Familyhistorian's 2024 Reading Adventure - Part 4

My name is Meg and this is a thread where I post about my reads and other adventures. I’ve been a member of the 75ers since 2013 and my personal library has grown exponentially ever since. The people around here are enablers and you are hereby warned.

This year I want to concentrate on reading the books that I own and sending them on their way. (I can hope, can’t I?) I’m placing my Little Free Library and the stats of books culled higher in the list to bring it to my attention more often.



Little Free Library

Books culled in 2024

January - 10

February - 0 (reading my own books would have allowed some to be recycled)

March - 3

April - 6

BLOG



I write about genealogy and history on my blog. Follow my blog posts as I embark on another year of exploring and writing about my ROOTs (the family kind). You can see my latest blog posts at: A Genealogist’s Path to History

Challenges
Reading Through Time

Quarterly

January-March 2024: Prehistoric
April-June 2024:
July-September 2024:
October-December 2024:

Monthly

January: Janus
February: Aquarius & Amethyst - Perkins Perfect Purple: How a Boy Created Color with Chemistry by Tami Lewis Brown and Debbie Loren Dunn - DONE Mary Astor's Purple Diary: The Great American Sex Scandal of 1936 by Edward Sorel DONE
March: Medicine & Epidemics - Medicine: A Graphic History by Jean-Noël Fabianai and Philippe Bercovici DONE
April: Characters with Disabilities
May: International Labour Day
June:
July: Vive la France
August:
September: Royal to the Bone
October: Adultery
November: Biographies & Memoirs
December: Reader’s Choice

2024 Nonfiction Challenge

January: Prize Winners – prizes off the beaten track
February: Women’s Work - Mary Astor's Purple Diary: The Great American Sex Scandal of 1936 by Edward Sorel DONE
March: Forensic Sciences - The Inheritor's Powder: A Tale of Arsenic, Murder, and the New Forensic Science by Sandra Hempel - DONE
April: Globalization
May: Wild Wild West
June: Middle Europe
July: Insect World
August: Being Jewish
September: Essays
October: Music, more music
November: Too Small to See
December: As You Like it or Political Biography

The War Room Challenge

MONTH - BY - MONTH IN THE WAR ROOM

JANUARY - The Ancients (Greeks, Romans etc) - Taken at the Flood: The Roman Conquest of Greece by Robin Waterfield DONE
FEBRUARY - The American War of Independence - The Other New York: The American Revolution beyond New York City, 1763 - 1787 edited by Joseph S. Tiedemann and Eugene R. Fingerhut DONE
MARCH - The War of the Roses - War of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors by Dan Jones - DONE
APRIL - Wars of Religion
MAY - The Napoleonic Wars
JUNE - The English Civil War
JULY - Colonial Wars
AUGUST - World War Two
SEPTEMBER - The American Civil War
OCTOBER - American Follies (Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan and the Gulf Wars)
NOVEMBER - World War One
DECEMBER - The Spanish Civil War
WILDCARD - Pick your own fight!

List of books for challenges

RTT

January - March quarter: Prehistoric - Before Scotland

January: Janus - The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson

March: Medicine & Epidemics - Medicine: A Graphic History

April: Characters with disabilities - Blind Justice

Nonfiction Challenge

January: Prize Winners – prizes off the beaten track - The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature by Matt Ridley - A New York Times Notable Book and short listed for the 1994 Rhone-Poulenc Prize for Science Books

March: Forensics - Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper Case Closed or The Inheritor's Powder: A Tale of Arsenic, Murder, and the New Forensic Science

April: Globalization - A Rabble of Dead Money: The Great Crash and the Global Depression 1929-1939

The War Room Challenge:

March: The War of the Roses - The Wars of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors

April: Wars of Religion - The Passion of Anne Hutchinson

Books read in 2024

Books read in March 2024

1. Boundary Waters by William Kent Krueger
2. A Bird in the Hand by Ann Cleeves
3. The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose
4. Dark in Death by J.D. Robb
5. The Dark Matter of Mona Starr by Laura Lee Gulledge
6. Following Caesar: From Rome to Constantinople, the Pathways that Planted the Seeds of Empire by John Keahey
7. Secret Lives by Mark de Castrique
8. One Puzzling Afternoon by Emily Critchley
9. Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn
10. The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See
11. When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein
12. Leverage in Death by J.D. Robb
13. Did Ye Hear Mammy Died by Séamas O’Reilly
14. Isn’t It Bromantic? by Lyssa Kay Adams
15. Skirts: Fashioning Modern Femininity in the Twentieth Century by Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell
16. Medicine: A Graphic History by Jean-Noël Fabianai and Philippe Bercovici
17. Darktown by Thomas Mullen
18. The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard by Natasha Lester
19. Who’s Sorry Now? by Maggie Robinson
20. Poppy Redfern and the Fatal Flyers by Tessa Arlen
21. The Inheritor’s Powder: A Tale of Arsenic, Murder, and the New Forensic Science by Sandra Hempel

Books read in April 2024

1. The Wars of the Roses: The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors by Dan Jones
2. John Lewis: In Search of the Beloved Community by Raymond Arsenault

Books acquired in 2024

Books acquired in March 2024

1. Never Met a Duke Like You by Amalie Howard
2. Two Dead Wives by Adele Parks
3. The Socialite’s Guide to Murder by S.K. Golden
4. The Adventure Zone: The Crystal Kingdom by Clint McElroy etc.
And, with my March acquisitions, I met my Thingaversary goal!

Is it safe? I see you are working on the setup! Happy new one!

Happy new thread Meg!

>13 Berly: Hi Kim, you are fast. It's still under construction but not too soon for new thread wishes!

>14 quondame: Thanks Susan!

Happy New Thread, Meg.

Happy new thread, Meg

Happy new one, Meg.

Hi Meg and yes it is a better day today weather-wise! We'll take it! Happy new thread to you and I love the photo in >1 Familyhistorian:. Gorgeous! And it is fun to wander through all your amazing reading!

Happy New Thread!!

New-thread orisons, Meg!

>16 vancouverdeb: Thanks Deborah!

>17 jessibud2: Thank you for the new thread wishes, Shelley!

>18 katiekrug: Hi Katie, and thank you!

>19 mdoris: Hi Mary, that is an older picture but the blossoms looked the same only wetter when I saw them yesterday. It's good to have a nicer day to take advantage of.

>20 Owltherian: Thanks Lily!

>21 richardderus: Thanks Richard, it felt like it was time for new digs with a new month and all plus Spring!

70. Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir by Pedro Martin



The seventh of nine children, Peter/Pedro was in those strange superhero obsessed preteen years when his whole family trekked down to Mexico to get the kid’s abuelito and bring him back to live with them in California. This was the story covered Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir. It was a memorable trip with many adventures along the way. I mean how could it not be with that many people in two barely street worthy vehicles with most of said people of a younger persuasion?

>24 Familyhistorian: "Memorable?" Yikes! It sounds hellish to me. But I'm a Grinch and a half among the noisy.

Fun to read, though not to live.

>25 richardderus: Yes, but you're looking at it with adult eyes, Richard. Think of it from a pre-teen POV. Lots of adventure!

I took a similar trip when I was in my '20s with 6 people of the same age all packed into a '65 Acadian. We set off from Halifax, went down to Florida and stayed for a while. Then headed west across the southern states and up the coast to BC. I have fond memories of that trip.

>26 Familyhistorian: *eeeek*

I can remember packing a squad of friends into my 1968 Bonneville to go to Rocky Horror Picture Show, but across the country?!?

>27 richardderus: Across two countries really. They just looked at us at the border and waved us through!

Happy new thread, Meg!

>26 Familyhistorian: That was a long trip! Can't imagine to drive that far.

Happy new thread, Meg.

>26 Familyhistorian: Anita is right - that is some trip!

>29 FAMeulstee: Thanks Anita. We stayed in Florida for a while so didn't do the whole journey at once.

>30 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul, we didn't start out going that far. We were just going to Florida from Halifax after stopping in Montreal to get the house keys from my parents. When the time came to go back to Canada we didn't want to return to Halifax. Four of us wanted to go back to Montreal but the girl who owned the car and her boyfriend wanted to see Vancouver. We were out voted.

Hi Meg my dear, Happy New Thread dear friend, sending love and hugs from both of us.

Hi Meg, How fun that trip must have been in your 20's! I'm a little envious!

>33 johnsimpson: Hi John, it has been a long time since I visited you. Hope all is going well.

>34 mdoris: Hi Mary, it was educational and, even better, it left 4 of us stranded in Vancouver. I mean, if you are going to be stranded somewhere in Canada, that's probably one of the better places for it to happen.

Agree Meg!

>37 mdoris: :)

71. Connections in Death by J.D. Robb



I’ve reached Connections in Death, in my reread of the in death series. In this episode the murder of a former gang member started an investigation into a couple of New York gangs. It was a side of the city that Dallas and the crew weren’t used to navigating, but murder cops can do their thing wherever their investigation takes them.

I feel a bit like Richard as far as the driving trip with your friends went. But my big driving trip was as a 16 year old with my family, minus my youngest brother who was left behind with my grandparents as he would not fit into the car. So, me at 16, two sisters, 15 and 12 and a brother aged 10 plus my parents. We flew to Ottawa, from there drove to Montreal, then flew to Halifax and from there drove around Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and I think we drove to PEI ( I think the Confederation bridge was there ) . It was a long and harrowing trip. After Halifax, we flew to Toronto, where my parents and two sisters checked out Toronto, but my brother and I had had it. and flew on to Winnipeg to my grandparents and my brother. You can imagine the challenges of 6 people in close proximity. Stinky feet, I hate the food, I'm not sitting on the hump in the middle of the car, I hate PEI, this drive around Cape Breton is so foggy we can't see, only cheese sandwiches lest we get food poisoning, said my dad on that drive. One of my sister's threw the other sister's shoe's in the garbage because they stunk to much, my brother cried and cried that he could only stay in a hotel in Sydney NS, not a motel . Everything was full, so the place we found was just one room for 6 of us, and my parents and brother slept on the box spring, and we three sisters slept on the mattress on the floor. I did appreciate a lot of it, but not so much my siblings, and it was very stressful.

>40 vancouverdeb: - Oh my! I apologize for laughing, Deb, but it all sounds so familiar. And we were only 2 kids! My parents always made us play games, like spot the license plate, count the cows or horses we saw in fields, etc. (eye roll). I always read a book, too. But my dad regularly threatened to pull over and let us out, to walk, if we didn't stop fighting in the back seat: "Do I have to pull over? Now?!" To this day, if I am in a car with anyone and the words *pull over* are uttered, I start laughing!

>40 vancouverdeb:, >41 jessibud2: That sounds HORRIBLE! All of us as a family never did more than Disneyland since it was only a few hours' drive, but I was a little kid and my sisters were teens. I'm sure they remember it very differently than I do.

Happy reading, Meg.

>40 vancouverdeb: We did the family of 6 in a station wagon from So. Cal up to Seattle and back about 1960. The sibling age range would have been 17,15,10,8 or thereabout. It was vastly uncomfortable and such a trip was eliminated from any future consideration. I did like the food, at least for the most part. German pancakes, and bouillabaise were highlights, but then my parents were foodies.

Happy new thread, Meg. I love the photo at the top. I've heard good things about Mexikid; that's one I will look for.

Happy new one, Meg!

>41 jessibud2:
>42 richardderus:
>43 quondame: I did actually love seeing all that we saw , and I liked the food just fine, it was my siblings ( who I love ) who hated so much of the trip. It was an emotionally harrowing trip with all the tension in the family on that trip. I don't mind you laughing at all, Shelley. In fact, I recall my dad laughing as we all sat in the car on Citadel Hill and my mom doled out whatever she had purchased in a grocery store for breakfast / lunch . I was fine with whatever it was , but my sisters and brother hated what ever my mom had bought. They complained so much my dad started laughing and said " enjoy the wonderful trip". Not to so say he didn't do plenty of yelling at other times during the trip.

My family used to go on Sunday afternoon drives, but really my dad mostly and my mom wanted to look at houses for sale . So off we'd go, all of us in the station wagon and yes, if there was much of any commotion my dad would tell us - don't make me pull over, because someone is going to get a spanking! :-) But that never happened. In fact we were well behaved enough that at the end of the trip my dad would drive us all to the Diary Queen and we all got to chose something to eat as a reward.

I'm enjoying all of your stories too. They ring true to me.

>44 BLBera: Thanks Beth. Mexikid is a fun one!

>45 drneutron: Thanks Jim!

>40 vancouverdeb: I remember a similar trip when I was 16, Deborah. Only we drove from Montreal to Nova Scotia and then around the province, taking in the Cabot Trail and Acadia University as the plan was that I would attend there the following year. Thankfully, there were only my parents, my younger brother and me in the car. I remember it as a pretty laid back trip, nothing like the cramped and irritated trek that you went on! It makes me question what they were thinking when they planned that "fun adventure".

>41 jessibud2: Fun family dynamics there too, Shelley. I have no recollection of any threats of pulling over, or any fighting if on the trip, not even when my older brother was along. Maybe it happened but I just blanked it out. I do remember one vacation we motored to at the Bay of Quinte because there were comments made about how low the trunk was hanging. That was because of all the book that were packed in there.

>42 richardderus: A large difference in ages does change things. I was 10 years older than my younger brother so not much bickering there and my older brother was busy being superior to me so that pretty much took care of him too.

>43 quondame: I can see why a follow up trip was ruled out, Susan.

72. An Immigrant's Love Letter to the West by Konstantin Kisin



The author of An Immigrant’s Love Letter to the West had a different take on the current state of the Western World. Having lived under a totalitarian regime growing up in Russia, he had some choice words for the current cancel culture as well as other strange notions contorting freedom of speech. It was an interesting look at what ails our current society.

>49 Familyhistorian: I find Kisin very interesting and often follow his podcast (Triggernometry) with Francis Foster while they interview interesting and at times controversial guests. It is a chance to hear opinions not covered in main stream media or from people who have been "canceled". Interesting that they are both considered comedians, a craft demonized and attempts made to control these days.

>49 Familyhistorian: I haven't heard of that one, Meg, but I will go and look for it. Book bulleted!

>50 mdoris: In one part of the book he mentioned not signing an agreement to limit the topics he addressed in his comedy act for one particular show because what is the point of comedy if it is put in a straight jacket? I found his views refreshing.

>51 PaulCranswick: It was a good one, Paul. Not sure where I picked up the BB myself but it was probably somewhere on LT.

Today was a glorious sunny day. A far cry from yesterday when it rained like it would never stop. I still made sure I got my steps in walking to a library in the morning and to a poetry show in the evening.

Meg it might have been me. I read the book when it was first published. Another author from the U.K. who I think is very interesting and a comedian too is Andrew Doyle author of The New Puritans and Free Speech.

Another gorgeous day here.

You've been reading up a storm, Meg. I loved Darktown when I read it a few years ago but I haven't gotten Lightning Men yet and now there is a third which I must pick up as well. Getting all the books I want to read to fit my monthly lists is difficult!

I think my parent's intended to take us on an interesting and fun trip of Eastern Canada, Meg. And it would have been, had my beloved siblings ( and they are beloved) not been so unhappy about a lot of things! :-) We had a quite a few fun trips previous to that , Disneyland and several times to Oahu. My dad was a pilot of CP and then eventually Air Canada, so air travel was pretty inexpensive for my family. I guess my parents had not tried many long road trips so they didn't realize how challenging it was going to be.

73. The Killer by Jacamon & Matz



A graphic novel about a hit man, The Killer was a walk on the dark side where life was cheap especially for a killer for hire. He never knew who to trust until the end. It was a well-drawn and interesting tale.

>55 mdoris: It's quite likely I got the BB from your thread, Mary. I get a lot of recommendations for nonfiction reads there.

>56 DeltaQueen50: I know what you mean, Judy. I often feel the case of too many books, too little time. In my case its complicated by too many library holds!

>57 vancouverdeb: My father worked for Air Canada too and we took advantage of the free trips. There was a discount on CN trains as well. (I think it was CN, could have been CP). I've never been to Disneyland but the house my parents bought in Florida was in Kissimmee so I've spent some time at Disney World.

Maybe your parents thought it would cheer everyone up to go on a road trip together.

Happy new thread, and happy Sunday, Meg! Mexikid is on my list since it was a Newbery Honor this year, and I'm glad to see you found it enjoyable. Your own trip sounds like quite the adventure as well!

This one was easy given my starter word

Wordle 1,031 2/6

⬜🟨🟨⬜🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

guide, equip

>62 bell7: Hi Mary, I haven't been good keeping up with my thread lately. Happy Monday! Mexikid was a fun one. I hope you like it when you get to it. That trip to Florida that ended in Vancouver was definitely on the adventurous side. I love to trot it out when people ask me how I ended up in Vancouver.

Evening, Meg! Happy reads for the week ahead. I'm reading a poetry collection just now.

No. Really.

>65 richardderus: Poetry, you say. I hope you're enjoying it, Richard. My reads are treating me well, for the most part, except for the book I'm reading for my in-person book club. Why do reads that are kind of required feel like so much work?

74. Starter Villain by John Scalzi



Charlie had been a journalist and we all know how those jobs did when newspapers went down the tubes. That left him working as a substitute teacher living in a house co-owned with his half siblings who wouldn’t give him the time of day and, frankly, were wanting to oust him from his home so they could realize their part of the inheritance. So much for his father’s family, but his uncle on his mother’s side had just passed away, an uncle who had been a billionaire. An uncle who wanted to be buried in the same town that Charlie lived in. Of course, Charlie agreed to stand up for his relative at the funeral home. What did he have to lose? Apparently, a lot as he was about to find out as he was sucked in to the world his uncle had created on a remote island. Little did he know what he was letting himself in for in the action packed pages of Starter Villain.

>67 Familyhistorian: That is a great cover.

>8 Familyhistorian: I've added Skirts: Fashioning Modern Femininity in the Twentieth Century by Kimberly Chrisman-Campbell to my TBR list!

One more book and you reached 75!

>68 PaulCranswick: That's what caught my eye, Paul. Cats do play an important part in the narrative too.

>69 Whisper1: Hi Linda, I'm glad I got you with a BB. I hope you enjoy it.

Actually, I'm behind in my read write ups.

I'm also behind in my write ups. We've had some lovely walking weather the past few days. I'm behind everything too.

Sweet Thursday, Meg. I also liked The Killer GNs. Unfortunately, the Netflix adaptation was a stinker. It looked promising at first too.

Hi Meg, I'm way behind here. I loved the travel stories. I met up with a friend and her two teenagers after they'd been away for a week together last year and it brought it all back - the eye rolls, the complaints about dinner options, the issues about who-does-what-when... (and the smelly shoes!)

Like Deborah I feel I need to caveat that I loved my siblings too, but on any family camping trip was generally quite happy for them to go out and do stuff while I stayed inside with a book.

I've added Mexikid to my wishlist, looks like fun.

>67 Familyhistorian: Hi Meg, that cover gives me the creeps. i have always disliked the animal/human combo and it gives me the heebie-jeebies. Isn't this day spectacular? We want to order more just like it!

>72 vancouverdeb: It seems especially bad this year, Deborah, being behind, I mean. Somehow things have gotten busier. You must feel that especially with a new retiree in the household! The walking weather is nice.

>73 msf59: It was a good GN, Mark, but I can see how the interpretation in another genre could easily go wrong.

>74 charl08: Those family road trips are much better seen from the distance of years, Charlotte. They improve with maturity just like siblings. I hope you enjoy Mexikid when you get to it.

>75 mdoris: It's not too bad as far as those animal/human combos go, Mary. I've seen worse and you probably have too. It was a wonderful sunny day today and nice that it warmed up after yesterday evening.

>78 Familyhistorian: Improve? Only in the sense of receding like in a rear view mirror. A truly terrible trip experience never becomes a fond memory.

I did like the Curiosity Shop in Seattle, that was grossly gorgeous.

>80 quondame: Sometimes the fact that you could be with the people makes up for the horrendous trip, even if it isn't a fond memory.

75. The Milkman's Son by Randy Lindsay



It wasn’t until I entered the title in LT that I found out The Milkman’s Son was a reread. Randy’s story of taking a DNA test to further his research of the Lindsay family line only to find that he wasn’t his father’s son was an interesting one. He was lucky because the new family he found were welcoming and the family he grew up with still considered him to be their brother/son.

>81 Familyhistorian: Ah! While I appreciate all the members of my nuclear family, I believe they ultimately fostered my drive to be left alone. They were always best taken at most 2 at a time, but that was often excessive for me as I'd just bystand the battle for the duration.

>83 quondame: It sounds difficult but that you found a way to cope with your family that worked for you, Susan.

>84 Familyhistorian: They are or were all admirable people, but difficult, and rarely met an argument they didn't tackle. One of them absolutely had it in for me, so there were no circumstances that being trapped in the back seat with that sibling could have lead to fond feelings. But also went on to do important work in the world.

>I checked you blog . . . I sure love your approach to the subject, subject also very dear to me I must add.

>85 quondame: A kicker to realize that people who gave you grief can do good in the world, Susan.

>86 plaris: Thanks re the blog, Plaris. Family history can be very interesting and absorbing as well as time consuming!

76. by Mariam Toews

The Flying Troutmans

With all of the posts about family trips I had to wonder what the universe was telling me when my in person book club’s pick was The Flying Troutmans. When Hattie’s sister Min, was in hospital due to psychosis, it was up to Hattie to look after Min’s two kids who were in their teens with issues of their own. Hattie’s solution was a road trip to find their father. Now that was a strange and sketchy trek!

It took me a while to read this one because I don’t like reading about the fallout on families from psychosis. Been there, done that, don’t need to dwell.

I'm not sure what is happening but life has gotten quite busy lately. Maybe its because of Spring. I barely had time to write my blog post yesterday between the PoCo Heritage board meeting and meeting a friend for a walk. We were going down one path when we spotted a black bear coming towards us and decided to back track and take another path.

Later in the evening was my in person book club. It's always nice to meet up with that group of ladies. I was tired when I got home but had to get up this morning in time to meet another couple of friends to do the Coquitlam Crunch.

It's good to be home now to relax. But do have a looming deadline for a BCGS newsletter article so better start that this afternoon. There's always something!

77. Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K.J. Parker



The story in Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City took the reader back to the time when walls were meant to keep enemies out of cities. Medieval times when sieges were a large part of warfare. It was the unlikely hero, Orhan, the leader of the engineers and a milkface, who was looked down upon by the majority of the populous. As the army had fled it was up to Orhan to figure out ways to defend the people left behind in the city. His antics kept the story interesting.

Despite being so busy, Meg , you sure manage to read a lot of books! I had great walk today, and I always think I live in the most beautiful place( except when it rains a lot in the winter) . But no Coquitlam Crunch in Richmond. Just good old flat lands. I'm sure you are in great shape. I like wise had no luck finding The Maiden in the library. Amazon has it in hardcover now, but I ordered mine from Blackwell's in the UK.

>92 vancouverdeb: Hi Deborah, I'm getting to the books quickly because many of them are library holds with people waiting. Those holds keep coming in too. Lots of hills to climb around this part of the Lower Mainland. That's probably part of the reason there are so many bears.

I can wait to read The Maiden. I have a feeling it will get to our libraries sooner or later.

78. Woman, Captain, Rebel: The Extraordinary True Story of a Daring Icelandic Sea Captain by Margaret Willson



Another prompt from a book club, this time an online one, had me picking up Woman, Captain, Rebel: The Extraordinary True Story of a Daring Icelandic Sea Captain. This was a retelling of the life of a woman who became the captain of a fishing vessel (think 6 or 8 seater row boats).

Researchers were able to find out a lot about the woman who lived in 18th century Iceland and the narrative was interesting not just because of the woman’s story at a time when stories of adventurous women are few and far between, but also due to the glimpse of life on Iceland during this time period.

>94 Familyhistorian: That one sounds interesting Meg!

>91 Familyhistorian: Parker's got a lot of fans out there. This title has always kept me intrigued to find out about it but never quite propelled it to the front of the queue. You're keeping the pot on the fire....

Congrats on zipping past the goal!

>91 Familyhistorian: I was a sucker for this cover and title. Total impulse purchase that's been on my "shelf" since 2020. So many unread books. So many of them in my apartment.

Yay! You've made it to the high 70s! Congratulations!

>95 mdoris: It was good, Mary, and surprising how much information they were able to find about the woman's life.

>96 richardderus: I borrowed it from the library, Richard. Aren't you always saying that we should patronize our local library?

>97 drneutron: Thanks Jim! It's the pressure of all those library holds.

>98 ReneeMarie: I know what that feels like, ReneeMarie. The book stacks are threatening to take over here. Every year I hope to move more along but more and more of the books that I read come from the library. Those get read because there's a deadline on them. Maybe that's what's needed for our own tomes.

>99 quondame: Thanks, Susan!

79. Something Under the Bed is Drooling by Bill Watterson



It has been a while since my last visit with Calvin and Hobbes. Something Under the Bed is Drooling reminded me of the magic of these cartoons. My imagination shudders at the thought of dealing with a child like Calvin but it’s fun to follow the adventures that he and Hobbes get up to.

My latest puzzle may have only been 500 pieces but it was a challenge.

Ohh, that is gorgeous , Meg! I bet it was a challenge with no real defined areas of colour. What brand is that ? I'll maybe upload a puzzle I finished a several days ago later this evening, or tomorrow. I am currently working on a 1500 piece puzzle, Heye, and it fun, but challenging. I couldn't put all of the edge pieces together - too much green and blue. So I have done most of the edge and am now just working on sections in the centre. It's not often I can't get the edge together.

I finally figured out how to size my pictures, so I don't have to put a huge image of my puzzle of my thread - I hope! :-)

>106 Familyhistorian: WOW!

>105 Familyhistorian: One of the best Calvin & Hobbes collections, imo. I think we have them all.

>107 vancouverdeb: It's a SureLox puzzle. I think I picked it up at London Drugs. I wasn't able to put the edge on it together first, just the bottom where the path is. Your present puzzle sounds challenging, Deborah.

>108 mdoris: Thanks Mary. Do you do jigsaws?

>109 laytonwoman3rd: Hi Linda, the nudge to read that particular one came from lacomayflower's thread so I can well believe you have most of the Calvin & Hobbes collections.

>101 Familyhistorian: I am indeed, just unaccustomed to people taking my advice is all.

Wow - gorgeous puzzle, Meg. That must have taken a lot of concentration to piece together. Woman, Captain, Rebel sounds interesting so I've added it to my library list.

>113 richardderus: Well, to tell you the truth I already had a library habit before you gave your advice, Richard.

>11 Familyhistorian: Hi Meg, I did puzzles a long time ago but not so much anymore but it is tempting seeing everyone's enthusiasm about them. It seems enough for me to just keep up with my library book reading.

>114 DeltaQueen50: Hi Judy, I'm glad to see that I hit you with a BB. The puzzle did take a while to do but I enjoyed it.

>116 mdoris: Hi Mary, the pictures on the puzzles these days are much more fun than the older ones I have in my collection. I hear you about the library book reading. I'm not sure why the holds keep coming in so many at a time. It's a scramble to keep up.

>82 Familyhistorian: Belated congratulations on reaching 75, Meg!

Congratulations on reaching 75 books, Meg!

80. Death of a Dishonorable Gentleman by Tessa Arlen



The first of the Lady Monfort mysteries, Death of a Dishonorable Gentleman was set in England at a time when the power of the landed classes was diminishing. Gatherings in large country houses still happened, and guest were gathered for Lady Monfort’s annual costume ball. But the next day the body of Lord Monfort’s nephew was found murdered. Having seen her own son in an altercation with the nephew the day before, Lady Monfort was worried. What if he was blamed? She was determined to find out what had happened and, in a move cut across class barriers, enlisted her capable housekeeper, Mrs. Jackson, in her quest.

It was a fun mystery and I already have a library hold on the next installment.

>119 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita, nice to have you drop in. Thanks re the 75 read goal!

>120 vancouverdeb: Thanks Deborah. The library holds keep coming in so I find I'm reading faster. Now if I could just keep up with my reviews.

81. Nobody's Sweetheart Now by Maggie Robinson



I read the second book in the Lady Adelaide mysteries first and, in the first pages of Nobody’s Sweetheart Now, it took me a while to get into the mindset that this was the introductory novel. This story was set in the country. Having updated the country home she inherited from her straying spouse, Addie invited people for a weekend house party. All was going swimmingly until a naked dead woman was found in her barn. The local police called in the Yard, bringing in Inspector Devanand Hunter and giving Addie second thoughts about her guests.

In these mysteries the ghost of Addie’s philandering husband pops up from time to time with commentary and clues. Only Addie can see him and often has to pretend to be talking to herself when she responds to him but he adds humour especially when commenting on the men she has her eye on, like the Anglo-Indian police inspector and Lord Lucas Waring, a somewhat pompous suitor she has known since childhood.

Hi Meg my dear, belated congratulations on reaching 75 books read for the year so far dear friend.

>125 johnsimpson: Hi John, thanks re the 75. I hope that things are going well for you and that you are getting more sleep!

>112 Familyhistorian: She'll be happy to hear that, Meg! Actually, I should have said we used to have them all; there are still a few here, but I think lycomayflower has most of them at her house these days.

>127 laytonwoman3rd: It's funny how the drifting of collections happens. I envy you for having offspring to share your love of reading with. Mine isn't into books.

>126 Familyhistorian:, Hi Meg my dear, things are so so at the moment, trying to find the time to get on here is mad, i am trying to do as much reading as i can but with everything that is going on, it is a trial. I am waiting for my MRI results to come back but in the meantime my pain levels are so annoying. I am not going to bore you with them as we all have our issues to deal with and to be honest i feel that if i harp on about it, it feels as if i am boring all the good folks on here. As i type i feel a little bit down but i think it is a combination of the continual wet weather here, my pain issues and the family issues and they are all tiring me out. Love and hugs my dear friend, without you all on here and Karen by my side, i think i would crumble.

>1 Familyhistorian: What a wonderful pink!

Congrats on reading 75 books!

>128 Familyhistorian: I am thrilled to have raised a reader...can't imagine not yammering endlessly about books with Laura.

>129 johnsimpson: Hi John, family issues can be so hard to deal with and to have your own health issues on top is hard. It is so good that you have Karen's support. I hope that something eases up for you in one or more of the wearing areas soon.

>130 figsfromthistle: We have lots of cherry and plum blossom around so it's a pretty time of year, Anita. Thanks re the 75 reads.

>131 laytonwoman3rd: That sounds wonderful, Linda. I wish I could have passed on the reading gene.

Congrats on the 75, Meg. Not a chance in you-know-what that I'll get there this year...

>135 jessibud2: Thanks Shelley. As long as you are enjoying your reads the number read doesn't matter. Just take care of yourself.

That was fast

Wordle 1,044 2/6

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guide, prune

82. At First Spite by Olivia Dade



It seemed like a good idea when she was about to get married. Athena bought her intended the narrow add on to his house, a separate dwelling he’d coveted called a spite house. When he called off the wedding (mostly at his brother’s insistence) she was left high and dry. What else could she do? She had moved to a new town, quit her job and had nowhere else to stay. So she moved next door to her ex-fiancé and across the street from his brother. Not ideal.

At First Spite was an enemy to lovers story as Athena and the brother learned to like and depend on each other while the ex-fiancé nursed his “broken” heart in Hawaii on the honeymoon that Athena had planned.

I just spent the last three days at the BC Genealogy Society's library doing research. I'm a member of a sub-group in the society called the Questers. We usual try to hang out at the library one Sunday a month but once a year we hang out there for three days. It's a fun (at least to a bunch of family historians) time sharing finds, hints and gossip. I feel burnt out but got a lot done.

>139 Familyhistorian: What a wonderful group. I wish I could find something like that locally to get involved in!