Alcott Acre's Home, Room 4

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So for April we have:

Words from the Wise:
Tao Te Ching by Lao-Tse
Philosophical fragments by Heraclitus
On Duties, Discussions at Tusculum, The Dream of Scipio, and letters to Atticus by Cicero
The Praise of Folly by Erasmus - Completed April 7, 2024
The English Religious Tradition including the King James version of the Bible, The Book of Common Prayer, The Pilgrim's Progress, hymns of writers like Isaac Watts and Charles Wesley
Ethics and Theological-Political Treatise by Benedict de Spinoza
"The Vanity of Human Wishes", Rasselas, Essays from the Rambler and the Idler, and Lives of the Poets by Samuel Johnson

What would you have chosen? Why?

So for March we have:

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

So for February we have:

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

So for January we have:

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

Shared reads:

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman - Completed February 14, 2024
Derring-Do for Beginners by Victoria Goddard - Completed February 12, 2024
The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne - Completed February 18, 2024
An Interrupted Life by Etty Hillesum - Completed March 30, 2024
Martin Dressler by Steven Milhauser - Completed March 5, 2024
The Hand of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard - Completed March 25, 2024
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell - Completed March 16, 2024
The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki - Completed April 16, 2024
At the Feet of the Sun by Victoria Goddard - Completed April 21, 2024
The Razor’s Edge by W. Somerset Maugham - May with Mark and Jim
Here I Am by Jonathan Safran Foer - May with Kim
The Winter Soldier by Daniel Mason - August? with Mark, Ellen, and Linda P
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson - September with Mary (bell7)
Bound to Please by Michael Dirda - December with Ellen and Benita

April's TIOLI Challenges:

Challenge #1: Read a book by an author whose first name and last name ends in the same letter
The Glass Town Game by Catherynne M. Valente - Completed April 28, 2024

Challenge #2: Read a book for the Zodiac challenge (Aries - has a word on the first page from the ram-related list)
Fairy Tale by Stephen King - Completed April 21, 2024

Challenge #3: Read a book in honour of my dad
The Dream: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Speech That Inspired a Nation by Drew Hansen - Completed April 29, 2024
The Thirty Years War: Europe’s Tragedy by Peter H. Wilson - Completed April 27, 2024

Challenge #4: Read a book with a title that makes you think of the spring season
The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim - Completed April 9, 2024

Challenge #5: The “Many Words, One Syllable Each” Challenge: Titles that have only 1 syllable words in them, but must have more than 1 word
An Eye for an Eye by Anthony Trollope - Completed April 9, 2024
At the Feet of the Sun by Victoria Goddard Completed April 21, 2024
Full Dark House by Christopher Fowler - Completed April 23, 2024
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck - Completed April 4, 2024
I Shall Not Hate by Izzeldin Abuelaish
Late in the Day by Tessa Hadley

Challenge #6: Read a book in honor of Mom and Dad's 65th wedding anniversary in April
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson - Completed April 26, 2024

Challenge #7: Read a book about a war that divides a nation
Life Laid Bare by Jean Hatzfeld - Completed April 28, 2024

Challenge #8: Read a book with the word 'family' or 'families' on the cover
Plunder: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure by Menachem Kaiser - Completed April 6, 2024

Challenge #9: Read a book where there are at least 2 of the letter "s" in the title
The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki - Completed April 16, 2024
Liar Temptress Soldier Spy by Karen Abbott
Promises in Death by J. D. Robb - Completed April 19, 2024
The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud - Completed April 18, 2024
Soldiers of Paradise by Paul Park

Challenge #10: Read a book whose title includes one, and only one, adjective
Ordinary Men by Christopher R. Browning - Completed April 25, 2024

Challenge #11: Read a book by an author whose first name is typically a nickname
The Town That Food Saved by Ben Hewitt

Challenge #12: Read a book with something suggesting music on the cover
The Piano Shop on the Left Bank by T. E. Carhart

Challenge #13: Read a book with 150 pages or less
In Praise of Folly by Desiderius Erasmus - Completed April 7, 2024

Challenge #14: April Fooler: Read a book with magical realism, fantasy, alternate history or humor as a tag
She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

Challenge #15: Read a book you've owned for more than 10 years or that's been on your TBR list for more than 10 years
Vermeer's Hat by Timothy Brook - Completed April 19, 2024

Black Studies Reading
Must reads for this year: King: A Life by Jonathan Eig and When We Ruled by Robin Walker
1. Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man by Emmanuel Acho - Completed January 5, 2024
2. Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts by Rebecca Hall and Hugo Martinez - Completed February 2, 2024
3. Before She Was Harriet by Lesa Cline-Ransome - Completed March 1, 2024
4. King: A Life by Jonathan Eig - Completed March 6, 2024
5. The Dream: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Speech That Inspired a Nation by Drew Hansen - Completed April 29, 2024

Jewish Studies Reading
Must reads for this year: The Instructions by Adam Levin and Jewish Literacy: The Most Important Things to Know About the Jewish Religion, Its People and Its History by Joseph Telushkin
1. 28 Days by David Safier - Completed January 25, 2024
2. The Archive Thief by Lisa Moses Leff - Completed January 28, 2024
3. Survival in Auschwitz by Primo Levi - Completed February 3, 2024
4. Cold Crematorium by József Debreczeni - Completed March 4, 2024
5. Etty Hillesum: An Interrupted Life the Diaries, 1941-1943 and Letters from Westerbork by Etty Hillesum - Completed March 30, 2024
6. Plunder: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure by Menachem Kaiser - Completed April 6, 2024
7. Ordinary Men by Christopher R. Browning - Completed April 25, 2024

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

The In Death series by J.D. Robb
Creation in Death - Completed January 3, 2024
Random in Death - Completed February 6, 2024
Strangers in Death - Completed February 22, 2024
Salvation in Death - Completed March 24, 2024
Promises in Death - Completed April 19, 2024
Kindred in Death -

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

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

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

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

The Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear
An Incomplete Revenge

The Jackson Brodie series by Kate Atkinson
One Good Turn

The Shetland Series by Ann Cleeves
White Nights

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

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

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

MARCH - WILDCARD - Pick your own fight!:
An Ordinary Man by Paul Rusesabagina - Completed March 10, 2024
Life Laid Bare by Jean Hatzfeld - Completed April 28, 2024

APRIL - Wars of Religion
The Thirty Years War: Europe's Tragedy by Peter H. Wilson - Completed April 27, 2024

MAY - The Napoleonic Wars

JUNE - The English Civil War

JULY - Colonial Wars

AUGUST - World War Two

SEPTEMBER - The American Civil War

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

NOVEMBER - World War One

DECEMBER - The Spanish Civil War

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

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

The Around the World in 80 Novels Challenge inspired by the book of the same name. I want to try and expand my reading horizons to places I have rarely or never been. In addition to reading from the book that inspired this challenge, I will also be using Around the World in 80 Books as a reference.
1. The Missing File by D.A. Mishani - (Israel) Completed January 31, 2024
2. Bleak House by Charles Dickens - (England) Completed February 16, 2024
3. Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier - (England) - Completed March 8, 2024
4. The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck - (China) Completed April 4, 2024

The Monthly Nonfiction Challenge - I try to read at least 100 nonfiction books a year and this challenge is instrumental in helping me achieve that goal. Last year, I was just short with only 96 nonfiction reads in the year, so I am hoping to improve that number in 2024!
January The Archive Thief by Lisa Moses Leff - Completed January 28, 2024
February Code Girls by Liza Mundy - Completed February 12, 2024
February The Six: The Untold Story of America's First Women Astronauts by Loren Grush - Completed February 24, 2024
March Written in Bones by Paul Bahn (editor) - Completed March 16, 2024
April Vermeer's Hat by Timothy Brook - Completed April 19, 2024

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

The British Authors Challenge - I have never participated in this one before and I suspect that, like the American Authors Challenge, it will be one into which I dip only on occasion
January The Serial Garden by Joan Aiken - Completed January 4, 2024
February Between Two Thorns by Emma Newman - Completed February 16, 2024
April An Eye for an Eye by Anthony Trollope - Completed April 9, 2024

Now we are waiting for paint to dry, water to boil, and Touchstones to load. . . Good thing I do not have anything more to do tonight.

Happy new thread Stasia!

Happy new thread :)

Happy New Thread, Stasia. It looks like I will finish my current read today, so the Ozeki is on deck. 😁

Happy new thread, Stasia.

Happy new one, Stasia. I lost track completely of your last thread, but hope to do better for this one!

Happy new thread!

Phew! I'm tired just reading all those lists, but read them I did and remember them I will!

Happy New Thread, Stasia. I wish you more un-fatigued hours of reading and gaming so that you can report to us lesser mortals.

Happy new thread, dear Stasia. xx

Happy new thread Stasia. Always great to have a peek at what you're reading!

Happy new thread, Stasia!

Happy new thread Stasia!

>12 quondame: >13 figsfromthistle: Thank you, Susan and Anita!

>14 msf59: Looking forward to starting the Ozeki book, Mark. Just let me know when for sure.

>15 Kristelh: Thank, Kristel!

>16 jessibud2: I completely understand how that goes, Shelley. Thank you for tracking me down again!

>17 foggidawn: Thank you, foggi!

>18 LizzieD: I do not think my lists are all that bad, are they? They certainly help me stay organized. "Lesser mortals"? I am a lesser mortal myself :) Thanks for stopping by at this tough time, Peggy.

>19 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul!

>20 mdoris: I hope you enjoy peeking at this new thread too, Mary. My reading seems to be going in 100 different directions currently. I am not sure if that is good or bad - but it certainly keeps me on my toes!

>21 mstrust: >22 humouress: Thank you, Jennifer and Nina!

Happy new thread, Stasia!

Happy new thread, Stasia!

>24 FAMeulstee: >25 thornton37814: Thank you, Anita and Lori!

Happy new one, Stasia!

Happy New Thread, Stasia! It' seems like a lot of people are starting new threads. Happy reads ahead.

>27 drneutron: Thanks, Jim!

>28 vancouverdeb: I think that - if people are like me in this regard - the beginning of a new month is just a natural time to begin a new thread, if you can wait that long :)

Thanks!

So, today is Ark Nova day with Catey. We play on BGA and it still takes 1.5-2 hours. Then I will meet up with both Beth and Catey for as long as we decide to meet :)

April is starting off as a slow reading month for me. I am hoping it picks up! I started The Good Earth last night. I am not sure that I have ever read it despite having owned it for years! I will be starting The Book of Form and Emptiness soon to read with Mark and Laura and am looking forward to it as I enjoyed my only other Ozeki read, A Tale for the Time Being.

I hope everyone has a terrific Tuesday!

>30 alcottacre: - I thought I was the only one, Stasia! My mum had all the Pearl Buck books in our house when I was growing up yet I never read a single one, despite her encouragement to do so. No idea what happened to those books but one day, several years ago, I saw someone had put a box of books out by the curb, hoping, I suppose, that someone would take them before the garbage truck came by. I obliged and to my delight, found a whole set of Pearl Buck books among them.

Still haven't read them, mind you, but I will!!

>31 jessibud2: One of the wonderful things about books is that they are patient and will wait for us to get to them :)

Morning, Stasia. Hooray for game day. I am starting the Ozeki today. Laura started it yesterday.

>33 msf59: Thanks for letting me know, Mark. I will start the Ozeki tonight!

Happy new thread, Stasia! I hope the meetup with Beth and Catey is enjoyable :)

>35 curioussquared: It was more aggravating than enjoyable today just because my Internet is being problematic right now.

Thanks, Natalie!

Happy new thread, Stasia!

>30 alcottacre: I read The Good Earth twice when I was young. Once because I wanted to, and then I think I had to read it later for a class. I liked it at the time. I don't know if maturity and sensitivity to cultural things that wouldn't have bothered me then but do now would change the way I think about it. I've still got a copy on my shelves and I should probably reread it at some point.

>37 atozgrl: Thanks, Irene! I noticed you have a new thread as well so I will be visiting soon.

As far as The Good Earth goes, I am a little over 100 pages into it. There are things that, to me as a modern reader, are definitely disturbing (referring to girl children as "slaves," for example) but since Pearl S. Buck lived quite a bit of her life in China, are no doubt historically correct. The murder of a baby girl immediately after birth - not blatantly stated but certainly implied - is another disturbing scene from the book. I am thinking that reading it for the first time at my age is not such a bad thing.

So, on the agenda for today is getting the plumber out to give an estimate on how much it will be to repair the sewer leak underneath our house that was discovered when the guys were here doing foundation repairs. *sigh*

Hi Stasia my dear, Happy New Thread dear friend.

Thank you, John. I noticed you have a new one too and am off to check it out!

Happy Wednesday, Stasia. I hope you get these plumbing issues resolved. Ugh. Glad you are having a good time with the Ozeki.

>39 alcottacre: Crossing my fingers for you.

When my apt kitchen sink drain pipe was replaced, they removed part of the wall in my under-sink cabinet & ditto in the apt that abuts mine. And never put it back. If Dixie & I were to open our cabinets at the same time, we could wave at each other. :^(

And when there was a leak from my bathroom to the apt below, they decided to replace my lights, vanity, medicine cabinet, floor, trim, & toilet. And paint.

Except:
* they ran out of vinyl flooring before they got to the tub so they also couldn't apply the trim
* the mirror on the medicine cabinet was broken so they needed to get a new one
* and they just assumed without verifying that the problem was the toilet (again) rather than, say, the plumbing under the tub
* the guy kept disappearing for periods of time over the 14hours he took, most of that time with the water turned off to the bathroom, and the couple downstairs were incensed by the leak & the time it was taking, & ultimately he said he'd be back in a few days to finish

The result:
* the guy and the couple came close to blows and the couple called the cops -- I let the guy and the couple deal with the cops when they showed up
* the guy never came back to finish, so years later I still have a hole in the wall instead of a medicine cabinet, vinyl flooring that doesn't cover the whole room, no trim, and
* for 8mos I used my sinks rather than the shower/tub because I didn't trust that they had fixed the leak (spoiler: when my water heater died & they had to replace it, I had to run water in the tub & we found out I was right)

Feel better now?

>43 ReneeMarie: What a complete nightmare. I once had to jettison a contractor mid job and he made off with my Olivetti typewriter, the one with the square font, but no plumbing was involved, so merely a hassle.

>44 quondame: Did you recover your typewriter?

A few years before those plumbing incidents, we all had to prove we were poor-ish so the landlords could qualify for some program that enabled them to replace siding, windows, shingles, etc.

We weren't allowed to stay in our apts while they were working on the windows, so I spent about 8hrs in my car with my cats & their food & a litterbox. In late fall. On my birthday.

When they finally left, I discovered they had walked off with an article of my clothing. I had to call the building manager to find out who they were & get them to return it.

Seriously, women can wear black hooded sweatshirts. Mine was over a chair in my living room when I left. Not when I went back in. Took a few days for them to return it. Twits.

>45 ReneeMarie: Never. This was ~1990. Lots of things were going on and we had a loose social connection with him. He said he needed it to complete a manuscript and then disappeared. He probably never did complete the manuscript, if it even existed.

The worst bit for me was not having understood the warning about when to put dust covers over the furniture. We had to emergency wash all our bedding, and slept in an island fortress of furniture for about 4 days as everything was pulled away from the walls for electrical work, plastering and painting.

From the books I have read, including The Fox Wife this year, it's true that they used to murder or drown baby girls sometimes right after birth. The Fox Wife was an enjoyable read though, and it didn't dwell on that topic. Oh no about the sewer leak they found as you got your foundation repairs done. $$$ and just a big hassle. Sorry about that.

>42 msf59: The plumbers are already here this morning, Mark. Supposedly the work is to be done by end of day. I will believe it when I see it :)

>43 ReneeMarie: >45 ReneeMarie: I cannot imagine living through those nightmares! We live in a house that is almost 100 years old, so we have replaced a bunch of stuff through the years, but we have never had such a protracted problem.

>44 quondame: >46 quondame: I am sorry to hear about the typewriter, Susan. I had one up until a few years ago but it was nowhere in the neighborhood of being as nice as an Olivetti.

>47 vancouverdeb: I would not say that The Good Earth "dwells" on the subject, but the fact that girls were not as highly prized as boys does come up frequently especially as more of O-Lan's backstory is revealed.

The plumber who is out today is one we have worked with before - he replaced all of the lead pipes in our house several years ago - so at least we have some history with him.

Wishing you good luck with that plumbing issue. A good thing too, to have some history with the plumber.

>39 alcottacre: Sorry you have to deal with that plumbing issue.

>49 Kristelh: Well, they finished the repair to the sewer line today, so that is all to the good. Yes, it is good to have history with him. He is going to come by in about 2 weeks to make sure that everying it OK.

>50 thornton37814: Thanks, Lori.

Look! I finished a book! Only 4 days into the month (*sigh* - do not try and read 2 900+ page books at the same time is the moral of this story)

95 - The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck - I can understand why this book is accounted a classic and won the Pulitzer a little over 70 years ago. What is more, I think that the book stands up to the test of time - it is good historical fiction. I do not think I had ever read it prior to now (if I have, I have completely forgotten about it). The story of Wang Lung, who wants nothing so much as to own some land - something that he can call his own - and his wife, O-Lan, a former slave who just accepts life as it comes, is an almost universal story. They have 2 sons and then a daughter who, to them, is little more than a burden. A famine devastates the land, including the litte land that Wang Lung has purchased, and so the family must move into the city and beg to survive. Eventually they are able to move back to the land and indeed purchase more land, but in the end Wang Lung finds that the land cannot provide everything, including peace in his own household; Recommended (4 stars) Library Book

"Yet when he went into his house there was no peace. Although he had given his son a wife and although he had bought slaves enough to serve them all. . .still there was no peace."

Hey, I am nearly finished a 310 page book, Stasia and it's my first book for April. Oh wow, two 900 pages plus books at once.

>53 vancouverdeb: Yeah, call me crazy. I am reading At the Feet of the Sun (which turns out to be a mere 790 pages, not 900 - sorry, I really thought it was longer!) and The Thirty Years War: Europe's Tragedy (997 pages) to open my reading month. I guess I should be glad that The Good Earth is only ~350 pages :)

Somehow or another I have managed to sign up to read 45 books this month for TIOLI challenges. When pigs fly. . .

LOL! When pigs fly, Stasia. I know the feeling!

>55 vancouverdeb: I always seem to bite off more than I can chew when it comes to the TIOLI challenges, but I always pad too because I am such a moody reader. It does not matter how good the book is, if I am not in the mood to read it, I will not. That is why almost every challenge has at least 2 books listed for it.

>54 alcottacre: The paperback appears to have fewer pages than the hardback, which strikes me as odd, but it seemed to have 1300pgs on the Kindle.

Happy New Thread!

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/359825

>57 quondame: I am reading it on the Kindle, Susan, but I never looked to see how many pages it is listed as there.

>58 SilverWolf28: Thanks, Silver!

>59 SilverWolf28: I have already been over to the new readathon thread and signed up :)

Happy Friday, Stasia. Wow! You are reading some Chunksters! Yikes. Kudos to you for tackling this heavy load. I just have my Ozeki, along with some poetry. No wonder I am sailing right along. 😁🦉

>61 msf59: I guess that In Praise of Folly, which is only 71 pages long, helps balance things out - although it is definitely on the thought provoking side!

My cat Chalfont had me up during the night a couple of times because she was vomiting. No idea what is going on there, but she seems to have settled down now. I have been up since 3am, although I did sneak in a nap, but I have got to get some reading done today while I am awake, so I am off. I hope everyone has a fantastic day!

>54 alcottacre: Definitely some chunksters there. I love The Good Earth and the other two books in the trilogy.

>63 alcottacre: Occasionally one of my cats will want me to pet him when I get up to use the restroom in the middle of the night. It makes it hard for me to go back to sleep when I get fussed at if I don't pet him or stop petting him. I think he's decided he can get one-on-one time in the middle of the night because the other cats are sleeping.

>64 Tess_W: I may get around to reading the other two books, Tess, but The Good Earth ended at a good point, I thought. We will see. It is another one of those 'too many books, too little time' problems.

>65 thornton37814: Lol! Cats are characters, aren't they? At least my two seem to be!

I read Good Earth many years ago. I think I was in my 30's at the time and it was in the high school library where I was the librarian at the time. I thought it was good. I didn't think about it again until about 30 years ago when a graduate student who worked for me at the university was reading it for a class on China. The reason the book was on the list was that he was to research things that were not correct in the book. It turned out that given when the book was written (1931). Given that Buck lived in China from 1892 to 1934 she was mostly correct about peasant life in China. She got a few things wrong, but most of her work on China is correct for the times in which she lived there.

I think that the problem with her work is viewing it from our perspective in time. Many of the things she described are now reprehensible practice, even in China, but in 1930 were accurate. The other problem is that of authenticity. Buck described what she saw. Given the fact that she was the child of Christian missionaries and a missionary herself, she is carrying certain biases. That slant has to be slanting her writing. But isn't that true of all authors? Even ones who live today? For me the larger question is Should I be using the issue of authenticity to judge any writing? How can I be sure that what is said about Hindu's when written by a Sikh author the truth? And of course - then - what is truth?

I just read a book and make my own decisions about authenticity. It makes things much easier. Of course, that means I have to trust the author.

>67 benitastrnad: Nice post, Benita, and I agree with a lot of what you say. It makes me wonder if, 100 years ago, readers were asking the same questions about the books and authors they were reading or if they were more accepting of things at face value than we are today.

Finished tonight:

96 - Plunder: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure by Menachem Kaiser - Nonfiction; Kaiser visits Poland and while there, attempts to find the property owned by his grandfather prior to WWII and which was seized by the Nazis. As with so many Jewish families who had their property stolen during the war, Kaiser runs into issues with having to prove the property's provenance and also that the people who owned said property were deceased. The hoops he had to jump through on the last were just ridiculous (his great grandparents would be around 140 years old were they still alive today) and there was no satisfactory conclusion one way or the other at the end of the book which I found immensely frustrating as a reader; Recommended (3.75 stars) Library Book

"Family stories are poor preservers of history; they're fragmented, badly documented, warped by hearsay, conjecture, legend. . .Most stories in most families aren't meant tor relied on as preservation of hard information, they're meant and relied on as preservation of soft information, of sentiment, narrative, identity, of who someone was and, subsequently, who you are."

>67 benitastrnad: Very well said!

Finished this morning:

97 - In Praise of Folly by Desiderius Erasmus - This satire, written as Folly, is still a worthy read even though it was originally published 1549. My biggest problem with the book - my edition is a mere 71 pages long - is the amount of allusion to people/things/places with which I am unfamiliar. It took me a week to read this one because I had to spend time online looking up those things. Still, I am definitely not sorry to have read it!; Recommended (3.75 stars) Mine

"If men would but refrain from all commerce with wisdom and give up themselves to be governed by me (Folly), they should never know what it were to be old, but solace themselves with a perpetual youth."

Today is my traditional "day off" technology, so I will be back tomorrow. I hope everyone has a lovely Sunday!

>72 alcottacre: im very glad

Happy Sunday, Stasia. I should wrap up the Ozeki tomorrow. Enjoy your "tech" free day.

>73 Owltherian: Thank you, Lily!

>74 msf59: I will be curious to see your thoughts on Ozeki, Mark. I am a little over 300 pages into the book and I am currently rather mixed on it.

Other than dropping off to sleep repeatedly yesterday, I had a good day. I got some reading in, talked to my daughter Catey, played some games with Kerry, and just had an all around lazy Sunday.

>75 alcottacre:, Sounds like the perfect kind of Sunday, Stasia. I did a little jigsaw puzzle, read some, did go to church, met for pickle ball but did not have a foursome so we played a little 3 person. It was all in all a good Sunday. Life here in southwest Florida is coming to and end and I will be migrating soon. So have some work to get done this week.

>75 alcottacre: Your welcome!

>76 Kristelh: I hope you get some rest in too, Kristel, what with all the work you need to get done before you migrate.

>77 Owltherian: :)

>78 alcottacre: Im in choir, although we are not singing due to having a sub- but that helps due to my throat hurting.

>78 alcottacre:, Stasia, it is so hard for me to sleep before I travel. I know its anxiety but I just cannot break it. But I do have my daughter and granddaughter flying down to help me drive which I am looking forward to seeing them.

Sounds like a nice Sunday. : ) I am still sleeping about 10-12 hours a day including naps. Ugh. I have my TKD test on Saturday and I am going to do my best to make it through but long Covid and recent illness have zapped me. : P

>79 Owltherian: I loved my days in the choir back in the day!

>80 Kristelh: I am glad to hear that you have the help you need, Kristel. I completely understand about anxiety getting the upper hand and struggling with it.

>81 Berly: Ugh. That is all I have to say. I do wish that the long COVID would leave you alone, Kim!

My CFS has decided to visit again - I struggled with it over the weekend and it hit me hard yesterday - I was in bed by 7pm. *sigh* I am hoping it is a short bout, but not holding my breath.

It is my day to meet up with the girls. Catey is also getting hit by the storms that hit here last night so we are hoping that her electricity does not go out.

>82 alcottacre: Choir is an amazing class!

drive-by *smooch*

>83 alcottacre: Sorry the CFS has struck again. : ( Hope it is a quickie.

>84 Owltherian: I never had choir as a class, but I am sure I would have loved it. I sang and toured with a church choir as a teenager and continued to sing with church choirs into adulthood.

>85 richardderus: Thanks, RD. ((Hugs)) and **smooches** for you today too!

>86 Berly: Thanks, Kim. It is nothing like the long COVID that you are having to deal with, I know. It is just supremely annoying.

Finished this afternoon:

98 - An Eye for an Eye by Anthony Trollope - I have read all of Trollope's Barsetshire novels, so for this month's BAC I was looking for something else, something standalone, to read and I stumbled across this one. It is not much more than a novella (the edition I read was less than 200 pages long), but Trollope manages to say a lot in this story of Fred Neville, a soldier who learns that he is to be the inheritor of the title of the Earl of Scroope. He had, however, made promises to one Kate O'Hara, whose father is ostensibly dead (we learn later that this is not true and Fred essentially pays him off), and who is Catholic, an affront to Fred's Protestant aunt and uncle, the uncle who has named Fred as his heir. The length is against it although I felt like Fred was a well-drawn character. His girl Kate is definitely not a well-drawn character to my mind; Recommended (3.75 stars) Hoopla - Kindle

Happy Tuesday, Stasia. I hope that nasty CFS backs off, so you can get back to those books. 🤞

>89 msf59: Thanks, Mark! I hope so too.

>87 alcottacre: Yep! I have had it as a class since 7th grade! Its super fun!

>91 Owltherian: I am thrilled that you have found a class that you love, Lily!

Finished tonight:

99 - The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim - This story of four, if not downright unhappy but certainly discontent, women who decide to stay for a month in Italy is very good. Prior to their arrival in Italy, only two of the ladies were known to each other - and they met when one of them asked the other about sharing the rent. They also happen to be the two married ladies who are dealing with husband issues. The other two ladies responded to an ad asking for more women with whom to share the rent. Each of these ladies comes to Italy with grievances they need to resolve, discontent they need to face, history that needs to be put to rest. Each of them is very neatly drawn in the book and really is someone to which most readers will be able to relate. I am not going to spoil anything except to say that things work out for each of them in the end; Recommended (4 stars) Hoopla - Kindle

>92 alcottacre: Thats about the only class im good at because I'm sitting at 3 F's and they are all in my honors classes T^T

>94 Owltherian: I am glad you are good at choir, but you still have time to get better in your classes, so do not accept those Fs as permanent.

I am off for tonight. . .

Good night, Good Stasia. I wish that beastly CFS may grow bored with all your sleep and slink off for a long while.

>93 alcottacre: I love and adore The Enchanted April. The movie seems just about as good as the book to me, and there are some differences. *sigh* Italy.............

I'll be eager to see what you make of *Feet/Sun*. I kind of thought that you had read it. I'm due for a reread and hopeful that I can enjoy it more this time because I won't be in such a fever to move the plot along.

>93 alcottacre: - The books sounds lovely, Stasia. I haven't read it but did see the film made from it, many years ago. It was very good.

>96 LizzieD: I wish that the CFS would grow bored with me too, Peggy. Surely I am not all that interesting?

I have never seen the movie - no surprise there - but it sounds like I am going to have to check it out. I agree with you about Italy!

No, I have now read The Hands of the Emperor twice, but this is the first read of At the Feet of the Sun for me. I am a little over halfway through and enjoying it, but not loving it like I do the first book. Still time to change my thought on that though!

>97 jessibud2: I hope you get a chance to read the book at some point, Shelley!

Sorry, folks, just not having a good day today. I am struggling with staying awake. I will (hopefully) be back when I am in a better frame of mind.

>98 alcottacre: At the Feet of the Sun does have some stunning moments, (less than 50%) The entire alt world sequence & Rhodin's double take, you've read and there will be more, but doesn't quite jell into the same "how did she do that" wonderfulness of centering a dull bureaucrat and making us love it!

I hope the CFS lets go of you soon, Stasia!

>100 quondame: Agreed. I still loved At the Feet of the Sun, but I didn't have the same overwhelming love for it that I felt at the end of Hands of the Emperor.

Feel better soon, Stasia

>93 alcottacre: I have a copy of The Enchanted April, and I even know where it is! I've read Arnim before, and liked her style. I should bump this one up the pile. Sorry you're feeling so punk.

You and Susan and Natalie say what I thought about *Feet/Sun*. The first thing I think about is his taking care of the corn for the sea witch: classic Cliopher.

By all means get that movie, Stasia!
Read *April*, Linda!
SOON - both of you!!!

I'm staying hopeful that this latest bout of CFS will have passed by tomorrow. Courage, my friend!

Hi Stasia, It must be so frustrating for you to have another bout of CFS. Sure hope it goes soon.

Sorry you are feeling so tired with the CFS, Stasia. I hope you are soon feeling better.

>71 alcottacre: I liked In Praise of Folly way better than you did, Stasia, it was a 5* star read for me.
But then the people, way of thinking, and places were way more familiar to me.

>100 quondame: >101 curioussquared: I am glad to know that I am not the only one who does not love At the Feet of the Sun (not that it is a bad book!) as much as The Hands of the Emperor. I am a little past the 50% point now. Thanks for the input, Susan and Natalie!

>101 curioussquared: Thank you, Natalie!

>102 jessibud2: Thanks, Shelley. Only one nap so far today. . .

>103 laytonwoman3rd: Please do bump it up the stack, Linda! I do not think you will regret it. Thanks.

>104 LizzieD: The CFS is not gone yet, Peggy, but I am hopeful that it will be gone by the weekend. . .

>105 mdoris: >106 vancouverdeb: Thank you, Mary and Deborah!

>107 FAMeulstee: But then the people, way of thinking, and places were way more familiar to me. I can definitely see how it would be a 5-star read for you then, Anita. I think it would have been better in my estimation if I had that kind of familiarity.

OK, people. Can we talk?

There is a lot going on at my house right now. I am wrestling with a lot of emotions and most days right now they are getting the better of me. I am struggling with the black dog a lot. CFS is certainly not helping.

What it basically boils down to is this: Kerry and I have decided that we would like to move to east Texas to be closer to both his daughter, Felisha and her kids, as well as to my mother, sister and our daughter, Catey. This is not an easy decision for me as I absolutely love my house - silly, I know, but there you go. My house, however, is almost 100 years old and it needs a lot of work that costs a lot of money. Even worse than that is, despite looking for a while now, we have found nothing in east Texas that we either like or can afford. On top of that, we would like to have a house and/or property that would be large enough for Catey to have her own house on it.

I am frustrated. I am sad. I am depressed. This is a dream for us and like I told Catey the other day, "Dreams die hard" even for 62-year-olds. We are still working on our house - we went and got an estimate for flooring in the kitchen today as well as some butcher block countertops, but we have a long way to go.

I am sorry that I have not been able to keep up my interactions in the group. That is another source of frustration for me. I know - stop having a pity party - and I wish I could put the brakes on all of the emotions that are swamping me currently, but I seem unable to do so.

Thoughts, prayers, and good wishes would be appreciated right about now. Thank you.

Love to you as always, Stasia. You KNOW how precious you are to me and to everybody here in the 75.

Stasia so much is going on for you right now and no doubt difficult when you are dealing with such chronic fatigue. So yes, thoughts, prayers and very good wishes are being sent your way. Fingers crossed that a perfect and affordable property in east Texas will appear soon for you and Kerry.

>109 alcottacre: Darling lady, never apologize for being your real, human, annoyed-to-bits self. I'm sure we're all able to relate to your stuckness on many many levels.

I so wish I could do something practical for you. I can, and do, offer my shoulder and ears. *smooch*

The best I can offer is what has been offered to me when I have been feeling overwhelmed (a LOT, in the last 7 years): one foot in front of the other, one step at a time. Breathe in, breathe out.

Don't give up on the dream, just tackle it one day, one project at a time. You are not in a time crunch, so that's in your favour. You are both on the same page and moving in the same direction toward the same goal. Another plus. And vent all you want, right here!

{{hugs}}

>109 alcottacre: My heart goes out to you sis.

Nothing strange about loving your home and it is sure to be a huge wrench for you to leave there. When you are less stressed and tired why don't you entertain yourself by looking at possible purchasing options in the location (s) that you are interested in moving to. I love at looking at houses for sale or even rent and keep an updated shortlist of properties for when I am eventually going to leave my own nest for the UK.

>109 alcottacre: Stasia, I am so sorry to hear that the CFS is back and even more that you have so much else to deal with now. I had not noticed that you were failing to keep up with the group, so I think you are putting more on yourself than you should. Please take care of yourself! I will keep you and your need for a house closer to family in my prayers. And I second what >113 jessibud2: said. Be kind to yourself.

>109 alcottacre: I'll say that change is hard even when it's what you want, and so is feeling like you can't achieve the change you want. Being physically or emotionally exhausted doesn't make it any easier.

You have people in your life you can reach out to when you need to talk and make a connection.

And for times when you feel like you can't talk to the people in your life, there's always 1.800.273.8255. Local to me, and possibly to where you are, there's also 211, a social services number.

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/359999

I'll pray for you Stasia, of course. I've battled the black dog a lot in my life, though thankfully not lately. That in itself it exhausting, never mind CFS on top of that and then needing repairs to your current home and looking for another one. Why would you not want to be closer to family ? I know I would feel the same way and it's not silly at all to love your house. You will be in my prayers and as Shelley says, just one foot in front of the other.

Stasia! I am so sorry life is not cooperating. Just make the most of the time you are feeling energy and then let go of what you can't get to. And no guilty feelings about time spent here!!! It is supposed to be fun and uplifting, not a chore. We love when we get to see you, but take care of yourself first. Texas move will happen when the time is right. Big hugs and best wishes. : )

>109 alcottacre: Oh Stasia, we are, if not happy here your complaints, comforted that you feel you have a safe space in which to air your very real challenges. I do hope the black dog with draws or can be made to and that you get a long break from the CFS.

You have so much invested in your home that it is a monumentally huge thing to switch to leaving it behind, not to mention not finding its match were you plan to go. My house is quite ordinary, but it is exactly where I want it and I am resolved to stay put. But we have only the one family really important member and she lives with us.

That's difficult stuff, Stasia. We're here for you whenever you need a bit of emotional support.

That is a lot to deal with, Stasia. I hope you will find an affordable place where you want to go.
We are here to to support you, in any way we can. Sending love and (((hugs)))

Sorry, you have to deal with all of this Stasia, on top of the CFS. I am hoping something positive comes your way. Maybe something will come through in East Texas. It sounds like a perfect move, despite leaving your "home".

At least you have books to give you comfort. Try to have a good weekend.

I am sorry that you are dealing with all the this. My only advice- find a good real estate agent in Texas, give them your dream list and have someone else look for you and take your time.

I also have moving worries going on. This week I went through all my costume jewelry in preparation for the move. It was gut-wrenching. So much of it was given to me by my mother. Now that she is gone each piece brought back some kind of memory. I don't have children so I have nobody to pass it on to, I don't wear it anymore (clothes and styles have changed) and so it is best to pass it on to someone else. I know this, but it was hard and upset me for two days.

I also worry about taking on a house. I am now going to be responsible for all the bills at the house including repairs and appliances. I have only rented in the past so when something went wrong, I called the landlord. Now I am the landlord. I started looking at a new stove and am flustered with all the choices and research I will have to do to make a decision about that. I also need to start looking at flooring for the hallway, living room, and the office space I am going to create. So much to do with a house and not as much money.

I do think that your work on the foundation of your house was very important. Without a foundation the house isn't much good. Once it gets done that worry will be removed from your worry basket. It will get better and the load will get lighter.

Just getting caught up here - so sorry you’re dealing with all this. But you have a group of folks here that care deeply about you. I’ll be praying for you and Kerry.

>69 alcottacre: Adding Plunder to my WL. I now have 3 different books on my shelf about Nazi art thefts.....it's becoming a thing!

Dear Juana, Juan is worried about your state of ennui and your tiredness. Look forwards not backwards dear lady and hold the hand of your future with hopeful fingers.

My prayers and thoughts are with you Stasia. Praying that the right house will come at the right time. I think it is a good idea to move closer to children as we get in the upper years of life so I think your plan is a good one. Of course, change is hard and I totally detest the process of moving. That would make me want to “sleep” just to avoid it.

(((HUGS))) Big life changes are so difficult to contemplate...even when the reasons are positive ones. I'd love to be closer to my daughter, but we don't want to live where she is, and she doesn't want to come back here, so... And loving your house isn't silly. You can take your history and memories with you, but it's wrench to leave behind all the work and living you've put into your home just the same.

Sorry to hear that you are struggling, Stasia. We have also been looking for a new house for over a year now and the right one just hasn't shown up, but I'm trusting that it will appear at the right time and I believe the same will happen for you! I fully understand the feeling of wanting to move but not wanting to leave your current house -- not silly at all. I hope you feel better soon!

Checking up on you again, dear lady. No Stasia sightings this weekend. :{

I want to thank you all so very much for checking in on me, for your love and concern. Sometimes I just need to vent and the way things have been going lately, I really needed it right now. We are doing OK despite yet more bad news on Friday.

So, it is a new week. On top of everything else going on, I have been in a book funk. I did not read a word either Thursday or Friday and maybe 2 chapters yesterday? This is just not me. I have decided to pick up something new, one of my comfort reads/genres, and put my current reads aside for the moment to see if I can get my reading mojo back. We shall see.

Today is my traditional "day off" technology so I am going to try and get some reading done and not to worry too much about all the stuff going on over which I have no control - and yes, Christians struggle with leaving everything in God's hands too (at least this Christian does!)

I hope to be back in the swing of things tomorrow :)

Glad to know you're "OK", Stasia, but even if you're not, we're here, and venting is essential from time to time for everyone.

>133 alcottacre: *smoochiesmoochsmooch*

Book funk? It happens to all of us. Wishing you well, Stasia.

>133 alcottacre: Hugs a plenty from your brother from another mother. xx

Hope your non-tech day was rewarding and that next week is a better one. I found my copy of Here I Am and I will probably start it tomorrow. And, no!, you can't start until May because you read so much faster than me. : ) Hugs.

Oh man! I am sorry you are dealing with all of this stressful stuff. House hunting alone can be overwhelming but I am confident that the perfect home will present itself to you in time when you least expect it :) It will be great when you both can live closer to family.

In the meantime, sending big ((hugs)) your way!

>134 laytonwoman3rd: Thanks, Linda. I am OK, but not really OK. I am just dealing with the not-OKness better at the moment.

>135 richardderus: ((Hugs)) and **smooches** back at you, RD!

>136 vancouverdeb: Yeah, I was really hoping it would be gone if I stuck to comfort reads and/or genres yesterday, but no dice. I read maybe 150 pages - which might sound like a lot until I realize I normally read between 400 and 450 pages a day.

>137 PaulCranswick: Thank you so much, brother. I was just over on your thread :)

>138 Berly: You take all the fun out of our shared reads if you start 2 weeks earlier than I do, Kim! Lol

>139 figsfromthistle: Thank you, Anita! Hugs are always welcome.

So, in an effort to get my mind off stuff and my current book funk, I have decided to tackle a project that I have wanted to do for a while now - refinishing my daughters' old bedroom sets. My parents bought the furniture about 30 years ago and they are nice pieces of furniture that managed to survive Beth's and Catey's childhoods.

I used to love refinishing furniture but I have not done it for years, so I think it is going to be a learning project for me. I have asked for input from Beth and Catey as to colors that they might like for the furniture as I plan to get it to them as soon as I can (and possibly reclaim the bedrooms that are in my house even though Beth and Catey are not!)

Wish me luck! I expect this is going to take me a good long while and hopefully keep my mind off other things. . .

I hope your okay! Have a good day Stasia

>141 alcottacre: Good luck! I have a couple furniture refinishing projects that I'd like to tackle... eventually. Maybe I'll get one of the small ones done this summer.

>142 Owltherian: Thank you so much, Lily! I hope you're OK too!

>143 foggidawn: Unfortunately I am kind of stymied at the moment because we have so much rain and humidity that I cannot work out on my back porch. I will get to everything eventually, right? Good luck with your projecta, foggi!

>141 alcottacre: Good luck with the refinishing project! I hope it works out to be satisfactory use of your energies. I'd just have the daughters haul it off or donate it if I wanted to reclaim the space, but refinishing is so not my thing.

>144 alcottacre: Hang in there! The weather will change!

Furniture refinishing is very satisfying...if messy, sometimes finicky and time-consuming. It might be exactly what you need! My dad and I refinished several pieces of his mother's furniture together when I was in high school and college, and most of them are still here in my house. Layer upon layer of history...just what I love.

I love the idea of refinishing your daughters' furniture, Stasia. I'm sure it will be a fun and satisfying challenge for you, and create something special for Beth and Catey. Fingers crossed the weather begins to cooperate.

Happy Tuesday, Stasia. Sorry about the book funk. I hope it subsides quickly. Good luck with the refinishing project.

>145 quondame: Thanks, Susan. I can understand having the furniture hauled off if refinishing is not your thing though :)

>146 foggidawn: I hope it changes soon, foggi! We have a chance of rain today and the humidity is almost 90% at the moment. Ugh.

>147 laytonwoman3rd: Yeah, I have really kept the pieces because of the history. My parents bought both Beth and Catey very nice bedroom sets when they were kids - not the kind of furniture we typically think of as children's furnitute - and I would like them to have them as adults.

>148 lauralkeet: Thank you, Laura!

>149 msf59: I am trying to get out of the book funk, Mark, but I am not pushing myself because that will only backfire. Thanks!

Today being Tuesday, it is meet up day for me with Beth and Catey - providing that our weather and the Internet cooperate. Fingers crossed.

I want you all to know how much I appreciate your encouragement over the past several days. I think I just think I needed a bit of support after a particularly bad month and my LT "family" came through in a big way for me. Thank you again so very much.

Have a terrific Tuesday! I hope to be back later.

>150 alcottacre: The double bed in our "spare room" (formerly Laura's room) was my husband's when he was a child, and then Laura's throughout her post-crib life here at home. It's solid maple, and nothing has been done about refinishing it--in fact, there are still fragments of the bunny decals my MIL put on it 70 years ago visible in places!

Hi Stasia. Lots of “stuff” going on in your world. I’ve been through more than a few Funks in my life. Nothing wrong with a Pity Party. You have a great support team on LT.

I think your idea to refinish some prized pieces of furniture will be a great outlet for you. Take things slowly and seek help wherever you can find it. We love you, your family loves you, and things will work out for the best in its own timeframe. Most of all…stay in touch. XXOO

Hey Stasia, I hope you had a great day with Beth and Catey! You have had a lot on your plate, and I hope the book funk leaves soon - I know what you mean about pushing yourself and having it backfire...

>152 laytonwoman3rd: I am sure those bunny decals wish they could tell some stories!

>153 Donna828: Thank you so much, Donna. I do have a great support team here on LT and I hope I never take it for granted.

>154 bell7: The girls and I did have a great time together today - we always do - lots of laughing and carrying on, just what the doctor ordered.

Hey, look! I finally finished a book (it has only been a week since I had one to report, lol):

100 - The Book of Form & Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki - I am not an expert on grief by any means - I have lost exactly 1 person in my life with whom I was close, my grandmother, some 28 years ago. To date, hers is the only funeral (other than my MIL's) that I have ever been to. So when I say that I do not understand the forms of grief that Ozeki portrays in this book, I mean it. We have Annabelle and Benny, a mother and son, who have lost their husband and father, due to a stupid accident. I admit that I think the grief is harder for Annabelle because not only has she lost her husband, but she is watching her son slide into his own grieving process, plus she has to worry about things like her job and paying the bills - adulting. Not only do we hear from and about the two main characters, but we also have a narrator in the form of a book, who tells us more about what is going on, specifically with Benny, who can hear the "voices" of inanimate objects. I think Ozeki has a lot to say in this book but I am not sure all of the ways she went about saying them worked for me; Recommended (3.75 stars) Mine

Thanks to Mark and Laura for the "shared" read of this one (although I was behind the entire time!)

"Because every reader is unique, each of you makes each of us mean differently, regardless of what's written on our pages. Thus, one book, when read by different readers, becomes different books, becomes an ever-changing array of books that flows through human consciousness like a wave."

I am so pleased to see you back posting and finishing books, Stasia.

Also I am happy to report that this is the 1,000th post to your 2024 threads. xx

Wow, 1000 posts. That is pretty amazing! Glad you have had a good day and finished a book.

I've never been particularly successful at refinishing furniture. May you have improved temperature/humidity conditions for your project.

My most recent refinishing venture was to remove paint from a three-drawer dresser my grandfather made for his daughter (my mother). I recall it having an off-white paint when I was small. By the time it became mine, it had green paint. I went after that paint with a cabinet scraper and discovered—be still my heart—it was made with magnificent, clear mahogany. Cuban or central american. You can't get wood like that these days. Well, my grandfather was a patternmaker in the 1920s and mahogany is a very stable wood, excellent for making patterns. For this low-key project he used the materials he had on hand. Wow!

And, you know? Someday I'm going to finish refinishing it. :-)

>156 alcottacre: Nice review of the Ozeki, Stasia. Like you I thought there were some important messages in the novel but I'm not sure I "got" all of them, or that they were conveyed in the best way.

It is a stunningly beautiful spring day, except for the fact I have a dentist appointment to deal with a front tooth that has a nerve bothering me. Ouch.

>2 alcottacre: I'm so glad you liked Before She Was Harriett. What an incredible woman!!!

>157 PaulCranswick: Wow. I still remember the days way back when that I thought 100 posts on one of my threads was a lot. My very first thread in the 2008 75ers group had less than 600 posts in total for the entire year.

>158 mdoris: Thank you, Mary!

>159 weird_O: magnificent, clear mahogany. Cuban or central american. You can't get wood like that these days. Oh, man. I probably would have wept with joy. You are right, Bill, that kind of wood is just not found any more. My grandfather worked in wood too. Nice coincidence! I do hope you get around to refinishing it one of these days.

>160 lauralkeet: Yeah, it is one I may return to in future just to try and catch more of Ozeki's message(s).

>161 Whisper1: Sorry to hear about the dentist visit, lovey, but hopefully they can get rid of the pain in your tooth!

I completely agree about Harriet Tubman!

So, Kerry is off to the car dealership this morning to see about repairs to our Corolla. Yeah, pretty sure more bad news is coming. . .

ETA: Just heard from Kerry and was told that the repairs are only going to cost a little more than half of what we thought. That is good news, right?

It is good news! Fingers crossed that you have a good week. You need a breather.

>156 alcottacre: At least you have convinced me that I can give this Oz. a miss, so thank you, Stasia. I also totally approve of the refinishing project. Just wear a mask if stripper hasn't been improved since I did my last bit 30 or so years ago.
I hope Kerry brings home better news that you expect. (I seem not to have read your whole post.) Hooray for some pretty good news!

As you know, WMIY!*

*We'll Make It Yet*!

Happy Wednesday, Stasia. I enjoyed your thoughts on The Book of Form & Emptiness. We had very similar feelings on this shared read. Glad we could tick it off the list.

Oh, dear about the Corolla. I hope the news is not bad. Dave and I both drive Corolla's too. Mine is white and his is a dark blue, but mine is 2018 and his a 2024. Our very first new cars in our lives! :-) Retirement is going very well, and today I had a book arrive from Blackwell's - the only book this month. It is The Household and Dave just said " you're spending all of my hard earned money " as always, but now that he is retired, that is a lie! So far I am managing just to purchase on book a month, though he has only been retired for about 1 month. I'm glad to see you back posting, Stasia.

I'm glad the Corolla news was better than you expected. I can think of a couple times when we convinced ourselves that something would be super expensive and then it wasn't. And then for some reason we felt like we saved money. Not!

Funny story. I used to have a Corolla. It was nearly 16 years old when I sold it and got another car but when I had it - it was a dark blue - the neighbours on either side of me also had dark blue Corollas at the same time. As did one neighbour across the street and another, a few doors down. Only one of those still has theirs but I think they all lasted a very long time, so I think it speaks well of Corollas! Good luck on the repairs and I hope all is well after that! :-)

Our family has had great luck with Corollas (and Toyotas in general). Upwards of 15 years on a couple of them, with few problems. Good luck with your repairs.

>164 mstrust: Thanks, Jennifer!

>165 LizzieD: I have no idea what stripper was like 30 years ago, Peggy, but I fully intend to wear a mask - if I ever get to start. The rain and humidity are decidedly not helping.

>166 msf59: Yeah, I am glad to have marked it off the list too. Thanks, Mark!

>167 vancouverdeb: We had a Corolla prior to this one, which accumulated somewhere around 300,000 miles before we traded it in for a Prius. We went back to the Corolla after our car was involved in an accident that totalled it. I do love my Toyotas!

>168 lauralkeet: Well, it is still going to be in the neighborhood of $1500, not counting the 2 new tires we had to have, but not as expensive as Kerry and I imagined.

>169 jessibud2: Oh, wow, Shelley. I would probably have been getting into the wrong car all of the time if mine was not parked in my driveway!

So, Kerry and I are off to the car dealership in about 5 minutes to drop off Silver (our Corolla) and drive Stu (our other car) to get inspected. No idea if or when I might be back today. . .

Thank you everyone for checking in on me!

Another Toyota fan here! My first car was a 1978 Toyota Celica hatchback in red. I bought it used, probably about 3 years old. I loved that car. Fast forward to 2007 and we bought our first Prius, then a second one, and finally a 2015 Prius v that began as an extra car for the college-aged daughters but is now still going strong as our everyday car.

>173 lauralkeet: When I was little (early to mid '80s), my family had a blue Celica hatchback with a sunshade. It was just the family car to me; I didn't realize until many years later that it was a sports car.

Strange about the dark blue Corolla's. With me it seems to be a certain shade of blue Subaru Outback's. When I got mine I thought it would be unique. Instead, I see that same color and model everywhere. It doesn't matter where I go here in Alabama I see them all the time. In Kansas - I rarely see an Outback of any color. That might be because the nearest Outback dealer is 100 miles away. That is the same distance as it is to a Toyota dealer.

Good luck today with the varying car issues.

>173 lauralkeet: I did not own a Toyota until I had been married for a bit and when I was researching cars Reliability was my biggest priority. My father was insistent that I buy an American made car, but the reliability figures were nowhere as good as they were for Honda and Toyota. The Hondas were out of our budget at the time so we bought the Toyota - and every car we have purchased since has been a Toyota.

>175 benitastrnad: You find what you are looking for, right?

>176 richardderus: Unfortunately the luck turned out to be bad, RD.

Finished tonight:

101 - The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud - Juvenile; This was a recent recommendation from Nina (thanks!) and because I had enjoyed Stroud's Bartimaeus trilogy, I decided to give it a shot. This very much reminded me of the Alfred Hitchcock Presents books I used to read as a kid - just enough suspense to keep me reading, but not enough to give me the heebie jeebies (I never have been a fan of horror). This book presents an alternative universe London where ghosts are showing up and the only people who seem to be able to deal with the infestation are kids. We meet Lucy Carlyle who ends up working for Anthony Lockwood, who owns his own agency. Due to an accident, the agency is in danger of closing unless a large amount of money can be raised, so Lockwood agrees to take a job that he might otherwise have left alone. And stuff happens. . .; Recommended (4 stars) Library Book

Ohh, lots of Toyota love here. My first car was a second hand red Toyota Corolla. It was very reliable and I later sold it to my sister. Since then we've had a second hand Toyota Highlander that my mom passed on to us after she was done with it, and we passed it to my brother last November , when Dave got the Toyota Corolla, since it was 21 years old and we know it's life was limited. My brother was happy to receive it for free, though the gasket or something blew in February , and he paid about $3500 to fix it, but now he thinks he may have 20 more years with it. I kind of doubt it will run that long, but he and his wife have another SUV, and he can easily afford a new car, so we'll see. I also had a second hand Toyota Tercel for many years, so yes, Dave and I think they are reliable cars.

Here's the next readathon https://www.librarything.com/topic/360200

Just speaking! We are used Honda people. Since my DH was finally able to locate and replace the plastic that failed in the clutch of our '98 CRV, it runs like a dream. We were forced to add another one in 2021 at the height (depth?) of the used car dearth to get me out of town for my eye shots. Neither of us particularly likes the car, but is also reliable so far. I wonder whether these won't be our last cars.

Anyway, I hope your weather clears up, Stasia. That alone will be a mood lifter! We were 90+ today, but the humidity isn't bad, so it's not quite summer yet.

>177 alcottacre: Stasia, my dad helped me buy the Celica and he was very much a foreign car guy. We had a couple of American cars when I was growing up but for the most part they were German or Japanese. We've followed a similar path in our car purchases. Reliability was an important factor in the decision, although the two American cars we've owned (a mid-1980s Mercury Cougar and an early 2000s Ford pickup) didn't really give us any trouble.

>179 vancouverdeb: Yeah, the Toyotas seem to last forever! Their reliability is one of the reasons we keep going back to them.

>180 SilverWolf28: Thanks, Silver! I am going to try and be in this weekend.

>181 LizzieD: No luck on the weather, Peggy. There is a 97% chance of rain tomorrow. *sigh* If we had had a bit more money at the beginning, we might have ended up Honda owners as well, lol.

>182 lauralkeet: Yeah, my dad was a died-in-the-wool American car guy and he thought we were being stupid when we bought our first Toyota, let alone our second, third, and fourth.

We now have custody of his Buick - my mother gave it to me as a 'reward' of sorts for being the executor of his will last year. Not sure how long we are going to hang on to it but it is well over 20 years old.

>183 alcottacre: Count me as another Toyota enthusiast. My first car was a Corolla, and it ran great for a lot of years. After I married my DH, we needed to replace it. His height is mostly in his legs and the Corolla wasn't that comfortable for him (not enough leg room in front), so we went with a Camry. And 20+ years later, I'm still driving it. I'm not really comfortable with the idea of taking it on a long road trip at this point, but it still runs great and is perfect around town. I've been more than happy with both of the Toyotas.

>109 alcottacre: Hi Stasia! I'll confess I've been avoiding the threads that have been racking up mileage, yours included. I'm sorry you've not been feeling so good and it's been one of those times that life hits you with everything but (hopefully) things seem to be improving a bit now? As you know, we're all here to support you. Best of luck with the house-hunting. I fully understand not wanting to leave a house you love. I'm sure the right house in Texas will turn up in time, especially if you don't need to rush to get it.

Like >114 PaulCranswick:, I finding looking at houses fun. I'm keeping an eye on Australian houses but, since an actual move to Oz isn't on the cards in the foreseeable future, my budget is unlimited :0) But I would hate to have to leave my house.

>93 alcottacre: I saw a lovely BBC (will have to check that) the lovely film adaptation of Enchanted April years ago and it was one of the first books I got on my Kindle - but I still haven't read it. Maybe I'll get to it this year, when I get to the V's in my alphabetical ROOTs challenge.

>156 alcottacre: Congratulations on 100 books this year!

>178 alcottacre: You're welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Happy Friday, Stasia. Have a good weekend. Has your reading improved?

>184 atozgrl: We had a Camry at one point too, Irene, and really liked it - up until the time someone totaled it for us.

>185 humouress: I do not need to 'rush rush' it, but my mother is going to be 85 years old next month and is not getting any younger, so I do kind of need to rush it, lol.

Thanks for the congrats, Nina!

>186 msf59: I am coming out of the funk, Mark. Completing books that I started before the funk and then reading one of my comfort reads has certainly helped!

Finished tonight:

102 - Promises in Death by J.D. Robb - In this entry in the series, Eve's friend Morris' new love, Detective Amaryllis Coltraine, is murdered. Not only does Eve have to deal with the murder, but also the anger at another cop being killed and her friend Morris' hurt. It turns out that Coltraine had an old lover in one Alex Ricker, son of Eve's nemesis Max Ricker. Is he behind a hit on Coltraine?; Recommended (4.25 stars) Mine

Finished tonight:

103 - Vermeer's Hat by Timothy Brook - Nonfiction; This one had been resting in the BlackHole far too long when Carrie mentioned it for this month's Nonfiction reading challenge, so I took the opportunity to finally get it read. Brook posits an interesting proposition: taking the works of noted Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer and looking at the items and people in those paintings and extrapolating much about the world from them. The paintings themselves essentially become portals to the world as Vermeer saw and painted it. I found this a fascinating way to get to know about Vermeer's world and all of the discoveries that were being made in his day - and there were a lot!; Recommended (4 stars) Library Book

"This endless reflectivity, writ large, nods toward the greatest discovery that people in the seventeenth century made: that the world. . .was a single globe suspended in place."

"This is one motive for this book: knowing that we as a species need to figure out how to narrate the past in a way that enables us to acknowledge and come to terms with the global nature of our experience."

I show little faithfulness to any car brand. I've owned 2 Datsuns, a Mazda, 2 Acuras (both stolen), a Ford Taurus, a Lexus, 2 Smart Cars (both drowned), a Honda Fit, and now a Prius V & a Prius C. Mike owned a Corolla when we met. That's all since 1973, and since 1990 for Mike. One Datsun, and the Honda Fit were crash casualties. Fortunately I wasn't, though I did have a broken pelvic bone.

Congratulations on 100+ books thus far.

I’ve owned Fords, Mercury, Chevy, Cadillac, Camry, Ram pickup, GMC Acadia, Ford Explorer. I put many miles on my Cadillac and I’ve owned the Ford Explorer for many years now. I hate, hate, hate, the idea of a car payment at this time in my life. I did not the drive the Camry long and I found it to be very uncomfortable for long rode trips.

>190 quondame: Fortunately I wasn't I am very glad to hear that!

>191 Kristelh: Thanks, Kristel! As far as I am concerned, I am with you with hating the idea of car payments now. I am hoping that our cars will outlast Kerry and I!

Lots to do today, including a trip to the library. We still have not gotten our Corolla back from the dealership and are uncertain at this point as to whether it will happen today or Monday. Kerry and I have a long game to play and I have reading to do. To say that I am behind for April is a very big understatement but at least the book funk is over!

>193 alcottacre: Yay for the book funk being over! Fingers crossed it stays that way. I think I'm falling behind for April - let me go and check.

Being able to read cures a lot of bad stuff. Enjoy, my friend! Enjoy!!!!

>194 humouress: I really, really dislike it when I am in a book funk, so I agree with you, Nina. Yay for the book funk being over! I hope you are not too far behind. . .

>195 LizzieD: Thanks, Peggy!

Today is my traditional "day off" technology and I hope to finish at least one book today, At the Feet of the Sun, which I have been reading for 3 weeks at this point. I will be back if and when I finish it.

I hope everyone has a lovely Sunday!

Enjoy your Sunday off, Stasia! *smooch*

Ooops, I lost you for a while Stasia. Never know how that happens.

>93 alcottacre: Love the book, and there is a fine movie if you haven't seen it.

>109 alcottacre: >133 alcottacre: Sorry to hear all this Stasia, though it seems you are feeling a bit brighter now, at least the book funk is disappearing.

Good luck with finding the right place to move too, always a big thing whatever age you are, harder if you love the home you have. I don't own my home, and may eventually have to move out of London as the cost of rents here is phenomenal now. I'm hoping this won't happen for a few more years.

>140 alcottacre: Look forward to seeing what you do.

>198 richardderus: Thanks, RD. Sunday ((hugs)) and **smooches** for you!

>199 Caroline_McElwee: I am constantly losing people, Caroline, so I understand. I am very thankful for the wiki!

Finished this evening:

104 - At the Feet of the Sun by Victoria Goddard - Mary suggested that we re-read the first three books of the Lays and I am glad she did because, for whatever reason (I suspect it had to do with my father's death last year), I never read the middle book. Well, now I have. First off, I have to say that I love the world that Goddard has created. I love the cultures and folklore she has instilled in this world. Secondly, I love the characters. There are no false notes here, at least not to me, and in this book as we come to see more of Cliopher as Kip, she paints him honestly, flaws and all, as a man who, forced into retirement, is coming to know himself and his world better. Having been forced into retirement myself, I understand a little of where Kip is coming from. While I did not love this book as much as I loved The Hands of the Emperor - it was a bit slow until about midway through - I am still very glad to have read it; Recommended (4.25 stars) Mine - Kindle

>201 alcottacre: I would agree with a lot of that - actually, I relate to Cliopher/Kip, too, but more in the way he has a really respected job but has to find a way to come into his own in his community and family life. Hard to beat The Hands of the Emperor, really.

>201 alcottacre: I do love these books. How do you get that At the Feet of the Sun is the middle of 3 books, though? In the timeline it's as far as the story has gone. Petty Treasons & Game of Courts both take place before the action of The Hands of the Emperor,
and Portrait of a Wide Seas Islander during HOTE. I'm curious if Victoria Goddard will venture with future body parts - somehow I think not ;)

>202 bell7: Yeah, I do not think any of Goddard's books is going to knock The Hands of the Emperor off the throne ay time soon, but At the Feet of the Sun comes close.

>203 quondame: I am not sure where I got the idea that Feet, Hands, and Fitzroy Angursell are a trilogy, Susan. Obviously I am delusional :)

Finished tonight (and I am just too tired to write up a review):

105 - Fairy Tale by Stephen King - Even before my recent book funk I thought it was too long. After my recent book funk it is still too long by at least a hundred pages; Guardedly Recommended (3.5 stars) Library Book

What is it about long books? Lately, every book I am reading is long (500 pages). It feels like a return to the 1970's epic novels. It makes me long for a nicely written Anita Brookner.

>201 alcottacre: None of my libraries had any of Goddard's books but I'm reading Stargazy Pie on my Kindle, which is the first Greenwing and Dart story.

>207 humouress: The first, but not the best. If you join the HOTE Discord page and buy directly from Victoria Goddard's page, there is a discount - or - if you go to the crowdfunding-the-nine-worlds, you need only ask and someone will send you a copy - usually within 10 min.

Morning, Stasia. Sorry, to hear about Fairy Tale. That was on my TBR longlist. King has been guilty of being long-winded before. Now, I moved up Holly, which seems to be a more manageable length. I have not read him in a few years but I am still a big fan.

>206 benitastrnad: Well, thus far in April I have read a 500+ page book, a 600+ page book, one that is almost 800 pages in print but over 1300 pages on my Kindle (which is how I read it), and I am still working on the 1000 page The Thirty Years War: Europe's Tragedy, which I am still hopeful of finishing before the end of the month. I feel your pain, Benita!

>207 humouress: I hope you give that series a serious chance, Nina. It gets better after the first book, which is the weakest in the series IMHO. However, I still stand by The Hands of the Emperor as her best book.

>208 quondame: Unfortunately, Discord is just not for me. I joined it and promptly found it to be a pain more than anything, lol. Thanks for the info though!

>209 msf59: I have never been a Stephen King fan, but thought I would give Fairy Tale a try since it seemed to be outside of his horror writing. I found it merely OK and definitely too long, Mark. YMMV.

So Kerry and I still do not have our Corolla back from the dealership. We are hoping to be able to go pick it up today. Fingers crossed.

>210 alcottacre: I understand many of the Discord servers are not friendly places and also that it's hard to figure out where to find things. The HOTE server participants are ready with corrections when things seem to head toward conflict in a pretty participatory way.

I seem to recall my first attempt to figure out what the hell was going on on Discord did not succeed. A few months later I drafted my daughter as a guide and with a few later consultations found my way. The culture is a trickier adjustment. 20-50 age group and largely LGBTQ+ and long time fanfic writers may be fewer steps from my F&SF + historic recreation culture than for some but some of the steps are huge for my short fat old legs.

Still, the playful discussion of favorite tomes, not limited to Victoria Goddards works, has been delightful.

>212 quondame: I am glad to hear that you are getting such enjoyment out of the Discord servers, Susan!

Finished this morning:

106 - Full Dark House by Christopher Fowler - This is the first book in Fowler's Bryant & May mystery series (yes, I really need yet another series to read) and I had a good time with it. Arthur Bryant and John May are officers in the Peculiar Crimes Unit - emphasis on Peculiar - during WWII and are confronted with a series of murders at a theatre that is putting on Offenbach's operetta Orpheus. Fast forward to today and it appears that Bryant is killed in connection with the earlier case. There is a lot of back-and-forth between the time periods and at times it is difficult to tell in which time period you are. I also thought the book went on a little long, but all in all, I enjoyed this first entry in the series and look forward to reading more; Guardedly Recommended (3.75 stars) Mine

Today is my meet up day with Beth and Catey. Kerry and I finally got our car back late yesterday, so picking up the car is not going to mess with meet up day, thank goodness.

>214 alcottacre: So so many people love that series...every so often someone recommends it to me, and I think "I should love that" and vow to read one, and somehow it never happens....

>216 richardderus: I do not "love" the series - at least not yet - but I can see why many people do. I have ordered the next couple of books already. . .

>210 alcottacre: Well, I'm finding it fun though it hasn't grabbed me and sucked me in but I attributed a slow start to reading it on my Kindle which is something I rarely do. I've changed the font size (made it smaller so I'm not flipping pages so often and put on my reading glasses) which has improved things - but I've also gone back to my card-making hobby which eats up time. I ought to put an audio book on, really.

>208 quondame: I had a quick look at Discord (without joining) but a search on there of 'Victoria Goddard' and 'hands of the emperor' (with and without spaces) brought up nothing while HOTE gave various results for 'hotel ...'. And so I gave up.

>215 alcottacre: Yay for getting the car back and it not messing up meet up day.

>218 humouress: I got the HOTE server link from Victoria Goddard's web page, it was at the bottom of Cool Stuff.

A quick good night, Stasia! I'm happy to see you reading. I do believe that some Victoria Goddard is exactly what I need right now. Thanks for the reminder!

>218 humouress: I think that the Greenwing & Dart series becomes more enjoyable as you go through the books. Again, I feel like book one is the weakest of the series. I hope you give it a decent chance because the series does improve from there!

>215 alcottacre: No, but it cost a lot of money, lol.

>220 LizzieD: Believe me, I am happy to see me reading too. I just do not feel like myself when I am not and almost a full week of little or no reading at all (2 days!) is practically a lifetime for me :)

Enjoy whatever Goddard you choose, Peggy!

Finished this afternoon:

107 - Ordinary Men by Christopher Browning - Nonfiction; I have the revised edition of the book which was published 25 years after the original edition and it adds photographs and text that the first book lacked. It adds a fairly lengthy section (almost 70 pages) to discuss this new material. It also contains a new afterword and being me, I take exception to this afterword because it seems to do nothing but try to explain why Browning is right and Daniel Goldhagen is wrong in his interpretations of Germans actions in Hitler's Willing Executioners ("differing interpretational approaches and methodologies"). All that being said, I still find the book a fascinating study of how ordinary, middle-aged (too old for Army service) men were transformed from innocuous people into killers; Recommended (4 stars) Mine

"What is clear is that the men's concern for their standing in the eyes of their comrades was not matched by any sense of human ties with their victims."

"Each individual policeman once again had a considerable degree of choice. How each exercised that choice revealed the extent to which the battalion had divided into the 'tough' and the 'weak'. . .Only a minority of nonconformists managed to preserve a beleaguered sphere of moral autonomy that emboldened them to employ patterns of behavior and strategems of evasion that kept them from becoming killers at all."

>214 alcottacre: I read the first two Bryant and May books, vowed to give them one more try, and simply could not get into Seventy-Seven Clocks, so I quit. I really liked the interplay between the two main characters, but I didn't care for the plots. Maybe you'll find them more to your liking---it's always interesting to see how such things play differently for different readers.

>223 laytonwoman3rd: I will likely do as you did and if I do not find the books more to my liking than you did, I feel no compunction to keep on reading the series (even if I am a completionist!) I bought the next two books in the series used so no great investment on my part.

I agree with you about the interplay between Bryant and May.

Catching up Juana and wishing you a happy Thursday evening as I stroll into Friday morning.

>225 PaulCranswick: Thank you for stopping by and checking in on my, Juan!

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/360348

>221 alcottacre: Noted. I know that Victoria Goddard has a good following (Susan especially) on LT but I prefer to try out a new-to-me author by borrowing from the library before investing in buying their books (the completionist in me usually then nags me to get the whole series but I don't have the space). Unfortunately there are no Goddards in any of my e-libraries.

>214 alcottacre: (via >223 laytonwoman3rd:) Oh, it was you! I borrowed Full Dark House and then couldn't find who shot the BB.

Happy Friday Stasia! I am shocked that your library doesn't have any of the short listed Women's Prize books. I checked my library on line last night, and now they have all of the shortlisted books and have ordered several copies of each book. But it is likely the size of the population your library serves vs where I live. I hope they a copy of each soon.

>227 SilverWolf28: Thanks, Silver. I am definitely in considering how many books I still need to finish for April.

>228 humouress: I agree about checking books out of the library to begin with but my local library is quite often a let down there.

As far as Full Dark House goes, it is a shared read on the April TIOLI challenges which is what finally got me to read it. I hope you enjoy it when you get a chance to read it, Nina. If you do not, it is Linda's fault, lol.

>229 vancouverdeb: I wish I could say I was shocked, but I am not. This happens all the time as my local library specializes in best sellers - although at times it does surprise me. I hope they have copies soon too, Deborah.

Today is Kerry's and my monthly gaming marathon so I am off to play some board games. I am hoping to be back later today especially as I am hoping to finish at least 1 (potentially 2) books today :)

Have a fantastic Friday!

>228 humouress: There is a free Victoria Goddard novel included in Sword & Magic: Eight Fantasy Novels on click here Amazon. Stargazy Pie is a fast paced and a bit frantically confusing, but fun. If you would like, I'll send you an e-copy of The Hands of the Emperor.

Finished this evening:

108 - The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson - Nonfiction; This is a re-read for me of the book that initially put Larson on my 'nonfiction authors to watch' radar. The book is primarily the story of the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. Larson does a wonderful job of explaining all the personalities caught up in the bid to get the exposition to Chicago in the first place as well as the people directly involved in overseeing everything that needed to be done to make it a success (including trying to out-Eiffel the Eiffel tower). He does not neglect what is going on in the background though and this is perhaps where the book falls down a bit because there is a lot going on in the background: H.H. Holmes systematically killing people (especially young women), issues with labor, and the man who eventually murder's Chicago's mayor. The Holmes storyline is well done, but the other two storylines falter a bit; Recommended (4 stars) Mine

>230 alcottacre:
And those best sellers are rows and rows of James Patterson and a celebrity co-author novels. (Or whoever he is collaborating with at the moment.)

Just waving Stasia. Have a nice weekend.

>234 benitastrnad: I have not paid attention to James Patterson for years now so I have no idea who is collaborating with these days. . .I used to enjoy reading his books back in the day though.

>235 Caroline_McElwee: Thanks, Caroline! I hope you have a nice weekend as well.

Finished this morning (finally!):

109 - The Thirty Years War: Europe's Tragedy by Peter H. Wilson - Nonfiction, Audiobook; While I own a hard copy of this book, I knew I would never get it read in time if I tried to read it in that format (I still cannot hold books, especially large ones) so when I noticed I could get this from Hoopla on audiobook, I was extremely pleased. Going into the book I pretty much knew nothing about this particular war. Wilson starts the book off by telling the reader what was going on in the world prior to the war so we know where we stand at the war's inception rather than just being plunged into it. I think the most difficult thing about listening to the book on audio was losing track at times of who was who - and I was very grateful to have a hard copy to hand so that I could check - and secondly, the lack of maps in audio form. Again, very helpful having the hard copy although, to be honest, I wish even more maps had been provided for those, like me, who are geographically challenged. I think that whatever format you choose, this is not an easy read. I do not regret reading it though because it gave me an idea of events that happened in the 1600s that had repercussions even in the 20th century; Recommended (4 stars) Hoopla

>205 alcottacre: Hi Stasia. I agree that Stephen King can be long-winded. It’s been a long time since I’ve read anything by him. I shall rectify that in the near future.

It sounds like your Book and Life Funks have receded into the background where they belong. Happy Reading!

>237 alcottacre: Sweetiedarling, I am very glad you're au fait with the Thirty Years' War at last because I have wanted to be a truly evil bad terrible influence on you and couldn't until I knew you got that war's outlines.

Now, at long last, I can urge upon you the libraryable alternate history tome 1632. Such a great story about a small West Virginia coal-mining town that somehow ends up spang in the middle of Germany in the eponymous year.

Hijinks ensue. And African-Amercans make their European debut. Feminism takes a leading role. And scientific concepts appear that maybe oughn't've. I think you'll like it. *smooch*

>238 Donna828: Thanks, Donna! Good luck with whatever King book that you choose.

>239 richardderus: Richard, my dearest darling, I have already read 1632 - and very much enjoyed it - but it has been so many years ago now (2011, I checked) I am sure that a re-read is long overdue. I just need to locate my copy. I do not even remember the Thirty Years War making an appearance, lol.

>240 alcottacre: Oh whew! The entire series now needs to get into your sadly underpopulated bookshelves...all fifteen books.

>241 richardderus: Fifteen?? And all I have are 1632 and 1633!

>240 alcottacre: 1632 etc. are are fun, but the quality varies considerably especially in the non-Eric Flint books. I love experiencing recreations of historic people, well, sometimes. I get sensitive when they are too modernized or bent way out of shape like abused Barbie dolls.

>243 quondame: I did not realize that the entire series was not by the same author. I find that in and of itself disappointing because then you get too many continuity and such errors.

I completely agree about historical characters acting too modern, Susan. I am the same way.

>244 alcottacre: Eric Flint was one of SF's great collaborators. I encountered him first in The Oblique Approach, co-authored by David Drake, who has never been a favorite, but isn't and avoid either.

>245 quondame: Having not read any science fiction for a lot of my life, I was first introduced to Eric Flint here on LibraryThing. Did he always write in collaboration with other authors?

>246 alcottacre: No, but not often and not the most interesting of his books except for 1632.

>247 quondame: Thanks for the info, Susan.

Today is my traditional "day off" technology, so I will wish everyone a lovely Sunday!

Hi Stasia, I see that Kerry's retirement hasn't slowed your reading down too much. How is all that going? He and I are on about the same timeline for adjusting to "every day is Saturday."

Happy day off from technology, my dear.

Finished this morning:

110 - Life Laid Bare by Jean Hatzfeld - Nonfiction; Between April 11 and May 14, 1994 in the Nyamata district of Rwanda, 50,000 of the 59,000 Tutsis who lived there were murdered - 5 out of 6. In this book (the first of a trilogy on Rwanda), Hatzfeld interviewed survivors of the genocide to get their stories and man, are these stories hard to read. It is not only just the massacre itself, but it is the futures that were stolen from these people: the woman who wanted to train as a nurse but now cannot; the 14-year-old boy who wants to attend school but cannot, and on and on. The people interviewed are hopeful and resilient. They are honest about what they experienced and forthright as to how they are dealing with the Hutus now; Highly Recommended (4.5 stars) Mine

"I cannot grasp why our ethnic group is accursed. If I were not stopped short by poverty, I would travel far from here, to a country where I would go to school all week long, and play soccer on a nice grassy field, and where no one would want to mistrust me and kill me, ever again." From an interview with a 14-year-old cowherd, Janvier Munyaneza

>251 alcottacre: That would be so hard to read.

>252 The_Hibernator: It definitely is, Rachel.

Finished this afternoon:

111 - The Glass Town Game by Catherynne M. Valente - Juvenile; This book imagines Charlotte, Branwell, Emily, and Anne Bronte as children taken on an adventure in Glass Town, a town of their own invention that magically springs to life. There are a lot of real people who make appearances in this made up world including the Duke of Wellington, Napoleon Bonaparte, Lord Byron, Princess Victoria, Jane Austen and more. I love Valente's word play and invented words throughout the book ("balderdashnanigans" is probably my favorite) and the book is a fun ride especially for younger fans of the Brontes. However, it is long - over 500 pages - and I think it is just too long. Also, Branwell is pretty much of a brat until near the end of the book where he redeems himself somewhat. He makes a lot out of the fact that he is the only boy and I am not sure if that is why he is so snotty throughout. I like that Valente did use the Bronte's family history in the book: their father was a parson (and outlived everyone) and they did have two older sisters and a mother who died untimely deaths. I like the fantasy world created here based on the Brontes' own creation; Guardedly Recommended (3.5 stars) Mine

"Charlotte dunked her head in the bath and bobbed up again. 'I like books, and - '

'Books!' protested Emily from her gravy boat. 'Well, I would have said books, too, you know, but books are just obvious. That's like saying you like air!' "

Well, to no one's shock or surprise, I am sure, I have several books yet to finish before I am reading for May's reading challenges - and since I am going to be out of town for a week for my mother's birthday, May will really be a challenge :)

Off to get stuff done for today. I hope everyone has a marvelous Monday!

Accomplish-everything *whammy*

>254 alcottacre: I DNF'd The Glass Town Game -- I just couldn't slog through it.

>256 richardderus: Thanks, RD!

>257 foggidawn: Yeah, I understand that. The only reason that I finished it is because I needed it for one of my TIOLI challenges and knew I could not finish the other possibility I had set aside in time, especially as far along as I was in The Glass Town Game.

This is me today:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/03FT4wA6eIk

>259 alcottacre: -- LOL, that's great!

Finished this evening:

112 - The Dream: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Speech That Inspired a Nation by Drew D. Hansen - Nonfiction; When Martin Luther King, Jr., gave his famous speech at the Lincoln Memorial, and living in Iran at the time, so I pretty much knew nothing about what was going on, speech or no speech. As I have been studying the Civil Rights Movement over the past several years, I have learned more about both the man and the speech. This book goes in depth into not only the speech itself, much of which turned out to be extemporaneous, but also the way in which it was delivered. The President of the U.S. in 1963 remarked to one of his aides, "That guy is really good." I was genuinely shocked to find that at the time of the speech it had little to no impact on the Civil Rights Movement. It was not until after King's assassination when interest in the speech was revived that it began to gain traction for the movement. This book is very good at giving the reader a birds' eye view into King's most famous speech; Highly Recommended (4.5 stars) Mine

>260 foggidawn: Isn't it though? I love him! I have been watching his channel for a while now as he is into both books and board games, just like me :)

>259 alcottacre: Love it. I try for as many of those days as possible Stasia.