Weird_O Bill's Magically Real ADD Library (2)

 
Books Read, as of March 31, 2024                 Books Read, as of February 20, 2024

Books I've read in Quarter Two, 2024

April 2024 (9 read)
32. Radiant: The Life and Line of Keith Haring, Brad Gooch. Finished 4/5/24.
33. The Singing Sands, Josephine Tey. Finished 4/9/24.
34. Shtum, Jem Lester. Finished 4/15/24.
35. How to Win an Information War, Peter Pomerantsev. Finished 4/16/24.
36. Eileen Gray: A House Under the Sun, Charlotte Malterre-Barthes & Zosia Dzierzawska. Finished 4/16/24.
37. Life: Classic Photographs: A Personal Interpretation, John Loengard. Finished 4/20/24.
38. Something Fresh, P. G. Wodehouse. Finished 4/22/24.
  The Arrest, Jonathan Lethem.
39. Death From a Top Hat, Clayton Rawson. Finished 4/28/24.
40. This Is Water, David Wallace Foster. Finished 4/29.24.

May 2024 (6 read)
41. A Pound of Paper: Confessions of a Book Addict, John Baxter. Finished 5/4/24.
42. The Case of the Baker Street Irregulars, Anthony Boucher. Finished 5/10/24.
43. Keith Haring, Jeffrey Deitch, Suzanne Geiss, and Julia Gruen. Finished 5/18/24.
44. I Must Be Dreaming, Roz Chast. Finished 5/19/24.
45. Our America: A Photographic History, Ken Burns. Finished 5/28/24.
46. Howl's Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones. Finished 5/29/24.

June 2024 (1 read)
47. Amphigorey Also, Edward Gorey. Finished 6/1/24.

Books I've Read in Quarter One, 2024

January 2024 (10 read)
1. About Alice, Calvin Trillin. Finished 1/1/24.  
2. Egon Schiele: 1890-1918: Desire and Decay, Wolfgang Georg Fischer. Finished 1/1/24.  
3. Time and Again, Jack Finney. Finished 1/7/24. 
4. Finna, Nino Cipri. Finished 1/15/24.  
5. Oranges, John McPhee. Finished 1/17/24.  
  The Innocents Abroad, Mark Twain.
6. The Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them, Elif Batuman. Finished 1/19/23. 
7. The Color of Magic, Terry Pratchett. Finished 1/26/24. 
8. Make Russia Great Again, Christopher Buckley. Finished 1/27/24. 
  Snark, David Denby.
9. The Light Fantastic, Terry Pratchett. Finished 1/30/24, 
10. The Discworld Graphic Novels: The Colour of Magic & The Light Fantastic, Terry Pratchett. Finished 1/31/24. 

February 2024 (9 read)
11. The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb, R. Crumb. Finished 2/4/24. 
12. Gun, with Occasional Music, Jonathan Lethem. Finished 2/8/24. 
13. Doisneau, Peter Hamilton. Finished 2/14/24. 
14. H. P. Lovecraft Tales of Horror*, H. P. Lovecraft. Finished 2/16/24. 
15. The Biggest Bear, Lynd Ward. Finished 2/18/24.  
16. Breakdowns: Portrait of the Artist as a Young %@&*!, Art Spiegelman. Finished 2/19/24. 
17. Redshirts: A Novel with Three Codas, John Scalzi. Finished 2/23/24. 
18. The Iron Man, Ted Hughes; illustrations by Chris Mould. Finished 2/24/24.  
19. Lethal White, Jo-Bob Rowling-Galbraith. Finished 2/29/24. 

* The Touchstone for this book is kinda sorta beyond normal (yes, and even abnormal) access. It won't supply you with any useful info, so why bother? Just one of LT's quirks.

March 2024 (12 read)
20. Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer, Steven Millhauser. Finished 3/5/24. 
21. Answered Prayers, Truman Capote. Finished 3/11/24. not rated
22. A Commonplace Book of Pie, Kate Lebo; illustrations, Jessica Lynn Bonin. Finished 3/14/24. Tasty
23. Kafka, R. Crumb and David Zane Mairowitz. Finished 3/16/24. 
24. The Canary Trainer, Nicholas Meyer. Finished 3/17/24. 
25. More: A Memoir of Open Marriage, Molly Roden Winter. Finished 3/20/24. 
26. Judge This., Chip Kidd. Finished 3/21/24. 
27. Hench, Natalie Zina Walschots. Finished 3/25/2024. 
28. The Intuitionist, Colson Whitehead. Finished 3/27/24. 
29. Three Rocks: The Story of Ernie Bushmiller, the Man Who Created Nancy, Bill Griffith. Finished 3/28/24. 
30. Greenwich Village: A Guide to America's Legendary Left Bank, Judith Stonehill. Finished 3/29/24. SnackBook. 
31. The Muses Are Heard, Truman Capote. Finished 3/31/24. 

      

Porgy and Bess cast members often gathered a crowd. Before opening night, the entourage was taken to a movie. At intermission, there being no snack bar in the theater, Capote reported:

[M]ost of the “Porgy and Bess” company went to the Maryinsky’s café-salon, where refreshments were on sale—beer, liqueurs, raspberry soda, sandwiches, candy, and ice cream…Earl Bruce Jackson announced that he was starving. “But, man, that ice cream costs a dollar a lick,” he said. “And guess what they want for a little bitty piece of chocolate not as big as your toe? Five-fifty.” Ice cream, advertised by the Soviets as a delicacy of their own contriving, started to become a national passion in the U.S.S.R. in 1939, when American machinery was imported for making it.

I am going to post something magical...

But only if I am still content after my routine dental checkup. 

Hallo, Bill, and happy new thread.

>1 weird_O: and >3 weird_O: Lots of good books read here in Bill-land.

>5 weird_O: You’ve already posted 4 magical things. How’s that for sucking up?

Happy New Thread Bill!

Happy New Thread, Bill. Good luck at the dentist. How was your Easter? Quiet?

Happy new thread Bill!

Happy new thread, Bill

Happy New Thread!

>6 karenmarie: Thank you, Karen. I look at the stack from time to time and think, "There's an awful lot of SnackBook in there." Other times, I look at the list and ask myself, "Are you marking too hard?" I rue my self-doubt.

It's nice to get a pat on the back now and then.

Happy new thread, Bill!

Happy new one, Bill!

Neglect. It's one of my special characteristics. I'm inordinately skilled at it. So my apologies to those of you who stopped by and found no one here. Specifically, to Karenmarie, Lily, Mark, Susan, Paul, Jeff, Anita, and Jim.

I'm being scattered, working a bunch of books, putzing with bookshelves, pretending I'm cleaning out the garage. I did have the lawn mower/tractor hauled away to be mechanically tuned up for the mowing season, which is edging closer and closer... All that stuff.

Books: I finished Radiant: The Life and Line of Keith Haring yesterday. It wasn't as satisfying as I had hoped. I was very conscious of names being dropped. Haring was relentlessly active, partying when he wasn't painting. But the bio is very short on visuals, so I've been switching between Radiant and Keith Haring, a colossal (9" x 10", 522 pages) picture book. Haven't read all the text in the latter book yet. I'll be counting them as reads for the April 2024 AAC. Of course.

x           

Turning away from Haring, I'm engaged in Shtum, a novel about coping with a profoundly autistic 10-year-old, an alcoholic father, an absent mother, and a cranky grandfather. Leavening that with Josephine Tey's last mystery, The Singing Sands.

You did warn us that the April Fool's joke might be that there wasn't one...so well played!! Happy new one and I'm glad you're back. : )

I'm glad I was home, and even awake, this afternoon to witness the Great 2024 Eclipse. I was out on the deck at just the right time, and I caught some great photos. Here's one:

       

I'm looking forward to the next one, in 2044, just 20 years hence. Sneak it in before my 100th birthday. Yeehaaaa!

Hey! My picture is just as good as yours!! LOL

>17 weird_O:
You don't have to wait that long. The next solar eclipse is October 2, 2024. It will be visible in parts of South America, the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, and Antarctica. If you go to South America you might not even have to change time zones to see it.

After that the next full eclipse will be in 2026 and visible in Greenland, Iceland, Spain, and Russia.

If you want to see it from your back porch you will have to wait, but seeing a solar eclipse is not that hard to do because they occur about every 18 months.

>17 weird_O: I hope to goodness I'll be dead and gone by then myownself. You do you, though.

Bummer, you got cloudy skies yesterday, Bill. Us folks in Illinois got lucky with mostly clear skies.

Got to do that happy dance today. A slot opened up, and I'll be seeing a hearing-aid magician in a couple of weeks, instead of mid-May. Hooray for me.

Wow! I can hear better already.

>22 weird_O: Excellent news, Bill!

>22 weird_O: Hurray!! That's good news. : )

>22 weird_O: Crossing my crossable parts that it will be a success.

Best of wishes with the hearing aid.

>19 benitastrnad: A world traveller I am not, Benita. I believe that the whirlwind tour of Copenhagen, Amsterdam, and Dublin I got to tag along on two years ago is likely to be the last. Not sufficiently adventurous to go to Central or South America. Iceland or Greenland or Spain, yes; Russia never.

>20 richardderus: I don't really envision me viewing that 2045 eclipse. TBH.

>21 msf59: Luck of climate change, Mark. Some acquaintances in my community did get glimpses of the eclipse through fleeting breaks in the cloud cover. I missed it, but I've experienced greater disappointments in my life.

>23 lauralkeet:, >24 Berly:, >25 richardderus:, >26 elorin:: Thankies for the good wishes. A friend demo'ed his hearing aids and phone apt. I couldn't hear any change as he tweaked the settings, but I'd bet that if the little gizmos were in MY ears, I would have. I am not at all adept with my cell, so I will have to see (or hear).

Working those income taxes.

Still reading Keith Haring, that pink colossus (see >15 weird_O:) which isn't a bedtime read, given its girth. About halfway through Shtum, an awfully melancholy story, and I have a firm beachhead in How to Win an Information War. To infinity...and BEYOND.

My sister has those wonderful hearing aids and loves them. She can even talk on her phone using the hearing aids. They have become sort of an all-purpose gizmo for her. Sort of like her phone. However, she has learned that she has to have a very expensive phone or the quality of her hearing goes down.

She is a school teacher and found that she was having trouble dealing with kids in class because she couldn't hear what direction the sound was coming from. Getting the hearing aids revived her career. She loves the hearing aids because she loves teaching 10th grade English.

>27 weird_O:
You might find that if you didn't do a whirlwind tour of three cities in Europe you would still like to travel. I would also bet that with the hearing aids you will love travel again. I find that I like to travel solo. I get to make all the decisions about when and where I go. I can go at my own speed, which is slower than it was. I take more time to really see things. Travel by your own self might be a better way to go.

Also, if you have the money for it, a friend recommended to me those wonderful boat tours available in parts of Europe. You can get on and off when you want to, and don't have to lug luggage around with you. Plus, she said that the food was great.

>27 weird_O: You will always be welcome to visit either Malaysia or the UK depending upon where I am at any given time, Bill. My place in Malaysia has four bedrooms and very rarely more than two of them occupied.

Made it to Sunday, pretty much unscathed. The Fed Tax I have mailed, and the state tax is posted beside the door, for to be mailed today or tomorrow. The mower is back, all tuned and sharpened, but I'm holding out until May Day for the mowing to commence to begin. My next project is cued up.

The happy-proud news is that Classics Claire has chosen Stanford U. for graduate studies. She'll start in September.

I am reading still about life with an autistic adolescent (Shtum) and about propaganda (How to Win an Information War). With the library table cleared off (well, mostly cleared off), I'll be able to deal with that gargantuan Keith Haring art book. A self-reward, due to land on the porch Monday, is a package containing a graphic biography of Eileen Gray, a pioneering 20th century Irish-born architect; Double Fold: Libraries and the Assault on Paper by Nicholson Baker; and Something Fresh, a Wodehouse SnackBook.
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>23 lauralkeet:, >24 Berly:, >25 richardderus:, >26 elorin: >28 benitastrnad: Thanks to all. Your tips from your sister, Benita, give me pause regarding the phone ap. My phone is an elderly Google Pixel; I'll just hope it will be adequate, and cope if it is not.

>29 benitastrnad: >30 PaulCranswick: I do appreciate the offer, Paul. And the suggestions, Benita. But my travelling companion of 50 years is gone, and I'm not at all tempted by tours or cruises. I'm content to be a hermit.

>31 weird_O: My wife was tested and qualifies for hearing aids but the quoted price is impossible. I have hope of better coverage with new insurance. I hope your experience is better and they improve your quality of life!

Happy new thread, Bill!

>31 weird_O: That is lovely, Bill, that you don't want to go without your much loved traveling companion of 30 years.

>34 PaulCranswick: ...traveling companion of 30 years Typo! 50 years. 50. Don't want to be cheated out of 20 of those years of traveling with my honey.

>32 elorin: I'm Medicare age, and I have Medicare advantage insurance. I know these miniscule items cost a bloody fortune, but another week will reveal to me what my OOP share will cost.

>33 bell7: Thanks, Mary.

-----------------------

Finished Shtum and hour or so ago. It was very good. Tough going, but I think it's a worthy read, especially if, like me, you have an autistic child in your family. In this story, three generations (actually, I guess, four) have multiple "carry-around" bags to unpack to achieve peace. Shtum means in Yiddish silent or mute.

I am more than halfway through How to Win an Information War by Peter Pomerantsev. Oh, and I have established a solid beachhead in that image-rich Keith Haring doorstop.

The Amazon emissary DID visit my house with my three-book award for being an amazing guy. (I don't know of a more deserving fellow.)

Double Fold: Libraries and the Assault on Paper, Nicholson Baker
Something Fresh, P. G. Wodehouse.
Eileen Gray: A House Under the Sun, Charlotte Malterre-Barthes & Zosia Dzierzawska.

Slainte!

     

The view from the deck, April 23, 2024. Could it be Spring?

Howdy, Bill. Happy Wednesday! Love the deck view. That is perfect. Congrats on the hearing aids. I have been wearing them for more than a decade. How are those books treating you?

That's a beautiful view of spring from your deck. Thanks for sharing it.

>36 weird_O: very pretty, Bill. Looks like a nice spot to sit and read, too.

>37 msf59:, >38 ffortsa:, >39 lauralkeet: It is a happy place, that deck.

Reading's kind of stalled. I got about 50 pages into Jonathan Lethem's odd novel called The Arrest and have called it quits. I'm disappointed. Vexed because I had two Lethems on the shelf. Choosing unwisely, I left The Feral Detective in favor of The Arrest. It's a

The other book I've been reading, Double Fold: Libraries and the Assault on Paper is depressing to me. The great libraries of the U. S. (and elsewhere) have methodically trashed their archives of newspapers in favor of microfilm of them.

So I'll reach out my hand and seize something off a shelf. Choose wisely, Hand, and pluck something worthy of my attention!

Great view, Bill! It looks like spring to me. I hope you find something worthy of your attention soon.

>36 weird_O: Beautiful shot of a lovely view! I bet you spend a fair amount of time out on the deck!

Hope you find some good reading soon to make up for your DNF.

Karen O

>36 weird_O: What a peaceful, pleasant vista to walk out on whenever you like! That redbud's especially well-sited.

Bill and Mark > what is the latest ballpark cost for decent hearing aids?

The damn things ain't cheap, Marianne. The pitchlady gave me a four-tier price list. The lowest price gadget is $2,000, per ear. Top of the line is $3,400, per ear. For me, getting the high end hearing aid would also entail buying a new cell phone, because adjustments are made via cell. It is a big expense for the likes of me—and I believe you are a few months older than me—because I just might pop off at any time. I'd prefer not to put down the BIG money, only to "expire" before getting much use out of the investment.

        

        Library expansion is underway. 4-23-24.

>45 weird_O: Oh dear. Once you expire you won't care what the expense was. While you are able to hear, hearing well is worth what really works for you. Which may not be $3400 per ear, but if it won't shorten you life or make you live on peanut butter, go for what works the best for you!

That may be nothing, after all, who wants to hear what most people are yammering on about.

>46 weird_O: Wow! And so much room to expand. Paradise!

>41 vancouverdeb: I have no worries about DNFing that Lethem book, Deborah, but I'm not giving up on Mr. Baker. I did pluck a 1938 murder mystery from the TBR. Death from a Top Hat by Clayton Rawson, rescued from retirement and republished in 2018 by Otto Penzler, proprietor of The Mysterious Bookstore in, where else, New York City. I passed the halfway point last night. I should finish it tomorrow, then we'll see what will follow.

>42 klobrien2: I should get an umbrella. The deck faces south, which means it basks in full sun most of the day. As I wrote to Deborah, it did pick murder mystery, and I'm halfway through it. Of course, that foreshadows another choice to be made tomorrow. :-) I have a "few" items in the TBR warehouse.

>43 richardderus: Thanks, Richard. I feel blessed to have this as my home. No redbuds here. The tree that's centered in the photo, at the bottom of the hill, is a maple.

>47 quondame: Once you expire you won't care what the expense was. That's sensible, Susan. With better hearing, I'll be able to hear Death skulking about and make my escape. Yeah! That's the ticket.

Actually, the high end hearing aids can do (I think) everything earbuds do.

Yes, room to expand. I've got boxes and boxes of books that need a shelf under them. At this time, I have five "boxes" standing in place, taking up the wall space to within inches of the light switch.

Bill, your view is wonderful, peaceful. An umbrella would be a great addition.

I have also been thinking about hearing aids. I don't think I need them yet but am beginning to wonder if they would only amplify the tinnitus I have lived with all my life. And if there is a way to find out, before shelling out the $$. Somehow, I don't quite believe the hearing aid people would tell me the truth if I suspect this could happen. That would impinge on a (big) sale, now, wouldn't it. So far, I'm holding out.

>50 jessibud2: As it was explained to me, tinnitus is centered in the brain, not the ear mechanisms, so it's unlikely that hearing aids would make it worse. In fact, if you hear more and better, it might even lessen the brain's need to 'make up' sounds. But I'm just a lay person. Speak to an ENT about it, not the vendor.

"Speak to an ENT about it, not the vendor." Excellent advice. My mother had tinnitus, and was deaf in one ear. She did a 30 day trial of a hearing aid in her one good ear, and nearly everything the vendor told her it would do for her, it did NOT. She was able to return them without cost, at the end of the trial. Naturally everyone's condition is individual, and this was probably 10 years ago now, so the technology is likely different now. My MIL is having very good results with tiny devices from HearUSA, for what that's worth.

I am a big advocate for hearing aids. They do cost alot, but the cost is coming down, thanks to the Biden Administrations pressure on the industry. The VA is also in the getting the cost down game. My mother had hearing aids, and my sister has had hearing aids for about 10 years. She got them in her late 50's. Both people said that hearing aids will change your life. My recommendation is getting them sooner rather than later is a good thing. People make much more sense if you can hear what they are saying and those around you will appreciate the lowering of the volume on all sorts of things - like the radio, the TV, and will appreciate the fact that they no longer have to yell to be heard. Good hearing relaxes so many things.

Oh - and managing them on your cell phone is easier than you think. You can even talk on the phone via your hearing aids! It is amazing what those little things can do.

Whoa! It's April 30 already. The reading month est fini. I didn't finish a lot of books, but what I did read was pretty choice. See the list:

Radiant: The Life and Line of Keith Haring, Brad Gooch.
The Singing Sands, Josephine Tey.
Shtum, Jem Lester.
How to Win an Information War, Peter Pomerantsev.
Eileen Gray: A House Under the Sun, Charlotte Malterre-Barthes & Zosia Dzierzawska.
Life: Classic Photographs: A Personal Interpretation, John Loengard.
Something Fresh, P. G. Wodehouse.
Death From a Top Hat, Clayton Rawson.
This Is Water, David Foster Wallace.

I see that today is Joseph Heller's birthday. Born in 1923. Also Terry Southern (1924), Bobbie Ann Mason (1940), cartoonist Robert Mankoff (1944), and photographer Sally Mann (1951).

But I'm drifting. Heller's magnum opus is Catch-22, of course. Written in the late '50s and published in 1961. Yesterday I saw this very topical connection.

It was miraculous. It was almost no trick at all, he saw, to turn vice into virtue and slander into truth, impotence into abstinence, arrogance into humility, plunder into philanthropy, thievery into honor, blasphemy into wisdom, brutality into patriotism, and sadism into justice. Anybody could do it; it required no brains at all. It merely required no character.

            

I got two substantial books started yesterday. The larger is Up in the Old Hotel, a collection (in a mere 715 pages) of Joseph Mitchell's writings. His work was published in The New Yorker. A lot of it is archetypal of the magazine's stories, some nonfiction, some fiction, and some a mix. This book is for my enjoyment. but also for the May AAC honoree.

The second volume is A Pound of Paper: Confessions of a Book Addict by John Baxter. First published in 2002, it tops out at 417 pages. I think it travels the same terrain as A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books by Nicholas Basbanes, a book given to me by Songstream, my Christmas swappee. (Ha. When I unwrapped it, I was startled by its size; the text alone is 533 pages, with back matter boosting the page count of 638. I took various people's word it was excellent and added it to The WANT! List™, without regard for length.) I've read part of the first chapter, and I do intend to finish that chapter. And perhaps the other chapters as well.

I promised (who? I guess myself) that I'd mow today, May 1, for the first time in 2024. Gotta go.

>55 weird_O: I rarely pulled an all-nighter in college, but I did stay up 'til nearly 4 a.m. reading Catch-22, and it was not for a class.

>55 weird_O: How to inspire The Democratic Party to use those sentences...?

>55 weird_O: Since I have a regrettable penchant for inaccuracy, I spent time googling the quote ascribed to Catch-22. Took quite a while, but I finally tracked it down. In the 50th anniversary edition (paperback), it appears on page 363. It's attributed to an unnamed chaplain who has "mastered, in a moment of divine intuition, the handy technique of protective rationalization..." To avoid being assigned to duty in harm's way, he concocts a non-existent strain of shingles and negotiates an "understanding" with the medical corps. It's a lie and thus a sin. But he is exhilarated.

Protective rationalization. I think it is embraced by an awful lot of us, not just you-know-who.

I checked my records and found that the last time I read Catch-22 was in January 2012. Am I due?

>36 weird_O: What a beautiful view!

>46 weird_O: My library expansion is pretty much my entire house - and I cannot afford another one. Good luck with yours!

>56 weird_O: I love A Gentle Madness so, of course, I hope you do too.

>59 weird_O: I just finished a book the other day that I last read in 2007. You could wait 5 more years if you want, right?

Have a wonderful weekend, Bill!

>59 weird_O:
I think that Catch-22 is one of those books that you can read over and over and find new things in it each time.

I rarely reread books but I did this last week. I reread a book that I picked up at the library. When I went to enter into LT that I had started it, I discovered that I had read it in September 2021. I don't remember ever reading that book. So, I read it again. I enjoyed it. I hope that I remember it this time. There is going to be a sequel to it that will be published in March 2025. It makes me wonder where my brain was in September 2021.

Happy Friday, Bill. Hooray for the library expansion. I am sure you will fill it immediately. 😁

>55 weird_O: Love it! Perfect.

Benita: Here's a history of the efforts to ban The Chocolate War from schools and libraries. I recall your vigorous defence of the book. From the NYTimes. The biggest ruckus was in Panama City in Florida's panhandle. This is a gift link, so anyone can click on the link and read the entire piece.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/01/books/booksupdate/book-ban-chocolate-war-corm...

        

>63 weird_O: Many thousands of years ago I was the production manager of Delacorte BFYR, Cormier's publisher. Every so often, even then, rumbles would be heard about this book. Ordering reprints was sometimes...fraught. The haters have been hatin' for, like, ever. Good article, thank you!

I love the Chocolate War and its sequels and have, and will, defend its presence in school and public libraries. It is a very good book with an important message.

A few months ago my neighbor in little Munden, Kansas showed up at my door. He was selling chocolates for his school. I asked him why he was selling chocolates. He explained in great detail for a Kindergartener, what the money raised was going to be used for. (field trips and classroom materials) I told him that I didn't think I was going to buy the chocolates because I had paid my taxes already. I went on to tell him that he should "disturb the universe" and tell his teachers that rather than sell chocolates they should ask that taxes be raised. The poor kid was puzzled by this and asked me why. I told him that when Kindergarteners are told to sell chocolates to support the school that is an indication that our taxes are too low and we should be ashamed of ourselves as a country that we ask children to shill for the schools and us. I told him that he should disturb the universe and refuse to sell the chocolates. He gave me a quizzical look and asked me why I kept saying that. I then explained to him about the book The Chocolate War and told him that when he was a little older he and I would read the book together because it was about some important truths about selling chocolates and disturbing the universe.

It is not a cheery book, but it is an important book for kids and should be on our school and public libraries book shelves for many many years.

Thank you for making the NY Times story available to me. UA has recently announced that the NY Times will be available in the digital format to all UA faculty, staff, and students with an active account. I am going to try to find out if I, as a retiree, qualify for that perk.

>63 weird_O: Thanks for sharing that link, Bill. This should be EVERYBODY's fight. People who are in favor of banning books don't realize they are digging their own graves, perhaps literally. I just checked and our library system has multiple copies of The Chocolate War in several formats. I put in a hold request, to give it a circulation boost (I have no idea whether that's needed, but it can't hurt). I might even read it again.

I can tell you this: I don't know what to tell you. Hmmm.

Been absent too long. I've been in a scattered phase. Yesterday, I plunged into updating my 2024 reading records. Minor mixups. I neglected to record This Is Water: Some Thoughts Delivered on a Significant Occasion, about Living a Compassionate Life by David Foster Wallace, which was the last "book" I read in April. Number 40, if you're keeping score. Book is in quotes there, because This Is Water is the commencement remarks of Foster at the 2005 Kenyon College graduation. Puffed up into a tiny book by putting a single sentence on a page. A single sentence like "Never feel you have enough" (page 104) and "It's the truth" (page 105). Not every page, not every sentence, mind you, but often. It's like endowing each sentence with significance, whispering in the pause "Let that sink in."¹ (I should have listened to the audio version.)

           

Okay.

Then... I recorded A Pound of Paper: Confessions of a Book Addict as book number 41 for the year and as the first read of May.

What the next book to go on the list is depends upon what I finish next. I'm rotating amongst Keith Haring (on page 292 of 522), Up in the Old Hotel (on page 152 of 718 pages), and The Case of the Baker Street Irregulars (page 51 of 310). I suggest you put your money on the last of the three.

¹ Since this is DWF, I must have at least one footnote. Here: Though I'm snarking about inflating (overinflating?) a brief talk into a BOOK, I'm nonetheless counting it as a BOOK in my reading stats. Purity.

I've been sorting lately. Setting down a list of chores, checking various lists of books, pondering the meaning of life…skrawch%@&ding-ding-ding. Ok, not that last thing. Monty Python settled that!

I did complete The Case of the Baker Street Irregulars by Anthony Boucher (pronounced to rhyme with voucher), which was published on the cusp of WWII, passed out-of-print, then was returned to print in 2020, thanks to Otto Penzler. What a hoot for those reasonably familiar with Conan Doyle's original stories.

I'm still working through Keith Haring (now on page 308 of 522) and Up in the Old Hotel (page 164 of 718). Double Fold by Nicholson Baker is still in play, but not too actively (page 48 of 370). Coincidentally, I've come across mention of at least two other Baker books that I didn't know about, and of course I don't remember. the titles. (WHAT do you expect from me!!! That guy in the space suit pulled out all those…Drifting away again. Sorry.)

Among the lists I'm typing (into the great void):

• The New York Times Annual "Editor's Choice" Books since 2000.
• The tour books of David Damrosch's Around the World in 80 Books.
• Update (and perhaps consolidate) various crime/mystery/sleuthing book lists. I have several of those.
• Nobel Laureates (with some representative book titles)
• Pulitzer Winners (in various categories)

Getting back to the library expansion is atop the "chores list". I got stymied by *%$@^* electrical outlets that exist and that I want to have access to. In a previous library project, I made a mess of it, and, by golly, I'm still mess-prone.

Well, that's enough. I was counseled by an art director I worked with for decades: Don't make your to-do list too detailed. Otherwise, it will prevent you from doing anything.

>68 weird_O: I thought that was Douglas Adams.

>69 quondame: Well, yeah. He's another one

I expect I should reply. I have always tended to neglect obligations when I get off on a tear. Like, I just found out that there's a book sale Wednesday. I've skipped these sales so far this year; don't want to miss another.

>68 weird_O: Certainly excellent reading going on! Hope it keeps up.

>71 richardderus: Hope it keeps up. Yeah, me too.

Leaving soon for The Book Sale. See what I find on offer. I have let this sale control my doings for the last few days. Will I find some compelling read that will bring focus and joy to my reading? Well, I don't want to get into some book that's substandard, because, you know, that really good book is waiting for me—I think I hear it calling (and only I can hear it)—down there in the sale room.

What crap! :-) I'll go and see what's there, then get back to some fun book I already have. I'm almost done with Keith Haring.

Back to reality.

Happy Wednesday, Bill. Good luck at the book sale. I wonder if we will see a bit of restraint this time, although that is probably very unlikely. 😁

>73 weird_O: *popcorn bowl*

Can't wait to see what you're coming home with.

Bill--Love your spring trees blooming / Intrigued by The Chocolate Wars / Good luck on the library expansion / I just can't stand to see rump's face - ever / and hurray for a book sale!! Happy Wednesday.

Without further ado, I give to you a list and photo of my proceeds from yesterday's used-book shopping:

May 15, 2024: Bethlehem Area Public Library book sale

---

Mr. Stone and the Knight's Companion, V. S. Naipaul (mmp)
The Mimic Men, V. S. Naipaul (mmp)
The Siberian Dilemma, Martin Cruz Smith (pbk)
The Return of the Pharaoh, Nicholas Meyer (pbk)
John Barleycorn, Jack London (pbk)
The Man Who Loved Books Too Much, Allison Hoover Bartlett (pbk)
All the Colors We Will See, Patrice Gopo (pbk)
A Dog's Journey, W. Bruce Cameron (pbk)
We Are Never Meeting in Real Life: Essays, Samantha Irby (pbk)
The Afterlife and other stories, John Updike (hc)
Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making, Tony Fadell (hc no
jacket)
Fairy Tales of New York, J. P. Donleavy (hc)
Hallowe'en Party, Agatha Christie (hc)
Slightly Chipped: Footnotes in Booklore, Lawrence & Nancy Goldstone (hc)
Big Sky, Kate Atkinson (hc)
I Must Be Dreaming, Roz Chast (hc)
Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brother, Deborah Heiligman (hc)
Being Henry: The Fonz…and Beyond, Henry Winkler (hc)
Tom Lake, Ann Patchett (hc)
Dissident Gardens, Jonathan Lethem (hc)
The Lost Painting: The Quest for a Caravaggio Masterpiece, Jonathan Harr (hc)
The Covenant of Water, Abraham Verghese (hc)
Advocate: A Graphic Memoir of Family, Community, and the Fight for Environmental Justice, Eddie Ahn (hc)
The Marriage Portrait, Maggie O'Farrell (hc)
René Magritte, David Sylvester (hc, A⸱D⸱P)
In the Shadow of No Towers, Art Spiegelman (hc, A⸱D⸱P, oversize)
A Photographer's Life: 1990-2005, Annie Liebovitz (hc, A⸱D⸱P, oversize)
Our America: A Photographic History, Ken Burns (hc, A⸱D⸱P, oversize)

Bonus! My shopping companion was culling her holdings. (Pfft! Why her husband won't expand their library's shelving is incomprehensible to me.)

May 15, 2024: Gig's Deaccession Give-away, Schnecksville

---

Home: American Writers Remember Rooms of Their Own, edited by Sharon Sloan
Fiffer and Stevve Fiffer (pbk)
War on Peace: The End of Diplomacy and the Decline of American Influence, Ronan Farrow (hc)
Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin's War on America and the Election of Donald Trump, Michael Isikoff and David Corn (hc)
Apeirogon, Colum McCann (hc)
Lady Macbeth, Susan Fraser King (hc)

         

>78 weird_O: Your hauls, epic, lovely, envy-inducing; your musings on Gig's husband's pusillanimity, generous to a fault.

Hooray for you on this very interesting collection.

Weird_0 - Your bargain shopping is a true inspiration for those of us living on Social Security or Pensions

who save the LT New Book Reviews for Abe.com, Book, and Garage Sales!

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

I've read A Dog's Journey (on save shelf), Covenant of Water (it's not Quequeg at the mast end of Moby-dick), Vincent and Theo (similar book), and The Fonz (odd fun).

>77 weird_O:
I really liked Vincent and Theo. It is a YA biography but it was very well done. Thorough and honest about both men and the lives they led. I think you will like this one and hopefully hand it off to another reader who will like it.

Your thread is filled with wonderful books -- those you read, those you purchased, those you hope to read -- what an incredible thread!

>74 msf59:, >75 richardderus:, >76 Berly: Thank you for the good wishes and support. I must say that I'm happy with the books I rescued. Already they've disrupted the daily discord. Shopping from a list is virtually impossible, and I'm comfortable plucking books that catch my eye and trigger something in my brain. Sometimes you're lucky, sometimes not.

Of course I experience some disenchantment if I check the LT reviews. For example, Agatha Christie's Hallowe'en Party revealed disappointed LT reviewers, demonstrating why I hadn't heard of it.

>79 richardderus: Thank you, Richard.

>80 m.belljackson: Your bargain shopping is a true inspiration for those of us living on Social Security or Pensions. That would be me, living on SS and a modest but defined benefit pension. I do what I can, viz. the four books you mention.

>81 benitastrnad: Re: Vincent and Theo. I didn't know it was tagged YA; so be it. It was one of those desired books that wasn't formalized by inclusion on The WANT! List™.

>82 Whisper1: Shucks, Linda. Thank you.

>84 weird_O:
Vincent and Theo is published by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR). The (BYR) stands for Books for Young Readers. The BYR portion of Henry Holt and Co. is a division of Henry Holt, which is owned by Macmillian. Vincent and Theo was a Printz Honor Book in 2018 and was a YALSA (Young Adult Library Service Association - part of ALA and membership is mostly YA librarians) Award for Excellence in Nonfiction winner in 2018. That is how the book came to my attention. I am/was a member of YALSA so I watched those lists very closely.

The book is a biography based on the letters that Vincent sent to Theo. Theo's letters to Vincent do not survive, so it is one sided in that respect. It is a very honest biography of the two men and their lives. It was the honesty about their lives that surprised me. There are parts of the lives of both men that would be controversial in today's society, but there was no glossing over details that might be controversial in YA literature in this book. (It is probably one of those books that won't get much reading time in Florida classrooms.) It was very well done and deserved all the accolades it accumulated. It is the kind of book that teachers in a classroom could use as a springboard for lots of lessons. (well - maybe not in today's educational environment, but ...) I think that Joe read it and liked it as well.

If you are on an reading binge about artists, I highly recommend this book. Lots of detail and information in it that made me rethink how I was placing Vincent Van Gogh in my hierarchy of painters. I now look at pictures of his paintings in a very different way than I did before reading this book. Now I would like to see his paintings in real life. I also wish that YA's could have that same reading experience but given today's environment I don't think this book will be given that opportunity to work its magic on them.

>85 benitastrnad: I don't think any painting or graphic art has moved me as much as my first views of Van Gogh originals.

Nice haul from the library sale, Bill! You got a lot of great books, a few I have read and many I not.

>85 benitastrnad:, >86 quondame: I was so disappointed to have missed the van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. The demand for tickets was so high, we should have reserved tickets a month or more before our trip. So I saw a few sketches by van Gogh exhibited in the Rijksmuseum. I'm still awaiting an opportunity to see originals in glorious color.

Vincent and Theo will improve my grasp of the artist's life. Possible present a timeline, yahda yahda. I definitely see that book as one of the top finds.

>87 vancouverdeb: It was a good sale, and I am happy—and stimulated—by what books I could rescue. I always seem to select some stinkers, and I did that this time too. Books not well-reviewed by LTers include Hallowe'en Party by Dame Agatha, The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett, Dissident Gardens by Jonathan Lethem. Then there's Kate Atkinson's Big Sky, which I already have. That one will go to a nearby Little Free Library. It all works out.

Weird - If you ever see a copy of THE LAND REMEMBERS by Ben Logan, be sure to pick it up = Five Stars, and More!!!!!

I completed my read of Keith Haring by Jeffrey Deitch, Suzanne Geiss, and Julia Gruen, a dazzling, gargantuan tome, compiled with the assistance of, and at the behest, of the Keith Haring Foundation. The visuals missing from Brad Gooch's recent bio are here.

Now viewing and reading Ken Burns' photographic history Our America. Some familiar images mixed with many images I don't think I've seen. The collection can be something of a puzzle. Each photo is black and white, presented on an all-black page, and identified only with a place name and a date. Gathered in the final 70 pages are extended captions, in which Burns identifies each photo, explaining a journalist's 5 W's: "who, what, when, where, and why." As you scan and study each photo, the puzzle is to figure out what significant event happened in that place and in that year. Without cheating and flipping to the captions. I can't do it.

I'm also enjoying Roz Chast's latest book, I Must Be Dreaming. Of this book the publisher's marketeers write:

Roz Chast illustrates her own dream world, a place that is sometimes creepy but always hilarious, accompanied by an illustrated tour through "Dream-Theory Land" guided by insights from poets, philosophers, and psychoanalysts alike.

On the back burner, for now, are Joe Mitchell's mammoth collection Up in the Old Hotel and Nicholson Baker's damning report on the techies' rampage through the world's library archives.

>90 weird_O: O Weird One, I strongly recommend a whim-and-mood approach to reading the Mitchell...it's a glorious candy-dish the less speed you use in reading it, and a bellyache of indigestible void-of-nutrition glop the more.

Keith Haring's early, yet drawn-out, death is one of the tragedies of Art. Picasso's long life, van Gogh's, Bazille's short ones, all warped the way Art grew. *sigh* Nothing says "getting old" louder than shouting at the clouds, does it?

Tips from a professional reader—Michael Dirda of the Washington Post. Here's a gift link, which escorts you past the paywall.

https://wapo.st/3UQl2T8

Spent Sunday tripping. Over my own feet. Things I planned to do didn't get done, or didn't get totally wrapped up. I'm sure you all experience those frustrating episodes. Monday is a new day.

Roz Chast's latest book is a hoot. I Must Be Dreaming is about—surprise!!—loopy dreams. I strolled through its pages, enjoying myself, recognizing many of the categories she's created:

Recurring Dreams
Celebrity Dreams
Nightmares
Food Dreams
Body Horror

Examples feature Chast's vocabulary of quirks and tics and HYSTERICS!! She's riding in a crowded bus. Naked! ...And no one notices.

Almost done with Ken Burns' Our America. I'm finding that some photo captions drift away from the specifics of the image, to dwell on some historic movement.

I've started reading Vincent and Theo.

Now I must set such stuff aside. Sand a bookcase "box", then apply another coat of finish. Then get outside to trim keeper trees, rooting out weed trees and bushes, and mowing the remaining plots of lawn. Some of the blasted vegetation has lots of fight, tearing at my flesh before succumbing to my mini-chain saw.

>77 weird_O: >78 weird_O: Great haul, Bill!

>92 weird_O: Thank you for that link. I am a big fan of Michael Dirda. I am using one of his books for a challenge this year.

Have a marvelous Monday!

>93 weird_O: - I really enjoyed the Ken Burns book. And thanks re the heads-up on the Chast. I am now officially in line for it from the library!

>92 weird_O: I must say I think a mere three hours a day reading would leave me far, far too available to be talked at, but otherwise found myself in good company with Mr. Dirda's ideas and crotchets even when not identically shared. Thank you, O Weird One.

>94 alcottacre: Thanks, Stasia. I am content. A couple of BIG photo collections, a couple of GNs, Roz Chast, Jack London on his alcoholism, Tom Lake, Henry Winkler.

I'm happy to share links to WaPo and the NYTimes. I see, by following your link, that Dirda has a lot of books in his portfolio.

>95 jessibud2: Nice to see your post, Shelley. I'm pleased with this Ken Burns, and I expect to finish it tonight. Glad to be of service regarding Roz Chast. She's special.

>96 richardderus: My current choreload limits my book-reading to about 3 hours in the evening. I dwell too long scanning news on line, too long being undecided, too long stumping in circles because one of my feet is nailed to the floor. But each day involves a degree of adventure. Always learning afresh stuff I used to know.

Oh, oh. Wait. I wanted to say that I added a couple titles to my library: Burn Book by Kara Swisher and Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. (It has been a week since I got any new-to-me books.)

>70 weird_O: Wait, you skipped a book sale?

>77 weird_O: What a great haul! Good think you didn't skip this one.

Happy Wednesday, Bill. Nice book haul. I see you showed your usual restraint. I have not heard of many of these titles but I loved Tom Lake and I NEED to get to The Covenant of Water.

I hope your reading is going well.

I'm going to jump on this opportunity to make the 100th post.

BAM! Done.

>97 weird_O: Oh oh oh...Howl's Moving Castle that most rereadable of books. I hope it brings you real reading joy.

I also noticed Howl's Moving Castle and thought about plumping it, but you beat me to it. It will be fun reading and I will end it there.

I've run across mentions of this book, RD, but I can't remember where or when. I saw it and bought it, a reward for not bawling and carrying on when my hair was cut. I did start reading, but I have other books that've been garnering well-deserved eyeblinks: Vincent and Theo, Our America, Double Fold. They'll all get attention.

Someday.

In the meantime, I saw what I want for my next birthday (in July).

>103 weird_O: Oh, VERY nice... I'll start taking up the collection. But you have to let me drive it once in a while.

Hi Bill.

>92 weird_O: Thanks for the link to the Dirda article.

>103 weird_O: Does it automatically come with speeding tickets?

>103 weird_O: It's a beauty in lines and color. If there is an open road anywhere around also probably a dream to drive.

>103 weird_O: Oh myyyy

Gorgeous!

>104 laytonwoman3rd: Linda, accruing behind-the-wheel time could very easily negotiated. Stakes are high, time is short. How much ya got?

>105 karenmarie: No no no. Speeding tickets don't stick to it. It's got that Stealth technology, so radar doesn't see it. Too, a Teflon membrane protects the surfaces to prevent papers, tickets, citations, or even advertising fliers from bonding, not even under the windshield wipers.

>107 quondame: We still have some open roads, those with hills, curves, and the occasional moo cow. Where I live, the high school is traditionally closed on the first day of deer season. Seniors drive the family tractor to school at the end of the year.

Where I live they use the family tractor as transportation to the prom.

Interesting, Benita. How far do the prom-goers travel to get to the event? I picture (right or wrong) Kansas as being sparsely populated, with students having to travel substantial distances to get to school. How long is the trip at tractor-speed?

Here it is, Memorial Day, and so far as I know, the pool hasn't yet opened. But it's overcast and cool and breezy. (And just now, it's beginning to rain; no thunder or lightning.) A dip the the pool isn't enticing.

I'm fretting about my personal home reading program, which seems to be in somewhat lacking in focus. (I think I say this all too often. Note to me: Shaddup up about it already! Possible remedy: Cuppa joe and a smack in the face.)

• Our America: I'm close to completing this very interesting book.

• Howl's Moving Castle and Vincent and Theo are vying for the most attention. Switching back and forth and looking for the hook in one or the other that'll take control of me and keep me up until the last page is ingested and digested.

• Double Fold and something something that I've dipped into are patiently, quietly awaiting their turn under my eyes.

>111 weird_O:
Road gear for most tractors is now about 30-35 MPH. In Kansas each county is 36 miles by 36 miles. That means that the approximate time from the farthest reaches of the county is about 1 hour. Of course some of the roads here won't allow a person to travel that fast so it could take longer. Many of the students decorate their tractors or other vehicles (one couple came in a tractor driven by the boys father but the boy and the girl rode on a manure spreader.) The decorating is done in town because driving it that far in road gear destroys the decorations. The parade of students arriving at the prom is awaited with parents with cameras - all vying for the best place to take pictures. I was appalled when I heard that parents went to the prom to take pictures. I would have died of embarrassment if my parents had done that. But of course, we are living in the age of helicopter parents and children who are accustomed to parents making an ass of themselves by being overly involved with their children's love lives, sports lives, and civic engagement lives. The only place that parents seem to not be involved in their children's lives is when they are on social media.

Thanks for the info, Benita. Just what I wanted to know. I admit that we took prom pictures of all three of our kids. Not IN the prom venue, but dressed up and gathered for their trip to the dance.

>113 benitastrnad: I just read your post about attending your 50th reunion. So Munden, KS. I looked on the map, and all I can say is "Gorsh!" I drove across Kansas on I-70 (heading to Judi's sister's place in ColoSprgs). That would have been around 1975. We stopped on the way west to see Ike, but he wasn't at his library.

>114 weird_O: In good part, parents are now more protective of kids because of the drastic increase in dangers at schools.

>103 weird_O: Nice, Bill, lovely color!
Only the trouble getting in and out... Would have enjoyed it back in the days ;-)

Yay! I survived being scoped from top to bottom. As I expected the grueling part was flushing out the intestinal tract and having to forego eating for a day and a half. Now it's done, no issues arising.

I'm back at shelf-building, reading, and more pleasant activities. Might make mac'n'cheese for supper and for left-overs.

>118 weird_O: A dozen donuts, too. You've earned it.

>109 weird_O: It is a cool tradition, one that the local high school has ere as well. kinda neat to see tractors in the parking lot :)

I just wanna say: Trump's been convicted on all counts. What a loser! I wonder what his MAGA rant will be.

>118 weird_O: Well done, dear fellow. The things we have to go through just because we have gotten a bit older!

Hiya, Bill!

>118 weird_O: Congrats on no issues from the scoping. It’s always the prep that’s challenging.

I’m happy about the conviction on ALL counts. We’ll see if it prevents him from getting on ballots and/or MAGA idiots rioting or using guns on people.

        

        Keith Haring case on my new iPhone.

>124 weird_O: I like the case a lot! Haring's career would've been really interesting to see develop. He did a lot in next-to-no time at all and still brings joy to us all. Great legacy to leave, no?

That’s awesome!

>124 weird_O: I like the case! Good photo all around.

>124 weird_O: Love it!! And the visible bit of you, too. : ) Happy Rump was found guilty, but not sure it will prevent him from running at all. And he sure raked in the moola. Sigh.

Been remiss in replying to visitors...

>116 m.belljackson: I'm inclined to think that parents just want pictures of their kids' big events. I've been that way, and still am with granddaughters.

>117 FAMeulstee: I understand the access difficulty, Anita. More to the point, in the back of my mind I suspect that getting behind the wheel of a 21st century sportie-car will lead to my demise.

>119 richardderus: Not donuts specifically, but absolutely a treat. Priming the pump, so to speak.

>120 figsfromthistle: Not a universal tradition, of course, but where farming is a part of the community culture, yes!

>122 PaulCranswick: First time ever in my life, so I guess I was due. How about you, Paul?

>123 karenmarie: He really needs to end his time on earth sitting in a corner, face in, wearing a dunce hat.

>125 richardderus: Haring had a unique capability and energy. He crammed a lot into a short life. I can't imagine what he'd be up to now, at 71.

>126 drneutron: >127 elorin: >128 Berly: Oh yeah, oh yeah. :-)

Oh geez. I just noticed that it's June now. Where does the time go? I know just what you all need: a look at my 2024 book stack. I have read each book in the stack. January 1 through May 31. I know, yes I do, that for more than a few of you, this is a dwarfish stack. You are justified if you gloat.

         

>130 weird_O: - Wow!. I cannot gloat. If I make half that stack this year, I will be pleased.

>15 weird_O: My partner and I attended a Keith Haring exhibit at the Long Beach Museum of Art of the weekend. Most of the pieces were from a private collection and many highlighted the work he did with kids to get them interested in art.