Joe's Book Cafe 4 2021

Art by Rafael Lopez

Welcome back to the cafe!

January 2021

1. The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist by Adrian Tomine*
2. The Dreaming by Simon Spurrier*
3. Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
4. The Time of Green Magic by Hilary McKay
5. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
6. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
7. Poems 1962-2012 by Louise Gluck
8. Lady Mechanika by Joe Benitez*
9. Catwoman Friend or Foe by Joelle Jones*
10. Jack by Marilynne Robinson
11. Bone Rattler by Eliot Pattison
12. The First Four Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder
13. Slam by Pamela Ribon*
14. Mezo by Tyler Chin-Tanner*
15. Be More Chill by Ned Vizzini*
16. The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
17. Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude by Ross Gay
18. Shadow of the Batgirl by Sarah Kuhn*
19. Prodigal Son by Greg Hurwitz
20. Bodega: Poems by Su Hwang

February 2021

21. Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore
22. Books of Magic by Neil Gaiman*
23. Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas
24. Human Voices by Penelope Fitzgerald
25. Mortal Instruments The Graphic Novel Vol. 4 by Cassandra Clare*
26. Wicked Enchantment by Wanda Coleman
27. The God of Nothingness by Mark Wunderlich
28. Charlotte Sometimes by Penelope Farmer
29. Blood Grove by Walter Mosley
30. Bookshop of the Broken-Hearted by Robert Hillman
31. Dear Emmie Blue by Lia Louis
32. The Dreaming Vol. 2 by Simon Spurrier*
33. Faithless in Death by J.D. Robb
34. Pride by Ibi Zoboi
35. The Sunflower Cast a Spell by Jackie Wang
36. The Dreaming Vol. 3 by Simon Spurrier*
37. House of Whispers by Nalo Hopkinson*
38. The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles
39. Mrs. Caliban by Rachel Ingalls
40. Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor
41. Punisher Max Omnibus Vol. 1 by Garth Ennis
42. Becoming by Michelle Obama
43. Heaven, My Home by Attica Locke
44. Stay Safe by Emma Hine

March 2021

45. Monstress Vol. 5 by Marjorie Liu*
46. The Way of the Househusband by Kousuke Oono*
47. The Lefthanded Booksellers of London by Garth Nix
48. Slam! The Next Jam by Pamela Ribon*
49. The Postscript Murders by Elly Griffiths
50. A Portable Paradise by Roger Robinson
51. Mary’s Monster by Lita Judge*
52. Trader’s Leap by Sharon Lee
53. Soft Science by Franny Choi
54. Alex Rider Ark Angel by Anthony Horowitz*
55. A Wealth of Pigeons by Harry Bliss*
56. Injection Vol. 1 by Warren Ellis*
57. inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
58. New Lone Wolf and Cub Vol. 5 by Kazuo Koike*
59. The Sheriff of Babylon by Tom King*
60. Dr. Strange/The Punisher Magic Bullets by John Barber
61. Butch Geography by Stacey Waite
62. New Lone Wolf and Cub Vol. 6 by Kazuo Koike*
63. The Undertaking of Lily Chen by Danica Novgorodoff*
64. Manazuru by Hiromi Kawakami
65. The Code Breaker by Walter Isaacson
66. Dark Sky by C. J. Box
67. Murderi in an un-sound Mind by Anne Cleland

April

* Illustrated/Graphic Novel

This year I'm just going to list the illustrated/GN books with the others

2020 Favorites

Book of the Year: Caste by Isabel Wilkerson

Nonfiction

Deep Creek by Pam Houston (memoir)

The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson (WWII nonfiction)

Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe (The Troubles nonfiction)

In the Shadow of the Mic by Jesse Welch and Adriana Ramirez

Fiction

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson (novel)

Sabrina and Corina by Kali Fajado Anstine (short stories)

Deacon King Kong by James McBride

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

The Awkward Black Man by Walter Mosley

A Girl is a Body of Water by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V. E. Schwab

Big Girl, Small Town by Michelle Gallen

Illustrated Books/Graphic Novels

Almost American Girl by Robin Ha (graphic memoir)

Poems to See By by Julian Peters (poetry+ graphic)

Plain Janes by Cecil Castelucci

When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson

Science Fiction and Fantasy

Network Effect by Martha Wells (sci-fi)

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Mystery

Blanche Among the Talented Tenth by Natalie Berry (mystery)

Troubled Blood by Robert Galbraith

Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

Into the Fire by Gregg Hurwitz (thriller)

Poetry

Postcolonial Love Poem by Natalie Diaz

Whale Day by Billy Collins

Rafa (3 years old in April) and Fina (turned 1 in January)

"Death of a Cat" by Mark Wunderlich in God of Nothingness:

Little beast on the metal table, she took
the needle into her forepaw

and didn’t flinch. The medicinal death
fit itself inside her, ran the blue and red map,

burned up into her lungs and brain
and heart, which slowed,

and she slept until there was no breath left
and her body emptied itself of air.

* * * *

She didn’t care about anything other than herself
and in this there was perfection—to eat and sleep,

to find amusement in the hunt, to seek out the slant
of sunlight where it warmed the clean pine floors,

and to meet me when I came home,
in a way that resembled love, how she came running—

hearing my key turn the tumblers of the lock,
even though I had trained her to link

the sound of my arrival with the food
I would spill into her bowl.

There was bliss in this, to be met by a body
at the door, to be joined at night

in a bed, her head within my reach,
inside which no words tumbled, no reasoning

wrecked the morning, no memory
bound the missing to my single body

left lying nightly in the bed.
In the morning I rise up again to go out

into the world, forgetting whatever images
flickered through the dim chambers

of house or brain, bed and book and hearth,
the smoke rising up from the stove embers

which, in the morning chill,
and with my black tools

I stir back into warming life.

Ancient Roman Road, U.K
Photo by Mark Andreas Jones

(brought over from the previous thread)

I'm still amazed there is such a thing. The Obama-Springsteen podcast on Spotify is well worth your time. Three of eight episodes are up so far. https://open.spotify.com/show/42xagXCUDsFO6a0lcHoTlv?utm_source=us-en_brand_cont...

Street art by Rafael Lopez (who did the art up in >1 jnwelch:)

Happy new thread!

>1 jnwelch: Beautiful toppers!

>4 jnwelch: Beautiful grandchildren!

>9 quondame: Thanks, Susan! I've become a Rafael Lopez fan, and those grandchildren are okay by me. :-)

Happy new thread Joe, mate. I love the thread toppers and the photos of the Grandchildren are gorgeous. I hope that you and Debbi are both very well mate and that you are both having a good week so far. My reading is going well so far and i am enjoying the standard sized books and we are both looking forward to the non-food shops opening on April 12th so that we can visit bookshops.

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

Happy new one!

>7 jnwelch: Thanks for the link. I had it at one point and lost it. Will definitely have to listen to that one!

Wonderful bright toppers Joe, and such sweet rascals in >4 jnwelch:.

>7 jnwelch: Must get to this too.

Sweet Thursday, Joe! Happy New Thread! Love the Lopez toppers. I had not read that Wunderlich poem yet but it is a good choice. Funny, I just posted one of his too. I just finished the 2nd ep of the Obama/Springsteen podcast. It is a joy to hear.

ETA- You are reading Mary's Monster? You have to be loving it, right? B.A.G.

>6 jnwelch: How a moment can be transmuted into Art.

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread! Rafa and Fina are looking great!

Happy new thread, Joe! Those grandkiddos are as adorable as ever. I love Rafa's cool stacking robots, and look that Fina's eyes! Beautiful.

Happy new one, Joe!

> Amazing image. I love it.

I'm thinking of taking a look at Binti. I saw a collected edition at B&N today and it didn't look too big. Are the books novellas or short novels?

my present read is Velocity Weapon. Jim's review got me onto it.

I have just started listening to Churchill's Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare by Giles Hilton. I think it will be a fun bit of history.

Happy new thread, Joe!

>1 jnwelch: Lovely toppers; the morning coffee will be appriciated when I wake up tomorrow. Bedtime for me now.
>4 jnwelch: Nice pictures of Rafa and Fina, what was Fina up to?

>4 jnwelch: Every time I see an image of your grandchildren, I note the lovely blue of the little one! The toppers are wonderful! It is special to me that I have a friend who loves illustrations and seeks such beautiful ones to share!

>4 jnwelch: Those two little ones does so bless and beautify your threads, Joe.

>5 jnwelch: I like that one.

>6 jnwelch: What a gorgeous picture.

>7 jnwelch: I will go and check that one out. Obama is a cool dude.

Happy new one, Joe.

Hi Joe. Happy new thread.

I see that Deacon King Kong was a favorite of yours in the great year 2020. I have it on my shelves and I'm encouraged by your praise.

>7 jnwelch: Who knew? I'll check it out.

Rafa and Fina are, as usual, show stealers!

Happy new thread Joe!

>1 jnwelch: As always, nice art.

Are you sure about those grands, Joe? They seem more than pretty okay to me.

I love everything about your new thread, Joe. All the beautiful photo's and Rafa and Fina are gorgeous.

Happy new one, Joe. Lovely art, even better grands!

Joe, is spotify free to join? I would really love to listen to this podcast but I have never checked out spotify.

>11 johnsimpson: Thanks, mate. I'm glad you're enjoying the toppers and those gorgeous kids. Debbi and I are doing fine - we got the two covid shots, and now we're waiting for the two weeks to pass; after that our plan is to visit those grandkids or have them visit, whichever is better for their parents. Ah, visiting bookshops again - won't that be grand?

>12 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Anita! You're welcome re the link. Let us know what you think - I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

>13 Caroline_McElwee: Ha! They are sweet little rascals, aren't they, Caroline. Thanks re the bright toppers. I hope there's a way to Spotify or the like in your neighborhood.

>14 msf59: Sweet Thursday and Happy Friday, Mark! Thanks! And thanks re the toppers and the Wunderlich poem. I'll have to come see which one of his you posted. Isn't that Obama/Springsteen podcast a joy? You'll have fun with the third one, too - lots of music.

Ha! Yes, I'm loving Mary's Monster. She and Percy just arrived in Calais.

>15 richardderus: I like that, Richard - >6 jnwelch: is a moment transmuted into art. He's a favorite photographer of Hani's, so at some point I'm going to look for more of his. Thanks re the thread!

>16 drneutron: Thanks, Jim! Caroline calls them sweet rascals - that seems about right. :-)

>17 scaifea: Thanks, Amber! We love those adorable grandkiddos. Aren't Rafa's stacking robots cool? Those are courtesy of Madame MBH and her dopey husband. Fina's baby blue's are something else, aren't they.

>18 brodiew2: Thanks Brodie!

Yes - the Binti books are not long at all. Short books or novellas - I don't remember their being identified as novellas, but they'd fit that as well as the other.

Jim's review of Velocity Weapon got me, too. I've got it on my WL. Please let us know what you think of it when you're done.

Churchill's Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is new to me - it does look like an interesting one.

>19 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita! Yeah, that coffee seemed like a good topper for a book cafe.

I think those disks in Fina's hand go with a toy record player they have? She wouldn't be able to use that yet, so I'm sure she was playing with them some other way.

>20 Whisper1: Hi, Linda. Doesn't the little one have lovely blue eyes. They think those must come from me; I have one sister with blue eyes, and other than that, it's brown/hazel eyes everywhere in our family and our DIL's. Ha! Like you, I love having a friend who loves beautiful illustrations as much as I do!

>21 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul. It's fun for me that you and our other LT pals enjoy photos of the little ones so much. We have plenty to share! Thanks to Madame MBH, we're running out of places to display them in our house.

I'm glad you like that Mark Wunderlich poem. That whole collection, God of Nothingness, is good, as Mark will attest. Isn't >6 jnwelch: beautiful? I think you'll enjoy that Obama/Springsteen podcast. Obama is a cool dude, isn't he? I just read Michelle's Becoming, and he comes across that way through her eyes, too.

>22 EBT1002: Hi Ellen. Thanks, my friend.

I thought Deacon King Kong was excellent. The storytelling will carry you right along.

Isn't that remarkable that Obama and Springsteen are pals, and decided to do a podcast together? Who knew? Michelle and Patti are, too - maybe we'll get one from them. I'd sure listen to that. And I'm not usually a podcast listener, unlike Debbi and both kids.

Ha! Those two little ones are show stealers, aren't they. Sweet little rascals.

There are a lot of good books on Churchill's "Wizard War" and his "Boffins"

Never have so many done so much with so little.

I'll have to look in on "Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare"

>23 humouress: Thanks, Nina! I'm glad you like the art. He's a talented guy. He's done a lot of bright, joyful street art, too. Ha! The sweet rascals do have moments, I guess, of being more than pretty okay. If you ever meet Madame MBH, she'll enthusiastically let you know how much more than pretty okay they really are. :-)

>24 connie53: Oh, thank you, Connie. That's so nice to hear. Rafa and Fina bring a lot of laughter and love to all of us.

>25 jessibud2: Thanks, Shelley!

Spotify is free, I'm happy to tell you. It's like Youtube and others, where, if you don't want stupid ads, you can pay a premium. I just endure the stupid ads.

>29 magicians_nephew: Hi, Jim. I hadn't heard "Wizard War" or "Boffins" before, or I've forgotten, so I have some catching up to do on Churchill. That Candice Millard one about young Churchill and The Splendid and the Vile are my two favorites so far. Never have so many done so much with so little, yes. And never has one man graced so many books? I suppose Lincoln and Washington give him a run for it.

You and me both re Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.

Twin trees of Sumba island, Indonesia

photography by Daniel Kordan

>32 jnwelch: Stunning Joe.

>28 jnwelch: Michelle is a little biased of course, Joe! I saw that her book is finally in paperback form here and I will add it soon. Kyran was a little dismissive as he believes that "First Ladies" have nothing interesting to say! He is young and single and still occasionally wrong headed. I will buy it when he isn't looking!

OK Book Crowd - I am ticked! I have spent the last two days dealing with the fallout over the Dr. Seuss books! Who knew that some stupid books published in the 1930's and 40's would cause such a headache for us librarians. This has turned into the 1929 Wall Street Panic for me and a couple of my colleagues.

First I had to remove the 6 titles in question because they were selling for $500.00 each on E-bay and at that price we couldn't afford to replace them. (This from a Dean who said in a meeting of 200 people that we no longer had to have security gates in place at the libraries because we could replace all of the stolen books in the collection and not make a dent in our budget.) Now I have to remove ALL Dr. Seuss books from the collection because they are so high priced. It is a classic example of panic buying and selling. Not to mention that it is censorship. If I remove all the controversial books from the collection and place them in the rare books collection, does that mean that I have to remove Happy To Be Nappy? Or all of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books? What about Don't Touch My Hair? or Julian is a Mermaid? Crimminey sakes people - claim down.

There I ranted! I feel better.

>32 jnwelch: Those trees seem to have a baby tree! ;-)

>4 jnwelch: Hi Joe - after 4 cups of morning coffee, my quick look at Rafa showed him wanting a LATTE (LATE)...well, there,
maybe a switch to decaf.

Those Kids are both SO Happy! What joy into all your lives.

And, did Roxy ever get a Hammentashen? (sp?)

ps. why not just add the Seuss books to the Pope's List of Forbidden Books?

or add them to our drinking mugs of Banned Books?

or even release a new book of stickers where you can tape over the offensive parts?

or ???

>36 connie53: It does look like a baby tree in >32 jnwelch:, doesn't it, Connie? I can't tell whether that's size or maybe distance.

>37 m.belljackson: Ha! It's even worse, Marianne. What looks like "late" is actually part of "Pirates", the local Pittsburgh baseball team.

I've had four caffeinated coffee days, but three usually is my tops. The 4th may come before a night out, particularly theater where I want to pay close attention.

I know - I think those two kids have realized what a great choice they made in parents, and they can't help their enthusiasm. They are a joy for all of us, you're right, even when hungry, tired or heartbreakingly sad over not getting their way.

Ha! That photo of Roxy was taken in my Presbyterian parents' house, so that wasn't hamantaschen, which has shown up in my Chicago house, including the end of last week. Delish. Roxy had to go back home after that; otherwise, she might still be sitting there, full of hope.

P.S. Oh gosh, you remind me that I missed some posts, including poor Benita's! I know, what to do, what to do. Thoughtless racism in old books. The Doctor Doolittle books suffer from that; I believe one or more of the Mary Poppins books has that problem; I'm pretty sure Madame MBH said the Bobbsey Twins books do. Many others, too. Some people see it in the Little House books toward the Indians, but that wasn't my reaction. I thought it was a pretty forward "these people think and act differently from us, and we don't really understand them", which is different, IMO. We need to figure out how to approach them.

>33 Caroline_McElwee: Isn't it, Caroline? I'll DM you after this; thanks for catching us up. Debbi and I are fine, although missing London a lot.

>34 PaulCranswick: Ah, the ignorance of youth! I remember some of my foolish ideas from Kyran's age. I believe you'll love Becoming. She's straightforward, honest and, dare I say it (cover your ears, Kyran) fascinating. I'm going to wait a while before taking on her hubby's new book.

>35 benitastrnad: Oh, I'm sorry you got caught in the thick of that foofaraw over some of the lesser known Dr. Seuss books. I suppose his estate could consider revising them, but that can be problematic, too. I made some comments about this in >38 jnwelch:. I don't know the others you mention, but I don't see the kind of racism we're talking about in the Little House books, and we just finished reading all of them. Madame MBH didn't either. Is there a solution when there is unacceptable racism? There sure hasn't been an overall one yet.

Seems like the Seuss books could be revised - as Tin-Tin has been - to soften or remove the images or pages that are causing the offense.

I don't find the little Chinaman in "Mulberry Street" offensive but then I'm not Chinese. Hate to see the book drop out of canon for that.

A lot of comic book heroes in the Golden Age had stereotypical "Negro" sidekicks for easy comic relief, wiht names like "Ebony" and "Whitewash" and "Lightening". . The books are still read but we can put context around them - recognizing them as depicting a bygone racist society (or maybe not so bygone) .

I've read Black writers say they saw no harm in it but I dunno.

I was going to post an image of Captain Marvel and his friend "Steamboat", big lips, goofy grin and all, from my collection -- but you know what -- i'm not going to.

>35 benitastrnad: FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR A SEUSS BOOK!

If I had an inscribed copy with a doodle on it, okay; but an industrial object mass-produced in its thousands...people are just plain dumb.

A bumfuzzled "hi Joe, are you enjoying this alternate reality as little as I am?" to Our Host.

>40 magicians_nephew: Hi, Jim. Yeah, I'd read somewhere about Tin-Tin being revised. I don't know those well enough to know what they did. That would be ideal for the Dr. Seuss ones from my POV, if it doesn't mess up the books somehow. Your point's a good one about the Chinese viewpoint of the little Chinamen in Mulberry Street. I should find out what the Native American viewpoint is of the Indians in the Little House books. What I can say is what bothers me with the racism is when it's belittling, demeaning and conveying a message of "these people are lesser", e.g. they only deserve a 3/5 vote. I didn't get that, anyway, in the Little House books.

You're much more knowledgeable on the golden age comic books than I am. My purchases back then tended to be Marvel and DC without those sidekicks, e.g. Dr. Strange and Fantastic Four. Now, Black writers are writing the comic books all over the place - Ta-Nehisi Coates and Roxanne Gay (Black Panther), Eve Ewing (Iron Heart, Nnedi Okorafor (Black Panther, Shuri), Nalo Hopkinson (House of Whispers), N.K. Jemison (Far Sector), and I imagine more. I'll bet Marlon James is asked to do one, if he hasn't already.

Thank you for not posting an image of "Steamboat"! Sounds like a tough one to see, even for the purposes of discussion.

>41 richardderus: I know, why not just light your money on fire? I've never understood that kind of mindset. I can see it more for inscribed books and first editions, but even those don't really get my wings humming or, usually, my wallet out. I'd rather spend it on books to read rather than collect. Having said that, it would be mighty cool to have a Shakespeare First Folio, or first edition of Pride and Prejudice, for example, and I'm happy that i could pass on Oz books to our son that are worth a lot of money now, from what we've seen at book fairs and other places.

>39 jnwelch: I want to read it, Joe, but in paperback form. Saves me a few bob!

Someone collected these twigs and made art.
Artwork : Chris Kenny - Dancing twigs

>39 jnwelch: Understood, Paul. I might've done the same, but Debbi had Becoming given to her in hardcover - by me, I'm pretty sure. :-)

Reminds me of young me giving a sister the LP I'd been dying to have (Strawberry Alarm Clock; the big hit off it was "Incense and Peppermints" - was I out of my mind?) She was less than enthused, in memory. Debbi was enthused, I'm glad to say, to get Becoming, and probably requested it.

>44 jnwelch: ...
...
...
...
...genius

The Lefthanded Booksellers of London by Garth Nix


“There was John Masefield’s The Box of Delights; and the C. S. Lewis Narnia books; and Patricia Lynch’s The Turf-Cutter’s Donkey; The Winter of Enchantment by Victoria Walker; Black Hearts in Battersea by Joan Aiken; several of Rosemary Sutcliff’s historical novels, including Susan’s favorite, The Silver Branch; Power of Three by Diana Wynne Jones; The Weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner; Five Children and It by E. Nesbit; and many others.”

“A tree is strong. But the wind is stronger. A stone is strong. But the sea is stronger. The sun is strong. But sorrow is stronger.”

The Lefthanded Booksellers of London was a delight to read. Light fantasy with warrior and wizard booksellers, and Ancient Ones, and our protagonist Susan, who doesn't know who her father is and is searching in London to find him. Garth Nix authored the Sabriel/Abhorsen books, and is a skilled hand. I hope he does more Lefthanded Booksellers books.

This is Rudy Francisco's poem Skin II in his collection Helium:

“When you are the only black man
in the whole neighborhood,

your skin is that one friend who
meets everyone before you do.

It wears a wife beater
and house shoes,

it knocks over the
neighbor’s mailbox,

it cusses in front of the kids
and plays the music too loud

but you actually don’t do
any of those things.

It's 7 pm
It's Wednesday

and you are just

walking home."

>46 richardderus: :-)

>47 jnwelch: I hope it gets translated because I love his books.

>45 jnwelch: *whispers* I love Incense and Peppermints...

Hello Joe!

>35 benitastrnad: >40 magicians_nephew: >42 jnwelch: This entire Dr. Seuss issue thing is a tough one. It seems linked to cancel culture and outrage culture. There is a knee jerk outrage that brings immediate and, for now, what seems like irreversible action. Seuss isn't the first author to be brought to the table for insensitive representation. We have had banned books in our lives for decades. There is something about the idea of revising historical documents to meet a present social climate disturbing. Why are we, or those advocating revising such texts, so quick to want to change history. Why not point to as what it is rather than change it. It appears to me that the works still hold worth, but not in their original form. This concepts seems contradictory on its face. So, are they still as worthy, or even still the original writers work, if the words are changed.

>50 connie53: Gosh, I hope so, Connie. Are the Abhorsen books popular where you are? That might help getting a translation done of this one.

>52 brodiew2: Hello Brodie!

I'm crossing my fingers that you're not watching Fox News about this Dr. Seuss kerfuffle, buddy. As usual, they've botched it all badly. This has nothing to do with conspiracies, the left, or cancel culture. This is his own estate deciding they don't want to put the books out into the public in this form any more. They're entirely within their rights to do that. Jim and I are hoping they can put out revised versions, as happened with Tintin. Also, most people will never have heard of these books - they're not his popular ones, with the exception maybe of Mulberry Street,

You're right, it's a complex issue, and why do we want to change the books or withdraw them from circulation, rather than use them to teach how times have changed? I believe many English professors who teach Huckleberry Finn, for example, highlight the use of the n-word and discuss its use in that context. On the other side of the balance, maybe, we have children's books that make casual, thoughtless use of racist language and images, and not only do adults find them distasteful, but they worry about impressionable children reading them. As I mentioned up above, I didn't read the Mary Poppins or Dr. Doolittle books to our kids because of that problem. I could've done it and tried to teach them why the use is wrong, I suppose, but we were reading together for pleasure, not lessons on racism.

I guess I'll add that if Dr. Seuss were my father or grandfather, I'd probably do what the estate has done. To do otherwise would be to continue an unnecessary stain on his reputation, while putting something unsavory and damaging in the hands of children - something a wised up Dr. Seuss would never want.

I don't think there's a one size fits all answer, other than change the channel if Fox News shows up.

>52 brodiew2: Why, is an interesting and unanswerable. If I could go back and wipe out a hurtful thing I'd said, I'd do it in a minute. If I'd have to openly accept sever consequences for having said it, now me would do that too. But the hurt is done, what can be done now to express regret and sorrow and sympathy? What reparation is there?

>54 quondame: Good questions, Susan.

For those interested in this racism in Dr. Seuss issue, I thought this was a really good article on it: https://slate.com/culture/2021/03/dr-seuss-racist-books-mulberry-street-intervie...

The interviewee concludes that the estate took them off the market for financial reasons: the racism was hurting sales. Ha! Gotta love that one.

It also talks about how Dr. Seuss responded in the past, including making revisions a couple of times, and how his viewpoint was antiracist, which he tried to promote in some books.

>47 jnwelch: "The Left Handed Booksellers" jumped right off the page and onto my WL. Thanks for the tip.

Judy and I both own facsimile copies of the Shakespeare First Folio. I think some book club offered as a joining bonus. It's fun to page through but it's not something you can actually READ.

The Oxford Shakespeare is my favorite for reading they have good footnotes and lots of supporting material about the play and the life and times.

>57 jnwelch: You're welcome, Jim. Looking forward to hearing what you think of The Lefthanded Booksellers.

Ha! I wondered how readable the First Folio was. You guys did it right, with a facsimile. I should try that.

I haven't tried the Oxford Shakespeare. We were given The Riverside Shakespeare as a gift; it has some of the same benefits.

>53 jnwelch: I have to confess, I don't watch much news at all. I tune to fox news every now and again when major stories break, but not this time. I also have to confess to my own knee jerk reaction without having all the facts. But, my heart, as far as books are concerned, is pure. Revising should be left to the the author, or in this case, the estate. I really dislike the idea of erasing historical evidence for the convenience of making 'classics' available to children. Perhaps I am protesting too much. I'm sure I would feel differently if I were the object of the misrepresentation.

>54 quondame: Hello quondame. Reparation is another subject altogether and a challenging one at that. Money and revision does not seem like a plausible answer to me. You are right. The hurt is done. Making amends or trying to repair what has been done has to be a heart movement rather than a making it look like it never happened. Heart movements are hard, especially when you are trying to change to mind of an entire segment of the population. I also feel like self flagellation is not the right answer either. Heaping tons of guilt on ourselves seems even less productive than revising history. The answer is not easy, but it is more challenging when we cannot agree on how to address it.

>58 brodiew2: I was only addressing a single personal crime, committed long ago with no apparent personal consequence against someone who no longer exists, which matters only in how it has colored how I view such larger matters. Any actual reparations for government crimes have seemed pitifully token to me.

>58 brodiew2: We love your pure heart, Brodie! I'm glad you didn't get this from Fox News. A whole lot of people have, and gotten it wrongly, which annoys me.

What to do about systemic racism going forward: so complex! But I love Isabel Wilkerson's analogy in Caste. It's like an old house you've bought that has structural problems. The roof leaks, there's been flooding in the basement, some pipes have problems, there's this and there's that. You didn't do any of it; you're not responsible for it having happened. You can blame it on the actions of others, the neglect of prior owners. You can blame the seller. You can blame Mother Nature if you want to. You can find plenty of places to lay blame. But if you want to live in the house, you'd better fix the structural problems, or you're setting yourself up for ongoing misery, and maybe an unliveable house.

Happy Saturday, Joe! Love the art and grandkid toppers. Boy, Rafa and Fina are growing up fast!

Happy Saturday, Joe. I hope you are having a good one. I did a few chores but I have also got a nice chunk of reading in. Mostly from Red-Tails in Love, which has been a joy to read.

>48 jnwelch: I love this one too! What a terrific collection.

>61 bell7: Hi, Mary. Thanks! I know, it's amazing how fast little ones grow. I'll try to find a link - I just read a great, short article on how to raise children that are helpful and cooperative, and Rafa's and Fina's folks do a good job of it. Here we go, it's from NPR: https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2021/03/05/974069925/are-we-raising-un... As per usual, it could be viewed as a bit of a hassle for parents, but well worth it.

>63 jnwelch: Happy Saturday, Mark. What, you don't want to comment on twig art, Dr. Seuss, book censorship, systemic racism, or lefthanded booksellers? This retirement stuff is getting you too relaxed! :-)

Yeah, it's been a good one. We took a long walk this morning, got some chores done, and besides that it's been LT and reading. I'm nearing the end of Chicago Storytellers: From Stage to Page, and you'd like it. The stories are usually 3-5 minutes on stage, so they make for quick reading. It turns out Debbi's "Delirium" story is near the end, so I still haven't read hers in this, although of course I know it from her performing. My poetry is that Roger Robinson one, which I'm near the end of, too. Red Tails in Love looks like a fun one; we were just talking about Central Park up there with the Alice in Wonderland statue.

Yes, more promo up in >48 jnwelch: for Helium. I think I'll post at least one more of his. I need to watch him on Youtube, too. You made a great find.

Sorry, I didn't have much to add on those topics. The Dr. Seuss issue is just more fodder for the Right, along with Mr. Potato Head. Book censorship just pisses me off. I saw the twig art of FB. Pretty neat.

>51 scaifea: Ha! How did I miss you the first time, Amber? I'm not much into incense, but peppermints, you bet. The song was considered psychedelic rock. Hoo boy. Am I dating myself?

>52 brodiew2: No worries, Mark. Ha! I forgot about Potato Head/Mr. Potato Head. Well, as long as they're worrying about Dr. Seuss and Potato Head, and not storming the Capitol, I guess we're coming out ahead. The one that surprised me the most was the twig art, as you're a woods guy. I'd forgotten you would've seen it on FB!

>66 jnwelch: To be clear, I was talking about the song, too. I love it, so apparently I like psychedelic rock, and I'm okay with that.

>67 scaifea:. Oh, wow. I’m dumdazzled. I didn’t expect anyone else to even know that song, much less like it! I still like it, too. My sister isn’t quite as fond of it.

>66Hi Joe! Of course, psychedelic rock, now we know! Would you have been a fan of the Yellow Submarine? That movie played for ages as a night movie here in Amsterdam, but I have always missed it.

Totally off topic of course. Loved the pictures of the grandkids. And how nice for you and Debbi to finally get to play with them again!

Today’s Bargains: I’d been wanting to read Autism in Heels by Jennifer Cook O’Toole for a while now, and lo and behold, it turned up as an e-book bargain today for $1.99. Similarly, I’ve thought about reading How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill for ages, and it popped up as a $1.99 e-book bargain. Well, all right!

I am still ticked about the rockin' of my Seussian world. Academic libraries are not worried about controversy or censorship. I had to remove all copies of these books because of the price they are fetching on E-Bay. It that price we can't afford to replace them. I get that, but the fact remains that books go out-of-print regularly and nobody tells me to remove them from the shelf because we can't replace them. We have plenty of books on our shelves that we couldn't replace. Library materials get stolen every day. Some of the thieves even get books written about them.

I think that this whole flap has to do with money, and the corporate entity at the bottom of it - Seuss Enterprises - are a bunch of evil money grabbing corporate types who want to protect their income. The Seuss art is trademarked, copyrighted, and licensed to the hilt and makes the heirs to his fortune lots and lots of money every year. It is silly that the day after the announcement that they were ceasing publication of six Seuss titles, four out of the top five selling books on Amazon were by Seuss - and they weren't any of the titles being canceled. What's up with that?

These six titles have been selling poorly for years. Ceasing publication of them isn't going to hurt the Seuss Enterprises one iota.

One other factor in this is that Seuss was a political cartoonist. These are people who make their living doing exaggerations. Yes, these books were marketed as children's books, but a good teacher or parent is going to deal with them as a product of their time - much the same as they do with Uncle Tom's Cabin and Tess of the D'Urbervilles. Or even (shudder) Pamela. This may sound like I am making excuses for Dr. Seuss, but And to Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street was written in 1937. Think about what was going on in the world and then look at the book. Japan was rampaging through China massacring hundreds of thousands of people, and do I have to mention what was going on in Europe? Given that knowledge, what do the images convey?

The book with the newest copyright date was Cat's Quizzer and it was published in 1976. It hadn't sold a single copy on Amazon last year. That's why it was canceled. All of these titles were not selling and Seuss Enterprises needed to create a way to make more money. Seuss Enterprises could have made their announcement on January 1, or July 1, but they choose to make it on Sunday, February 28. Why that date? March 2 is Seuss' birthday. It is also Read Across America Day in the public schools. Due to some creative marketing Read Across America Day has become Let's-Celebrate-Dr.-Seuss's-Birthday-Day - a fact that many school librarians have been railing against for years. The two days have become so intertwined that they might be inseparable, muckiest to the dismay of librarians everywhere. So the release of the news of the cessation of publication on that day was a calculated monetary endeavor designed to drive sales of other Seuss titles up. Boy did it work well.

What ticked me off was the instant reaction that we have to take these off the shelf in order to preserve them. The issue was not preservation it was an anti-theft measure. Somebody was afraid that they would get stolen. Maybe so, but in our case we have multiple copies of these titles. Do we move all of them to noncirculating collections? Why? There are a dozen libraries who have pristine copies of these books in noncirculating collections and all of them are within driving distance of Tuscaloosa. One of the most comprehensive collections of children's literature in the U.S. is right down the road at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. Besides that, not a single one of our copies is going to be worth more than $50.00 due their condition and the fact that they are not first editions. (Richard you are so right on that one.) It is a classic example of panic buying and it is silly.

I spent three days at work dealing with this writing multiple e-mails daily and it just irritated me because I have other things to do.

What I did like about the whole brouhaha was that it keeps people talking about the main issues of intolerance. Nothing will change if people don't talk about it.

Thanks to whoever put that bit in this thread from Isabelle Wilkerson's book Caste. It is perfect.

Hi Joe, Correct me if I'm wrong but I seem to recall a Mrs. Potato head at one point. Wouldn't she, if she did exist, resolve the problem. If there was one?

Pondering the fact that I have several apparently valuable Seuss books in the next room.....

>63 jnwelch: Oh that's a good article, Joe, thanks for pointing me to it! Certainly more work at the outset, but worth it in the end, I think.

Autism in Heels is on my list. It's a common misconception that autism and Aspergers only strike boys and men. That misconception seems to lead to a lot of female "on the spectrum" people not being properly diagnosed or properly treated.

>69 EllaTim:. Ha! You know, Ella, I’m not a big fan of the Yellow Submarine song or movie. Harmless and fun, but just not that great. The swirly psychedelic era was good for wild clothes and some music. Was Cream ever psychedelic rock? I did love them, and still do.

>71 benitastrnad:. Sorry to hear the Seuss book decision has been such a thorn in your side, Benita. You might appreciate that article about it I gave a link for - the interviewee concludes that the reason was that the racism was bad for sales. I’d be fine with more of that kind of reasoning!

I’m glad Isabel Wilkerson’s house comparison worked well for you. Me, too. The more discussion about intolerance the better from my POV, too.

>72 brenzi:. There was a Mrs. Potato Head, you’re right. I’m not really up on the Potato Head news, Bonnie. I think the idea was to have a gender-free Potato Head that would appeal to everyone - non-binary, etc. When we start talking about gender-free Potato Heads, I think we’re going to hear back from a lot of comedians.

Ha! I bet a lot of people are going and checking whether they have any of these Seuss books!

>73 bell7:. You’re welcome, Mary! It makes me happy that you read and appreciated that parenting article. Makes sense, doesn’t it? I’m seeing the Inuits referred to a lot these days for their parenting techniques.

Debbi and I have seen our son and DIL doing exactly what’s described in the article. It’s another example of why Rafa and Fina are happy kiddos.

>74 magicians_nephew: Nice to have someone else interested in Autism in Heels, Jim. Yeah, Temple Grandin is a prime example of it not being restricted to boys and men. I’m looking forward to reading it.

Hi Joe.

Our history is too often ugly. It's an interesting challenge to bring that ugliness into the light, examine it honestly, and avoid perpetuating or excusing it.

I thoroughly enjoyed Devil in a Blue Dress. I'll certainly keep reading the Easy Rawlins series!

>35 benitastrnad: Ooh; I think I recognised a couple of titles on the retracted list that we might have on our shelves. Maybe I should dig them out...
I'm sorry the issue is causing you so much grief, though Benita.

>40 magicians_nephew: Well, we all came across those books in our childhood and we've survived. There was a lot of stuff I glossed over in my mind as being part of the fiction world, like racial stereotypes, boarding school adventures, being able to fly ... I think kids are generally pretty savvy. (Or maybe that just applies to LT-type folks, who are seriously into books and can sift fact from fiction?)

>28 jnwelch: From what I know of genetics, Joe, there must be blue eyes lurking in Adri's ancestors somewhere for the grandkids to have blue eyes.

>75 jnwelch:
It didn't cause me grief in the normal sense of loss. It was irritating and in my opinion a tempest in a teacup. I would put money on it that in two weeks nobody will remember that some of the Dr. Seuss books have ceased publication. That is what aggravates me. I spent almost three whole days working on every aspect of this from finding out how many copies there are of each book listed in libraries world wide in WorldCat - to getting our cataloger to correct and clean up the catalog records to reflect the fact that only 1 of our copies is worth any money. The bottom line was that this was a poorly reasoned response to a perceived crisis caused by a huge price increase. (Does this sound like a bubble in the business world? - or maybe the Trump White House.) A few years ago replacing a $500.00 book wouldn't have been that big of a deal for our library, but now in the Covid crisis we have no money in a replacement fund and are unlikely to have any in the next 5 years. Our budget took a big hit with this Covid crisis.

Richard is right - it all comes down to money.

>53 jnwelch: Yes, or at least they were popular a while ago. I have 10 of his books in translation on the shelves. The Abhorsen books and the books like Heer donderdag, Meneer maandag but there is no Friday book translated anymore. So I'm afraid this one will not be translated too. But I will keep an eye open for that one.

I'm old enough to remember when Fox News went after Dr. Seuss because they didn't like the message in The Lorax. So they can spare me the faux outrage, as can anyone up in arms about books they've probably never heard of.

An estate deciding not to publish certain titles is NOT censorship.

The "I read them and I turned out fine" argument is infuriating because most people saying it aren't part of the communities that are stereotyped. It's easy to skim over something when it doesn't directly affect you or speak to who you are at a very fundamental level.

It's all much ado about very little, just like the so-called Potato Head controversy. Let's try to focus on what's important, shall we?

*climbs off soap box*

Have a good Sunday, Joe :)

Hi Joe, and happy new thread!

>1 jnwelch: Coffee, books, birds.

>4 jnwelch: Proud boy, winsome girl.

>6 jnwelch: Absolutely stunning – I was going to comment on it on your last thread but I’ve gotten a bit behind so will comment on it here. Thanks for bringing it over.

>35 benitastrnad: I don’t agree that it’s censorship, since it’s the Seuss organization itself that is re-evaluating what it wants to publish. Fallout from that decision is another matter.

>44 jnwelch: I absolutely cannot see those images as twigs. Fantastic.

>81 katiekrug: I haven't read any Dr Seuss books and have no idea what the fuss is about but it is clear that his estate have the complete right to do as they will to the rights bequeathed to them.

The problem as I see it will come after 100 years of publication when I understand they would fall into the public domain. Since I won't be around quite possibly, I think it not worth getting hot under the collar about. Then I'm sure the prices will be devalued again.

>77 EBT1002: You're so right, Ellen. We'd all prefer not to look at our ugly history, and think about what needs to be done. As you say, we need to bring that ugliness into the light, examine it honestly, and avoid perpetuating or excusing it.

We are making progress, it seems to me, although never as fast as we'd like, and often embarrassingly slowly. There's a sci-fi book that has stuck with me ever since I read it, called Dragon's Egg. The premise is that space-faring humans are helping beings on a small planet that revolves very quickly, so that a day happens in like a few minutes of our time (I forget the exact length). The beings are very primitive, and need a lot of help at the start. There are wars and so on. But because time passes so quickly for them, they evolve quickly, and soon surpass humans in understanding, civility, and nobility.

Why mention it? What's slow progress from our POV can be viewed differently.

Ah, you make me happy with Devil in a Blue Dress! Isn't that a fine one? Go Easy Rawlins!

>78 humouress: You're right, Nina. We all survived those racist elements as kids. I LOVED the Doolittle and Mary Poppins books, and ended up hating racism. I guess two things strike me, that are being addressed in many books coming out these days: one, it would not be a good thing if I grew up reading that Scots or English people are inferior to everyone else, and in particular, to XYZ people, with every portrayal of a Scot or Brit underscoring that. (My mix is Scot/Brit/Welsh). Second, it would not be a good thing if I never got to see a Scot or a Brit in a meaningful, positive role in media, including on tv and in the movies. Or you could substitute "girl", or "gay person", for example. You will hear many blacks talk or write about how important Lieutenant Uhura was on Star Trek was to them.

I should know more about eye genetics - I'll bet Adriana does have blue eyes somewhere in her family history; I'm pretty sure she's even mentioned it. Thanks for mentioning that. I'll try to find out more. They named Fina after me (Josefina), with my dad's name "Lyndon" as her middle name, and I think my DIL enjoys attributing the blue eyes to me.

>79 benitastrnad: That sounds really annoying, Benita. Only 1 book after all that. Jeesh. Well, you deserve to treat yourself to a new book- not by Dr. Seuss, I'm sure.:-)

>80 connie53: Hmm, no Friday book. Sounds like publishers assessed the market and decided a translation wasn't costworthy, doesn't it. I can see why you're worried Lefthanded Booksellers may not get translated. Well, I'm all on board with making it a big success here and across the pond, so that they're motivated. Fingers crossed.

>81 katiekrug: Ha! Oh, that's great, Katie. I don't remember Fox News and The Lorax, but I can sure see why it happened! (My bad for not remembering it).

Yes, the estate's decision to no longer sell these books in their present form isn't censorship, it isn't cancel culture, it's not left wingers ruining our lives again, or whatever else Fox News wants to cook up to keep their viewers foaming at the mouth.

Please bring your soap box as often as you like! It's always a good thing.

Happy Sunday! I hope you've got some good vittles and reading ahead of you.

>82 karenmarie: Hi, Karen, and thanks!

Coffee, birds, books - not bad. We'll try to find some beer for our friend Mark.

Fina is a proud, winsome lass, you're right. She's already a powerhouse, and I'm hoping she'll just get more so.

Isn't >6 jnwelch: stunning? I love that one. Aren't those twigs fantastic, too? What an eye that guy has.

>83 PaulCranswick: Wow, how have you gotten through life without reading a Dr. Seuss book, Paul? It feels like that would almost be impossible here. Anyway, as you've seen, I agree; this isn't censorship. The estate has every right - and if racism hurting sales is the prime motivator, I think that's a good development. In a sense, we vote when we spend our dollars.

Hopefully, there'll be no worthwhile market for the books when public domain enters the picture.

Giraffe photo-bombing

Una giraffa 🦒 che si intrufola per creare la foto perfetta. Parco nazionale di Etosha, Namibia.
📸 Brigette Alcalay Marcon

Any translators seeing this? I think it means the giraffe on the left enters to make it a perfect photo?

Hi Joe...Benita's point about "Read-Across-America" becoming "Read A Seuss Book" is well-taken in light of this nontroversy (non-controversy, dunno if I made it up or read it but it is *incredibly* useful in today's world) and Faux "News"'s spreading of "cancel culture" fear. Which, not for nothing, Faux "News" invented with the Dixie Chicks fracas back in the bad old days of Shrub's presidency. Those jackanapes made Natalie Maines' life unlivable for the rest of the Aughties...because she exercised her deeply American right of free speech.

Anyway. Seuss. This was clearly a cash grab by the estate, and a way of getting the Good Doctor's work back at the front of the cultural line.

Katie and Brodie both brought up the easy-to-overlookness of it not being *you* that's denigrated. That is true; I see people recommend and praise books with nasty homophobic underpinnings constantly. But one picks one's battles...can't call out everything or it stops being heard. And not one soul was bitching about ancient, non-selling Seuss books because why give them air?

So the nontroversy comes back down to the ancient Roman truism, "Cui bono?"

>87 jnwelch: It's Italiano:

A giraffe 🦒 sneaking around to create the perfect photo. Etosha National Park, Namibia.

--courtesy of Google Translate.

>89 kac522: Thanks, Kathy! I was going to applaud your chops in Italian; instead I'll applaud your google fu. I like "sneaking around to create the perfect photo." Ha!

>88 richardderus: I love "nontroversy", Richard. It is incredibly useful in today's world, for sure. Yeah, I remember that foofaraw with Natalie Maines and the Dixie Chicks; I should have realized it was Fox News-fueled. Smart cash grab by the Seuss estate, I've got to give them that. They're probably patting themselves on the backs after all this.

Yeah, that's what I was trying to get at with my inept analogy of Scots and Brits getting portrayed as inferior and unworthy. The "you" it affects matters, and we need to step into other people's shoes to understand the hurt inflicted. That's what reading helps a lot, right? Empathy. It's no coincidence that drumpf was a non-reader, and I'll bet that's true of most of his acolytes.

not one soul was bitching about ancient, non-selling Seuss books because why give them air? Right - it goes back to your point about the Seuss estate. No one cared about these books a month ago. Who stands to gain, as we used to say in ancient Roman truism times.

>91 jnwelch: Like. Haha.

I hope you are having a good day Joe. I treated myself to a pizza delivery for lunch. Due any time.

>92 Caroline_McElwee: I got a laugh out of >91 jnwelch:, too, Caroline. Mmm, pizza for lunch. Good call!

We head off to work out soon. Boo! But it's good for us. We're supposed to get a big warmup today, so we're hoping to spend some time on the front porch.

>76 jnwelch: I suspect my niece in Florida was "on the Spectrum" but never diagnosed and it has certainly been an issue for her in her life. I had a dear friend in New York who was diagnosed and got help and it made such an enrmous difference in his life.

>81 katiekrug: Thanks Katie! As a white straight male of European ancestry I don't feel I'm the go to guy to determine whether or not something is offensive to Blacks, Asians, Latinos, women or gays.

>91 jnwelch: love the book blurbs , Joe. And when they say "The Author takes you along on a wonderful journey of discovery" it means "He's pulling all this out of his ass"

>91 jnwelch: Gave me a good giggle, thanks.

>42 jnwelch: Late to the discussion but popping in to note that Tintin has not been revised to my knowledge. For some time it was very hard to get the more overtly racist Tintin books in the U.S. but they remained widely available in Europe. The collected series I have omits Tintin in the Land of the Soviets and Tintin in the Congo, the later being the book widely (and accurately) considered racist. Interesting to me, Tintin in America is pretty widely distributed despite pretty offensive depictions of Native Americans.

Tintin's depiction of the Japanese in The Blue Lotus is also racist although, somewhat surprisingly, the Chinese are depicted sympathetically. In fact, The Blue Lotus deals directly with the Japanese invasion of China and creating pretexts to continue military offensives.

>94 magicians_nephew: Interesting, Jim, thanks. Yes, as far as I know, diagnosis leads to effective help, although our pre-k teaching daughter can tell you that many parents resist the suggestion that they get one. Our son had a friend who was diagnosed early with Asperger's, and he seemed to be well-adjusted and happy as a kid, and now he's married with a family. He behaved a bit oddly, but his friends understood, and he also was a musical prodigy, which I understand isn't uncommon. He could pick up any instrument and play it well.

I have to remind myself that I'm a white straight male of European ancestry, too, Jim, and that I can't fully take the POV of those who aren't. It's easy enough to see the really bad stuff, but systemic racism and microaggressions both take some thought, at least for me. If you start by viewing people as equal and treating everyone with respect, that goes a long way, doesn't it.

Ha! I love your addition to the book blurbs!

>95 humouress: Oh, I'm glad, Nina. Thanks for letting us know. We can all use a good giggle, right?

>96 Oberon: Thanks for letting us know, Erik. I'm not a Tintin expert, although I've read a couple that people here recommended. I thought some Tintins had been revised for racism reasons. I'm glad to know they weren't, so I don't use that as an example. Interesting to hear re The Blue Lotus. I just watched a martial arts movie (IP Man) set during WWII, in which the Japanese were the clear villains and the good guy Chinese ultimately "won the war."

On a quick look, it looks like The Story of Doctor Doolittle was revised in 1988 to eliminate the racist portions, but there (reportedly) still are disturbing "colonial ideologies" in it. Pippi Longstocking was revised in 2009 to eliminate unnecessary uses of "Negro" (I don't even remember those). I did hear of this one: the Oompah-Loompahs in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory originally were African pygmies. And Then There Were None famously bore the original title "Ten Little (N-Words)". There is an edition of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn with the n-word (originally used over 200 times) replaced by "slave", but the prevailing view is that the book is anti-racist satire and the original use of the n-word should remain and be discussed in context.

Hi, Joe. I just got back from a long, bird outing, taking advantage of a beautiful morning. We got quite a few different birds but the highlights were a bald eagle and two first of the year bluebirds. Now that you are both vaccinated, I hope we can get together soon and maybe hike around Montrose.

On the book front, I am still enjoying Network Effect and I plan on starting Wrecked a bit later on. I really enjoyed the first 2 IQ books.

>98 msf59:. Good for you, Mark! Great day for birding and being outside. A bald eagle and bluebirds - nice indeed. We’ve been toodling around the neighborhood, and are going to sit out on the front porch next. What a day! And more to come, say the weather folks.

Yeah, they tell you to wait two weeks after the second shot, and we’ll be through that soon. Man, would it be nice to be back out at Montrose Harbor!

I loved both those books you’ve got going. I just finished the From Stage to Page book with Debbi’s story in it, so I’m planning to do a sci-fi Liaden book next.

Today’s Bargain: I enjoyed The Bookshop of Yesterdays, and it’s available today on Kindle for $1.99.

>91 jnwelch: Ha! Excellent.

>87 jnwelch: LOL. Great photo.

>101 richardderus: :-) I thought you might have one to add to >91 jnwelch:, Richard.

>102 connie53: Ha! I'm glad you like our giraffe pals, Connie.

Gorgeous sunrise in Hallstatt, Austria
Photo by @argenel

Question What are some of your favorite oddball books? I like ones that are different, like My Sister, The Serial Killer. Ones that come to mind are Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata, Sum: Forty Tales by David Eagleman, and The Frozen Thames by Helen Humphreys.

Today’s Bargain: Timeline was one of my favorite Crichton books, and it’s available today for $1.99 on Kindle.

>106 jnwelch: Crichton worked like a dog to make time travel at least barely scientifically plausible, and i liked Timeline for his turning a lot of time travel cliches on their heads.

I have it in paperback ; might be a good time to get the Kindle for it. My favorite Crichton of all time was The Great Train Robbery.

>105 jnwelch: Six of One, a lovely and strangely off-kilter romp through a border town between the Union and Confederacy...between PA and MD...that's given me so many fantabulous phrases that I still use. "Thundersnow" was introduced to me by this book; "{One} can't pursue happiness. It isn't a grouse;" one character's husband spending her money in York, PA, "Gomorrah on the Codorus;" the three older-generation women's complete absence of pretense among themselves: "Fanny, you sucked miles of cock on that trip!" is one memorable line. It was here I learned "pixilated" before "pixelated" was of any wide social significance. A book read when I was ~18 that, re-read when I was 58, had as many pleasures to offer but they were different ones. A book given to my YGC and the source of snorting, whinnying laughs from him as well. (He hates that I characterize that particular laugh that particular way but the truth hurts say I.)

Will that do?

>105 jnwelch: S. by Doug Dorst (idea conceived by J.J. Abrams) is a fun book. There's three layers of narrative - the book "The Ship of Theseus" and then two rounds of paratext from two students who are trading notes in the margins that tell a whole other story. The book also has little notes and photographs tucked between pages and includes a faux library spine label. As an object and narrative it's a delight. But I can't help noting that as a librarian it's one of the more annoying books to try and circulate in a public library collection.

>106 jnwelch: And here I am boycotting Amazon this week.

>107 magicians_nephew: Hi, Jim. There are a lot of time travel books, aren't there, and Timeline is one of the best.

>108 richardderus: Six of One by Rita Mae Brown. I never would've guessed she wrote something like this. That it was as good the second time around, at 58, and caused snorting and whinnying from your YGC (I'll lay off the horse jokes) says a lot. Thanks, RD. It'll do, man, it'll do.

>109 MickyFine: What an oddball book, Micky! I read a good review of it in The Guardian, too. I can imagine it would be circulated with trepidation. :-) Thanks - S. is a great pick for this.

>110 quondame: Too bad, Susan. Are you boycotting in support of the Alabama union organizers, or something else?

Mars and the Pleiades over Vinegar Hill
Credit: Kristine Richer http://www.kristinerosephotography.com/
Location: Milford, Nova Scotia

Yes i'm always amazed that Rita Mae Brown who wrote the lovely and sexy Lesbian coming of age story Rubyfruit Jungle can turn around and also write these cosy mysteries and other "master of the hunt" books too .

Writers write.

Today’s Bargain: Farewell, My Lovely, a classic Phillip Marlowe mystery by Raymond Chandler, is available today on e-readers for $1.99.

>113 magicians_nephew:. Right, Jim? And cat stories, IIRC.

BTW, I had some fun news. Three more of my poems (Penumbra, Pockets, and Jesus Today) are being published April 16 in the Academy of the Heart and Mind. I'll post a link when the time comes.

>116 jnwelch: Congratulations!
***

“It’s not necessary that we agree on a radio station.”

Mm hm.

ETA SIZE!!

>116 jnwelch: Congratulations Joe. Great news.

Happy Wednesday, Joe. I went out for a short solo bird walk earlier but decided to hang home the rest of the day. The winds are never fun for birding. I am continuing to enjoy Wrecked. I finished God of Nothingness . Terrific collection. I think I will dip back into Bright Wings for a few more poems and then start The Seven Ages.

>105 jnwelch: I will have to give this one some thought. Cruddy, Geek Love & Nothing to See Here are 3 that come to mind. Of course, the first 2 are very, very dark.

>116 jnwelch: That is fantastic news. Congrats!

>116 jnwelch: Congrats!

>111 jnwelch: Yes. It's a week long boycott, so I'll be missing out on at most a couple of $1.99 offerings, which is a pretty small bit of support, but mine.

Aw, congrats on the poems, Joe! That's great news!

Congratulations Joe! That's exciting news.

>117 richardderus: Thanks, Richard. Ha! Nice cartoon. We still sometimes cart kids and grandkids around in the minivan, and they never want our radio station or audiobook.

>118 Caroline_McElwee: Thanks, Caroline. I'm probably happier for Becca, who helps me with submitting, and deserves some winners. It'll be fun to see them.

>119 msf59: Happy Wednesday/Sweet Thursday, Mark. Beautiful one out there today. We're heading to the library soon. I'm glad God of Nothingness hit the spot for you. What a nice surprise that one was. I'm also tickled that you're sticking with IQ; I know that's not that common for you. And Louise Gluck coming up - man, we need a get-together to talk about all of these!

Nice oddball choices! I'm pretty sure our son liked Cruddy, and I bet he and our DIL read Geek Love. Hmm. Very, very dark would be unusual for me, but you've got me intrigued by Nothing to See Here.

Thanks re the poems!

>120 drneutron: Thanks, Jim!

>121 quondame: Good for you, Susan. Amazon hates losing a dime, methinks, so I hope collectively the boycott sends a message.

>122 scaifea: Thanks, Amber! I'm glad they're going to have a home where others can see them.

>123 lauralkeet: Thanks, Laura. They're three I'm particularly fond of, so there's some extra happy to it.

>126 jnwelch: I know that feeling well.

>126 jnwelch: Mike powered through Murderbot and asked for something else. I gave him The Goblin Emperor and next will be The Thief.

>105 jnwelch: Oh be still my heart. I read The Frozen Thames as a library book back in 2012 Joe, and loved it so much I immediately went out and bought it. I didn't really think of it as oddball though. Just an absolutely beautiful little book. Oddball book title has to go to Katherine Dunn's Geek Love.

>127 richardderus: :-) Good morning, Richard.

>128 quondame: Hey, sounds good, Susan. You've got him going. I'm always happy when Madame MBH likes one I've recommended.

I'm reading the new Liaden book, Trader's Leap, and getting a kick out of it, per usual.

>129 brenzi: Right, Bonnie? We bought The Frozen Thames, too. Such a beautiful book. Both Madame MBH and I thought it fit "oddball" because it was so different from any others we'd read. Two votes for Geek Love! Thanks for pitching in on the question.

The artist of this painting is a 9th grader Ajunath sindhu Vinayala of Trissur, Kerala (in India). He painted this because his father continually introduced his mother as “she is just a house wife, she doesn’t work”. Ajunath was surprised because he never saw his mother idle so he painted this to depict his mother’s daily routine and showed it to his teacher who sent it to the state govt office where it got selected as the cover page for the 2021 gender budget document. Posted originally by Nina Groth.

>131 jnwelch:

Incredible painting - hope there will be more!

As incredible is the two of you both getting PUBLISHED in a single year!

Happy Friday, Joe. I am sure you are busy sweatin' it out, at the moment. Will you go back to in-person training? Me and a birder buddy were out for about 3 hours this morning. Birds and exercise. You can't beat it. The highlight was a pair of nesting bald eagles. This is their 2nd or 3rd year, nesting in this area and it is a mere 10 minutes from my house.
I am wrapping up Wrecked and it has been another fun entry.

>131 jnwelch: This is both gorgeous and amazing!

>131 jnwelch: That's a kid with (I hope and pray) an amazing future.

Weekend ho! Read hearty.

Today’s Bargain: On e-readers, Slade House by David Mitchell, and A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki. I liked both a lot. For me, ATFTTB takes off when she meets her grandmother.

>134 richardderus:. I was thinking the same thing, Richard. If he can create something this beautifully composed in ninth grade, what a future lies ahead for him.

Best wishes for a hearty weekend of reading back atcha, buddy. I don’t think you ever caught the Liaden bug, did you? I’m having a grand time with the newest, Trader’s Leap. My other one is Walter Isaacson’s new The Code Breaker, about Jennifer Doudna and CRISPR and gene editing. Fabuloso so far.

>133 msf59:. Hiya, Mark.

Happy Friday/Happy Saturday. We were sweating it out, and later our trainer came by in person with his three young boys and girlfriend and played basketball on our backyard hoop (we lowered it to 6 feet). So we’re getting closer to going back to in-person in the gym. Debbi’s still leery, but we’re getting there. Tomorrow we’re going to go to Trader Joe’s for the first time in a year. So some normalcy is returning.

I’ll bet yesterday was beautiful birding and great exercise. You’ve been a walking machine for a lot of years, and now that prep work is paying off.😀 Nesting bald eagles with 10 minutes of your place - how great is that?!

P.S. Go IQ! I’ve got Hi Five waiting for me, and he’s already got another one out called Smoke.

>132 m.belljackson:. Hi, Marianne.

Isn’t that painting incredible? Let’s keep an eye on this kid and see what more he does. His mother must be so proud and happy.

Thanks re the publishing! Yeah, we’re a house of writers these days, and they’re doing the same out in our Pittsburgh branch - son and DIL had a new book published this year. Our daughter (seasonsoflove) has a book review blog going, and a monthly national storytelling performance online. It’s a fun time, despite the dratted pandemic!

From a LT meetup 7 years ago in Seattle, when Jesse was working at Microsoft. Joe, Debbi, LT pal Ellen, LT pal Karen, and Jesse. I'm optimistic we'll be able to resume meetups next year, and maybe sooner.

This one can be discomfiting - It's just so well done, I couldn't resist posting it. It's from Brit poet Roger Robinson and his A Portable Paradise collection. This prose poem is called "Black Olive".

I am introduced to a white woman at a literary party. I'm introduced to her as a writer and she is introduced to me as the director of a literary company. She picks up a black olive and says Black olives are better than the rest, aren't they. I love me some black olives and she pops it into her mouth and suddenly I am in her mouth bouncing off the soft trampoline of her tongue. I have become miniaturised to the size of an olive floating on a wave of saliva skimming the tops of her teeth and tucked in to her cheek. Before I can get my bearings, from behind her cracked molar a voice says Hi. He is as dark as me and he says, Don't tell me you're a writer, a novelist? No, poet, I reply. The black olive line? I nod slowly. A wave of saliva nearly makes us lose our footing and another guy, darker skinned than both of us, comes sliding on his bum. He stands up. We all say Hi.

Here's the title poem, A Portable Paradise, from that collection.

And if I speak of Paradise,
then I’m speaking of my grandmother
who told me to carry it always
on my person, concealed, so
no one else would know but me.
That way they can’t steal it, she’d say.
And if life puts you under pressure,
trace its ridges in your pocket,
smell its piney scent on your handkerchief,
hum its anthem under your breath.
And if your stresses are sustained and daily,
get yourself to an empty room – be it hotel,
hostel or hovel – find a lamp
and empty your paradise onto a desk:
your white sands, green hills and fresh fish.
Shine the lamp on it like the fresh hope
of morning, and keep staring at it till you sleep.

>140 jnwelch: Oh yes.

Happy Saturday, Joe. It sounds like you are reading out on the porch. Nice. I have been a homebody today, since I was out nearly every day last week. House chores and books. I am enjoying History of Wolves. I hate to admit it, but I am struggling with Louise Gluck and The Seven Ages. I think her work sails over my head. She is a beloved poet so the blame sits firmly on me.

ETA- Hey, what were you final thoughts on Mary's Monster? Great, right?

>138 jnwelch: You know I love this! great group shot. Sorry, that Karen has fallen out of touch.

>140 jnwelch: Good one, Joe. Plenty to chew on there.

Caroline recommended A Portable Paradise to me, and I thought it was the best poetry collection I've ever read. The sections dealing with the horrific Grenfell Tower Fire in West London hit home, as I was in the city when it happened, and saw the charred shell of the building daily on a subsequent visit to the capital later that year, as the elevated Underground train I took from Shepherd's Bush into central London passed within a few hundred feet of it. I was also moved by the father (the author, perhaps?) mourning his very sick preemie daughter, and the NICU nurse who provided such good care to the baby, and her parents, which made me think of Bianca.

>141 quondame:. :-). Hi, Susan.

>142 msf59:. Hiya, Mark. Yes, Mary’s Monster was great. I’ve probably said that on other threads and not this one! I hope to catch up on reviews again soon.

Sorry you’re having a tough time with Louise Gluck. I might’ve gotten into a rhythm with her reading her whopper collection. I’ve been working on that poem I wrote comparing her poems with happy guy Ross Gay’s. I may post version 2.0 to see what you think.

Isn’t that a good one from Roger Robinson? You really want to read that collection. It’s a standout. More thank yous to Caroline for recommending it.

I know, it’s a shame we don’t see Karen posting much any more. That was a great visit with her and Ellen. I love that Eliot Bay bookstore - the old one and the new one.

>143 kidzdoc:. A Portable Paradise is a great collection, Darryl. I’d have to think about “best I’ve ever read”, but it’s sure up there for me. I hope he gets some award recognition for it. Caroline’s the one who recommended it to me, too. You’ve got a much stronger basis than me for relating to the Grenfell Tower fire ones, but those were good, and I see what you mean about Bianca. I thought his ones about Brixton and being a black Brit were powerful. I said to Caroline that racism problems where she is are much more similar to ours than I realized.

Thanks for stopping by, buddy. I hope you’re having a good weekend.

>145 jnwelch: Right, Joe. I think I can stick with my claim that A Portable Paradise is my favorite poetry collection, but I would have to reread works by Toi Derricotte and Natasha Trethewey to confirm it. It did win two major prizes, the T.S. Eliot Prize for Poetry, and the Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize.

That trip to London, in the first half of June, 2017, was a memorable one, but not in a good way. On the first Saturday in the month I met up with Rhian and her husband for lunch and to see a play at the Young Vic, probably Bertolt Brecht's Life of Galileo, and that evening as I was talking with my parents in my hotel room, located close to Westminster Bridge and across the Thames from the Houses of Parliament, I received a text message from one of my partners, asking if I was okay. After I replied that I was fine she was relieved, as she knew that I liked to visit Borough Market and the area around it. I knew nothing at that time, so I turned on BBC One and saw what was happening, then heard and saw plenty of police cars, motorcycles and ambulances streaming across the bridge in the direction of Southwark Road and the market. Toward the end of that trip I turned on BBC Breakfast one morning and saw the coverage of the Grenfell Tower disaster, and images of the still smoldering high rise apartment building, although I didn't see the building or smoke that day from where I was located.

I own two books about Blacks in Britain that I plan to read this summer, Brit(ish): On Race. Identity and Belonging by Afua Hirsch, and Black and British: A Forgotten History by David Olusoga; there was a documentary about the book narrated by the author that appeared on BBC Two a few years ago as well.

Fortunately I'm off this weekend, and I'll return to work tomorrow.

‘Morning, Joe, and happy Sunday to you!

>91 jnwelch: Clever, and true.

>97 jnwelch: I was aware of the original title for And Then There Were None, and Dame Agatha’s racism is quite clear in any book that has a person of color in it. So, too, unfortunately, is Dorothy Sayers’ racism evident in at least one book I can think of offhand Unnatural Death.

I just read a children’s book that is quite delightful if you ignore the cover on my 1930s edition, which is quite offensive – Little Black Sambo. I inherited it from my husband’s great aunt. My 86-year-old neighbor Louise remembered it fondly the other day, not realizing I had a copy, so I pulled it, finally read it, and loaned it to her.

>105 jnwelch: Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins comes to mind. I was just talking about it with a friend recently, and definitely need to re-read it.

>108 richardderus: Oh my, yes! My poor, tattered, mass market paperback of Six of One has pride of place on my shelves. I bought it new and had Ms. Brown sign it, along with one of her ridiculous Sneaky Pie books that I had to buy in order to see her in 2008 at a local Indie. I have a trade paperback copy of Six of One for re-reads. “Christ’s Liquor on Earth”, uttered by Weezie, always cracks me up.

>116 jnwelch: Congrats, Poet 75er-eate.

>131 jnwelch: Marvelous story and beautiful art.

Still have my old Oxford Book of Poetry on the shelf well thumbed since i was in college.

since feeling is first
who pays any attention
to the syntax of things
will never wholly kiss you;

wholly to be a fool
while Spring is in the world

my blood approves,
and kisses are a better fate
than wisdom
lady i swear by all flowers. Don’t cry
– the best gesture of my brain is less than
your eyelids’ flutter which says

we are for each other; then
laugh, leaning back in my arms
for life’s not a paragraph

And death i think is no parenthesis
--E. E. Cummings

>131 jnwelch: That picture could make a lovely jigsaw puzzle. I love the reason why it was painted. That boy saw it so right!

Despite Little Black Sambo being set in colonial India,
it became loaded with anti-Black pejoratives.

Fina Reading

Today’s Bargain: The Harry Dresden book, Storm Front, is available on Kindle for $1.99. Great urban fantasy series.

Hi Joe! It's not urban *fantasy* but The Autobiography of Malcolm X is on sale for $2.99 on ereaders too. A really good read.

Sunday orisons.

>151 jnwelch: Beautiful photo! I love the expression of concentration.

>131 jnwelch: I'm reading this on "Mothering Sunday" here in the UK. Very appropriate.

>146 kidzdoc: Oh, good, Darryl. I'm glad A Portable Paradise won the T.S. Eliot prize; I knew it was nominated but didn't know it won. Yay! I don't know the Royal Society prize, but I'm glad it won that, too. Just an exceptionally good collection. I do like Derricotte and Trethewey. If we go back in time, T.S. Eliot and Yeats would be up there for me. Today's poets, I like Sharon Olds and Ada Limon an awful lot.

That day in 2017 is one you'll never forget, I can tell. Yikes. The first comparable that comes to mind is 9/11.

I don't know those two books about Blacks in Britain; I'll look forward to your thoughts on them. I'm reading that Meghan Markle's comments are bringing more discussion out now. From what I'm reading, race isn't discussed frankly publicly and in the media there like it is here.

I'm glad you had the weekend off! I hope it was a good one.

>147 karenmarie: 'Morning, Karen, and Happy Sunday/Mmphmumbleday!

I'm glad you got a kick out of >91 jnwelch:. I don't remember any standout racism in Dame Agatha's books, although its existence wouldn't surprise me. I do remember some anti-Semitism. There was a discussion about Unnatural Death in a Lord Peter Wimsey group on Facebook. Too bad.

I've always steered clear of Little Black Sambo; the title and cover definitely are off-putting. I'm glad you found redeeming qualities.

Jitterbug Perfume: interesting pick. I haven't read that one of his. I was just thinking that Tom Robbins and Richard Brautigan don't seem to be read much any more. They were very popular back in the day.

Another vote for Six of One. Good to know! I have to admit I thought maybe she was losing her marbles with those Sneaky Pie books.

Ha! Thanks re the poetry. I hope they get a good reaction.

Isn't >131 jnwelch: marvelous? What talent at a young age, and what a lovely appreciation of his mother.

>148 magicians_nephew: Nice one from e.e. cummings, Jim, thanks. I remember those famous last two lines.

or life’s not a paragraph

And death i think is no parenthesis

>149 connie53: Right, Connie? What a talented boy, and he taught his father a lesson in the best way.

>150 m.belljackson: Yikes. What foolish, arrogant times, Marianne.

>151 jnwelch: Lovely Fina, you make us smile. Your papa was so happy to find you reading in the sunshine.

>153 richardderus: Good one, RD, thanks. I've never read it, and probably should make time.

>154 charl08: Isn't >151 jnwelch: beautiful, Charlotte. Yes, what an expression of concentration she has. We love how important books are in that family.

Which one were you reading on "Mothering Sunday"? If it's the 2021 gender budget document mentioned in >131 jnwelch:, I'm extra-impressed!

I'm kind of a bull in the china shop wherever I go.

Happy Monday, Joe!
Somehow I lost your thread along the way. Whoops!

Long catch-up here, Joe. Congrats on your publications, and what a precious shot in >151 jnwelch:. There is nothing as heart-warming to a parent, teacher or just a reader than to see a child lost in a book. :-)

>158 ChelleBearss: Ha! Hi, Chelle. Thanks! I sympathize with your "whoops". I've had a few of those myself.

>159 jessibud2: Hi, Shelley. Yeah, what's been going on in your neck of the woods? I'll have to get over to your thread and find out. Thanks re the publications, and our Fina girl in >151 jnwelch:. There is nothing as heart-warming to a parent, teacher or just a reader than to see a child lost in a book. :-) So true! Her papa was so happy to find her there, looking through her book.

>131 jnwelch: Good artist! And good son :0)

Congrats re the poems, Joe!

>151 jnwelch: Starting her early, I see. Good on ya.

>157 jnwelch: Oh, Joe!

>157 jnwelch: *snort* Being somewhat of a clumse myownself, I relate.

Monday, Monday! Yay hooray!

Hi, Joe. Other than running a couple of quick errands, including a library stop, I am in for the day. It is pretty bad out there and I would rather hang with the books. I am enjoying History of Wolves, my shared read with Paul. It may not be blowing my socks off, but it has been solid read. I hope the workout went well.

>157 jnwelch: That brought a smile, Joe, as did the photos of your grandkids, especially Fina reading. Start them young!

>161 humouress:. Thanks, Nina! I love that the kids are surrounded by good books, and see them as fun.

I think maybe the accidents were coincidence, don’t you? Timing is no reason to blame me.

>162 richardderus:. The world just isn’t big enough for the likes of us, Richard.

HappyTuesday!

>163 msf59:. Hi, Mark. Yeah, the yuck factor was high yesterday. Isn’t it nice to have choices that don’t involve going to work?

I’m glad Hisory of Wolves is going well. I’m still loving The Code Breaker, and I already miss reading my finished Liaden book. Soft Science by Franny Choi was okay, but I won’t be recommending it, I did read that cartoon collection you recommended, A Wealth of Pigeons by Harry Bliss and Steve Martin, and had a fun time with that.

>164 Familyhistorian:. I’m glad that slanderous sign gave you a smile, Meg. Rafa and Fina’s parents are great at making books desirable and fun for those kiddos. That photo of Fina gets me every time.

Credit to @dominicliam

>166 jnwelch: OooOoOoOoOoOOOOOoooo. Purty.

The library only has paper mass-markets of Crystal Soldier so that's out. *Certainly* not spending $7 on one!

>167 richardderus:. Ah, Liaden! OK, then. Let me mull, now that I know you like them (and please forgive me if I knew and forgot!)

P. S. Would I be correct in thinking that you have yet to read Crystal Soldier, Crystal Dragon, Fledgling, Saltation, Mouse and Dragon, Ghost Ship, Dragon Ship, Necessity’s Child, Trade Secret, Dragon in Exile, Alliance of Equals, The Gathering Edge, Neogenesis, Accepting the Lance, and Trader’s Leap?

That would be the remaining ones from Crystal Soldier on in the order they were written.

And is the mass market issue personal preference or something else?

Hi, Joe. The day never shaped up weather-wise like they promised, but I did get out for a nice long walk this morning. A pair of bald eagles, a pair of Sandhill cranes and a pair of pileated woodpeckers. The latter were FOY. Yah! I am glad you got to A Wealth of Pigeons. It wasn't a great read but it sure was fun at times. A pair of quirky minds, that is for sure.

>166 jnwelch: LIKE!

>168 jnwelch: I read Crystal Soldier but...wasn't delighted. I don't remember why because it's been almost 20 years.

Paper books are hard on my hands, and mmpbs are *very* hard on the poor old things.

>169 msf59:
Hi Mark - a return to Driftless - my friend,
who still lives on Sandy Rock Road in the mighty Driftless Area,
just let us know that bald eagles are nesting in the low cliffs a half mile east of her home.

>91 jnwelch: Love that Joe and will need to watch my reviews!

>131 jnwelch: That really is tremendous. I bought a blue hued painting from Bali years ago along similar lines but the young guy's colours have a vibrancy that is striking.

>140 jnwelch: I enjoyed Robinson's collection.

Look forward to seeing the three poems that are published buddy.

Hello Joe!

>151 jnwelch: Lovely picture of Fina. Very cute.

Have you seen the British police drama Line of Duty? Quite intense. It reminds me of grit of Prime Suspect and Cracker back in the day. I am near the end of season 3.

>138 jnwelch: What a lovely photo of the meet up. I've always enjoyed the meet ups. It is a great way to spend time with those we know, or new people we have yet to meet.

>169 msf59: Morning, Mark. Yeah, not great weather yesterday. But: A pair of bald eagles, a pair of Sandhill cranes and a pair of pileated woodpeckers. The latter were FOY. Man, that sounds primo. I think you're getting the hang of this birding thing. :-) I'd feel lucky to see one of those pairs.

A Wealth of Pigeons was fun, and I think that's all those two quirky minds were after. I bet they team up again.

Isn't >166 jnwelch: cool?

>170 richardderus: Ah, I hadn't thought of your hands, Richard. So Kindle is the best way for you to read print, sounds like. OK.

Well, Crystal Soldier wouldn't be the way to try the Liaden books, IMO. I can see why you would, in terms of story chronology. But it's not a strong entry point. I suggest doing it in the order they were written, starting with Agent of Change, Conflict of Honors, and Carpe Diem. If A of C doesn't grab you, then this probably isn't the right series.

>171 m.belljackson: :-)

>172 PaulCranswick: Ha! >91 jnwelch: is a valuable way to understand blurbs and reviews, isn't it, Paul.

Isn't >131 jnwelch: striking? What a talent that boy has. I'd love to have that on our wall, and to see your blue-hued Bali painting some day.

Isn't Roger Robinson's collection a good one? My tops of the year so far, along with Rudy Francisco's Helium. And I guess I'd have to put Louise Gluck's big collected poems up there. Last year was a bit of a down year for topnotch poetry for me, but this year sure is making up for it.

Thanks re the three poems. The middle of next month. I'm looking forward to it, too.

>173 brodiew2: Hello Brodie!

Thanks re the Fina photo. You remind me I've got some funny ones today of her raiding the fridge. I'll post them after this.

I believe I saw a preview somewhere of Line of Duty, and it looked good. Thanks for the tip. I will follow up!

Did I recommend the British "Bodyguard" to you? Talk about a thriller! I got completely swept up in that one. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodyguard_(British_TV_series)

>174 Whisper1: Thanks, Linda, re the meetup photo. I love LT meetups, too. What a collection of good folks we have in our 75ers group! When ALA was in Chicago we got to meet Tim Spaulding and some of the LT staff, too. What a gift they've given us.

"The many stages of stealing applesauce from the fridge."

>178 jnwelch: 😀 That's such a good sequence of pics.

>178 jnwelch: *baaawww* what a punkin pweshus! That "you got me" grin and the absolute unshakeable confidence that she's not in trouble...how adorable.

>178 jnwelch: Uh, oh, caught, maybe if I try laughing it off, well then, zap 'em with super cute.

...and another thing: Natasha Lyonne is coming to Peacock, the NBC/Universal streaming service! She's starring in a mystery series called Poker Face:

“I’m very excited to dig into the type of fun, character driven, case-of-the-week mystery goodness I grew up watching. It’s my happy place,” {the creator} said.

This gon b gud

>178 jnwelch: What a precious girl. Love the third one: “see how cute I am when I’m getting my applesauce?”

>166 jnwelch: Gorgeous

>178 jnwelch: Gorgeous too!

>178 jnwelch: Wicked!

Congratulations on publishing those poems, Joe!

>179 drneutron: Thanks, Dr. Jim. That's Fina's talented mother Adriana taking those.

>180 richardderus: Right, Richard. :-) "Oops - but aren't I cute?"

>181 quondame: Ha! I think you got it, Susan. She's a wily one.

>182 richardderus: Oh my! That's such great news about Natasha Lyonne, buddy. And I checked - she'll also still be doing the second season of Russian Doll. Hurrah! Case of the week mysteries - sign me up!

>183 NarratorLady: Isn't she a huggable bundle, Anne? Yeah, that third one, ai yi yi. That's Debbi's favorite.

>184 connie53: I'm glad you enjoyed those flamingos in silhouette, Connie. Such a cool photo. And our gorgeous little Fina - what a scamp.

>185 EllaTim: Ha! Right, Ella? Wicked and cute. What a combo. Thanks so much about the poems. So nice to have them find a home.

From Ernesto Murguía, who tells us, "Platypus babies are called puggles". That's what we used to call pug babies, too.

>187 jnwelch: *baaawww* Puggle pweshus!

"Poker face" sounds interested but ANOTHER streaming service we have to sign up for?

Remember when everyone was complaining because the big Cable Providers made you pay for the Greek Channel and the Hindu Channel and the Golf channel and no way to opt out.

Well now we have the "cafeteria" plan with a vengeance. All we need now is that guy from Catch-22 making us all sign loyalty oaths in order to watch anything

>189 magicians_nephew: The shysters in charge have to get their vig. That's capitalism.

Sweet Thursday, Joe. Another cruddy day, right? And I am staying indoors today. Lots of distractions here, but I hope to hunker down with the books for the rest of the afternoon. I am enjoying my Chilean story collection, Humiliation: Stories. I hope you are kicking back with the books too.

>178 jnwelch: We can't get enough of this precious one! Keep on sharing.

>188 richardderus: :-)

>189 magicians_nephew: Hi, Jim. I know, this proliferation of channels/streaming services gets annoying. I just added (for free) trutv, which has some NCAA basketball tournament games. (It previously was "CourtTV, so I guess it's trying to expand?)

I'm willing to sign a loyalty oath if I can watch NCAA March Madness.

>190 richardderus: That has potential as a song lyric, RD. We need more songs about capitalism.

>191 msf59: Sweet Thursday, Mark. Cruddy indeed. I did a round trip to the library, and I can confirm that there were few people other than me foolish enough to be out walking today. Rain, rain, and then some more. I did have some reading time. I'm exuberant about The Code Breaker; thanks to Anne (NarratorLady) alerting me, I'm going to attend an author session about it with Walter Isaacson tomorrow night. I finished one Becca recommended called Inheritance Games, and had fun with it. It's YA and gets compared to The Westing Game. Lots of clue solving with an appealing protagonist.

Thanks re Fina - I keep waiting for eyes to start glazing over (your grandkids again, Joe? Really?), but so far the consensus fits your "can't get enough".

Beowulf schmeowulf! The Wanderer is a *real* poem.

>178 jnwelch: Oh man. That's adorable.

Hiya, Joe!

>178 jnwelch: ‘Who, me?’

Re streaming services - we're probably going to have to get our own licensed copy of Netflix, but we're sticking with three - Spectrum Platinum in order to keep our super fast wi-fi, Amazon Streaming, and Netflix.

>193 richardderus: Did the Geats speak Yiddish? Ancient questions to ponder. Thanks for the tip on The Wanderer, Richard. Beautiful but bleak, one long howl (before Ginsberg), okay. I've got to say, the translation of the first four lines made me think Beowulf has nothing to worry about:

The poem begins with these four lines:

Oft him anhaga

are gebideð,

metudes miltse

þeah þe he modcearig

Here's one translation of those lines:

Often a person who is a "one-thinker" (which probably means they sit alone thinking about things, not that they have a "one-track mind," but again we're guessing)

… bides their time waiting for some sort of respite

… maybe from God (but maybe just a local government authority or service-provider)

… even though this person is moody and cares too much.

****

Too bad Seamus Heaney isn't around to give us a beautiful translation like he did with Beowulf.

Anyway, thanks again. I'm intrigued, and I'll find a translation of it.

>194 figsfromthistle: Ha! Right, Anita? Agreed. The little scamp.

>195 karenmarie: Hiya, Karen!

Ha! "Who, me?" And then that crinkle grin to remind her mom how cute she is.

Sounds like you've got a good streaming plan. I have to admit, I wouldn't want to do without Prime Video, which gives us Britbox and Acorn, among others. I'm a sucker for a good Brit detective show.

A beautiful insect? It's a flower mantis in South Africa that Margaret Neville found in her lavender bushes. She's named it "Miss Frilly Pants", and they're pals now.

Thanks for reminding me about Seamus Henley's translation of Beowulf, Scooting right back for a re-read.

Of course then to be fair and balanced you have to read John Gardner's Grendel

>196 jnwelch: Simon Armitage is your man for olde English now Joe. I even managed to get RD to enjoy some of his work as I recall.

>198 jnwelch: Oh, what a lovely creature Miss Frilly-Pants is!

>200 PaulCranswick: *ssshhh* don't noise it about!

Happy Friday, Joe!

>178 jnwelch: Hah - that third photo!

>198 jnwelch: Is that real?

>199 magicians_nephew: Hi, Jim. You're welcome. I never did read John Gardner's Grendel, even though it's looked at me reproachfully more than once. I applaud you for doing it. I may just end up unfair and unbalanced, unfortunately. Every time I walk up to it, something inside says, "No thanks".

>200 PaulCranswick: Probably thanks to you I've read a good bit of Simon Armitage, Paul. Did he do a version of The Wanderer?

>201 richardderus: Ha! Isn't Miss Frilly-Pants a sight to behold? I love that story.

I won't let on that you enjoyed some works by someone with the initials SA, Richard.

Happy Friday, buddy!

>202 humouress: Hah! Debbi loves that third photo, too, Nina, and that crinkle grin of Fina's generally.

It's hard to believe that pretty insect is real, isn't it. Apparently it is. Here's a link to the article from "My Modern Met", which has some great stories: https://mymodernmet.com/flower-praying-mantis-garden/?fbclid=IwAR3vAUwSwPoau--Mg...

P.S. If you do a Google image search for "flower mantis", you'll see a bunch of similar ones.

>198 jnwelch: wonderful. Never seen anything like it Joe.

Haha re cheeky Fina further up.

>189 magicians_nephew: That's such a cute picture. Made me smile!

>198 jnwelch: And that is really awesome. Now off to follow your link!

>203 jnwelch: If he has I haven't seen it, Joe. I know that Tolkien did translate it.

>199 magicians_nephew: >203 jnwelch: Grendel is fun! I admit I like John Gardner even though I'm not much of a poetry person, but that cant apply to you.

Happy Friday, Joe. We had a sunny, but chilly, bird stroll this morning. Not a whole lot of birds but always nice to be stomping around in the woods for a couple of hours. I read a nice chunk of my story collection this afternoon. I don't follow March Madness very much, but I am glad to hear the Illinois teams are doing well. I am sure you are loving every minute of it.

>204 Caroline_McElwee: Isn't Miss Frilly Pants wonderful, Caroline?

Cheeky Fina is a hoot, isn't she.

>205 connie53: I'm glad you're enjoying the nature photos, Connie. I love what Modern Met finds - I hope you enjoy the linked article, too.

>206 PaulCranswick: Hmm. I may poke around, and see what Wanderer translation gets the most love, Paul.

>207 quondame: Hearing "Grendl is fun!" certainly increases my interest, Susan, as does you liking John Gardner. I've never been drawn to his books, including that one, but I may have an incomplete impression of them.

>208 msf59: Happy Friday/Salubrious Saturday, Mark. Yesterday was a step up in the weather, wasn't it, and it should just keep getting better. I'm glad you got a good bird stroll in, and a nice chunk read of your story collection. Yeah, I was delightfully caught up in March Madness (nice wins for the Illini and Loyola-Chicago (sister Jean), but now they have to play each other!)

I did attend a great author appearance last night, Walter Isaacson being interviewed by chemist David Liu about The Code Breaker and the many issues swirling around now in gene editing. I thanked Anne (NarratorLady) again for alerting me to it. I loved every minute. What a new world we're already living in.

>178 jnwelch: Oh. My. That little face!!

>210 jnwelch: Ah, yes. That one. We know it.

>210 jnwelch: The Venerable Chast pins down my issues yet again.

>210 jnwelch: - Ain't that the truth (my truth, that is)...;-p

>178 jnwelch:, Hi Joe, how adorable is Fina in those photos mate. The look she is giving just melts you.

Hope that you and Debbi are both OK and the rest of the family mate, we are both fine and get our first vaccine shots tomorrow afternoon. Have a great weekend and we send love and hugs to you and the family dear friend.

Love the Fina photos Joe. She's adorable.

Re: streaming services. It's gotten ridiculous. Discovery+, History Channel+, PeacockPremium, AMC+....there's no end. It's gotten ridiculous.

>211 ChelleBearss: Isn't Fina a cutie-pie, Chelle? She'd have a grand time with your girls.

>212 humouress: Right, Nina? I think the main problem is not getting up feels so much better. Or is it that getting up is so darn hard? These are mysteries that science hopes to solve.

>213 richardderus: Roz V. (for Venerable) Chast is so good, isn't she, RD. I need to catch up with her book doings. I believe she co-authored one recently, and there may be more than one, for all I know.

>214 jessibud2: Right, Shelley? You need to speak your truth - which I'm pretty sure you can do without getting up.

>215 johnsimpson: Thanks, mate. We sure do love that little adorable one. I agree - we melt a lot, getting looks from that little scamp. A cheeky girl, as Caroline says.

Debbi and I are doing fine, thanks. Poor Debbi had multiple Zoom meetings today, I tried to help her by watching the college basketball tournament, but I don't think she found it helpful at all. Oh, exciting. I'm so glad you and Karen are getting your first vaccine shots tomorrow! Little by little we're all getting there. I hope both of you are having a great weekend, and we send our love and hugs to you both and your growing family.

>216 brenzi: Thanks, Bonnie. Fina's parents have both become very quick and good photographers! She's a cutie-pie for sure. If we could post videos here, I'd post one from last week of her bravely launching herself down the slide, tumbling down and ending up backwards, with a big grin the whole way.

Streaming services have gotten ridiculous, you're right. There seems to be a new one coming out every week or so, and the content often is redundant. We use the voice control a lot because we get multiple options for the same show - usually we'll find at least one for free in one of the services we already subscribe to, while the others want to charge $1.99 or more per episode or movie, or have us sign up for a new service (no thanks). Crazy.

>217 jnwelch: I think that is a good point about how having kids improves the photographic skills of the proud parents. Hani honed her own skills that way too. Fina's parents can be justly proud with their work!

>217 jnwelch: Reminds me of the first time we went to the Legoland waterpark in Johor Bahru when my youngest would have been 3 or 4 years old. There was one water ride, where we could only go one at a time rather than ride together (and the next rider couldn't go until the first had got to the end), where the first slide swooped round and deposited you in a large funnel and the water would swirl you round it once or twice and then you'd go down the middle and keep sliding. But my son was too light so he went around ... and then stopped. We could see him from the queuing platform so we were wondering what to do - try calling to him to push himself to the centre or go after him. But then the ride attendant went and rescued him.

My son was fine. He's the guy who (as a toddler) happily locked himself in my bedroom (where the spare keys lived) for a couple of hours and didn't even notice while we tried to get him out and eventually called the handyman who took apart the lock on the door and then eventually had to climb in through the window.

Hmm ... better let Fina's parents know that they should put the spare keys in a safe place that they can't get locked out of.

>218 PaulCranswick: Hi, Paul. R & F's parents' photo skills have definitely gotten better and better. It helps, too, I'm thinking, that phones & their cameras are so handy and easy now. In the old days, Adriana would've had to say, Fina, stop right there in the middle of your applesauce stealing while I run and get the camera!

>219 humouress: Ha! I'll remind Fina's parents to find a good place for the keys where they can't get locked out. Thanks for the voice of experience, Nina. I know Madame MBH would have been very wound up to have a kid (or grandkid) alone that long. How much was on the floor by the time you got to him?

They had a water slide just like that at a place called the Homestead near Glen Arbor, Michigan. Luckily, it was steep enough and the water ran steadily enough that we never had a kid get stuck. I can imagine the logistical challenges.

>221 jnwelch: 😂 Love that!

>222 drneutron: Ha! He somehow knows the heart of an LTer, doesn't he, Jim.

>221 jnwelch: I believe that is the luckiest woman on the surface of the Earth.

Happy Sunday's reads.

>220 jnwelch: Haha; if it was now, he would have had a field day. Back then, with two small boys and no time for myself, my bedroom was a lot tidier.

His brother never did anything like that. When he was the same age and I went into the kitchen and locked the baby gate, he wailed as though I’d abandoned him and gone off to London. I mean, I was right in front of him and I could easily have reached out and picked him up. Kids are so different.

>221 jnwelch: Ah, communication. Love the library.

>221 jnwelch: Ha, love it.

>217 jnwelch: Hi Joe, while you were watching basketball,
the Women's Badger Hocky team won with a really amazing bank shot
which might still be up online - we saw it on Yahoo.

Morning, Joe!

>221 jnwelch: I think I may have just swooned. I mean, huge library *and* married to a bad boy? *sigh*

Morning, Joe. I hope you had a nice Sunday. I attended a fun bird outing. More details on my thread. I am enjoying this warm-up, that is for sure. Now, I want to see things budding and turning green. I am enjoying City of Bohane. His unique style can take some getting used to, but his wordplay is dazzling. I am not sure I am clicking with Elizabeth Bishop but I will keep sampling this collection of hers.

>224 richardderus: I know you're a big Tom Gauld fan, Richard. It was a happy Sunday of reading and basketball. I'm enjoying Manazuru, and today I'll return to The Code Breaker.

>225 humouress: Hi, Nina. Ha! When toddler Fina goes through a room, it's like a cyclone hit it. And she's gotten good at opening drawers. Our son has put a baby gate up by the stairs to their rooms, and last week he found Rafa downstairs. Rafa (the 3 year old) had removed the bolts from the baby gate and taken it down. Jeesh. His papa told him he was impressed, but to never do that again. :-)

Our daughter was like your other son. When she was a wee one, her mother could leave the room and Becca would cry - even if Becca could see her in the next room. Madame MBH was supposed to stay close at all times back then.

As Richard says, that woman, with that library, is the luckiest woman in the world.

>226 Caroline_McElwee: :-) Morning/Afternoon, Caroline.

>227 m.belljackson: Hi, Marianne. Way to go, women's Wisconsin Badgers Hockey team!

>228 scaifea: Ha! Morning, Amber! I hadn't thought about the married to a bad boy part. You've got me laughing.

>229 msf59: Morning, Mark. It was a very nice Sunday, thanks. We actually got some important things done on that next-door project I mentioned. I'll go to your thread and find out about the fun bird outing. It sure was a beautiful day for it. We got some porchtime reading in. City of Bohane almost sounds sci-fi. Yeah, from my POV, Elizabeth Bishop has a few hits and a lot of misses. I'm sure some literary scholars would want to smack me for it. You might read some hits from her pal Robert Lowell some time. His "Skunk Hour" is one of my favorites ever.

In the Ukraine, photo by Photo by: @marinatrygub

...Rafa removed the bolts...at three...oh goddesses the terror that will possess his parents when he is sixteen!

That sunflower photo is extraordinary!

>230 jnwelch:

Let's see, Rafa's now being scouted by Harvard, Princeton, NASA, the U of C, Jaguar, Subaru,
and your local car mechanic...?

>233 richardderus: Ha! Oh yeah, Richard. Rafa did go and get them right away from where he'd hidden them under the couch. :-) His father was a hyperactive handful at 16 years old (including parent-rattling parkour), so we'll enjoy their dealing with Rafa at that age.

Isn't that sunflower photo extraordinary? I immediately alerted Becca to it, as she loves sunflowers.

>234 m.belljackson: Ha! Probably, Marianne. The first four year old at NASA, wouldn't that be great?

>232 jnwelch: Ahh, Vincent is back.

>230 jnwelch: ‘Rafa (the 3 year old) had removed the bolts from the baby gate and taken it down. ‘ Goodness! He’s more advanced at DIYing than my husband. I was going to suggest installing drawer stoppers but there’s probably no point.

‘His father was a hyperactive handful’ It’s obviously genetic then. I wonder where Jesse got it from?

>236 Caroline_McElwee: Sunflowers make me think of our friend Vincent, too, Caroline. What a beautiful painting he could've made out of the scene in >232 jnwelch:.

>237 humouress: Hi, Nina. Yeah, I think Rafa's going to be an engineering type like his papa. We'll see. Fina is endlessly curious, and persistent. Their parents do a good job of giving them freedom, but keeping it within reasonable boundaries.

Ha! I'd best keep quiet on the topic of where Jesse might've gotten his hyperactive handfulness. :-) At least we didn't know about parkour when I was a lad, or skateboards (he broke his collarbone on one of his stunts). My parents were probably amused that we got to be in charge of teenage Jesse.

Happy Birthday to our beloved son Jesse

Happy Birthday Jesse. I see young Picasso has been at the cake. Or is that early Jackson Pollock?

Happy "Holy carp you *survived*!!!" Day to Jesse!

Happy Birthday and Great Hat and intriguingly wild cake!

We saw Michael Jordan once in Milwaukee - let us know if you get to see Giannis in action.

p.s. I got my first shot over a week ago and was looking forward to the 2nd one,
figuring they were like pneumonia or tetanus shots and we'd be covered for 5-10 years.
Then...just read that the 2 shots are only good for 5/6-8 MONTHS!

>242 m.belljackson:
I think that bit of information is something that has been lost on the public. Yes. The COVID shot is like the flu shot. People will have to get it every year. It is not once and done. Have you started planning how you will get it next year?

Good birthday wishes to Jesse!

Happy birthday to Jesse! Nice cake.

I think it was you, Joe, who mentioned the Obama - Springsteen podcasts? Barnes & Nobles are having an interview with him about A Promised Land on 29th March, if you want to register for that.

>232 jnwelch: Those colors! Awesome and matching.

>Happy birthday to Jesse!

Happy birthday to Jesse and congrats to his cake decorator! :-)

>245 humouress: - Wow! Thanks for this info. I just signed up!

Red-winged Blackbird. From a recent birding jaunt.

Happy Wednesday, Joe. You were a fan of Lab Girl, right? I am reading her latest Story of More. More disturbing climate change alarm bells but her strong writing chops make it for a digestible narrative. Damp out there, but mild. I will probably get out for a short solo stroll.

>239 jnwelch: Happy Birthday, Jesse. Love the photo.

I unfortunately got dizzy and took a tumble. I’m fine (they tested me every which way) but my ear needed 14 stitches.

So I won’t be on LT today. Have a good one.

Yikes. Glad that they saved the ear or you'd have to change your name to Vincent.

As they say at dog training school: HEAL! (I didn't make that up; it was on a card I sent to my mum)

>243 benitastrnad: >249 jnwelch:

Yep, I understood that our little test-run COVID shots were like the annual flu,
but somehow figured that since we got TWO of them, the protection would last way longer.

Plan for next year...? It might still be this year!

I'll be waiting for the expert's updated timeline = 5 months? 6? 7? 8? or ???

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Joe - No more taking a fall for the team!!!

It's been "easier" to fall as I ease into my 77th year...not sure if you are up to that number,
but my daughter says that maybe always wearing shoes, not slippers (maybe that's how they got the name?)
in the house and even getting new high rise ones to protect ankles would be recommended.

Good to hear that stitches, however painful, were all that was needed.

Sending healing prayers.

>249 jnwelch: Ouch! Hope you feel better soon Joe.

Get better soon, Joe! Luckily you didn't break anything.

Better, less vertiginous, day tomorrow! Ouch on the ear-stitches, they do hurt a good deal.

I'm catching up a little here, Joe. Adorable photos of Fina raiding the fridge, and love that grin. I'm super impressed with Rafa's problem solving skills in dismantling the baby gate and imagine he will be a handful! Happy birthday to Jesse! (Mine is tomorrow, we *almost* share)

And finally, I'm so sorry to hear about your fall. Ouch! Hope you recuperate well in the coming days.

>249 jnwelch: Oh my goodness, that sounds messy - and painful. I do hope you recover well without any obvious Frankin-ear.

Hi Joe, sorry to hear that you've injured your ear - hope that it heals quickly for you. My balance isn't the best these days and I have to be careful but so far no bad falls.

Love all the pictures of your grandkids you've posted here. They are truly adorable and I can tell you and your wife are very proud of them. :)

>249 jnwelch: Oh my. Maybe you should have stayed in lockdown Joe, or were you indoors when it happened? Hope there won't be too many aches and pains to keep you awake tonight, sleep being the best healer.

Speedy recovery.

My copy of A Promised Land is sitting on Mount TBR glaring at me, but it is SUCH a doorstop I keep putting it off. Soon. Soon. Soon.

Sending healing vibes and good wishes on your speedy recovery

Ack, Joe! I hope a day of R&R has you feeling right as rain.

Catching up here.

>221 jnwelch: That's quite a good one.

>249 jnwelch: Oh my! so many stitches. Ouch!!! Hope it heals fast.

Monday night on the BBC's World News Service program Witness History one of the featured stories was on Banksy. It is the anniversary of the first identifiable piece of art done by Banksy in his home town of Bristol, England. I seem to recall that you and your wife made a trek to a Banksy show somewhere in England and as I listened to the story you guys came to mind. Here is the URL for the story and I hope that even though you have a damaged ear you can take a listen as the story is very interesting. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3cszmqy

Today a Banksy painting sold for 23 million dollars.

>249 jnwelch:. I am so sorry that you were dizzy and fell and then needed all those stiches. ouch. I send all good wishes for rapid healing, and great books to read while you are recovering.

Oh dang, Joe, I'm sorry about your fall! (Or were you causing a ruckus somewhere and got tossed out on your ear? It's okay, you can fess up to us.) At any rate, I hope you're back on your feet again soon, friend.

>262 benitastrnad: Many thanks for the link to historical events, and cultural happenings. I will spend today going through the information. I will fall into a deep hole of enjoyment.

>187 jnwelch: Puggles is wishing you well and hoping for a speedy healing.

>178 jnwelch: This little girl simply cannot get any cuter. What a beautiful child. I love the third photo the most. What a character. Your lovely grandchildren bring such joy!

I hope today is one of controlled pain, and relaxation with a book and cup of coffee or tea.

Much Love

Hi Joe!

>198 jnwelch: What am amazing insect. Thanks for sharing.

>210 jnwelch: Not to be confused with The Three Body Problem. *smile*

>217 jnwelch: Poor Debbi had multiple Zoom meetings today, I tried to help her by watching the college basketball tournament, but I don't think she found it helpful at all. You’re the best. I’m sure Debbi knows it already, but watching hoops to help her out is above and beyond the call of duty.

>221 jnwelch: She’s got her priorities straight.

>230 jnwelch: Removed the bolts from the baby gate? Oh my.

>239 jnwelch: Belated Happy Birthday to Jesse. I love the decorations on the cake. Sweet picture, too.

>249 jnwelch: I’m sorry to hear about your tumble AND the 14 stitches. Sending healing thoughts.

Thsnkds, everyone. I’ m fine, but I’m going to be off LT for longer than I thought. Pleae enjoy the cafe in the proprietor’s absence. the kitchen’s open.

Sorry to hear about your ear (pun intended, but sent with hugs). Love all your photos here, whether they be cute ones of the grandkids raiding the fridge or reading, or the amazing scenery shots. Thanks for sharing them all! And removing the bolts from the baby gate? Oh boy! Watch out. : )

Take care Joe. Sending healing thoughts your way.💗

It's great to "see" you here, Joe. Please focus on your recovery rather than keeping up on LT, and our healing prayers have been sent to you and your family from me and mine.

Definitely sending good, healing wishes!

Sitting at the counter working my way through the pie carousel.

WHEN did Joe say he'll be back?

Hi Joe, sorry to read about your fall and needing 14 stitches in your ear mate, take care and heal well buddy and we will see you back on here when you are ready. Sending love and hugs to you and Debbi from both of us dear friend.

:-( sad face. Take care of yourself Joe.

Hi, Joe! I hope you are on the mend. We miss you buddy!

>249 jnwelch: Nasty! Look after yourself.

Sorry to read about your fall and the stitches, Joe. Sending healing and comforting thoughts.

Take good care of yourself Joe. Healing vibes your way.

>247 jessibud2: You're welcome.

>249 jnwelch: Gosh, Joe, I missed your fall. Fourteen stitches! Feel better soon and take care in future.

>262 benitastrnad: I missed that one, although I think I heard a bit of the trailer for it.

>273 magicians_nephew: Hey! Move over and save some for me.

I'll bring some cake along to keep the café going.

Ouchies? Oh no. I hope the dizzies are gone and you are back in fine fettle (or at least fettle) soon.

>280 humouress: ...cake...? what cake?

Hi Joe!

I do hope you're coming along. Sending healing thoughts to you.

The New York Historical Society is having a ZOOM Chat with Walter Isaacson about his new book
The Code Breaker Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race

While the past 50 years have been defined by the technological breakthroughs of the digital age, the 21st century finds humanity entering a new, exciting chapter: a life-science revolution. Bestselling author Walter Isaacson discusses the life and work of the Nobel Prize-winning Jennifer Doudna who, with her collaborators, created a DNA-editing tool with the power to revolutionize human health. What is the potential of this innovative discovery, and what are the moral questions to consider?

Thursday, April 29, 2021 | 6 pm ET
Tickets are $20.00 and benefit the society

Hi everyone. That cake looks good!

It turns out I had a small stroke. ItLeft my cognitive areas alone, thank goodness, butscrewed up a bit my left side coordination. So rehab is needed. I’m in my 100th day (exaggeraton) of captivity in the hospital, and today start “intensive rehab” . It’s required before I can go home, which is probably a good thing, but I’considering a prison break. So I’mgoing to have to miss you all For a few more days. I’ve been reading a couple of mysteries, and have Ishiguro’s new one ready and waiting. Hope all is well for all of you.

P.S. >284 magicians_nephew:. Thanks, Jim. I just attended an online session like this with Isaacson at Harvard Bookstore, and was fascinated throughout. Smart man. I heartily recommend it.

The book The code Breakerwas exciting and terrific

*hugs*

It's good to hear from you, Joe, and oh, I'm so happy that you're okay!

Good luck with the rehab! We're all here cheering you on, friend.

Exactly what Amber said!

And NO PRISON BREAKS. Do what they tell you!

Glad to see a message from you, Joe!
Good luck with the rehab, so you can go back home soon.

Hi Joe,

So good to hear from you! As the others said, do what you're told and just be well. Hopefully, you'll be home sooner than later. Let the therapists take over from your trainer for now ... ;-)

I posted this on Kim's thread awhile ago but in case you want something else to listen to and watch, this great interview with Ishiguro was on our local tv and I watched it a few weeks ago. For some weird reason (one of my quirks), even though I am not a fan of his, I really enjoy author interviews. This is a good one:

https://www.tvo.org/video/kazuo-ishiguro-a-nobel-novelist-searches-for-hope

I also binge-listened to the Obama/Springsteen podcasts and caught the most recent one, episode 7, yesterday. Man, these are good! Thanks for putting them on my radar. I also watched a talk from Barnes & Noble last night, between Obama and Isabel Wilkerson.

Take good care. {{hugs}}

Hi Joe. Please know I am thinking of you and wishing a speedy recovery.

Thinking of you! I am just finishing Klara and The Sun and it is terrific!

>285 jnwelch: Glad you are into recovery Joe. I'm sure it was quite a shock, but I have a friend who recovered well. Glad your books are keeping you occupied. I'm reading the new Ishiguro.

>285 jnwelch: Go Joe! recover! recover!!

Rehab only feels like jail. In reality, it's a lot harder to break out of and the food is worse.

It’s really good to hear from you Joe and I’m glad you’re getting good care. Best wishes for a full and speedy recovery.

Adding my best wishes and hope you get home soon!

DO YOUR REHAB! Sorry to hear about your little drama. Please follow the rules and get better soon.

JOE - what a relief to read that you have a reasonable diagnosis and are receiving excellent treatment!

Hospital stays are rarely fun - maybe view your days and nights as enforced reading time.

The Yellow-lighted Bookshop could be a relaxing re-read.

It will be welcome to hear the doctors recommendations for prevention...

Joe -- So sorry to hear what's all going on, but suck it up and be a model prisoner and do the rehab!! NO prison breaks! Big hugs and best wishes. Hope you get some reading in. : )

Yikes, Joe! That sounds like a heap of no kinda fun. Please refrain from such activity in the future.
Glad you are well...and getting even better. If you need help breaking out, let me know, I will do anything I can. Although, you might get the best help from Rafa. Clearly, he is not only cute like his sister but something of an escape artist.
xo

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ty to rd for the heads up

>299 mckait:. Thanks, Kath. It is a heap of no kinda fun. Thanks for the offer of help. Ha! You’re right, Rafa “I’ll just remove the bolt” Welch, could bea big help right now.

Glad to hear your getting some great care, Joe. Hope rehab has you back in gear and out on the road tout suite.

Thiose who worry I mightnot follow the rules, I know I’ve given you good reason during our time together, but you can relax. Remember Madame MBH is on the case. She is highly skilled in not letting me get away with a darn thing.

Best wishes Joe!

Goddess walk with you Joe and bring you back safely home - and to us here

Praying for you, dude!

Oh dear. I'm glad your getting good care and hope all the rehab goes well for you and you are home and comfortable soonest.

I know, dear Joe, that you will apply the same diligence to your rehab as you do to your reading and to keeping the cafe a hopping, lively place. All your patrons who are exhorting you to follow the rules may be speaking from their own experience. For me, religiously adhering to everything a physical therapist told me means I can walk today without a cane which would’ve been my inevitable future.

Glad you enjoyed Walter Isaacson at the Harvard Bookstore. He’s as curious as a youngster and it comes shining through. I’m putting his Da Vinci book on the list.

Oh no, Joe! And during March Madness, too...are you able to watch the games? I know for my better half, missing the Big Dance would be more upsetting than any minor medical annoyance like a stroke.

Take it easy, but take it... ;)

I’m sorry to hear that, Joe, but I’m glad that you’re up and about (more or less). Please take care of yourself and get better soon. No associating with known breakout artistes like Rafa (now I have my suspicions as to where he gets it from)- it’s a good thing Madam MBH is there to keep an eye on the two of you.

Just bringing over some more cake for everyone to share, since Richard scarfed the whole of the first one by himself.

>309 humouress: Yum. Just a slice, but raspberries have become quite sparsely distributed.

>302 jnwelch: Go Madam MBH! Left you with no street attire has she Joe?

I’m sorry you’re a prisoner at the hospital, Joe. I don’t recommend breaking out, though. Just do what the wardens doctors, nurses, and therapists tell you to do. I hope they don’t torture you too much.

I’m very sorry to hear that it was a small stroke, glad that it’s been diagnosed and that you’ll get intensive rehab.

Madame MBH must be going a bit crazy, sending positive mojo to you both.

>285 jnwelch: Oh My! Good luck with the rehab ( make sure you do it!). The time will pass and in no time at all you will be back home. Glad you have Ishiguro to read.

Sending fast healing vibes your way.

I really enjoyed getting finally! caught up on your thread and took at least three book bulllets.

But I'm so sorry about your fall and your stroke.

Be well.

Thanks, Anne and Kathy. I’m temped to read his Da Vinci book, too. I loved his one abou Einstein. I actually lucked out in my March MDness timing. Everyoe wants me to rest,and I get to say, “I’d better lie here andq

watch March madness.” Gonzaga is awesome this year.

Wow,Nina, what a beautiful cke!

I’m going o samen that to, “I need to lie here and watc h March Madness and eat beautiful, delicious cake.”

Sorry abou the raspberry deficit, Susan. It’s still a slice worth havin, right?

If I’m not diligent with what I should be diingCaroline, Madame MBH might put me out on the street with no attire whatsoever. As you know, she’s a strong-minded woman.

The nurses, doctor an d therapists have been great, Karen. They’ve been working me hard and getting mr back to normal. It’s encouraging. I love to complain ( it just feels so darn good) but even the food has been pretty good. Hospital beds suck though.

Tanks, Anita. I’m hoping that after rehab I’ll beable to play the violin, which I never have before. It’s. Been ab I challenging to read, bu I’m looking forward to Klara and the Sun. Right now I’m readin Murder in unsound Mind, the latest in a series I like, and The Gilded Ones, an African/ based YA fantasy that’s very good so far.

Hi, Janet. It feels good that even while laid upp in the hospital I can still hand out some book bullets! I probably owe you a couple, anyway.

Oh man, sorry about all the strange autocorrects. I hope you can figure them out.

Hmf

well, since I'm gettin' heat for my admitted *enthusiasm* for baked goods, the least I can do is share my rosace a les fruits:

Hi, Richard. Thanks! Oh my that looks good, and even arguably healthy.

You know I share your baked goods enthusiasm. The more the better!

Sending more good wishes re the rehab.

Was going to bring cake, but it looks like it may be some time...

Lol! Looks like they have my skill set. I know it’ll be good when it finally gets here, Charlotte.

>315 jnwelch: I had sufficient raspberries. But only by depleting the overall supply.

I see you are in good hands Joe. No shortage of cake supplies. Maybe Rafa shouldn't help you escape, but some small escapes in the mind are allowed. So Wishing you some smiles, and getting better soon.

>299 mckait: ditto what Kath said! Those two grand children are incredible. Before I became a grandmother people who already were in that category told me how wonderful it was.

And, the people who said that were right.

Rehab will be over before you know it. I wish Will would have stayed in rehab a few more weeks. He wanted to come home. And, now I kick myself for not telling him how I felt about it.

All good wishes to you. You are loved by many!

Ha! Thanks for keeping us posted on thraspberry developments, Susan.

Thanks, Ella. Escapes in the mind - great idea. There’s one thing I’m good at. I’ll go into absent-minded professor mode. Thank you for the good wishes.

Hi Joe, just drifting by with wishes for a speedy recovery. You have such a strong presence here so you can be sure that you are greatly missed.

Hospital stays would be so much pleasanter if they made the beds a little wider, no?

But think how much worse it must be for people who don’t like to read!

Oh no, Joe, I’m just now seeing your news. Thank goodness they looked at why you fell. Wishing you a speedy recovery!

Do you have a release date yet Joe? I hope you are seeing your progress. Say hi to Madam MBH.

Joe, IIRC Washington Black got most favorably chatted about around here. Noe Esi Edugyan will deliver the 2021 Massey Lectures on Art and Race! It should be streamable this fall...mark the ol' calendar.

Hoping your rehab is going well!

Very much on our minds, Joe. We hope your rehab is moving right along.

Good morning! I’m doing way better. The rehab is clicking in; they’re really good here. I’m walking all over the place without tilting to the left and bumping into things and risking falling; my slur is gone, and I’m handling stairs. They’re bringing Debbi in on Monday to give her home tips.and see what they’re doing with me, and I’ll be out by next Friday. They say all the working out we did before this happened really helped.. I came in with a good “base line”, and it helped my body bounce back quickly. Our trainer was tbhrilled to hear that news.

I also got my first decent night’s sleep since arriving here. They gave me a sleep aid and Son Jesse wisely brought me ear plugs. As aAnne says, hospital stays would be sio much better if they had wider, better beds.

Thank you, Joanne. I’ll be released this coming Friday, Caroline.They arranged for it to be sooner if I still couldn’t sleep, but it looks like that part will be okay.I’ll give Madame MBH your greetings. Wish we were seeing you this fall!

Hi, Richard. I was one of those who thought Washington Black was awfully good. I’m glad to hear about the honor for Edugyan. Thanks for letting us know.

BRW,

BRW, thank you all for. All the encouraging words on Facebook about Klara and the Sun. I’m liking it a lot so far.

Thanks, Anita. The rehab has been remarkable, from my POV. At the beginning getting back to normal seemed dubious; now I can see it’s only a matter of time. I’m grateful to my body for its many blessings. I’ m a lucky guy. A different part of the brain and I could’ve faced some much bigger challenges. Even reading could have become difficult, Yikes!!!

Thank you for your patience with my typos. This ain’t so easy to do from my phone.

Morning, Joe! Happy Saturday! I am so glad to read the positive update. Good for you. Keep working hard, so you can get out next Friday. Hooray for a good night's sleep and those trusty, ear plugs. I am glad you are enjoying Klara and the Sun. That is on my TBR. I am wrapping up Old Baggage. A good, solid read, that I think would be right up your alley.

Such good news! Sleeping well, home this coming Friday, good base line to start from, recovering from the effects nicely.

Yay Joe.

Wonderful news! So nice to have a goal ... especially when the goal is home! Sending 💗 to you and Debbi.

>330 jnwelch: Amazing how much of a difference it makes to force yourself to climb the hill *before* you need the speed boost makes. Yay!

Jesse's to be commended for thinking of the earplugs. Silence is truly golden.

And most of all, Hip Hip Hooray to you for being able to post from your phone! I can't do that at all, for more than a line or two anyway.

Oh, that's great news, Joe! *hugs*

Glad to hear your good news, Joe. I'll bet home never sounded so good!

Keep up the good work, Joe. Good news is always welcome!

Wonderful upcoming Home At Last news for You and your Family!

So good you can sleep - hospitals can get pretty noisy at night.

Your great update made my day. Hooray! Tough, tough work, but you can't keep a good man down. Your progress sounds outstanding!

I'm glad you got a good night's sleep. May you have many more!

I had wondered about the Covid lockdown and if Debbi is able to visit.

Hi Joe, good news that you should be out of hospital by next Friday mate, i hope that you continue with the good progress on your rehab and that you get some good night's sleep.

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

Great news, Joe. Isn't it wonderful that the body (and brain) can bounce back with proper encouragement? Your progress sounds impressive!

>330 jnwelch: Excellent news Joe. And what a return on your investment with your trainer, no wonder he was pleased. Friday will be here soon enough. Glad the sleep s improving too, it's a great healer.

I had to put aside the Ishiguro to read a book group book, and will sneak in another before I return to it, but I was definitely enjoying it.

I'm so glad to hear how well you're doing, Joe! Keep up the good work at rehab and sleep well.

I’m glad you’re on the mend!

Keep up the reading and the rehab, Joe. I'm glad the training paid off. (Maybe I should do some ...

Get well soon, Joe. Be a good boy and follow all the rules.
Sending love and hugs to Debbi and you. xoxo

Missed all the bad and the good news, Joe. Now I'm sorry I did not visit your thread sooner. I hope you will continue to feel better. Love and Hugs!

Last full week in the hospital, isn't it Joe? I hope it's pleasantly fast and marked by leaps and bounds.

METAPHORICAL ones.

Joe, just skimming through and joining the crew in saying how very very glad I am that your stroke was small, that the cognitive impact was nil, and that your rehab is going well. Today I'm renewing my commitment to self-care, to watching my cholesterol and fat, and to managing my stress. And to exercising more regularly!!! I've been letting a certain ginger cat coax me into lingering in the mornings, book in hand and said cat on my lap.

Hang in there, my friend. Take good care of yourself!!

>322 Whisper1:. Thank you for your support and nice comments, Linda. Like your hubby, I want to go home, but I can feel the progress with the physical therapy, so I’ll hang in.
Getting back to normal never sounded so good.

Hi. Caroline. Right. Of course. I managed to screw up my release date; I get ou a week from tomorrow (how In the world did autoirrect come up with A Week from Tottis?!) not Friday. ( they were going to spring me early if I continued to be sleepless; we were able to fix that.

Yes, the Ishiguro is good, and simply enough writte that I can follow it under present circumstances. This would not be the time to take on a David Mitchell.

Hi, Barbara. Madame MBH is keeping me in line. My instinctive reaction ton”follow all the rules is “no thank you”. I’ve been skeptical all my life. Too often the rule makers are petty and power-loving and wrong. But here the people are good—hearted and just trying to help me get back to normal. I’m listening and working hard.

Thank you, Connie!

Ha! No worries, RD. The only leaps and bounds will be metaphorical ones. Even imagining real ones makes my head go topsy-turrvy.

A week from tomorrow I get out - I screwed up what they were telling me. Debbi comes in today to watch me train, meet my therapists, and get her own training on how to handle me at home. (Poor thing!)

Thanks, Ellen. I believe you were the founding member of ou small stroke club, and an inspiration to the likes of me. Hanging with ginger Carson sounds wonderful. I’d have a hard time giving that up. On the other hand, I miss our usual exercise regimen. And the good weather’s coming!

I'm glad to hear that you have wonderful and helpful people around you. I don't doubt for a moment that you will do everything you can to get well again. Sending lots of healing vibes.

Way behind on the news, Joe...I'm sorry to hear about your stroke, but the mending process seems to be going well, so I will celebrate that. I see from recent posts that you haven't lost your sense of humor, or your appreciation for fine writing, so I know you're going to be just fine. Good on ya for overcoming that resistance to following the rules, under current circumstances.

Keep up the good work, Joe. Counting down the sleeps till you can sleep in your own bed is a good goal to have.

Good to get an update on your adventure, Joe. I'm so glad everything seems to turn out right and you will be going home next week.

Keep working that physical therapy Brother Joe! We're all rooting for you!

Hi, Laura. I was thinking about that resistance t following rules. I guess I contain multitudes , as I’ the guy who’s a Buddhist, and the Eightfold Path is a series of rules I attempt to follow, with varied success. I trust Buddha, and I can see why his rules are worth following. Same with the therapists here.

Hi, Shelley. Oh, my own bed. Can’t wait! Not that many sleeps left. Although Inhavdcsome important dreams going on, I keep on trying to save a group of people in dire straits, but wake up before I get it done,Hopefulle they’ll be out of danger before I leave.

Everything does seem to be going well, Connie, thanks. Madame MBH was here yesterday to observe my training an get schooled on how to handle me at home. She asvery pleased with all of it. I’m still working on getting better at stairs (my left foot gets a little sloppy), but my balance has improved dramatically. When I got her I couldn’t turn in a ciircld without falling. Now it’s piece of cake. I raised my test score big time, to the delight of my bride. I’d be happy to do physical therapy all day, it’s so easy to see the benefits.

Thanks, Jim! I’m giving it my b est, and I sure appreciate all the support. We’re getting there.

>356 jnwelch:

So welcome to see the jnwelch messages again...

And, here's one little Buddhist silver lining =

You got your shots before going into the hospital!

I'm late getting to your news Joe but glad you seem to be on the mend. Keep up the good hard work.

Good morning. Physical therapy over, speech therapy in a half hour.

Hi, Marianne. You’re sure right about that silver lining of my being vaccinated before I came here. I’m not worried at all about covid, and I no doubt would’ve been. All the medical personnel always wear masks (ethey’ve all been vaccinated). I’m asked to wear one in the hallways and the therapy center. No prob. But the worry level, for me, is very low.

Hi, Bonnie. Thanks. I’m on the mend and I love physical hard work. The more the better. Lots of strengthening andbalance work today.

I’m enjoying Klara and the sun. There are hints coming in that there’s something strange with this world, and the disease of a central character, Klara is vey observant and thoughtful; I’ m enjoying learning about the human beings through her eyes.

Hooray! Joe is scattering book bullets once again!

I'm glad things are going well.

And next time someone tells me 'No, I haven't had the vaccination yet, I think I'll wait and see", I'm going to tell them your story.

Cheers!

Great attitude to the work of recovery. I'll remember that when my trainer says 'another set'!

Just catching up on the news, Joe. Good to see you’re doing better and that your stroke was mild. Talk about incentive to keep up the good habits you started on before this happened!

Hi, Janet. It feels good to be back to scattering book bullets every which way. I’ve been pushing The code Breaker to the therapists and other staff here. If they’re going to give me every kind of therapy under creation, they’re sure as heck going to get book therapy from me.

I have to admit I don’t understand anyone who wants to “wait and see” on the covid vaccine. Why would you ever do that? If my tale helps them see straight, great.

Thanks, Judy. Yes, I like to insult our poor trainer for hi heartlessness, but as hard as he wants to push it, I’ll always do it. I’ve always liked gettin physically tired, and the many benefits in daily life are easy to see,

Thanks, Meg. Not to quibble, but Idon’t know whether mild is the right word. It’s certainly left me with strength and coordination issues. The biggest stroke (groan) of luck from my POV is that it didn’t affect my cognitive areas. My sister was petrified that I wouldn’t be mysel any more. She even likes my questionable sense of humor. There certainly are patients in the therapy center who seem to have the equivalent of being struck by lightning. And like that, it comes out of nowhere. I’m grateful for my good luck and that my body has bounced back so well. They think I’ll be back to normal in 6 months of less - if I keep working responsibly on it.

I definitely hae incentive to maintain good habits and do all I can to decrease the risk of this ever happening again.

>363 jnwelch:

Joe - Be sure to give us a list of whatever Prevention Strategies any of your fun doctors and nurses advise.

Most of us know that we should all of a certain age deal with high blood pressure and reduce stress, but maybe they will have some new ideas.

We're trucking' along with you, day by day.

Do take good care of yourself, Joe.

You are one of the rocks of our group and I'm certainly with your sister in liking your questionable sense of humour. I hope this warning shot across the bows is just that and you will soon be fully yourself again.

Yeah! Giving book therapy to the various rehab therapists you're working with is just the ticket.

xoxo from me.

Ohmygosh, Joe, I got behind and I'm just reading about your medical challenges. I'm glad to hear you're on the mend, and hope that therapy continues to go well.

Will you tell my patrons to start reading Klara and the Sun? It's been sitting on the new shelf, and I think only went out once since it came out.

I'm glad to hear Walter Isaacson's new book is so good. I just got it out from the library, but my stack is looking ridiculous again so I'm not 100% sure when I'll get to it.

Love that you're dispensing the book therapy! I have Klara and the Sun on the shelf, thanks for the encouragement to get going and pick it up. Hopefully this weekend.
I read a new (to me) GN author yesterday from Quebec. Rather quirky, Petty Theft centred on the artist's breakup and his discovery of a thief in a bookshop. Although I did have a bit of a debate with myself about whether I would see that as small theft!
All good wishes for your continued recovery.

Just dropping off some new hugs, Joe.

Those hospital folks sure are lucky to have such a good book therapist staying with them for now...

Hi, Marianne. So far it’s meds to get my blood pressure and cholesterol numbers down, and blood thinners to avoid any clotting.

In a stroke brain cells get blocked from receiving oxygen-carying blood cells. So the brain cells get damaged or die, and that of course has effects elsewhere in the body. Therapy is designed to reawaken any damaged cells and rewired the brain around the deadones.

I wan’t on blood pressure meds before this - I reacted badly to Lisinpro. The one thing I’d change is finding on I tolerate. It might’ve kept this from hapoening.

Marianne, I’ll keep you posted on any nuggets I get. All thectherapists have commented on how my working out regularly before this has made a big difference in my rebounding s quickly.

Thanks, Paul. Especially about my questionable sense of humor. Like my sister, you have an admirable level of tolerance.

This certainly is inspiring me to do all I can to avoid thi ever happening again. Scary stuff that could’ve been much worse.

Hi, Ellen. Sending xoxo back to you. They’re all surprisingly interested in what I’ reading and what I recommend. I think it’s a bit novel to have a book nerd in the facility. Talk about books? Twist my arm.

Hi, Mary. Please feel free to give your patrons my emergency book therapy phone number. Ishiguro is one of the great authors of ou time for goodness’ sakes, and Klara is an accessible, engaging story. No hard work required, although it’s mysteries need some sorting.

I LOvED The Code Breaker. To me, exciting NF is some of the best reading around, and I sure found this one exciting. And to have as the hero a woman who was repeatedly told when young that “women can’t be scientists”.- wow. Loved it.

Thanks, Charlotte. I think you’ll enjoyKlara. As I’m sure you’ve experienced, he’s a very good storytellervwhonmansgesvto work in some very deep issues. My other book is The Gilded Ones, a yA book underpinned by African folklore.

Petty Theft is brand new to me. I’ll have to follow up. I’m with you that a bookstore theft isn’t really “petty”.

Did you have a chance yet to browse Mary’s Monster? It’s my favorite graphic work of recent vintage.

Thanks, Amber! Hugs back atcha. The hospital folks have been surpringlybreceptive to book therapy. One therapist reported back that she immediately went out and got The Code Breaker. I’m exceedingly grateful that I got my book therapy training at the University of Librarything.

Sweet Thursday, Joe! Glad to hear you are keeping those warbling chops fine-tuned, even in rehab. I am so glad you are continuing to enjoy Klara and the Sun. And did you hear that Murakami has a new story collection out? Yah!

Hi, Mark. Sweet Thursday, buddy. It gets a bit timeless in here, so it’s good to get oriented on the day of the week. When we get into the weekend, I’ m reall going to feel close to going home,

I have the new Murakami waiting for me there. Can’t wait! His weirdness is my weirdness. Klara continues to go well. What exactly is the deal with the Sun? There’s something weird going on there.

I’ve got no poetry going on here. I’ll resume whe I get home. I do think you’d enjoy Stacey Waite. She’s got a Y-chromosome, and she tells the story of its impact really well in her poems. (She doesn’t feel ANY of the pronouns fit her, including “ they”, so she’s okay with “she” and “her”).

Hi Joe! I'm glad to hear that things are coming along well. Thank goodness it didn't affect your cognitive abilities.

>372 jnwelch: I’m exceedingly grateful that I got my book therapy training at the University of Librarything. Ah yes. *smile*

Hi, Karen. The good news is I’m as stupid as ever. And then some. The stroke didn’t improve that at all. Shouldn’t we have some LT University degree in book therapy merchandise available?

My high school basketball team is competing for the state basketball championship. Our class was the first one when Huron High opened, and we picked the team nickname “River Rats”. (Of course we did). Never have I been more proud to be a River Rat. Way to go!

I went to college in a large school out on Long Island in a fairly well to do area. We wanted to call our school team the "Golden Gophers". We were voted down.

Go Pioneers!

Joe - is today the Friday you are heading home?

Jim, you probably got voted down by a bunch of U of Minnesota peopl. The’re ver proud of being Golden Gophers.

Sure, crush my spirit, Mariaanne. This is th Friday I originally thought I was going home, after screwing up what the told me. Now it’s the day I weep and think about how great it would be to go home. Darn you!

The real release day is nextTuesday the 13th. They tell me they’ve grown to love me too much to let me go home sooner. ( I suggest not believing a word I say about what the supposedly tell me).

>380 jnwelch: Well, geez, all I remembered from last week was you writing
"next Friday!"

I sure wish it was today too, but Tuesday will come soon enough - by then,
you will have opened a Little Library on your floor,
with free cake and ear plugs for anyone who takes and brings a book.

Your spirits will revive in all that LOVE!

Never a good idea to go home from the hospital on a Friday or before a weekend - Tuesday will be better.

Good luck to it!

Hi Joe!

Hang in there 'til Tuesday.

>382 magicians_nephew: I agree 100% Jim - the same thing applied to implementing software changes before a weekend or going on vacation, which our Systems Administrator did with irritating regularity.

>382 magicians_nephew: Excellent point. And anyway, now it's already Saturday, and one day closer to Tuesday!

Right, Marianne . The misunderstanding is entirely my fault. I have a knack for that. Thank you for your patience with my trying to pull at your heartstrings. “Oh woe is me” is one of my favorite songs, and yes, I do know how to play it with a little tiny violin.

I’ve been grumpy this morning after a bad night’s sleep (oh woe is me). But your LFF idea sounds great; I see the sun peeking through the clouds.

The speech therapist just reminded me how lucky I‘ve been. She says a stroke where mine was, in the basal ganglia, often causes profound problems. Phew!

Thanks, Jim. Good point! I’m happy to get more therapy; I just want to burn this uncomfotable hospital bed to the ground and shoot down all the beeping alarms that are keeping us safe and half-crazy. Jeesh, I’m getting a bit violent in here, Aren’t I.

Hi Karen! I’ll hang in until Tuesday, but my grumpiness may increase courtesy of bad sleeping. At least I got all the needy people in my dreams out of the house’s back door and into the safety of the woods. They’re staying quiet until I can get the danger out of there.

I enjoy th retiree’s blessing of being able to shop and run errands on weekdays, when traffic is lighter and everything’s easier. Man, am I going to appreciate freedom of movement when I get sprung from here.

Yes, Linda! Good point your own self. Maybe I should let go of the grumpiness and enjoy the day? I’ll give it a go.

Hard to be cheerful after a bad night...even when that's ALL that's wrong. You're entitled to a little grumpiness, as long as it's directed where it belongs.

>385 jnwelch:

"Burn" and "Shoot"?

The stroke has turned you into a Militant Buddhist! - time to retake Tibet!

*whispers* hi, joe. (it's getting dangerous around here)

>385 jnwelch: WHAT!!!

You had a basal-gangliar stroke and you're walking (a little clumsily) talking and coherent?!?

That is damned close to miraculous. You are one lucky and tough old bird.

Wow. Just...wow. That's such a huge and glorious gift of life. Go you! Are you going to make Mohammad Bin Salman confess and accept punishment for his murderous ways as your next trick?

Hi, Linda. Thank you
For you understanding, I directed my grumpiness at my uncomfortable hospital bed. It seemed to not even notice. It knows it will be here long after I’mgone. Every once in a while I’m pretty sure I canhear it chuckling,

Hi, Nina. It’s okay; I’m going to go all John Lennon and Give Peace a Chance. After all, there are all sorts of nice people here trying to help me, and the bed’s not ther fault. The kitchen even sent me TWO cups of regular coffe, which is so gnerous given their inexplicable beliefs in decaf. I’ve gone from a grumbling in my psyche to a song in my heart. Who cares about a good night’s sleep. Besides everyone in the freakin” world. Sure, if I were a dog I could sleep all day in that spot of sunshine from the window... But I digress

Marianne, I’m busy giving peace a chance. I’m not a fan of militant Buddhists, particularly since they seem to like to pick out some other group, like Muslims, and be intolerant toward them. If I were up to me, they wouldn’t be allowed to call themselves Buddhist,since their views are so contrary. Just like Evangelicals shouldn’t be allowed to call themselves Christians. What would Buddhaor Jesus say about these Yahoos?

China’s trampling of Tibet and Tibetans does make me sad. Thatone’s a tragedy, Theirfear of the power of the DalI Lama alwaysmakesme feel a bit better. There are some things the’ll never be able to stomp out.

I join your what?!! , Fichard. I’ve been even luckier than I knew. Maybe it helped that I store very little in my brain, and depend on thewinds of whimsy to navigate life. Even a big hit in that area didn’t result in all that much actual effect. My sage advice is for us all to be as empty-headed as possible. I practice what I preach, as you can tell.

Okay, Non-militant Patient, how about a concrete sequential question?

With so many High Blood Pressure prevention medicines getting recalled,
what good ones are your doctors recommending - for you and the rest of us
whose blood pressure may have soared over the past year - ?

(I always considered "Militant Buddhists" to be an oxymoron. Unless they were retaking Tibet.)

>390 jnwelch: The philosophy of less is less to lose. But I'm not buying. I'm glad you're continuing to do well and sympathize with the bad bed woes. I can't imagine surviving being in a hospital for more than a night or two, what with the beds, the noise the interruptions, it's amazing anyone can deal with the sleep deprivation, to say nothing of why their there in the first place.

Dropping in to say hello! Glad you are on the mend and doing well.

Joe, meant to ask: how's your ear? The one that almost turned you into Vincent...

Hi, Anita, thanks. I’m on the mend and all is well. My left side is getting more and more with it, and I’m getting close to back to normal. I go home this coming Tuesday the 13th.

Thanks for remembering, Shelley. My ear has been a success story, they took out the 14 stitches a few days ago, and everyone says the ear looks much better than expected, not as Frankensteiny as feared.

>390 jnwelch: Thank you, Father William. :0)

>395 jnwelch: Good news on the ear.

>395 jnwelch: Lovely to hear you are recovering well Joe. I'm sure you just want to get home now. Nothing like being in your own environment. Madam MBH will be keeping you on your rehabilitation toes no doubt.

I passed The Gate restaurant in Islington earlier this week, and although like all restaurants it is temporarily closed, it seems to have weathered the pandemic for now. I noticed some others in town had gone out of business, but there were a couple of new ones preparing to open too when the rules permit.

Ha! Good one, Nina. Lewis Carroll was so good. Should I turn the empty-headed advice into a poem?

I also recommend never needing stitches in the ear. They did a great job, but it’s too sensitive.

I sympathize with you about uncomfortable hospital beds- I remember one that seemed to be constructed of slippery plastic- I kept on sliding down the bed! ( and was very happy to come home)

Oh, that’s great news that The Gate survived, Caroline. I’ll let Debbi know. Ah, just hearing “Islington” fills me with yearning. Can’t wait until we can all reunite at the Gate.

Debbi is in full protective mode. She’s had the handyman add stair rails and grab Bars, and has lists of exercise she gets to keep after me about. Iappreciate all of it..what a shame it would have been to lose everything. I’ll do whatever to reduce the risk of this ever happening again. I’m going to do what they call “day rehab” - intensive therapy at a downtown facility. The beauty is I’ll otherwise be free to live my life and sleep in my own bed. Hurrah! We’re getting close to the day they free me.

Right, Cyril? Ithink hospitals should focus more on making their beds comfortable, as good sleeping is a key to healing. The theory of one nurse here is that they want to make it just annoying enough to motivate you to do what’s needed to leave the hospital.

Morning, Joe. Happy Sunday. It sounds like Debbi is really taking care of things and I am not surprised at all. You married a good one. It looks like you have plenty of work to do yourself, so good luck with all of that. Have they come up with a release date?

>391 m.belljackson:. hi, Marianne. Sorry I missed you up there. ( if there’s anyone else in the Joe Heartlessly Ignored Me Club, please let me know. I’m trying to have stickers made that you can wear).. I’m no up to speed, Marianne, on the blood pressure medicine sscandal. I couldn’t take Lisinpro because it mad me dizzy. The nurses did say there are tons of alternatives out there. I’m taking one now that starts with an”M”; I love it. My numbers are great (120/80 last time) an no side effects for me. Your doc should be able to find one that works well fo you.

>392 quondame:. Hi, Susan. You’re right about how intolerable the sleep deprivation is. I was ready to discharge myself, it was so bad. But the therapy was working so well I was torn. We ended up bringing my favorite pillow from home, a fan to keep me cool, along with ear plugs and a big sheet (everything here is too small for me; Isleep in a king-size at home. They started giving me melatonin and a sleep aid )starts with a T) they’ve found works well with many patients. Sleep still hasn’t been great, but good enough for me to stay and enjoy the benefits of the therapy.

I’ll never forget some of the sleepless nights, and the groggy days after. I really hope they do a study of the effects on healing of good sleep, and change to better beds and morethoughfulness on the healing value of sleep. It sure makes common sense, doesn’t it.

Happy Sunday, Mark. You’re so right about Debbi. I’m a lucky guy. It’ll be 38 years when August comes. As you probably know, when asked our secret of a long-lasting martiage, she answers “I let him live”. I can’t argue. I know being annoying is my super power. Our kids when young used to warn me. “Dad, you’re getting into trouble again”. Thank goodness they were looking out for me.

They spring me on Tuesday the 13th.I haven’t gone anywhere (and I do mean anywhere - forget about privacy) in quite a while without a nurse or therapist close by. I can’t wait!

Have a good Sunday, buddy.

P. S. Klara and the Sun was very good. It’s like a fable. A couple ioc it’s aspects I’m not sure I fully understood. I’m going to study up.

My next will be that Mrs. Christie mystery; Becca liked it a lot. Speaking of which, this is what we picked for my sister’s birthday: The Inheritance games ( often compared favorably to the clsssic The Westing Game and The Lefthanded booksellers of London, a fun fanfasy from Sabriel author Garth Nix. A few years ago we all cut back on presents between adults, but she told me she still wanted me to get her books. Twist my arm. Happy to oblige.

Tom Gauld does it again. The bookstore cat and the pandemic:

https://myjetpack.tumblr.com/post/648158197869379584/for-yesterdays-guardian-rev...

Grab bars and stair rails add a lot to any house . . . and any marriage :-)

all good wishes Joe

>403 jnwelch:

Your hospital experience echoes a great story I read for the first time last night:

"Where the heck am I? Where did that window by the side of the bed go?"

Re: Blood Pressure meds: I figured you were just waiting to ask docs, not ignoring any of your fans.

I'm waiting to hear from my doctor about one that has actually worked without major side effects or recalls -
your "M" recommendation will be a start.

Joe, you haven’t mentioned roommates. A couple of years back I spent a night in the hospital and my roommate was a lady with dementia. She kept calling out for the nurse over and over, forgetting she had just been there. Didn’t get a wink of sleep but the patience of the nurses moved me to tears. It’s true that angels walk among us.

Only two more nights, Joe. Hang in there!

>409 NarratorLady: What a lovely story.

On blood pressure medication, I took a conscious decision to avoid them. About eight years ago my BP spiked a little and the doctor immediately suggested going on meds. I studied and wanted to avoid the dependence and too the decision to use a combination of supplements - olive leaf extract, garlic and milk thistle - to see if I could bring it down more naturally and it was fortunately successful for me.

I am not a doctor and I am not advocating anyone ignoring medical advice but I was scared of the thought of having to take medication known to have side affects and particularly making the body dependent upon them.

Good luck with seeing these few days through and then getting home, buddy. Your pals in tropical climes are daily remembering you in their prayers.

>406 jessibud2:. Lol! Thanks, Shelley.

Ha, words to live by, Jim.

Hi, Anne. Yes, roommates. My first was a nightmare. As Debbi says, when he wasn’t talking loudly on his phone, he was singing (!) loudly. He also wanted the TV on at high volume 24/7. I wouldn’t have lasted longer if that kept up. I’m in a private room now. I’m pretty sure it’s because the y felt sorry for me after that start.

You’re so right about nurses and angels, Anne. I’d add in therapists. I’ve seen so much patience and caring here. It’s enough to move even a grinch.

I’ll try to get the pharmaceutical name, Marianne. Update: I posted it below.

Thanks, Connie! So close- I can make it. I just hope I don’t have another sleepless dark night of the soul.

Hi. Paul. Agreed re Anne’s story.

I’m a vegetarian. And have sympathy for your POV. What I’d say to anyoneaftwr this experience is get those BP numbers down. And from my POV, how you do it is less important than getting it done.

Thanks for the good wishes. I appreciate the prayers. I feel very fortunate with how this has gone. They lengthen visitors hours on Sunday, so I have Debbi here, and the pleasantness factor has soared.

Glad to hear that you have a private room. I know from when my mum was in the hospital, a noisy roommate can make an already stressful situation even more so.

Only 2 more sleeps, Joe, and you can put it all behind you! :-)

Marianne: Amlodipine is the name of the blood pressure medicine.

So true about the noisy roommate, Shelley. I did a lot of walking today, so I’m hoping that helps me sleep pretty well.

Sleep well tonight Joe! Sleepless nights are the pits. (Only two to go before you can sleep in your own bed).

>414 jnwelch: Thanks for remembering, Joe!

My doctor should respond tomorrow and I'll give him the name.

A friend sent a recipe today (Minimalist Cooking) for Lettuce-Wrapped Crispy Tofu which sounds really great,
as long as a restaurant makes it. When I write a cookbook, it will be titled "The Lazy Vegetarian."

Have a nice sleepy Sunday night.

Thanks,Ella! I know, we’re getting so close. I’ll count electric sheep in honor of Philip K. Dick.

I’d buy “The Lazy Vegetarian” in a blink , Marianne. Great title. And our daughter and I love crispy tofu!

Your attitude alone will get you sprung on time, Joe. And with Debbi in full protective mode, you'll be surrounded with love and caring and a militant approach to therapy.

LOL! Thanks, Karen. I’m looking forward to riding my bike without training wheels. But with plenty of family around to help if I need it.

Only one more sleep until you are released Joe. Get out those silk pyjama's for your first night back in your own bed.

Thanks, Caroline. I’ll get out my top hat and Fred Astaire slippers, too.

I’m going to also ask Debbi not to take my “vitals” (BP and temp) repeatedly during the night either, as much fun as that has been at the hospital.

Good news! I just aced my balance test, so I can move around the hospital withou assistance. I did vey poorly on that test when I was admitted.

>424 jnwelch: Clapping.

>424 jnwelch: - Congrats! Just don't go racing any nurses down the hall!

>424 jnwelch: Oh that's good to hear.

TOMORROW!!!!!! Yay!!!!

And congrats on acing that balance test. That is truly a very big deal.

Huh. I don’t think *I* could pass a balance test! 😂

>424 jnwelch: That's excellent news! Happy homegoing, Joe.

Thanks, Caroline, Shelley and Judy. I promise not to race after nurses qunless they have carrot cake. If they do, I’m putting my new monility to good use.

Thanks, Ellen and Jim.1The change in my ballance here has felt very rewarding. Debbi said the Sam e thing, Jim. One of the requirements was to stand for a while with one foot directly in front of the other, heel to toe.Debbi said there’s no way she could do that one.
. After all this, I’ll also probably be stronger and more coordinated with my left hand than I was before the stroke.

Tbhanks, Richard. They allow departure at 11am, So we’re aiming for that.

Oh heck! I forgot to recommend a comic book I sort of liked to you. Save It for Later: Promises, Parenthood, and the Urgency of Protest by Nate Powell. I was shoving it at Mark over on Goodreads and realized I'd forgotten to tell you about it when I came by earlier.

>424 jnwelch: Great news on the passing of the balance test. I know from reading books like Being Mortal that one of the great signallers of health woes is declining balance.

I'm sure that you are looking forward to your own bed and Debbi's TLC.

Today is the day! Happy Home Coming, Joe!

Morning, Joe! Home, Sweet, Home, bud! I hope there are no delays and you can make your escape. Congrats on the balance test!

Happy going home day, Joe!!

So glad you're heading home today, Joe. Good luck settling back into familiar surroundings.

Happy Homegoing!

My balance is garbage on a good day. It amuses our trainer to no end...

So glad you've passed all your go-home tests, Joe!

I'm sure it will be a welcome relief to be in your own home.

Oh, what a Beautiful Morning!

Congratulations on your imminent release, Joe! Here's some serious funk to celebrate your big day, courtesy of Rick James:

Bustin' Out

Phone’s giving me excessive posting trouble today, but thank you all. We’re leaving for home soon , after lots of paper signing.

As Marianne says, oh what a beautiful morning. I’m planning on a long shower, some walks, and som porch -sitting. Yay!

My balance is generally pretty lousy, too, Katie. How these therapists improved me so much is a bit mystifying.
Thank you Paul and Karen. And thanks for the super funky send off, Darryl.

A long shower (careful in there), walking your neighborhood, and porch-sitting all sound lovely!!! ENJOY.

>442 jnwelch: So you're going home even better than new, then. Wishing you all the best.

Home!!

>445 jnwelch: Woo woo!

>445 jnwelch: Yes!! So glad you are home, Joe.

Okay, been about 45min, I'm guessing your shower's almost over.

I am so delighted that you're there and able to enjoy home comforts!

I am delighted with your good news, Joe. I wish you all things good now that this spot of trouble is over. I was porch sitting myownself today. It's a good thing.