Quiet day at the cafe! I'm heading home for stuffed cheese and onion pizza and some kind of mystery cake with candles.

Happy Birthday, Joe! I wish I could share a beer with you! Especially when "she" is serving.

Have a good time tonight with your friends!

Hey Joe, you have the same birthday as my Uncle Neil, another great guy! There's really something to this astrology thing.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Joe! I would ignore that beer server if I were you, especially if Debbi is still carrying that knife.

Happy Birthday, Joe!!

Happy birthday, proprietor.

Happy birthday. Any cake to spare? :-)

Happy birthday, Joe! I hope it was the best one yet! (That pizza looks amazing...)

>115 msf59: Ha! Thanks, Mark. Your friend looks lovely. I'm sure she has beautiful eyes - not sure how the photographer missed those. Distracted, I guess.

We had a great time. Amazing of this SF pal to fly in with his wife to see us. He and I have known each other since junior high (he's son #1's godfather), and his birthday is the day after mine (today). As he points out, in all that time, we've never celebrated our birthdays together. Not sure how in the world that happened, except, as a July baby, you know how folks are all over the map in July. So we're doing it up this time.

Facebookers can see the delicious key lime pie my lovely daughter #1 (seasonsoflove) made for the occasion.

>116 NarratorLady: Ha! Thanks, Anne! Uncle Neil is welcome to join the ongoing celebration. Lots of Leo-ness going on. One of my best friends, another great guy, is here, and today is his birthday. Maybe we can start up a Great Guys Club.

>117 kidzdoc: LOL! Oh, you got me with that one, Darryl. Thanks for the birthday wishes. I'm safer figuring Debbi always has that knife somewhere nearby, so I don't know what beer server you're talking about. Ignore any comments I may have made about the server's presumably beautiful eyes.

>118 ronincats: Thanks, Roni. I probably should post a pic of the presents that some lucky guy got, a lot through the graces of his wonderful (and dangerous) wife:



ETA: That slim one on top is a Morgan Freeman Through the Wormhole dvd.

I'm amazed how folks somehow sense that I love to read. There are three missing, Marriage Can Be Murder, an unfortunate source of inspiration to my wife, Goodnight Mr. Darcy, a "children's book" targeted to Janeites, and Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant, which immediately got whisked away for reading.

>119 ffortsa: Thanks, Judy. We've known each other long enough (at least online) that you should feel free to call me "Prop". :-)

>120 charl08: Turns out it was a key lime pie night, Charlotte, with the pie made by our beloved daughter. It was outstanding!

Since it dwindled in an impressive frenzy, here's some more:



>121 scaifea: Thanks, Amber. It was the best birthday yet, and that's saying something. The pizza was delicioso, and seasonsoflove made a terrific key lime pie for us. (She also tactfully limited the number of candles, so as not to set off the fire alarm).

Happy Friday, Joe! Nice birthday book haul. Love all the GNs! Enjoy!

Glad you had a good time with your SF friend!

Happy happy, Joe. You and J. K. Rowling, I see.

Be sure to take a look tonight at the Blue Moon.

It certainly does sound like you had a great birthday! I hope you like Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant - I sure did.

>124 msf59: Thanks, Mark! Isn't that a great group of GNs? Jesse already has asked about The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage, and I told him to ignore it; we plan to give it to him in the holiday season.

>125 weird_O:, >126 weird_O: Thanks, Bill. Was yesterday J.K. Rowling's birthday, too? That's mighty good company to be in.

We were on our front porch looking at the big ol' moon last night, and will be sure to appreciate the official blue moon tonight.



There's a good explanation of what a blue moon is here (with thanks to my BIL who pointed it out): http://www.history.com/news/ask-history/what-is-a-blue-moon

ETA: >127 scaifea: Thanks, Amber! 'Twas - and turnabout is fair play tonight, as we celebrate our visiting friend's birthday.

Your original positive reaction is what got me interested in Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant. So far I'm getting a kick out of it.

Oh, oh. Rowling's is today, according to the list on the home page. Born in 1965. Also Primo Levi in 1919. Death date for St. Ignatius of Loyola in 1556, Antoine de Saint-Exupery in 1944, Gore Vidal in 2012. And others, of course. I don't know how to go back to yesterday's list. But I don't think you were on it. Sorry; better get that book written. :-)

Delilah Dirk visits Joe's. she was going to wish him a happy b'day but you know it goes.



enjoy your book haul, Joe. looks incredible. happy happy happy First Blue Moon After Your Birthday Day.

>129 weird_O: Ha! Too bad you can't go back to yesterday's list, Bill, but at least I can tell my today-birthday-celebrating pal that he shares it with Rowling. I'm trying to keep a pretty low profile because of all the crazy fans out there, so I think it's okay that I'm not on yesterday's list . . .

>130 mirrordrum: The illustration doesn't show up for me, Ellie. Is it our friend Delilah Dirk?

Your birthday wishes on FB were much appreciated! As you know, I try to stretch out the birthday (and other) celebrations as long as possible, so "First Blue Moon After Your Birthday Day" is definitely cause for celebration. I'm psyched about digging into that book haul, and Delilah already has been good company.

Hi Joe, happy belated birthday. Hope you had lots of cake, looks like there was plenty of it flying around your thread!

>132 Familyhistorian: Thanks, Meg! As it turns out, there was lots of pie, instead of cake, flying around. It's well-known in my family that I'm a pushover for carrot cake and key lime pie, and this year it was a delicious key lime pie, courtesy of the baking talents of our talented daughter. Woo, so good - and perfect for a warm summer night.

The best birthday yet? That's saying a lot, isn't it. :) Glad you had a wonderful day, got so many great presents (BOOKS!), and, of course, KEY LIME PIE!

>134 Storeetllr: It was wonderful, Mary. Now we're going to try to keep it going in honor of a pal who's in from out of town, celebrating his own birthday today after helping celebrate mine yesterday. I'm also hoping there's a forkful or two of that key lime pie left by the time I get home. The house elves tend to locate treats like that while I'm away, but maybe I'll luck out this time.

Just jumping in before there is a new thread. I love your opening drawings very much. Big waves right over the pond.

>136 Ameise1: Ha! Thanks, Barbara. This cafe will be open for a good while yet (We usually change it around 250 posts). Thanks for checking in amid your beguiling adventures. Paris is next, right?

>137 jnwelch: Yep, tomorrow at 1.15pm we're leaving for Paris and should arrive at Gare Montparnasse around 6.30pm.

>138 Ameise1: Oh my, have a wonderful time there, Barbara. I know you will. We have a lot of happy memories of that city.

>131 jnwelch: Google is my friend. Looked up a list of folks with birthdays on July 30. So you, Joe Welch, rub shoulders with these people: Anita Hill, Hope Solo, Auunuld, Laurence Fishburne, Richard Linklater, Buddy Guy, Henry Ford, William Pitt, Emily Bronte, Joe Nuxhall, Paul Anka, Peter Bogdanovich. Interesting company.

>139 jnwelch: I've been very often at Paris. It's like coming home.

Happy belated birthday, Joe!

More beautiful art to top off your new thread. Lovely, Joe.

And happy belated birthday! And have I mentioned that I love key lime pie? It. is. my. favorite. dessert.

Today is my nephew's birthday and we're getting together with him and his gf, and his parents (P's brother and his wife). At least, I think we are. It's 95F and no one really wants to move. Certainly no one will be turning on any ovens or stoves!

Nice book haul you got for your birthday. I recently acquired a copy of Signs Preceding the End of the World and I want to read it soon.

Oh - by the way - have a great weekend!

Arriving late but full of birthday wishes for you, Joe. Sounds like you had a great day and got great gifts that you will be enjoying for some time.

Hi Joe, sorry to have been neglecting your thread, but here I'm with peace offerings

>146 connie53: Ha! Thanks, Connie! No need, but that sure looks good.

I'm going to have to bring a peace offering, as I've been a bit absent from the premises myself. Friend in town and other distractions.

I plan to catch up tomorrow. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Oh, yes, thank you, I'd love one of those "peace offerings". Don't discourage Connie, Joe. Encourage! Encourage! More peace in the world is always welcome, yes?

Happy Post Birthday celebrations to you, sir.

I am still n vacation butt wanted to wish you a happy birthday. A Key Lime Pie is a great birthday cake.

>148 maggie1944: You need some more, Karen?

Thank you, Connie, I think this will suit quite well....

*slips into the back corner, sits in big comfy chair, opens book, and takes first bite of pastry*

ahhhhhhhh

Happy Sunday, Joe! We are heading up to Milwaukee, to see the Cubs play the Brewers. Hoping for a sweep. And we WILL tail-gate!

Hope you have a nice day planned.

And thanks again for the nudge on Fifth Business. An absolute gem. I take it, you've read the other 2 in the trilogy?

Where the heck has that proprietor been?

>140 weird_O: Thanks, Bill. Intriguing, indeed. I think Richard Linklater and Emily Bronte would top my "glad they're on my team" list.

I "met" Anita Hill at a NYC hotel right after those Clarence Thomas hearings. She saw I recognized her in the hotel lobby (nobody else around, amazingly), and it was like a deer in the headlights. She couldn't go anywhere right then without encountering strong opinions, I'm sure. Not knowing what to say to her, I thought the best thing was to let her peacefully continue on. She seemed relieved.

Clarence Thomas (Scalia lite) is my least favorite modern times Supreme Court justice, among some strong candidates, that's for sure.

>141 Ameise1: I've been to Paris a few times now, and love it, Barbara. Just thinking about it feels good. We stayed in a flat in Le Marais district last time and had a great time, although the flat was too tiny for me to do a repeat stay there. Looking forward to catching up on your thread.

>142 SandDune: Many thanks, Rhian! It's been a great birthday weekend. I'm trying to figure out how to extend it even longer, but I may not succeed. At least it's a beautiful Sunday, and we're heading soon to a matinee of Vanya and Masha and Sonya and Spike, which I've been dying to see.

>143 EBT1002:, >144 EBT1002: Thanks, Ellen. I really love her art. A bit of the surreal, among other things.

Nice to have another key lime pie fan here. I've "shared" a photo of Becca's over on FB, so it should be easier to find now. Delish!

Happy b-day to your nephew! I hope you all figured out a non-95F way to comfortably celebrate it. Our temps have been pretty moderate here - normally I'd expect us to have that heat, and you to have the moderate.

As you can imagine, as I spend so much time with all of you avid book readers, it's hard to come up with a gift book I haven't heard of. One of my sisters amazingly scored twice, with Signs Preceding the End of the World and The Secret Game. I'm encouraged that you have a copy of the former; she sometimes misses the mark with me, but these both look good.

It's just been a terrific weekend in Welchland. Such a treat to have an oldtime pal visit with his wonderful wife. Last night we were at a poetry performance by Young Chicago Authors' Teaching Artists, and it was a knockout. It also featured a young man who stayed with my friend out in SF when the young man needed a little help straightening out his life's route. He's a charming, remarkable performer, and we all think we're going to see big things from him. Actually, we all feel we already have, but that he'll be finding a wider audience.

>145 DeltaQueen50: Thanks, Judy! Yeah, I was at the library yesterday to drop off books I'd read, and I thought, do not bring one home from the library, you have plenty waiting. ;-) I still almost grabbed A God in Ruins, as it was just sitting there, looking at me. I'll have to wait a while for that one. Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant was loads of fun, as Amber had indicated.

>146 connie53: *mumbles through scarfing down pieces of peace offering* Thanks again, Connie!

ETA: I've been counseled to encourage you to bring more peace offerings. Just saying.

>148 maggie1944: As usual, wise advice, Karen. Give peace a chance, actually, as many chances as possible. I'm working on it.

Thanks re the birthday. It continued last night, as a friend brought carrot cake and salted caramel gelato for a post-performance celebration. With some chilled pinot grigio on a hot night. Yum!



>149 benitastrnad: Thanks for checking in from your vacation, and for the birthday wishes, Benita. I managed to get both my favorites, with Becca's delicious key lime pie on my actual birthday, and a toothsome carrot cake last night.

Hope you're having a relaxing and satisfying vacation.

>150 connie53: Ah, there we go, Connie, thanks! I could get used to this. Looks like a cookie sampler, or maybe a pastry sampler? - if I ever get to paradise, I'll be looking for its sibling.

>151 maggie1944: You have wrought great good, Queen Karen. Enjoy the comfy chair, and just let us know what you'd like, on the house.

>152 msf59: Have a great time, Mark! The Cubbies are picking up the pace. Lovely day for traveling and tailgating, too. Hope they complete that sweep.

Yay for Fifth Business! I have to admit, I felt that was a can't miss for you. What a book, eh? As you say, an absolute gem. I echo your five star rating.

Yes, the next two are most excellent as well. A trilogy like no other.

OK, I think we got everybody, right? If not, just let me know.

Here we are with James and Josie, our SF friends, last Friday, celebrating his birthday, which is the day after mine. We figured out that, in 47 years of friendship, we'd never celebrated our birthdays together (mostly we've been in different geo-locations). How we can be so young and still be friends that long is beyond me.

>157 jnwelch: Wonderful image and wonderful story about your long friendship. I'm glad you finally got to celebrate your birthdays together!

I haven't yet read Signs Preceding the End of the World but I think I purchased it because it was on a list of things to read that weren't written by straight white men -- a response, if you will, to the NYT list of top books to read this summer which was desperately lacking in authorial diversity.

We beat yesterday's heat by hunkering down and reading much of the day, then sitting outside in the shade of our large Japanese maples, still reading (and chatting a bit). Today, we're headed to the air conditioned cinema to see "Mr. Holmes."

Have a great week, Joe!

>99 jnwelch: Wow! That is incredible!

Just to end the day with

>157 jnwelch: How we can be so young and still be friends that long is beyond me.
It is amazing isn't it!?

I just congratulated a friend on her significanth birthday, and mentioned what we had now been friends 27 years. But not to get too comfy about it, as a serious misdemeanor could still call it all to a screaming halt ;)

>158 EBT1002: Thanks, Ellen. James and I met way back when a basketball coach got mad at both of us - me for being a hot dog and not listening to him, and James for hassling another player (who deserved it) and not listening. While running punishment laps, the two of us got to talking, and the rest was friendship history.

I remember the discussions of the desperate lack of authorial diversity in the NY Times list of top books, but I can't remember the list itself, which is just as well. (And no need for someone to remind me, unless they want to make a point with it). If my sister and BIL got me Signs Preceding the End of the World, they must think highly of it. They were talking about how much they loved Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives which I gave them, so I'm hoping maybe this one reaches that label.

I love Japanese maples - we have one in front of our house. Good for you for finding a cool way to enjoy the day. Looking forward to your reaction to Mr. Holmes. Ian Mckellen is amazing, and of course I'm a Sherlock fan, furry and non-furry. I'm hoping the movie's as good as it sounds.

>159 Whisper1: Oh, good to hear, Linda! I think so, too. Sarah Sze is one of my favorite artists. I think of Things Fall Apart sculpture as the "split coupe". It's really cool to look up close and in detail.

>160 connie53: Woo! What a beautiful cake, Connie. It looks so good. Is it a particular kind?

>161 LovingLit: Ha! Yeah, there's just no figuring it out, Megan. Time warp maybe? Good advice to your friend of 27 years. I know this guy and I are much better at staying out of trouble than back in the day. Although I think both our wives would say we still have a knack for it.

>155 jnwelch: Mmm, carrot cake - cream cheese icing? Great to celebrate your birthdays together. And the two of you maybe not so much better at staying out of trouble but better at not getting caught? After all some wisdom does come with age!

>162 jnwelch: It's a cake that you can buy in our town. It's called Christoffeltaart (taart = cake). Saint Christopher is the patron or out city. His statue is on top of the cathedral.



The cake is made of dark chocolate (lots of it), sugar, egg-white, whipped cream and cherries.

So much cake talk here, and all of it good! Carrot cake is a favorite for me, and Connie's Christoffeltaart sounds amazing! I'm glad that your birthday celebrations have stretched beyond the actual day - that's the best way to celebrate a birthday! My apparently week-long celebrations started yesterday, with an early present through the mail (The New Complete Dog Book from Tomm's brother and his family) and a trip to Culver's for a Butterscotch Sundae (I had a birthday coupon via email)...

Whew! What a full weekend. All those cakes. I think I need to focus on simple food for a while. Breakfast will be oatmeal, I believe, accompanied by a nice café au lait.

I hope your coming week is all you hope it to be! (putting out such wishes may convince Karma to give me the same, even if it is a bit self centered to hope such)

Morning Joe! It looks like it will be a nice day. I hope it goes smooth for you.

I am enjoying Jonathan Strange. I think my only complaint, will be it's excessive length.

>164 Familyhistorian: Ha! Oh, I love that, Meg. Yes, maybe after all this time we're not so much better at staying out of trouble, as at not getting caught. :-) There should be some useful wisdom coming out of all those years.

Cream cheese icing on carrot cake is aces, no doubt about it.

>165 connie53: Nice! Thanks, Connie. Christoffeltaart is another one I'll add to the list of cakes I'd like to try. I wonder whether there is a "1001 Cakes to Eat Before You Die' book yet.

I like that St. Christopher has a little guy on his shoulder.

>166 scaifea: Woe is me, Amber, my wife and daughter let me know last night that my long birthday weekend was finally over. I stretched it out as far as I could. It's always an exciting challenge. :-)

Carrot cake! I had my last piece of that yesterday, too.

Happy Birthday (week)! I'll check over on your thread as to which is the actual day. You're going to be a dog expert after reading that early present. Butterscotch sundae? - sounds like a perfect breakfast item.

>167 maggie1944: I'm sensing that, after all those cakes, you'd like simpler fare than a butterscotch sundae, Karen. Oatmeal and cafe au lait coming your way:



The week looks A-OK so far. I'm adding my hope to yours that your week is all you hope it will be. I know this is a big one for you!

>168 msf59: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell is very long, Mark, no doubt about it. When I read it, I didn't have the feeling it needed to be better edited, just that she had a very large story to tell.

I'm drinking coffee and posting on Librarything, so, so far, the day is smooth and good. I've even managed to get a bit of work in, albeit reluctantly. :-)

We saw a fun play yesterday, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, a spoofy modern day tribute to Chekhov's The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, The Cherry Orchard, and Three Sisters. It won the Tony for best play in 2013.



The first three in the title were given their names by their deceased professor parents, and now Vanya (Ross Lehman) and adopted Sonia (Janet Ulrich Brooks) are living listless lives in their parents' bucolic home that, it turns out, is paid for by their movie star sister Masha (Mary Beth Fisher). The hilarious cleaning lady Cassandra (E. Faye Butler) crashes into their lives periodically, making dire Greek theater-style predictions of disaster ("Beware of Hootie-Pie!") that turn out to be true. When Masha returns home for a nearby celebrity-strewn party, the three begin to assess their lives, including Masha's Cassandra-predicted plans to sell the house and leave Vanya and Sonia out on the street (cue Chekhov's Uncle Vanya).



Masha is an aging actress who is energized by her boy toy Spike, played with verve and a lot of gyrations by Jordan Brown. Spike misses no chance to show off his physique, and to cheerfully tempt the gay Vanya. He also gets to represent today's obsession with electronic multitasking and social media.

A costume party encourages the snark to fly and Masha to assert her self-obsessed world view, insisting that everyone's costume somehow be related and subordinate to her Disney Snow White. But Sonia fools her by playing the Evil Queen as a glamorous Maggie Smith-inflected bon vivant.



A young acting aspirant (Rebecca Fuller), named Nina like the character in The Seagull, shows up as a Masha fan filled with youthful hope and passion. She immediately takes to Vanya and Sonia and, after graciously agreeing to be Dopey the Dwarf to Masha's Snow White, gives an enthusiastic stage-front speech, in her Dopey costume, about the joys of life and acting. Masha meanwhile works hard to thwart any attraction Spike may have for Nina.



The family gathers to hear a play Vanya has secretly written, involving post-environmental-apocalypse molecules(!) reminiscing about the earth that once was. Interrupted, Vanya is enraged by Spike's texting and goes off into a fantastic lengthy rant about an idyllic past filled with rotary phones, Ed Sullivan's show, licking postage stamps, the uniting but totally uneventful "Adventures" of Ozzie and Harriet, and so on. That one brought the house down, and may get Ross Lehman a Jeff award, the local equivalent of a Tony.

Meanwhile, Cassandra has been working some inspired voodoo on Masha's Snow White to prevent Vanya and Sonia from becoming destitute.



How will this all turn out? Catch this one if you can. It's a frothy good time, with plenty of allusions book readers will enjoy.

>157 jnwelch: You young'uns look like you were having a fun time!

>168 msf59: I felt the same about the length of JSaMN too, Mark, until I got to the end and wished it had gone on longer! :)

>171 jnwelch: Oh this looks like fun. Thanks for the review.

Loving the cake choices. Tricky to decide which to go for first! Hope your birthday book stack is working well for you.

>169 jnwelch: "I wonder whether there is a "1001 Cakes to Eat Before You Die' book yet. "

Perhaps you could write that one, Joe!

>172 Storeetllr: Ha! Well put, Mary!

That's some great encouragement for Mark re JSaMN. I felt the same way, particularly when I was on the Kings Roads.

>173 charl08: Ah, good, Charlotte. We had a lot of laughs at it. The guy playing Spike works out at my MBH's gym to keep that physique, so she knows him pretty well. We were pleased and relieved that he was really good in it, and he was happy we went and enjoyed it so much. I need to see more of this playwright Christopher Durang's work.

>174 connie53: Maybe it could be a work of combined authorship, Connie, "1001 Cakes to Eat Before You Die", by the Patrons of Joe's Book Cafe, with Some Help from the Proprietor and Staff. Cakes keep showing up that are new to me, I'm glad to say.

>175 jnwelch: I will gladly translate the recipe of the Christoffel cake to participate, Joe.

>176 jnwelch: Love it

>177 connie53: Thanks, Connie! We probably could exchange recipes somehow here, which might be a cool project.

What's shown in >176 jnwelch: is another cake, believe it or not. Not sure how they did the comic strips!

>178 jnwelch: I've a friend who makes the most wonderful cakes with a theme. He once made a cake resembling the circus-tent from Het nachtcircus by Erin Morgenstern.



Or one with mouses on top.

>179 connie53: How great, Connie. The Night Circus is one I read fairly recently, and really liked. Seeing the tent cake conjures up all sorts of fond memories from the book.

I may have to put your thread on my "only occasionally for a treat" list. You know, can't be looking at yummy cakes 24/7!

Picking up keys today, I hope!

>181 maggie1944: Ha! I hope you don't - we'd miss seeing you in the corner in your comfortable chair! Personally, I could look at yummy cakes 24/7, but we'll try to sprinkle in some non-cake items (books, for example, come to mind).

That is so exciting about picking up the keys. I didn't want to say much until it was a done deal, but it sounds like it's all falling into place. I hope you can post a photo or two - it sounds like such a smart move for you.

Morning Joe! It is gorgeous out here.

I just saw that you plan on reading Lonesome Dove. Well, that just made my day. I know I am Warbling Fool, but I can not praise that one high enough. Do not worry about the length, either. You will wish it was longer.

Your birthday celebration just goes on and on....cake after cake after pie... Good thing, too, or I might have missed it entirely. I hope you have a year worthy of all those good wishes and sweet treats, Joe.

Happy belated Birthday, Joe! I never turn down the offer of desserts and the cafe seems to have some wonderful ones currently on offer to choose from!

>183 msf59: Thanks, Mark. I look forward to giving Lonesome Dove a try. I'm glad to hear it's a fave of yours.

I'm going to be out in that gorgeous day soon - lunch and a good long walk seem in order.

>184 laytonwoman3rd: Ha! I do my best to extend out the birthdays, Linda, but I may have reached my limit this year. At least I now get to start in on reading the birthday books. Delilah Dirk was fun, and now I'm reading the teacher GN memoir Yo, Miss, with Marriage Can Be Murder for the train ride. (Mrs. Dalloway was excellent, and I'll try to review it soon).

Thank you for that hope for the coming year - sounds good to me!

>185 lkernagh: Thanks, Lori! I know, we've been on a pie and cake binge here for a while. My two favorites are key lime pie and carrot cake, and I don't usually get both, but this year my daughter made a key lime pie and a friend brought by carrot cake. Ah, life is good. :-)


"

>186 jnwelch: Those cake's look delicious and I bet they were!

>187 connie53: :-)

Oh my. Murakami's Wind/Pinball just arrived, and totally jumped the queue. Woo-hoo!

Keys in hand! And met two nice new friends... Must go Instacart now...

Yahoo! Congratulations, Karen!

>171 jnwelch: wow! I feel like I have been to see the play now! What a great description with pics :)

>182 jnwelch: now that is something I think I could get a lot of use out of. First, I need (need, note, not want) a house with extremely high ceilings to accommodate that thing hanging near a roaring fire, for winter. Then I need a great and majestic elm tree, or some such leafy thing for summer reading outside. Perfect!

Congrats Karen!

>192 LovingLit: Thanks, Megan! The play was great fun. I hope it makes it out your way some time.

Doesn't that comfy reading sphere look like just the ticket? I like your plan for winter and summer reading. Hmm.



>193 connie53: So cool for Karen, isn't it, Connie. It must have been a huge effort to make that all happen.

Thank you, both. I'm still "suffering" from the impatience to have it all done NOW. But little by little, it will happen. Going down to check on the new floors this morning with some cleaning supplies and one nice lamp for the bedroom which has no lights in it for now.

See you later. Thanks for the excellent spot to do some reading and relaxing. It is needed.

>195 maggie1944: Wish I was out there to lend a hand, Karen. It'll all be so worth it, right? We'll keep your reading spot ready and waiting.

>171 jnwelch: I'm so glad you saw 'Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike'. Wasn't it fun!

>195 maggie1944: Echoing Joe's comment, I'd love to lend a hand, but it's a bit of a trip from New York, and I'm getting my own place together. Second bookshelf unit arrives today!

>197 ffortsa: We loved it, Judy! No mind-boggling insights on the human condition, just a ton o' fun.

Good luck with the second bookshelf unit! We have bookshelves in every room in our place, and we could still use more. Sigh.

Morning, Joe! Looks like another nice one. Not bad for August.

Glad you are enjoying the early Murakami books. I may have to request those.

>199 msf59: You know me, Mark. If Murakami wrote it, I'm reading it. I'll let you know what I think of these early two. So far so good.

Morning, Joe! I need to get back to Murakami soon...

I might move a couple of small book shelves to the new place today.... or maybe the small bed so I can start thinking about spending the night there. This is going to be moving in slow motion and hopefully I'll only move what I really need. Minimalist living is simple, and easier, I'm told.

Hope your week continues to be swell.

>201 scaifea:. Good to the last drop, Murakami is, Amber. Hope you get a chance soon. I liked his first one, Hear the Wind Sing, very much, and now I'm reading his second, Pinball 1973. So exciting to finally have these released here!

>202 maggie1944:. Go Karen! Go Karen!

Moving in slow motion sounds fine, as long as you're not facing time pressure. Minimalist living does have a major appeal. I can't believe now that there was a time in my life in which I carried everything I needed in a backpack.

I'm off to the dentist this morning, but they're pretty swell for a bunch of mouth grapplers. Hope your week continues to go smooth and well.

Sweet Thursday, Joe! Hope you had a smooth time with the mouth grappler.

I watched the first episode of JS&MN. I loved it. I think I will like the BBC series better than the book.

Joe, we are staying at St Germain. Great surrounding and the flat is ok.

>204 msf59: Hey buddy. I had a tooth extraction that knocked me sideways, but I'm back in the saddle. An infection just refused to get under control, darn it, so the poor tooth had to come out. I'm hoping to get dispensation to have some wine tonight, as we're celebrating our anniversary.

Isn't the BBC JSaMN well done? Thistlehead is a scary guy. Have you finished the book?

>205 Ameise1: St Germain is a hotel in Paris, right, Barbara? It looks like a nice one, in a great area.

Happy Friday, Joe. Sorry about the tooth extraction. Yikes. Have a nice anniversary weekend.

Yes, I finished JS. I think it would have worked better, at 500 pages, IMHO. I am looking forward to watching the rest of the BBC series, though.

>206 jnwelch: Ouch Joe, that sounds rather painful. Good Luck with your healing process.

>207 msf59: Thanks, Mark. Now that you've finished, my favorite part of JSaMN was the King's Roads, created by the Raven King. I thought the whole description of JS finding them was mesmerizing. Despite the book's length, I would've enjoyed even more of that.

The dentist just cleared me for drinking wine tonight at our dinner, thank goodness. I don't drink wine that often, but our anniversary dinner would feel odd without some good wine.

>208 Whisper1: Thanks, Linda. They numbed me up, so it wasn't that bad, but afterwards, as a co-worker put it, it felt like I'd been punched in the face. I just wasn't "with it" at all. Much better today.

Sorry to hear about the tooth extraction, Joe. Sounds nasty.

>210 jnwelch: I like this book case. I would have fun placing lots more books in it.

>211 SandDune: Thanks, Rhian. It was better than it sounds. They just told me I couldn't let it go. The hard part was right afterwards, when I felt like I'd been knocked sideways. Much better today.

>212 Whisper1: Ha! I like that idea, Linda. For some reason, it reminded me of summertime reading as a kid. I never had a shelf like this one, but I sure was sprawled all over the place reading.

I'm glad that you're feeling better, Joe, and that the troublesome tooth and its extraction are behind you. I hope that you & Debbi have a great anniversary weekend!

>214 kidzdoc: Thanks, buddy! Lots of good stuff on tap - dinner out tonight at Brown Trout, an excellent local restaurant, a writing workshop tomorrow at our place for Debbi and her fellow storytellers, and Shakespeare in the Park tomorrow night.

A very Happy Anniversary to you and Debbi, Joe. Sounds like you have a lovely weekend all planned out. Now that I have discovered the Liaden Universe, I have so many books to catch up on! Lots of good reading in my future. :)

Sorry about the tooth...but I'm glad you're up to having dinner out tonight, and especially glad that it can include a celebratory beverage! Happy Anniversary.

>216 DeltaQueen50: Thanks, Judy. Madame MBH and I always manage to have a good time together, which is one reason we've been getting into big anniversary numbers. :-)

Oh good, I'm so glad the Liaden books are hitting the spot for you. You have so much fun reading ahead! As you may have seen, I'm busy re-reading the novels and reading a lot of the short stories for the first time. Perfect for summer.

>217 laytonwoman3rd: Thanks, Linda. It's aggravating because the tooth was fine, but this infection from who-knows-where just messed things up. Seems unfair to the tooth, somehow. Yes, we're all set for a celebratory night out, and now vino can be part of it for both of us.

Happy Anniversary! Glad you can have wine with your celebratory dinner! Cheers!

>219 Storeetllr: Thanks, Mary. Cheers! Me, too - 32 years deserves some celebrating, right? My folks got all the way up to 63 years before my mom passed away. We're shooting for 85+. It may take some major medical developments for us to make it that far. :-)

Joe, St Germain is the 6th arrondissement in Paris. A very vividly quarter. It's next to Quartier Latin. We've rented a flat here.

wishing you and Debbi a 'toothsome' weekend w/ cheer and good fellowship and sisterhood abounding. she's clearly a remarkable woman, your MBH. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, dear Joe!

so sorry 'bout the extraction, btw. too tarsome. but maybe bygones now?

Happy Anniversary, Joe and Debbi!

Just checking in to see how you are finding Wind/Pinball ?? - despite being a slight Murakami fan-boi am wavering at going back to books written at the beginning of his career now .... hmmm

It is so much fun to read your thread as you and Debbi do so many interesting and fun things. I laughed when you wrote that you could not imagine living in "the country" like maybe Montana, where a sister lives? My ideal these days is a quiet country house where all I have to do is feed some animals and hang out reading, and being one with the earth. (I think we call this "going through a stage")

Glad you got rid of the infection in your mouth as I always worry about infections that close to one's brain. Could get pretty darn serious.

Hope the weekend is one more extension of celebrations!

Happy Anniversary!

>221 Ameise1: Oh, thanks, Barbara. I misunderstood. Cool! Saint-Germain-des-Prés. I'll bet that's a great area to be in. Renting a flat is smart. Are you near the Seine? Are you going to go to Shakespeare and Company to peruse the books?

>222 mirrordrum: I hope you get to meet Madame MBH some day, Ellie. She is indeed a special one. She's got a bunch of fellow writers/storytellers coming over today for a writing workshop, and she's come up with a good new one to share.

We had a toothsome time last night all right - oysters and some of the best walleye I've ever had, with a creamy grits and corn salad accompaniment I'm still dreaming about. A poet friend (Emily Rose - book coming out in the fall) makes her rent money as lead server there, and pointed us in all the right directions, including some French M____ Cremant sparkling wine. For dessert we split a deconstructed "S'mores" with butterscotch, house made ice cream, graham cracker crumble, blueberries, and shaved/melted chocolate. We managed somehow to resist licking the plate.

Yeah, thanks, the tooth situation is much improved (I had to get dentist dispensation to drink that sparkling wine - the rule book says no alcohol for a while). In my future is a replacement (implant), but they have to wait for everything to heal first.

Hope you are doing well and enjoying the weekend! So nice to see you back on Librarything.

>223 ronincats: Thanks, Roni! It's been a heck of a thirty-two years. Great kids, lots of adventures.

I finished the second Liaden Constellation volume - those suckers aren't short, are they? It wound up with two of the best, the last one being Skyblaze.

>224 roundballnz: Oh, I'm really liking the Murakami, Alex. Any M-fanboi is going to want to read it. I finished the "Wind" in Wind/Pinball, and it has the same strong voice you're used to, just not as developed. The Rat is a major player, and these two books lead into A Wild Sheep Chase, which apparently was meant to be the conclusion of a "trilogy" of the Rat. I LOVED the Preface, in which he talks about how he became a writer, in a way I hadn't read before.

So, yes, I recommend you pick up Wind/Pinball and read it. It's a master writer at the beginning of his career, and it ties into what comes after.

I was just thinking, the one book of his I've felt a bit let down by was The Strange Library. Maybe I just missed the boat on it, but it seemed too "slight" to me. These early ones aren't like that at all.

>225 maggie1944: Ha! I know, Karen. I'll bet other patrons raised their eyebrows at my not wanting to live in the "country" like my Montana sister (she lives on "Grizzly Gulch Road" - we're not talking Chicago!)

I enjoy very much being out in the country and in nature like Glacier and Yellowstone, but I love city life. Museums, theater, sports, the arts, and on and on. There's a whole storytelling community here full of fascinating people. There's a whole performance poetry community here full of fascinating people. Going to London is one of our favorite treats. I do like hanging out and reading, but doing that in a cafe or park is fine by me.

>226 thornton37814: Thanks, Lori!

We had quite the fine time celebrating our anniversary, and we sure are in an excellent part of our run together. The kids are wonderful people and able to take care of themselves. (No more tuition!) We often are footloose and fancy free. Oops, turns out that's not the right phrase to use - fancy free apparently means "free of amorous entanglements", and we're pretty amorously entangled after all these years. But we do get to be foot loose a lot more than we used to be.

Happy Saturday, Joe! Glad you had a nice anniversary dinner.

Glad to hear you enjoyed the early Murakami books. I will have to request them.

I watched 2 more episodes of JS&MN. I love this production.

>230 msf59: Happy Saturday, and thanks! I can't remember - have you read A Wild Sheep Chase, Mark? These first two somewhat go with it.

Jeez, you're almost caught up with us on JS&MN. Isn't it a great production?

Sadly, I have not read A Wild Sheep Chase. I NEED to get caught up with his earlier work. I think I will try to read Hard-Boiled soon.

And yes, JS&MN has been terrific.

>232 msf59: Oh my, you've probably heard me geek out over Hard-Boiled. A Wild Sheep Chase isn't far behind for me. Weirdness par excellence.

Happy belated anniversary, Joe! And to Debbi, too! :-)

We very much enjoyed "Mr. Holmes." McKellen did a great job as a very aged Sherlock and I adored how they tackled the theme of creeping senility -- with probably the world's most emblematic sharp-minded character! It was a bit slow in the early going, but it was sweet and truly a good use of two hours.

I'd not heard of JS&MN but it sounds like something I must investigate.

I'm warbling (to use Mark's term) about The Sage of Waterloo although I worry that I'll be the only person who loves it. (It only has two reviews; I gave it five stars, the other person gave it 2.5). Would love to hear your opinion if you run across it.

Meanwhile, I'm going to do both BAC authors this month and I'm enjoying The Power and the Glory so far. The writing puts me in mind of Steinbeck.

Glad to see that your tooth concerns were addressed, hopefully so that you could partake in the enjoyment of celebrating your anniversary. Happy Anniversary!

Hope you and Madame MBH are enjoying your anniversary weekend, Joe. You seem to be in a celebratory mood lately. Is there cake for the anniversary weekend as well? I'm with you on the city life and one of my favourite spots to visit is London. I will be there soon but go to Glasgow and Edinburgh first.

Happiest of Anniversaries, Joe! I hope you're having a wonderful weekend!

Happy Anniversary, Mr. and Mrs. Joe! Help yourselves to a Lobstah Tail.

I got so much more out of Yo Miss by Lisa Wilde than I expected to. The drawings are rough and primary, but the story of these kids, this school, and this teacher, overrides that. Plus the drawing style took on some charm as I got further into the book, and she makes some clever layout choices.



These are second chance students who haven't responded to traditional teaching methods, typically because of a difficult home environment, or other life circumstances.





Lisa Wilde has taught English in this city school for 16 years, and she has the ease of experience to deal with the students' often unpredictable behavior. Real students are depicted in the story as composites, and periodically we're given something written by an actual student in her class. We end up rooting for the students to overcome the obstacles in their way - e.g., working to help their families, gang life, pregnancy, physical disability. If they make it, some will be the first in their family to graduate high school, or go to college.

The author cares for her students, but is realistic, and the message in the end is hopeful. Fans of Alison Bechdel, who calls this book "riveting", should enjoy it, as should, I imagine, anyone who has taught or been involved in the schools.

Happy Sunday, Joe! Good review of Yo, Miss. It is a special book, isn't it?

I am enjoying ApocalyptiGirl and should finish it, later today. I am also having a good time with Pretty Boy Floyd.

I am having a kickback day. I hope yours is the same.

>234 EBT1002: Thanks, Ellen! We've been having a grand anniversary weekend, so your wishes aren't all that belated. The writing workshop get-together was a blast (I didn't stay for all the stories, but the three I heard were excellent), and then the rain held off last night and we went to Shakespeare in the Park with daughter Becca. The actors were from Chicago Shakespeare Theater (which we love) and it was a ton o' fun.

Good to hear re "Mr. Holmes". I'd read somewhere it's slow at the start, but so what? Slow with Ian Mackellen is okay by me, and I'm glad to hear overall it was a sweet and good two hours.

I for sure recommend the BBC Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. The question re the book is how much you enjoy fantasy. Neil Gaiman said, "I enjoyed every page, and when the book was done I could happily have read 782 more. I loved the things she said and the things she did not say. I loved crabbed Norrell and, less feckless than he seems, Strange, and John Uskglass the Raven King, who is not in the title of the book unless he hides behind the ampersand, but who hovers there anyhow. I loved the supporting players, the footnotes, and the author – she is not, I am convinced, Clarke, but a character in her own right, writing her book closer to Strange and Norrell’s time than our own." He identifies Clarke as among his favorite authors.

I'm fascinated by Waterloo, so I'll check out The Sage of Waterloo. I enjoyed Bernard Cornwell's book about it in the Richard Sharpe series (one of my favorite series ever), and I plan to read his nonfiction treatise on it at some point soon (Waterloo: The History).

I'm not drawn to reading Graham Greene for some reason, although I know his books have some big time LT fans. You do remind me that I need to pick up Iris Murdoch's The Bell for the BAC.

>235 lkernagh: Thanks, Lori! Yes, I was able to partake enthusiastically in the anniversary events, and enjoy the weekend. I go back in tomorrow for a quick look-in to make sure all is healing well.

>236 Familyhistorian: Thanks, Meg. It's been a terrific weekend, and we plan to take it easy today. I've got the crossword puzzle looking at me, plus some poetry and my Murakami book. Madame MBH is out working on the garden. You can tell which one of us is lazier.

Bill was kind enough to bring the pastry in >238 weird_O:. You know how patrons here go after the toothsome goodies, so you'll want to get in there pronto.

Nice to have a fellow city fan and London fan. We liked Glasgow and loved Edinburgh. Getting back there is on the to-do list.

>237 scaifea: Thanks, Amber! We are indeed having a terrific weekend. Food, friends, Shakespeare - all good. Hope you're having the same at the Pecan Paradisio.

>238 weird_O: Outstanding, Bill, thanks! That's a new one for me - I didn't know there was such a thing as a Lobster Tail pastry, but it sure looks tasty. I'll let Mrs. Joe have some, too. :-)

>240 msf59: Thanks, Mark. Glad you liked the Yo Miss review. It is a special one, you're right. I'm already thinking about folks I might give it to.

Oh good, Apocalyptigirl hit the spot for me, too. I'll have to keep an eye out for more by Andrew Maclean.

Yes, a very kickback day for us. Madame MBH actually was hoping it would rain today, and it looks like it will. She was looking for a good reason just to stick around the house today. Fine by me, as you can tell.

>238 weird_O: Ooh, that lobster tail looks good, Bill. I'll bet that Stella Pastry in North Beach makes them. I'll check tomorrow.

>239 jnwelch: Great review of Yo, Miss, Joe. That definitely makes it onto my wish list, and I'll look for it at City Lights tomorrow.

>241 jnwelch: Your anniversary weekend sounds fabulous! I'm glad that the rain held off, and that you were able to see Shakespeare in the Park with Becca (hmm, sounds like a movie title). What did you see?

I hope that you had an equally splendid day today, and that Debbi kept the knives in the cabinet.

Wow! Beautiful illustrations!

>241 jnwelch: Instead of Shakespeare in the Park we have Bard on the Beach (Vancouver so that makes sense). On Friday I saw "The Comedy of Errors" done steampunk style - really good!

>243 kidzdoc: Glad you like the review of Yo Miss, Darryl. I look forward to hearing your reaction when you get around to reading it.

It was a fabulous anniversary weekend, for sure, and we sure appreciated the rain holding off. This time Shakespeare in the Park was a "Greatest Hits" series of excerpts from plays like Two Gentleman of Verona, A Comedy of Errors, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and so on. They did an excellent job with it. We prefer it when they do one of the plays (last year was A Midsummer Night's Dream), but this was a lot of fun.

Ha! I cracked Debbi up by reading her your line, "I hope you had an equally splendid day today, and that Debbi kept the knives in the cabinet". We did, and she did, thank goodness. :-)

>244 Marla_Josephs: Hi, Maria! Nice to see you. Glad you like those Shinya Okayama illustrations. She's another one where I hope we get some English translations so we see her work more in the USA.

>245 Familyhistorian: Bard on the Beach in Vancouver is charming, I'm sure, Meg. We loved your city when we visited. Steampunk "Comedy of Errors" - I would've liked to have seen that! We had a hip hop version of the play ("A Bombitty of Errors") done here, and we enjoyed that.

Mrs. Dalloway is easily my favorite Virginia Woolf I've read so far. It all takes place on one June day in 1923, starting with 50ish Clarissa Dalloway preparing to give a party that night. An old unconventional flame, Peter Walsh, appears in town, and she reminisces about her younger life and her thirty year marriage to staid, reliable Richard Dalloway. She also remembers her passionate friendship with rebellious Sally Seton, with whom she shared a kiss. The second major storyline involves a shell-shocked WWI veteran, Septimus Smith, who has lost the ability to feel emotion, and is becoming delusional. There are many other well-drawn characters. Clarissa's party brings most of the principal characters together, and illuminates various dissatisfactions and shortcomings they have, even as the party seems to be a cacophonous success. Beautifully written, with skillful weaving of different time elements, and a bevy of characters the reader understands and develops strong feelings about. Reminded me a bit of Joyce's famous short story, "The Dead", but I liked this much more.

The new cafe is open. See you there!