kidzdoc: 75 and Beyond, Take 22

Take 1 Take 2 Take 3 Take 4 Take 5 Take 6 Take 7 Take 8 Take 9 Take 10 Take 11 Take 12 Take 13 Take 14 Take 15 Take 16 Take 17 Take 18 Take 19 Take 20 Take 21

Books Read in 2010:




Books Purchased in 2010:



Currently reading:
Angel of Death: The Story of Smallpox by Gareth Williams
A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore
Lighthead by Terrance Hayes

Completed books:

December:
162. Moving Parts by Magdalena Tulli
161. Them by Nathan McCall
160. How the Two Ivans Quarrelled by Nikolai Gogol
159. A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
158. Job by Joseph Roth
157. The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddharta Mukherjee
156. Where We Know: New Orleans As Home by David Rutledge
155. The Translator by Leila Aboulela
154. Clock Without Hands by Carson McCullers
153. Desert by Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio

November:
152. Pereira Declares by Antonio Tabucchi
151. The Flying Troutmans by Miriam Toews
150. Blonde Roots by Bernadine Evaristo
149. Ignatz by Monica Youn
148. A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
147. Death in the Andes by Mario Vargas Llosa
146. My Kind of Girl by Buddhadeva Bose
145. Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O'Connor
144. False Friends/Faux Amis, Book 1 by Ellie Malet Spradbery
143. The Salt Smugglers by Gérard de Nerval
142. We Are a Muslim, Please by Zaiba Malik
141. Create Dangerously: The Immigrant Artist at Work by Edwidge Danticat
140. The Post-Office Girl by Stefan Zweig
139. White Coat, Black Hat: Adventures on the Dark Side of Medicine by Carl Elliot
138. Grace Williams Says it Loud by Emma Henderson
137. I Hotel by Karen Tei Yamashita

October:
136. The Words by Jean-Paul Sartre
135. A River Dies of Thirst: Journals by Mahmoud Darwish
134. How to Make Love to a Negro Without Getting Tired by Dany Laferrière
133. The Violent Bear it Away by Flannery O'Connor
132. How to Read the Air by Dinaw Mengestu
131. All That Follows by Jim Crace
130. The Habit of Art by Alan Bennett
129. Making Waves by Mario Vargas Llosa
128. Parrot and Olivier in America by Peter Carey
127. A Week at the Airport by Alain de Botton
126. An Attempt at Exhausting a Place in Paris by Georges Perec
125. The Private Life of Trees by Alejandro Zambra
124. The Sorrow Gondola: Poems by Tomas Tranströmer
123. No Surrender: Poems by Ai
122. The White Family by Maggie Gee
121. Antipoems: How to Look Better & Feel Great by Nicanor Parra
120. Pulp by Charles Bukowski
119. Freedom by Jonathan Franzen

September:
118. A Country Doctor's Notebook by Mikhail Bulgakov
117. The Cross of Redemption: Uncollected Writings by James Baldwin
116. The Sickness by Alberto Barrera Tyszka
115. Danton's Death by Georg Büchner
114. C by Tom McCarthy
113. The Inimitable Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse
112. My Ear at His Heart: Reading My Father by Hanif Kureishi
111. The Silent Traveller in San Francisco by Chiang Yee
110. The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers
109. Yesterday by Maria Dermoût
108. Closing the Chart: A Dying Physician Examines Family, Faith and Medicine by Steven D. Hsi, MD
107. Room by Emma Donoghue
106. The Elephant's Journey by José Saramago

August:
105. The Flood by Chiwan Choi
104. Trespass by Rose Tremain
103. Wonder by Hugo Claus
102. Quacks: Fakers & Charlatans in Medicine by Roy Porter
101. The Company of Heaven: Stories from Haiti by Marilene Phipps-Kettlewell
100. Wild Grass by Lu Xun
99. The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas
98. The Seine Was Red: Paris, October 1961 by Leïla Sebbar
97. The Ballad of the Sad Café by Carson McCullers
96. Reflections in a Golden Eye by Carson McCullers
95. The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson
94. Chronicles of My Life: An American in the Heart of Japan by Donald Keene
93. A Sense of Where You Are: Bill Bradley at Princeton by John McPhee
92. Why Translation Matters by Edith Grossman
91. Touch by Adania Shibli
90. Chef by Jaspreet Singh
89. Change by Mo Yan
88. In a Strange Room by Damon Galgut
87. Street Smarts: Poems by Devorah Major
86. Bellocq's Ophelia: Poems by Natasha Trethewey
85. Bilingual: Life and Reality by François Grosjean
84. The Literary Conference by César Aira
83. The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

July:
82. My Two Oxfords by Willie Morris
81. The Little Peul by Mariama Barry
80. The Water Cure by Percival Everett
79. Island by Penelope Todd
78. The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
77. The Vagrants by Yiyun Li
76. The Boy Next Door by Irene Sabatini
75. Landscape with Dog and Other Stories by Ersi Sotiropoulos
74. Even the Dogs by Jon McGregor
73. The Murderess by Alexandros Papadiamantis

June:
72. To Mervas by Elisabeth Rynell
71. Some Prefer Nettles by Junichiro Tanizaki
70. Troubles by J.G. Farrell
69. Waiting for the Wild Beasts to Vote by Ahmadou Kourouma
68. Philosophy in the Present by Alain Badiou and Slavoj Žižek
67. The World Is What It Is: The Authorized Biography of V.S. Naipaul by Patrick French
66. Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle
65. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell
64. Selected Cronicas by Clarice Lispector
63. Medicine in Translation: Journeys with My Patients by Danielle Ofri

May:
62. The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector
61. News from Home by Sefi Atta
60. My House by Nikki Giovanni
59. The Siege of Krishnapur by J.G. Farrell
58. The Informers by Juan Gabriel Vásquez
57. Fear by Stefan Zweig
56. A Fortunate Man: The Story of a Country Doctor by John Berger
55. Five Modern Japanese Novelists by Donald Keene
54. Tranquility by Attila Bartis
53. The Death of Artemio Cruz by Carlos Fuentes
52. The Pen and the Sword: Conversations with Edward Said by David Barsamian
51. Season of Ash by Jorge Volpi
50. Letters from London by C.L.R. James
49. Naomi by Junichiro Tanizaki
48. Everything In This Country Must by Colum McCann
47. Piano by Jean Echenoz
46. White Masks by Elias Khoury

April:
45. Black Mamba Boy by Nadifa Mohamed
44. Spain in Our Hearts by Pablo Neruda
43. A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories by Flannery O'Connor
42. Dread: Poems by Ai
41. Twilight & Moonbeam Alley by Stefan Zweig
40. Bicycles: Love Poems by Nikki Giovanni
39. Three Novellas by Joseph Roth
38. The White Woman on the Green Bicycle by Monique Roffey
37. The Plague by Albert Camus
36. Dreams in a Time of War: A Childhood Memoir by Ngugi wa Thiong'o
35. Morning Haiku by Sonia Sanchez
34. The Women and the Men by Nikki Giovanni
33. An Elegy for Easterly by Petina Gappah
32. Re: Creation by Nikki Giovanni

March:
31. Street of Lost Footsteps by Lyonel Trouillot
30. Albert Camus: A Life by Olivier Todd
29. School Days by Patrick Chamoiseau
28. Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter by Mario Vargas Llosa
27. Close to Jedenew by Kevin Vennemann
26. Earth and Ashes by Atiq Rahimi
25. The Surrendered by Chang-Rae Lee
24. Selected Stories by Stefan Zweig
23. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
22. The Long Song by Andrea Levy
21. Nadirs by Herta Muller

February:
20. Listen! Early Poems by Vladimir Mayakovsky
19. A Life Apart by Neel Mukherjee
18. Black Judgement by Nikki Giovanni
17. Things Seen by Annie Ernaux
16. Georg Letham: Physician and Murderer by Ernst Weiss
15. Ashes of the Amazon by Milton Hatoum
14. Black Feeling Black Talk by Nikki Giovanni
13. The Emperor by Ryszard Kapuscinski
12. The Good Doctors: The Medical Committee for Human Rights and the Struggle for Social Justice in Health Care by John Dittmer
11. Wondrak and Other Stories by Stefan Zweig (Austria)

January:
10. Moscardino by Enrico Pea (Italy)
9. Beneath the Lion's Gaze by Maaza Mengiste (Ethiopia)
8. Small Island by Andrea Levy (UK)
7. Amok and Other Stories by Stefan Zweig (Austria)
6. The Making of a Tropical Disease: A Short History of Malaria by Randall M. Packard
5. The Word Book by Kanai Mieko (Japan)
4. Tormented Hope: Nine Hypochondriac Lives by Brian Dillon
3. Matigari by Ngugi wa Thiong'o (Kenya)
2. Monsieur Pain by Roberto Bolaño (Chile)
1. Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original by Robin D.G. Kelley

Categories and completed books in my 1010 challenge:

A. 2009-10 Archipelago Books
1. Moscardino by Enrico Pea (Italy)
2. Georg Letham: Physician and Murderer by Ernst Weiss
3. White Masks by Elias Khoury
4. Tranquility by Attila Bartis
5. To Mervas by Elisabeth Rynell
6. Wonder by Hugo Claus
7. A River Dies of Thirst: Journals by Mahmoud Darwish
8. The Salt Smugglers by Gérard de Nerval
9. My Kind of Girl by Buddhadeva Bose
10. Moving Parts by Magdalena Tulli

B. 2010 Booker Prize longlist and previous winners
1. The Siege of Krishnapur by J.G. Farrell (1973)
2. Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle (1993)
3. Troubles by J.G. Farrell (Lost Man Booker Prize)
4. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell (2010 longlist)
5. In a Strange Room by Damon Galgut (2010 shortlist)
6. The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson (2010 winner)
7. The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas (2010 longlist)
8. Trespass by Rose Tremain (2010 longlist)
9. Room by Emma Donoghue (2010 shortlist)
10. C by Tom McCarthy (2010 shortlist)
11. Parrot and Olivier in America by Peter Carey (2010 shortlist)

C. 2010 Orange Prize longlist and previous longlisted books
1. Small Island by Andrea Levy
2. The Long Song by Andrea Levy
3. The White Woman on the Green Bicycle by Monique Roffey
4. Black Mamba Boy by Nadifa Mohamed
5. The Boy Next Door by Irene Sabatini
6. The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
7. The White Family by Maggie Gee
8. Blonde Roots by Bernadine Evaristo
9. The Flying Troutmans by Miriam Toews
10. The Translator by Leila Aboulela

D. Medicine, public health and science
1. Tormented Hope: Nine Hypochondriac Lives by Brian Dillon
2. The Making of a Tropical Disease: A Short History of Malaria by Randall M. Packard
3. The Good Doctors: The Medical Committee for Human Rights and the Struggle for Social Justice in Health Care by John Dittmer
4. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
5. A Fortunate Man: The Story of a Country Doctor by John Berger
6. Medicine in Translation: Journeys with My Patients by Danielle Ofri
7. Quacks: Fakers & Charlatans in Medicine by Roy Porter
8. Closing the Chart: A Dying Physician Examines Family, Faith and Medicine by Steven D. Hsi, MD
9. Grace Williams Says it Loud by Emma Henderson
10. White Coat, Black Hat: Adventures on the Dark Side of Medicine by Carl Elliot
11. The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddharta Mukherjee

E. African-American/African poetry & literature
1. Matigari by Ngugi wa Thiong'o (Kenya)
2. Beneath the Lion's Gaze by Maaza Mengiste (Ethiopia)
3. Black Feeling Black Talk by Nikki Giovanni (US)
4. Black Judgement by Nikki Giovanni
5. Re: Creation by Nikki Giovanni
6. An Elegy for Easterly by Petina Gappah (Zimbabwe)
7. The Women and the Men by Nikki Giovanni
8. Morning Haiku by Sonia Sanchez
9. Bicycles: Love Poems by Nikki Giovanni
10. Dread: Poems by Ai
11. My House by Nikki Giovanni
12. News from Home by Sefi Atta
13. Waiting for the Wild Beasts to Vote by Ahmadou Kourouma
14. The Water Cure by Percival Everett
15. The Little Peul by Mariama Barry
16. Bellocq's Ophelia: Poems by Natasha Trethewey
17. Street Smarts: Poems by Devorah Major
18. Create Dangerously: The Immigrant Artist at Work by Edwidge Danticat

F. 2010 Author Theme Reads
1. Amok and Other Stories by Stefan Zweig
2. Wondrak and Other Stories by Stefan Zweig
3. Selected Stories by Stefan Zweig
4. Three Novellas by Joseph Roth
5. Twilight & Moonbeam Alley by Stefan Zweig
6. Naomi by Junichiro Tanizaki
7. Fear by Stefan Zweig
8. Some Prefer Nettles by Junichiro Tanizaki
9. The Post-Office Girl by Stefan Zweig
10. Job by Joseph Roth

G. Southern US literature (Flannery O'Connor, Carson McCullers, etc.)
1. A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories by Flannery O'Connor
2. The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
3. Reflections in a Golden Eye by Carson McCullers
4. The Ballad of the Sad Cafe by Carson McCullers
5. The Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers
6. The Violent Bear it Away by Flannery O'Connor
7. Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O'Connor
8. Clock Without Hands by Carson McCullers
9. A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
10. Them by Nathan McCall

H. Asian/Asian-American literature
1. The Word Book by Kanai Mieko (Japan)
2. A Life Apart by Neel Mukherjee (India)
3. The Surrendered by Chang-Rae Lee (South Korea)
4. Earth and Ashes by Atiq Rahimi (Afghanistan)
5. The Vagrants by Yiyun Li (China)
6. Chef by Jaspreet Singh (India)
7. Touch by Adania Shibli (Palestine)
8. Wild Grass by Lu Xun (Japan)
9. The Flood by Chiwan Choi (Korean-American)
10. I Hotel by Karen Tei Yamashita (Japanese-American)
11. Ignatz by Monica Youn (Korean-American)

I. Biographies and Memoirs
1. Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original by Robin D.G. Kelley
2. The Emperor by Ryszard Kapuscinski
3. Albert Camus: A Life by Olivier Todd
4. Dreams in a Time of War: A Childhood Memoir by Ngugi wa Thiong'o
5. The World Is What It Is: The Authorized Biography of V.S. Naipaul by Patrick French
6. Change by Mo Yan
7. A Sense of Where You Are: Bill Bradley at Princeton by John McPhee
8. Chronicles of My Life: An American in the Heart of Japan by Donald Keene
9. My Ear at His Heart: Reading My Father by Hanif Kureishi
10. The Words by Jean-Paul Sartre
11. We Are a Muslim, Please by Zaiba Malik
12. A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway

J. Latin-American & Caribbean literature
1. Monsieur Pain by Roberto Bolano (Chile)
2. Ashes of the Amazon by Milton Hatoum (Brazil)
3. Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter by Mario Vargas Llosa (Peru)
4. School Days by Patrick Chamoiseau (Martinique)
5. Street of Lost Footsteps by Lyonel Trouillot (Haiti)
6. Season of Ash by Jorge Volpi (Mexico)
7. The Death of Artemio Cruz by Carlos Fuentes (Mexico)
8. The Informers by Juan Gabriel Vasquez (Colombia)
9. The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector (Brasil)
10. The Literary Conference by Cesar Aira (Mexico)
11. The Company of Heaven: Stories from Haiti by Marilene Phipps-Kettlewell (Haiti)
12. The Sickness by Alberto Barrera Tyszka (Venezuela)
13. The Private Life of Trees by Alejandro Zambra (Chile)
14. Death in the Andes by Mario Vargas Llosa

National Public Radio's Morning Edition had an interesting piece on the resurgence of independent bookstores in the US, in contrast to the struggles that the large chain stores (Borders and Barnes & Noble) are currently experiencing:

End Of Days For Bookstores? Not If They Can Help It

Interesting! It doesn't look as if that store is too far from me, perhaps a 10/15 min. walk, but I didn't even know it existed... Poor marketing?? I certainly know where all the other bookstores (few of them, to be honest) are.

I love the resurgence of independent bookstores! More power to them!

I'll have to check out that bookstore as well. It would be easy for me to get to, as it's a short walk away from the Lafayette Avenue station on the A and C lines that serve Penn Station.

Hi, Darryl, just stopping by to say I am sorry to hear about your friend, but it seems like there are so many positives you can take from her life to keep her memory alive for you, which I'm sure will help you carry on even stronger. all the best.

Really sorry to hear about the loss of your friend, Darryl.

Your post-hospital-work plans sound interesting: I get the impression that you really enjoy the teaching you do already, so it sounds like that move could be a very rewarding one.

"The Man Asian Literary Prize was founded in 2007. It is an annual literary award given to the best novel by an Asian writer, either written in English or translated into English, and published in the previous calendar year. The judges choose a longlist of 10 to 15 titles announced in December, followed by a shortlist of 5 to 6 titles announced in February, and a winner is awarded in March. The winning author is awarded USD 30,000 and the translator (if any) USD 5,000. Submissions are invited through publishers based in any country."

The longlist for this year's award was announced yesterday:

2010 Longlist

Three Sisters by Bi Feiyu
Way to Go by Upamanyu Chatterjee
Dahanu Road by Anosh Irani
Serious Men by Manu Joseph
The Thing About Thugs by Tabish Khair
Tiger Hills by Sarita Mandanna
The Changeling by Kenzaburo Oe
Hotel Iris by Yoko Ogawa
Monkey-man by Usha K.R.
Below the Crying Mountain by Criselda Yabes

I haven't read any of these books, but I do own The Changeling and Three Sisters. More info:

Man Asian Literary Prize

Safe journey home, Michelle Tan.

Medical humanities! That's a new concept to me!

#7: I'll start looking into this possibility in earnest early next year.

#9: NYU has an active Division of Medical Humanities, which also publishes the Bellevue Literary Review, a quarterly magazine on medicine and literature. And, you probably know that Tinkers, the winner of this year's Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, was published by Bellevue Literary Press. (For the rest of you, Bellevue Hospital is one of the major public hospitals in NYC, and has been affiliated with NYU School of Medicine for over 100 years.)

Darryl, I'm sorry for your loss.

No contact from AARP for me yet (I turn 50 a few weeks before you). My elderly mother has gleefully pointed out that, starting in March, I'll be eligible to go on our town's "senior trips." They do have some interesting ones, though all local.

More prizes??? eeek, save me!!!!

Sounds like you need to move to NY, and get a gig teaching and editing that literary review...

Darryl, so sorry to hear about your friend Michelle; she certainly sounds like she was a very special person, which you can now celebrate.

Darryl, I'm so sorry about Michelle, that's very sad.

Sorry to hear the news, Darryl. Hang in there...

I thought of you when I turned on ESPN for my husband today and I saw the Phillies big news - I was very surprised.

#8: My local library has not a single one of those books. In fact, I cannot even find the Yabes book available at Amazon, B&N or The Book Depository. *sigh*

#11: I'll apply for AARP membership next year, but considering that everyone thinks I look 35 or so, I don't expect anyone in person to take me seriously if I use the card to obtain discounts ("Give that card back to your father, young man!")

#12: Hmm...tempting idea. I'd also consider living in central NJ (especially since I graduated from Rutgers, whose former medical school (UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School) is on campus) or Philadelphia (which has several medical schools).

#13-15: Thanks for your kind thoughts. I'm at the point where I can think about all of the joy Michelle brought to me, my colleagues, and the patients and families we took care of. The photo I posted helps me to remember her bright smile and warm laugh, and that is the way I intend to keep her in my heart.

#15: I did see the shocking but spectacular news that Cliff Lee decided to sign with the Phillies (which is especially sweet since the Yankees didn't get him!). It also takes the sting off of the loss of Jayson Werth to the Nationals. The Phillies indisputably have the best rotation in baseball (Halladay, Lee, Hamels, et al.), and should be the favorites to win the World Series in 2011.

#16: Stasia, does your library have English, August: An Indian Story by Upamanyu Chatterjee? I'll read that early next year for one of my 11 in 11 categories (Read a NYRB title that I already own). I'll read the two books I already have in the near future.

#17: Nope, no luck with anything by Chatterjee, Darryl.

#17 You will not have to apply, Darryl; they will find you! In fact, it's kind of creepy how they know when you turn 50. I still haven't joined.

Stasia, I know I have that in my bookcase, though an old Faber edition rather than the NYRB. It can also go out on loan.

#20: Wow, now you are really spoiling me, Suz! I will gladly borrow that one too.

#19: I found it very creepy that one of the local TV stations in Pittsburgh sent me a birthday card in the mail in 1998, the first birthday I celebrated there during my first year of medical school. This was, of course, in the pre-Internet and pre-email era (gasp!), and I had no idea how they found this out. My classmates had similar experiences, as well.

Darryl: As a Nationals fan, I am very disappointed that it looks like the Philly's likely will win the division for the next six years. Ugh.

#23: And I completely forgot about Roy Oswalt, the other Roy! So the Phillies have four pitchers in the starting rotation that would be #1 starters for most teams.

*disgruntled Mets fan noises*

Well poo on you!

You have a great pitching rotation and three solid bats. The Phils will have no problems.

Hallo Darryl! I'm catching up with you first, because you've just started a new thread, so I don't have to wade through too much (although I did go back to your last - I'm so sorry for the death of your friend Michelle, she sounds like a lovely person and a sad loss to the world).

So. How many book prizes have you been through since I've been gone eh?

The Cubs aren't exactly making a splash this offseason. Carlos Pena?!?

The Phils will be the team to beat.

*more disgruntled Mets fan noises*

what Richard said

Doing the Phillies happy dance here !!!

Mets, Nationals, Cubs and all other fans should get used to the following scene for the next few years:



#28: Hi, Fliss! The answer to your question about book prizes is TNTC (too numerous to count).

#32: I think we'll be doing a Phillies happy dance from March through October next year as well.

Thanks to Linda (lindapanzo) I'm looking at game 7 of the 1960 World Series between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the New York Yankees on MLB Network, which was one of the greatest games in World Series history. It's the first time it has been shown in its entirety since 1960 (I think), as a copy of the tape was recently found in Bing Crosby's film library. Crosby was a part owner of the Pirates, and was in Paris at the time of the game. He asked that the game be taped for him to watch when he returned to the US, and apparently it's the only copy of the game that is in existence. Go Bucs!

*gets out extra-special agonizer voodoo dolly JUST for Darryl*

I just finished The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddharta Mukherjee, which is the best non-fiction book I've read this year and a definitive 5 star read. Review soon...

Darryl, almost more interesting than the game are the crowd shots and other "signs of the times."

That Forbes Field was oddly shaped.

I agree, Linda. Is it just me, or does Forbes Field look like a bandbox?

Here's another photo of Forbes Field, which shows it relation to the crowded streets of Oakland (the neighborhood where Pitt and CMU* are located) and several of Pitt's campus buildings, which are mostly still there (or at least they were when I graduated from Pitt in 1997):



The Cathedral of Learning, the tallest educational building in the Western Hemisphere, is in the top right hand corner of this photo.

*CMU = Carnegie Mellon University

What's odd to me is the first base/right field area. Every foul ball hit in that direction seems to land amidst a wall of people.

Trying to think about when it is that Tony Kubek gets hurt. Knowing there's no replay, we have to pay attention.

Right, the fans seem to be closer along the first base line than along the third base line (or is it just me?).

I stepped away briefly during the top of the sixth to heat a bagel, and heard the call of Yogi Berra's home run to give the Yankees a 5-4 lead. I ran back to await the replay of the home run (which was originally called a foul ball), but quickly realized that there was no instant replay in 1960!

I assume that Mickey Mantle's deke to allow the tying run to score occurred in the top of the 9th inning. I haven't seen the play that Tony Kubek got hurt yet, have you?

Wow, twenty two threads, and you're already close to 40 posts. Think this one will last you through the year, or will you be shooting for 23?

No, I haven't seen Kubek get hurt. He was just at bat.

I didn't realize it was a Berra home run. I heard Mel Allen call it a foul ball, then correct himself.

The baggy uniforms look odd, too. Plus, the players are regular-sized guys. No hugely muscled guys.

#40: I'd like to make this the last thread of the year, even if it goes beyond 250 posts.

#41: Right. Did he get hurt as a batter or as a fielder?

Even though I know how the game will turn out I'm still a bit nervous now that the Yankees have taken a 5-4 lead after the Pirates scored the first four runs. Let's go Bucs!

Kubek got hurt as a fielder. A ball hit a pebble or something and bounced up and hit him in the throat.

I think Bill Virdon was at bat, though it could've been Don Hoak.

Every time Maz comes up, I think to myself "in just a little while, Maz will become a baseball immortal and he doesn't even know it yet.

#42: Right. Mel Allen just said that Bobby Shantz (sp?), the Yankees' pitcher, is only 5'6", but he doesn't look much smaller than his teammates.

#44: Argh. Maz just grounded into a double play. It's still 5-4 Yankees after 7 innings. (It still seems like a live game to me, one whose ending is in doubt!)

There it is. Kubek was hit in the throat on a bad hop grounder by Bill Virdon in the bottom of the 8th. Wow, that was a lucky bounce for the Bucs, as it would have been a double play otherwise.

Somewhere around here, I own a copy of the game that was billed as the oldest complete game TV broadcast, a Cubs/Phillies game at Wrigley from 1969 so seeing all this 1960 WS game action is such a treat.

Speaking of 1960 baseball, a few years ago I saw a YouTube clip of the final three outs of Don Cardwell's no-hitter, where the Cubs beat the Cardinals. I can't seem to find it, though.

I'm really enjoying this broadcast, especially the interviews of the former players 50 years later.

#49 Is that the game where Moose Moryn made the great catch to preserve Cardwell's no hitter?

The woman season ticket holder next to me at Wrigley is in her 70s. Has been a season ticket holder since the 1960s. She said that Cardwell no-hitter game was her all-time favorite Cubs game that she's attended.

What does a bandbox look like???

Personally, I think 23 is a nice uneven number.

I also think I have nothing to add to the baseball discussion! :-)

Oh my, my, my. That Mantle play at first base...amazing!! That should've been the series-ending double play, yet Mantle faked him out. If he hadn't, no Maz heroics.

#51 Suz, a bandbox is a tiny little ballpark. Some call Wrigley Field a bandbox.

Wow--Maz. I didn't realize he led off the 9th. Boy did he race around the bases.

That was fun to watch.

#50: Right. He was the left fielder who snared a sinking liner off his shoe top that looked to be a sure hit to end the game. The right fielder (name?) also made a great one handed catch with no outs to rob a Cardinal of a hit.

#51: A bandbox is a baseball park with small outfield dimensions, one in which home runs are much easier to hit than in other, more spacious, ballparks. The old Yankee stadium had a short right field, and it was easy for hitters to hit home runs there, whereas the center field wall was far far away, and home runs to straightaway center field were rare.

Pirates win, 10-9!!!

Oh, sad news: on the bottom of the broadcast, MLB Network announced that the Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller died today at age 92.

#54: I saw the notice on MLB.com. It is sad news.

#37 - Just a note for history - The original left field wall of Forbes Field is memorilized as a metal line in the side walk by what became the Business School at Pitt.

#56: Cool! I didn't know that, and I never saw that line, although I've seen home plate within Posvar Hall (which I think is one of the business school's buildings) and a free standing remnant of the outfield wall.

I thought there was a phrase along the lines of "neat as a bandbox". Or am I thinking of some other kind of box? Early-onset Alzheimer's hits again.... Or maybe just CRS. (can't remember sh****t)

LOL! I thought that my father was the only one who used the term CRS.

There's a hierarchy: CRS syndrome, mild; Half-heimer's, about halfway to...Alzheimer's. I think I'm in Half-heimer's stage.

Darryl, here's a longlist for the 2011 Tournament of Books:

http://www.themorningnews.org/archives/the_rooster/the_2011_tournament_of_books_...

I DVRd the 1960 game and I'll be watching it tonight. My brother who now lives in St. Louis is beside himself with excitement about this opportunity and the pure, sheer luck of the guy finding the (what he calls) Holy Grail of baseball film in Bing Crosby's wine cellar.

Every year a bunch of folks gather at the old left field wall and listen to the game on radio. It was an especially big year this year because of the 50th, but the weather was terrible so Jane and I decided not to go. I wonder if they'll continue w/ the radio version next year or if they'll screen the game. Either way it is a fantastic Pittsburgh tradition.

Bob Costas and a number of 1960 World Series team members joined a large studio audience (including Franco Harris).

When they're not playing the Cubs, I love the Pirates. Pittsburgh is a great city to visit, too.

I saw the notice of Rapid Robert's death right as the 1960 World Series game was ending.

>47 kidzdoc:: Wow, a baseball thread...and I read through all those posts! I am putting off what really needs to be done around here in a big way because I'm not much of a baseball fan. But I am a FOB...Virdon, that is. He lives here in Springfield - for most of the year anyway. I knew that he was a long-time manager but had no idea he had such a checkered past!

Donna, I didn't catch all the names but I think that Bill Virdon was one of the in-studio guests. In fact, I commented that he looked to be in just about the best shape of all the World Series participants.

Even for people who don't follow baseball, it would be interesting to see a few minutes, just to see how the world has changed in 50 years.

#33 "The answer to your question about book prizes is TNTC (too numerous to count)." - I thought as much ;o)

#58 "Or maybe just CRS. (can't remember sh****t)" - do I detect a "Wire" influenced lengthening of the vowel? Snicker.

Erm, afraid no Wire influence, as I've never watched it! Sorry...

Wow, lots to catch up on with your threads, Darryl. So sorry to hear about your friend, Michelle. That was a beautiful picture you posted of her.

I think you'd make an excellent professor of medical humanities and hope you pursue that. I always learn so much from your posts and would love to have you for a teacher.

I "favorited" the posts about the Asian book awards, Suzanne's post of the the Auden poem and Richard's link about the Tournament of Books to go back to.

Glad I'm finally caught up!

#60: Thanks for the link to the 2011 Tournament of Books, Richard. I've read eight of the books from this list, and own another four titles.

#61: It was a great game to watch, Nancy, and I'm sure that you and your brother will enjoy it. I've heard of the annual remembrance of game 7 of the 1960 World Series, probably from the PPG or The Pitt News.

BTW, I saw yesterday that Pitt announced its new head football coach today. I've never heard of him, but hopefully he can do a better job than Wannstedt.

#62: I saw a dozen or more Pirates games at Three Rivers Stadium during my four years in Pittsburgh (1993-97). Unfortunately it was just after the Killer Bees (Bonds, Bonilla and ?) left for greener pastures. I don't think they have had a winning season since 1992 or 1993.

Pittsburgh is quite underrated as a place to live. It's very clean, has nice neighborhoods and nicer people, pretty good schools, and a couple of top notch universities in Pitt and CMU. Sadly, I haven't been back since 1997, but I hope to return there soon.

#63: It took me awhile to grasp that FOB meant Friend of Bill, not Fresh Off the Boat, a non-PC term I learned from my Chinese friends.

#64: Even for people who don't follow baseball, it would be interesting to see a few minutes, just to see how the world has changed in 50 years.

I completely agree! I like to watch old TV programs, especially those which include commercials and station identifications. I was fascinated when WQED, Pittsburgh's PBS station, broadcast the entire NBC News broadcast on the 30th anniversary of JFK's assassination. I didn't realize how primitive television and news coverage was in 1963, with cameras that needed to be warmed up before they could be operated (the first few minutes of NBC's live coverage were audio only), difficulties in switching from New York to Dallas, Washington or elsewhere, and frequent misinformation about the suspect(s) and victims.

#65, 66: "Wire"?

#67: Thanks, Pat. That photo of Michelle is one of many from her Facebook page that capture her essence well.

Thanks for the compliment. I think (from the feedback I've received from medical and physician assistant students and residents) that I'm a better teacher on hospital rounds than I am in the classroom setting, unless I break away from my PowerPoint presentation and answer questions at the end of the lecture. On the other hand, I used to have a horrible case of stage fright before I went to medical school, and I couldn't have imagined that I'd be able to give an hour long lecture to medical students or residents after I struggled to present data to a table of colleagues when I worked as a research biologist.

ABC news had a story about the passing of Bob Feller, which mentioned that his signing bonus was "$1 and an autographed baseball". I think that the Nationals gave Stephen Strasburg just a bit more than that when he signed with them last year.

I know you all did this yesterday, but I have to tell someone. I'm watching the 1960 game, and it is insanely cool to see these mythological players on the field.

In re. the suits and formality. Pittsburgh is a working class and union town. Wearing clothes that differ from those you work in was and is a sign of respect. I read a biography of Woody Guthrie recently where he was soundly told by folks at a union concert he was playing to stop coming onstage in dungarees as the audience felt he was not treating them with the respect they deserved. I have many, many childhood memories of men tugging at clothes that were unfamiliar and uncomfortable at funeral homes, baptisms etc. with proud and somehow shy looks on their faces.

Tournament of Books? Never heard of such a thing. I learn something new every day!

Today I had lunch with an old friend in NYC, and before I met her I made a quick trip to Book Culture to buy Above All, Don't Look Back by Maïssa Bey, a novel which was longlisted for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Prize that I'll review for an upcoming issue of Belletrista. It's about a young woman whose home town in Algeria has been decimated by a major earthquake, who must reevaluate herself, her family and culture in the wake of this disaster.

This was my second trip to Book Culture this week; on Monday I picked up 10 more books:

Sozaboy by Ken Saro-Wiwa: A novel about a young soldier in the Nigerian Civil War that has been on my wish list for a couple of years. Saro-Wiwa may be familiar to some of you, as he was a human rights activist who was famously imprisoned and executed by the military regime of Sani Abacha in 1995.

The Tenant and The Motive by Javier Cercas: Two 'darkly humorous' novellas by a Spanish author that I had not heard of, which was on one of the sale tables.

Blind Man With a Pistol by Chester Himes: A mystery by an African-American writer that I've been meaning to read for some time, which features the irresistible pair of Coffin Ed Johnson and Grave Digger Jones as they attempt to solve a series of crimes in a sweltering Harlem summer. (Hmm, I need an exciting nickname like Coffin or Grave Digger; must work on this.)

The Ark Sakura by Kobo Abe: A novel about 'isolation and the threat of a nuclear holocaust', which I'll read in 2011 if Abe is chosen as a mini-author for next year's Author Theme Reads group.

A Season in the Congo by Aimé Césaire: I haven't read anything by this famed author from Martinique, and this play about the life and tragic death of Patrice Lumumba will be one of the books I'll read for the Reading Globally quarterly theme on Wars & Regions in Conflict that I and arubabookwoman will be leading.

Who Killed Palomino Molero? by Mario Vargas Llosa: MVL will be the main author of the 2011 Author Theme Reads group, so I'll read this sometime next year.

What Was African American Literature? by Kenneth W. Warren: When I saw this book, I (of course) said, "Was?" The author defines African American literature for the purpose of this book as works that were written 'within and against the strictures of Jim Crow America', and his focus is on what this literature meant during and after that time (the first two thirds of the 20th century), and how AfrAm literature has evolved in the post-civil rights movement era.

Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon: This year's winner of the National Book Award for Fiction, which I'll read for a 11 in 11 challenge next year (classic American fiction and American literary award winners).

Friction by Eloy Urroz: A comic novel by one of the leading young Latin American novelists, which is his first novel to be translated into English by Dalkey Archive Press.

One With Others by C.D. Wright: A collection that was a finalist for this year's National Book Award for Poetry, which is based on an 'explosive incident' in Arkansas during the Civil Rights Movement.

What Was African American Literature? looks very interesting to me. I will see if I can locate a copy at the local library. If not, maybe I will buy it after the ban is over!

#69: I agree with you, Nancy. It was great to watch players I had only read about or seen in highlight reels, especially Clemente, Mantle, Maris, and Berra.

Thanks for the interesting comments about Pittsburghers and Woody Guthrie!

#70: I had heard about the Tournament of Books a couple of years ago, but I hadn't paid close attention to it before.

#72: I'll be surprised if your local library has What Was African American Literature? I hadn't heard of the book, but it was prominently displayed amongst the new nonfiction titles at Book Culture, which is affiliated with and very close to Columbia University and has a large selection of university press books (this book was published by Harvard University Press).

I've never left Hempstead and somehow SOMEhow I keep adding Book Culture books to my list...I wonder *WHO MIGHT BE TO BLAME* for that....

#73: No, the local library does not have the book, although the local college library has several of Warren's other books.

#74: I live in Atlanta, so it couldn't possibly be my fault. I'd blame either Rebecca, or especially Jane (janepriceestrada), who lives nearby.

#75: Which books, Stasia?

#76: The college library has So black and blue : Ralph Ellison and the occasion of criticism and Black and white strangers : race and American literary realism , both of which interest me.

#77: Thanks, Stasia. I'm especially interested in the book about Ellison, and I'd love to hear your thoughts about it if you do read it.

#78: I want to read Invisible Man first before I get to the Warren book and already have it slated for this summer.

#79: Do you have any idea when you'll read Invisible Man? I'm planning to re-read it again in 2011, as I came close but never did finish it several years ago.

#80: I said summer and that is wrong. I will be reading it in March.

#81: If you remind me, I'll read it with you in March.

Ooo, I loved Invisible Man. The Signifying Monkey by H.L. Gates is also a fascinating read.

I hadn't heard of The Signifying Monkey, but I've added it to my wish list. Thanks, Luxx!

I read it for a class in college, and I still go back to it from time to time. The introduction was enough to capture my interest! I hope you enjoy it.

#76, That's right, blame us just because we live in New York. You should take pity on us because we are forced to walk by bookstores as we go about our daily business, facing temptation all the time. You folks who have to make special trips and drive to bookstores have it easy.

#79 etc. I haven't read Invisible Man since I read it while I was in high school in the late 60s --maybe I'm due for a reread too.

#86: Rats, I knew I should have just blamed Jane, since she's on Club Read and wouldn't catch wind of my feeble attempt to pass the blame onto her here.

I have no pity on you or any other New Yorkers, Rebecca. On the contrary, I'm quite jealous of all the wonderful things the city has to offer, especially in comparison to the cultural wasteland that is Atlanta. I especially miss getting good Indian food from the Curry Hill; my friend and I had the buffet at Tamba Indian Grill & Bar on Lexington between 27th & 28th Sts yesterday, which was excellent. I'd give away 100 of my most favorite books for a place like that in midtown Atlanta!

#82: I will try to remember to remind you, Darryl, but I am not making any promises!

I've read 11 of those Tournament of Books titles, and either own or have library copies/holds on another 13, which I plan to read imminently. (I'm actually finally reading The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet)

Book #157: The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee



My rating:

Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee, a professor of medicine at Columbia University and a rising star in the field of cancer biology, is the author of this excellent story of cancer from antiquity to the present day, which was selected as one of The 10 Best Books of 2010 by The New York Times and is my personal selection for the best nonfiction book I have read this year.

Mukherjee begins the book with the story of Carla Reed, a young kindergarten teacher and mother, who has been ill with vague symptoms for the last month and awakens one day with an ominous sense that something serious is wrong with her. She sees her physician and requests blood work to determine the cause of her illness. The following morning her world is turned completely upside down, as she learns that the complete blood count drawn in the office is highly suggestive of acute leukemia. She is admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital, as she leaves the world of the healthy and enters the realm of the SICK, as technicians, phlebotomists, nurses and doctors swarm to her bedside to ask questions and perform tests. Later that morning she meets Dr. Mukherjee, who oversees her care and shares her story throughout this book.

The story of cancer begins in ancient Egypt, as the famed physician Imhotep describes a malady that presents as "a bulging mass in the breast" amongst other medical conditions. Imhotep provides therapeutic remedies for the other illnesses, but for the breast mass he writes, "There is none." The first definitive treatment of breast cancer occurs centuries later in Persia, as Queen Atossa's cancerous breast is surgically removed by a slave in the first recorded mastectomy, performed without the benefit of anesthesia or antisepsis.

The history of cancer is intimately linked to the history of medicine, and the reader learns about the different types of solid cancers and leukemias as they are understood in the context of history, first as an imbalance in one of the body's four humors, and then as an abnormal proliferation of cells distinct in appearance from normal ones. Mukherjee skillfully portrays the important medical and scientific researchers as sleuths who independently and collaboratively attempt to track down an elusive killer, while also describing the lives of former patients including "Jimmy", the Boston youth whose story inspired millions of Americans to donate to cancer research through The Jimmy Fund, and private citizens such as Mary Lasker, a New York socialite whose tireless efforts transformed the moribund American Society for the Control of Cancer to the powerful and influential American Cancer Society.

Unfortunately, the benefits of most of these advances in medical knowledge throughout most of the 20th century are short lived in most cases, as the majority of patients suffered relapses and recurrences. Mukherjee portrays the despair felt by patients, their families and cancer researchers, contrasted with the hope that significant decreases in cancer mortality would eventually be achieved, through medical research and therapies and, more importantly, from advancements in early diagnostic techniques and in prevention of risk factors such as smoking and excess consumption of alcohol.

The last quarter of the book describes the advances in cancer biology as it is understood on the molecular level to be a disease of uncontrolled cellular growth due to the effect of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. Mukherjee leaves us with hope for the future of the treatment of cancer, as it will likely be either curable or a relatively easily treatable chronic disease.

I found The Emperor of All Maladies to be as compelling as a well written mystery novel, one filled with interesting characters and unexpected plot twists, along with interesting and understandable discussions of science and medicine. Dr. Mukherjee has done a masterful job in writing this book, and I would highly recommend it to all readers.

I've added my thumbs-up to your growing collection for that wonderful review, Darryl!

Excellent review Darryl. That one will land on my WL.

Book #158: Job by Joseph Roth (translated from the German by Ross Benjamin)



My rating:

This novel was written in 1930 and reissued by Archipelago Books last month. Mendel Singer is a pious and ordinary Jewish man who is barely able to provide for his wife and children as a teacher of young children in early 20th century Russia. His life has been one of struggle and misery, compounded by a loveless marriage and the birth of his last child, who is severely delayed and epileptic. His two adult sons are called into military service; Jonas joins the Russian Army willingly, but Shemariah deserts to America, leaving Singer with his wife, their promiscuous daughter and their afflicted son. A rabbi instructs Mrs Singer to never leave the young Menuchim, and predicts that his situation is not a hopeless one, but one that will take many years before he begins to improve.

Years later, as the Singers sink deeper into poverty they are encouraged to emigrate to America by their son, who has found success in New York. Torn between their responsibility to Menuchim, their familiarity with their neighbors, and the possibility of a better life in America, the Singers decide to emigrate. However, new challenges await them, and for Mendel his personal suffering is magnified, as his faith in God is severely tested.

This modernized retelling of the Biblical story of Job was very well done, with sympathetic and realistic characters, and excellent portrayals of the crushing poverty and struggles of pre-revolutionary Russia contrasted with the chaos and stresses of life in New York's Lower East Side, and is highly recommended.

Lovely reviews, sir. Thumbs from me.

Both great reviews and make me want to read them NOW. Added to my groaning tbr lists and hopefully they'll make my 2011 list.

I your review of Job have up-gethumbed.

Thank you Richard, Bonnie, Madame Luxx, and Kerry!

#96: You thank I do, sir esteemed.

Great reviews, Darryl, and thumbs from me! I'm off to put them both on my WL.

Great review, Darryl ... I can't wait to get to the book myself now.

Thanks, Caroline; I assume that you are referring to Job. BTW, have you received Stone Upon Stone by Wiesław Myśliwski from Archipelago yet? We should be getting it sometime this month.

After finishing Job I only have three books to read to finish my 101010 challenge (10 books in 10 different categories in '10). I'll read A Mind at Peace by Ahmet Hamdi Tanpinar to finish the Archipelago Books challenge, and A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole and a book TBD to finish the Southern Gothic challenge.

Yes, I am referring to Job which is currently in my TBR Tower. I haven't received Stone Upon Stone yet, Darryl ... my subscription expired after the last 3 books I received and I submitted my renewal, so I don't know if I'll receive this, or if my subscription will start with the next book.

Anyone who is planning to read books by Mario Vargas Llosa in 2011 may want to consider joining the Author Theme Reads group, as MVL will be the year long author. This year's mini-authors will be three of my other favorite authors, José Saramago (Jan-Apr), Jean-Marie Gustave Lé Clezio (May-Aug), and Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (Sep-Dec).

The Reading Globally group also looks to have an exciting year in 2011, thanks especially to the hard work and great ideas of our own Rebecca (rebeccanyc) and other 75ers. Instead of monthly reads we will be covering one topic in each quarter: Journeys (Jan-Mar, hosted by Kerry), War & Regions in Conflict (Apr-Jun, hosted by Deborah and yours truly), The Sea (Jul-Sep, hosted by raton-liseur) and Immigration (Oct-Dec, hosted by whymaggiemay). Come join the fun if you're interested!

Thanks for those suggestions, Darryl. I just read through the thread on the Journey books. Looks great but I'm already starting to feel overwhelmed by everything I want to read for 2011.

Wonderful review as usual, Darryl! Both books now in the BlackHole and Woot! both available at local libraries.

Great reviews Darryl--I'm especially interested in the cancer book.

BTW, I'll be reading Invisible Man for my RL book club in January.

Excellent reviews, Darryl.

*wanders off to explore Author Theme Reads*

Darryl, do you read the New Yorker? There's a very thought-provoking article on the scientific method in the December 13th issue. If you haven't read it yet, I believe you'd find it worthwhile.

I do subscribe to The New Yorker, but I don't read it as often as I should. I missed that article, but I should have this issue with me or back in Atlanta, so I'll definitely check it out. Thanks!

Hi, Darryl! I got so very far behind on your fast-growing thread . . .

My condolances on the death of your friend Michelle.

My complments to you on the wonderful reviews. I may add the last two books to my list.

I've been thoroughly enjoying the baseball discussion . . . (Go Phillies!)

Hmm..Author Theme Reads ..... I like that idea. Thanks for pointing this out, Darryl. I think I'll look into this for 2011

I do want to read Mario Vargas Llosa next year Darryl so I think I'll check out the Author Theme Reads and maybe Reading Globally too. Thanks.

Darryl

I'm so sorry for your loss. I understand the pain of losing a friend to cancer. It hurts..BIG time!

I'll be thinking of you as you process the stages of grief. Hugs to you my friend.

#110: Thanks, Terri. I'm still having a hard time believing that Michelle is gone, especially since I've been away from work and out of touch with my work mates and others there since the announcement of her death on Monday. There will be a memorial service for her on Tuesday evening, and I hope to be able to leave work in time to be there.

#111, 112: I hope that you both decide to participate!

#113: Thanks, Linda. I never saw Michelle when she was SICK, as we were discouraged from visiting her and vice versa, to avoid passing on any pathogens that may have complicated her recovery, which is why is part of the reason why I'm numb rather than grief stricken. I'm sure that her fellow residents and the attendings that worked with her more closely than we did will have a more typical response to her death.

I'll fly back to Atlanta this afternoon, and work on Tuesday and Friday through next Monday before leaving for Madison the following Tuesday. I'll be off from work on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, and I'd be up for Readathons on any of those days if anyone else is interested and able to participate. I have three books left to complete my 1010 challenge, and I'd like to see if I can best last year's record of 162 books by reading two other books TBD.

#114: Safe travels, Darryl!

Keep me apprised if you decide to have a Readathon. If I am able, I will participate.

I'll definitely do a Readathon tomorrow, although I'll have to run some errands during the day, and I'll spend the bulk of Wednesday and Thursday reading. I won't have any long or night calls for the remainder of the year, so I'll probably read every night this week (except for Tuesday).

I did cheat to find out what books my best friends bought me, so that I can consider getting some of the other ones I ranked most highly on my wish list before the New Year.

The Memory Chalet by Tony Judt
Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson
Captain Pantoja and the Special Service by Mario Vargas Llosa

Even though I'll receive these titles in the mail this week I'll wrap them and bring them with me to Madison next week. Murielle will wrap the kids' gifts and her gifts prior to my arrival, as well. We have been doing this for the kids, Tommy and Mary, for the past few years, as I usually visit them after Christmas and we have a second Christmas together, usually on the 28th or 29th. Dave's brothers and their families don't make the trek to frigid Wisconsin in the winter, nor does Murielle's remaining family, who live in Belgium, so my friends only see a couple of their neighbors on Christmas Day. I'll be working on Christmas Day, as I almost always do, so I'll look forward to the 28th nearly as much as the kids will.

*keeping fingers crossed for decent flying weather*

#116: I'll be working on Christmas Day, as I almost always do, so I'll look forward to the 28th nearly as much as the kids will.

I will be working Christmas Day (or rather night) as well, Darryl, so you are not alone!

Woo! I just found out that the Philadelphia Eagles somehow beat the New York Giants 38-31, after trailing 31-10 midway through the 4th quarter. I was sitting in the Philadelphia airport this afternoon, and the two guys who were sitting across from me mentioned that the Eagles had scored, to make it 31-17, and said that it wouldn't matter, as the Eagles were dead in the water. The Delta pilot promised us that he would keep us abreast of the final score of the game, but he never did, otherwise the plane would have likely erupted in cheers at the final score.

Glad you got home safely, Darryl. Hope it's a relatively easy week at work.

Okay, I'm ready to start a Readathon today, if anyone is interested. I'm currently on page 71 of 338 of A Confederacy of Dunces, which I'd like to finish by this afternoon.

Oh, I hope you enjoy your second Christmas (as I'm sure you will). For me, it's not the date that's important, but the event you make out of it, and it sounds like you have great plans.

#120: Well rats, Darryl. I can only join in for a bit today. I will start now and read for the next 3.5 hours or so though :)

I am trying to finish up Looking Backward: 2000-1887.

I have about 20 more pages to go in Looking Backward and then I will be picking up The Young Man and the Sea.

I finished Looking Backward and am now better than halfway through The Young Man and the Sea.

Hi, Darryl, did you finish A Confederacy of Dunces? I'm really looking forward to seeing what you think of it. It has been sitting on my shelf for over a year now, but keeps moving up and down the row depending on the latest review I see, and they are so very very mixed. I haven't prioritized it for 2011, either, but depending on what you think, you never know, it might have to move up again.....

Hi, Stasia! It looks like it's just you and me so far. I'm now on page 260 of A Confederacy of Dunces, which I'm re-reading 30 years after I originally read it, and I'm not liking it anywhere near as much as I did in 1980. Hopefully I'll finish it within the next hour and a half.

ETA: I doubt that I'll give A Confederacy of Dunces more than 3-1/2 stars, Janet. I'd rank it lower, except that the characters and their voices and accents are quite reminiscent of the older relatives and their friends that I knew in New Orleans in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Well, I think I am going to call it a mini Readathon. Kerry will be home in about 45 minutes and I really do not want to start another book at this point, so I am just going to catch up on threads a bit now.

Thanks, Darryl. Sorry you haven't enjoyed it more. But at least I know I can leave it in its lowly place for now. I have no NO connection that would help with it.

I'm finished with A Confederacy of Dunces, and I'll give it 3 stars. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who isn't a fan of Southern Gothic literature and is not familiar with New Orleans and its people.

I was thinking of reading a novel by William Faulkner for my last Southern Literature read, but I'll read Them, a novel by Emory professor Nathan McCall, which is set in Atlanta.

Sorry to miss the readathon...

Wow, another group to join?? *whimper*

More books to read? *whimper*

*retreating under duvet*

*coaxes Suz from under duvet with crepe from Creperie NYC*

Evil. Deeply, profoundly evil. Devil's minion.

Yes, that would be you, Darryl, brandishing crepes under my eyes when I am about to nosh on something as banal as a peanut butter sandwich.

*deranged cackle*

...I rest my case....

Oooo, yes. Evil.

ooh...now why had I not thought to add strawberries to my banana and nutella crepe that day! Ahh.... I'll have to make amends ... maybe this Sunday? I'll be down in Long Island for the Christmas holiday and am thinking of heading into Russ & Daughters.

Book #159: A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole



My rating:

This winner of the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, published posthumously after the author's suicide in 1969, is set in early 1960s New Orleans. Ignatius J. Reilly is a corpulent, vulgar and irreverent 30 year old who has two college degrees but cannot seem to last more than a month on any job, no matter how menial. He lives with his widowed mother, who drinks frequently and loves her boy despite his innumerable flaws and boorish behavior. Ignatius is both fascinated and repelled by his former Tulane classmate Myrna Minkoff, a woman from the Bronx who has moved back to NYC to engage in acts of political and sexual revolution. She frequently encourages him to join her multiple causes, but Ignatius wants nothing more than to inspire the masses to rebel against capitalist establishments or the military, in order to outdo his former colleague.

The novel is filled with characters that could have only come from New Orleans: Darlene, who sells drinks in a shady French Quarter strip club, the Night of Joy, and creates an strip tease act with her pet parakeet in order to make her first break; Mancuso, an NOPD officer who is forced to wear a series of humiliating disguises until he is able to capture a single miscreant; Gus Levy, the indifferent owner of Levy Pants, whose failing company employs Ignatius and Miss Trixie, the 80 year old senile clerk who repeatedly confuses Ignatius with a recently departed female employee; Burma Jones, the black janitor of the Night of Joy who reluctantly works there at below minimum wage salary to avoid being put back into the city jail for vagrancy; and numerous others.

When I originally read this novel 30 years ago I thought it was uproariously funny and brilliant, as it accurately portrayed a segment of the Crescent City's population that I was fairly familiar with. Unfortunately A Confederacy of Dunces was a disappointment on a second reading, as the humor quickly grew stale and the characters did not appeal to me. Readers who are familiar with mid-20th century New Orleans culture may enjoy this novel to some degree, but I wouldn't recommend it for anyone else.

OK, I can now move Confederacy of Dunces off my list of books that I need to read :)

I am not calling you devil's minion, Darryl! (you may now send me my crepe) lol

Caro, crepe party? Yeah!!!

Darryl, thumbs up for your review of Confederacy! I have no plans to re-read it. It's like Thomas Wolfe's books: Once the moment in life where they'll make their impact is passed, it's unwise to try to go back and re-experience them.

Mmmm, crêpes. Yum.

Crepe party? who shouted crepe party? Suz... I'll go with you ...since I'd likely get lost on my own.

Thanks for your review, Darryl ... I am happy to shove Confederacy of Dunces down the TBR Tower and let some others climb over it.

#138: Thanks for being supportive and not calling me a minion of the Devil, Stasia. I'll see if Creperie NYC can deliver; otherwise I'll have some goodies from Russ and Daughters or Barney Greengrass, the Sturgeon King shipped to you. (I'll place an order with one or both establishments after I arrive in Madison next week, so that Dave and I can have bagels, bialys, whitefish and salmon salad, smoked sturgeon, and their daughter's favorite, pickled herring. Little Mary, a fussy eater at best, devoured nearly a pound of pickled herring two Christmases ago in record time, and begged for more afterward. Her parents and I were speechless.)

#139: Ooh, a crepe party sounds wonderful. I wish I could join you and Caroline (*sniff*).

#140: Thanks, Richard. I think you're absolutely right; I almost wish that I hadn't re-read it, but I think it was good that I did, as I can no longer recommend it as one of my favorite all-time books. The characters in the book were reminiscent of some of my wacky New Orleans relatives, and their even wackier friends. Unfortunately my crazy great-aunt passed away a few months before Katrina hit, and her sons have moved to Alabama, as their house and neighborhood in New Orleans East were destroyed beyond livability, at least for the present time.

#141: Creperie NYC, where the LT NYC get together crowd met after lunch the Saturday after Thanksgiving, was divine. I'm glad that we went there, but I almost wish I didn't know about it, since it would be all too easy for me to stop there after my frequent trips to Russ and Daughters whenever I visit my parents (usually every 2-3 months).

#142: I'd definitely put A Confederacy of Dunces at or near the bottom of your TBR Tower, Caroline. I'll bet that the generation of New Orleanians who acted and talked like my older relatives and the characters in the book are dying out, and that it would be difficult to meet people like that now (they used to be known as Yats, as a common greeting was "Where y'at?"). Their accents and pronunciation of certain words were bizarre, as they sounded more like people from Brooklyn; "boil" is pronounced "berl", "mayonnaise" is "mynez", and if you went to a restaurant like the Camellia Grill, a legendary place for hamburgers on Carrollton near St. Charles, the person at the counter would ask you how you wanted your sandwich "dressed", i.e., with "mynez", ketchup, onions, etc. I do need to go back to the Crescent City for the amazing cuisine (po' boys, muffalettas, Cajun & Creole food, especially jambalaya, crawfish étouffée, dirty rice, and red beans & rice with Andouille sausage), maybe for the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in the future.

I'd read an analysis of NO speech as you describe it. The linguist stated that similar immigrant waves hit New York and New Orleans, especially Irish and Italian, at about the same times, so in many areas of both cities the local language developed with similar vowel quirks.

#144: Dat's fa true, dahlin'!

Book #160: How the Two Ivans Quarrelled by Nikolai Gogol



My rating:

This novella about two long time friends in early 19th century Russia was written in 1835 and recently re-released by Melville House Publishing as part of its "Art of the Novella" series. Ivan Ivanovich and Ivan Nikiforovitch are next door neighbors, long time friends and respected citizens in the town of Mirgorod. During one of their daily meetings a simple conversation turns ugly, as Ivan Nikiforovitch calls his neighbor a name that deeply offends him. The situtation escalates to a war of words, followed by actions by both Ivans that deepen the animosity each feels toward the other. The local authorities and townsfolk are caught up in the drama, particularly after each brings a lawsuit against the other, and a plot is hatched to bring the two old friends together before their cases come to trial.

I found How the Two Ivans Quarrelled to be a quick and enjoyable read, one filled with good humor and entertaining characters, which I think that everyone would enjoy.

I love Gogol, so will be adding that one to my pile, thanks, Darryl.

ETA: If people can't find that new edition, in my library it's listed as part of a collection called Mirgorod.

My planned reads for January:

1. An African in Greenland - Tété-Michel Kpomassie
2. Blind Man with a Pistol - Chester Himes
3. Captain Pantoja and the Special Service - Mario Vargas Llosa
4. Darkmans - Nicola Barker
5. A Gate at the Stairs - Lorrie Moore
6. The Gospel According to Jesus Christ - José Saramago
7. Journal of an Ordinary Grief - Mahmoud Darwish
8. Life Ascending: The Ten Great Inventions of Evolution - Nick Lane
9. Lord of Misrule - Jaimy Gordon
10. The Memory Chalet - Tony Judt
11. Out of Place - Edward Said
12. The Siege - Helen Dunmore

Thumbs-upped your Gogol review, Darryl!

Adding the Gogol to the wishlist: that sounds like a good one.

An African in Greenland looks interesting. I'll be interested to hear your verdict on it.

Thumb from me too, Darryl. I'm almost done with The Memory Chalet and loving it. I read A Gate at the Stairs a couple of weeks ago and had mixed feelings about it. It was the first book by Lorrie Moore I read and I liked her writing but it could easily have been about 30 pages shorter.

Thanks for the nice review of Gogol's novella. I read all of his works in grad school, but it's been a while (a rather long while), and your review makes me want to dig his collected works out again. Right after I read the new, uncensored version of In the First Circle by Solzhenitsyn and a new-when-I-bought-it translation of Taras Bulba. :)

Thanks Richard, Caty, Pat and Lisa for your compliments. BTW, I checked Project Gutenberg, and How the Two Ivans Quarrelled is available as a free download, as it's contained within the book Taras Bulba and Other Tales:

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1197

#150: I'm planning to read An African in Greenland for the first Reading Globally quarterly theme read, on Journeys. This is a description of the book from the New York Review Books website:

Tété-Michel Kpomassie was a teenager in Togo when he discovered a book about Greenland—and knew that he must go there. Working his way north over nearly a decade, Kpomassie finally arrived in the country of his dreams. This brilliantly observed and superbly entertaining record of his adventures among the Inuit is a testament both to the wonderful strangeness of the human species and to the surprising sympathies that bind us all.

#151: I'm eager to read The Memory Chalet, and I'll probably bring it with me to Madison next week, since my best friend will likely want to read it. He's a faithful reader of The New York Review of Books, and liked Tony Judt's recent articles before his death earlier this year. I'll bring A Gate at the Stairs as well, since his wife wants to read it after I'm done. From all of the other comments I'm expecting it to be less than spectacular, but I hope that I'll like it, at least, and I can count it for next month's Orange January read.

#152: I'll look for your comments on Taras Bulba, Lisa. I'll download the free version from Project Gutenberg, and plan to read it sometime next year.

Hi Darryl, I tried to read A Confederacy of Dunces many years ago and just couldn't get into it. You've given me no reason to try again:)

I read A Gate at the Stairs earlier this year and was completely underwhelmed but Moore can craft some of the most beautiful sentences ever. I've heard that her short stories are better than her novels.

I just finished Them, a novel by Nathan McCall about the gentrification of the Old Fourth Ward of Atlanta. Coincidentally, it's both my 161st book of the year, and my 161st favorite book of the year. I absolutely loathed this book, as it is filled with stereotypes and mischaracterizations about black and white Atlantans, blatant errors (there are no Winn-Dixie supermarkets in Atlanta!), and bad writing. I'll submit a proper review tomorrow, but I've given it 1/2 star, the lowest rating that LT permits. I'd give it a -3 star rating if I could.

The only good news is that I am one book away from completing my 1010 challenge!

Darryl

Sorry #161 was so bad. I'll be skipping that one.

Overall, you have read stellar books this year.

#156: Thanks, Linda. This has been an excellent reading year, and I'm on the cusp of meeting all of my goals. I've started Moving Parts by Magdalena Tulli, a short novel published by Archipelago Books which I should finish tomorrow (uh, make that later today; it's almost 2 am!). That will complete my 1010 challenge, and one more book, probably Lighthead by Terrance Hayes, will take me to 163 books for the year, one more book that I read last year. After that I will start reading books for 2011, from the January list in message #148, and migrate to the 2011 groups (75 Books, Club Read, and The 11 in 11 Category Challenge).

I've just joined the 2011 75 Books group, and posted a skeleton thread here.

Darryl, thanks for the Gogol review and recommendation. One of my goals for 2011 is to read more foreign authors, including a bunch of the Russians, so I will definitely be reading Gogol.

Thanks for the Project Gutenberg link for the Gogol, Darryl: I've downloaded it - now I just have to find time to read it.

#158: Thanks, Linda! Hmm...that's probably pretty close to what it will look like in Madison when I fly there on Tuesday. Fortunately the forecast for next week looks pretty good, with no significant snowfall, although it will be colder than usual (predicted high 17 F, low 5 F on Tuesday).

It looks as though Atlanta will have a white Christmas this year! We're supposed to get 1-3 inches of snow in the city on 12/25, which will be the first time it's snowed on Christmas since 1993, and the first measurable snowfall since 1882, when a whopping 0.3 inches of snow fell.

#159: You're welcome, Stasia. I'll be interested to see which international authors you read this year. The 11 in 11 challenge folks are doing a group read of The Master and Margarita next month, so I'll probably add that to my list of planned January reads. I'd like to read Lady with Lapdog and Other Stories by Chekhov next year, and one or two novels by Solzhenitsyn (probably Cancer Ward) and Dostoevsky (I have at least five or six that I've purchased in the past couple of years).

#160: You're welcome, Caty. I downloaded it yesterday, but I'm not sure when I'll read it, either.

Darryl, it doesn't look too bad for Madison next week. Seasonal or just a bit warmer than usual. Highs in the low 30s is not bad at all for this time of year.

(We may visit our relatives a bit north of Madison next weekend so I've been keeping my eyes open on their forecast.)

The madison.com web site is forecasting a high of 25 degrees F and a low of 13 degrees for Tuesday, with sunny skies. At this time of year, I'm happy with double digit temperatures and no snowstorms when I fly to and from Madison (which hasn't been a given the past few winters that I've traveled there). Anything else is lagniappe.

On several occasions I've had to leave a day early or change my flights to avoid certain connecting airports (CVG, DTW) that were socked in. I think it was two years ago that I had to fly through (shudder) O'Hare in the middle of a heavy January or February snowstorm; I was surprised that we actually made it out of there that night.

Hmm...I just don't understand why my friend's brothers (who live in Florida and California) refuse to visit him in Wisconsin in the winter.

Darryl, my new Archipelago, Stone upon Stone, arrived today.

And The Master and Margarita was one of my favorite reads this year; I read the Pevear and Volkhonksy translation which had great notes and a great introduction by Pevear -- it's a Penguin edition. Hope you like it as much as I did.

Nope, I didn't receive Stone Upon Stone today, although my gift books from my friends did arrive: The Memory Chalet by Tony Judt; The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson; Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick; and Captain Pantoja and the Special Service by Mario Vargas Llosa. I'll bring at least the MVL and the Demick with me to Madison, after I wrap them as "gifts" to be opened in front of their kids on the 28th. I'll also bring A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore, and Life Ascending: The Ten Great Inventions of Evolution by Nick Lane.

I also have the Penguin Classics paperback edition of The Master and Margarita that was translated by Pevear and Volokhonsky. That may also make the trip to Madison, depending on when the 11 in 11 group read begins.

Lagniappe -- ha, that was a word that a Louisiana friend of mine completely stumped me with once!

Cold weather is made tolerable by sunshine...

Sounds like you got some great books! I've got a couple from my brother and SIL; I'm pretty sure what they are as some have disappeared from my wish list...

Lagniappe is probably my favorite word in the English language. I hadn't heard it until my freshman year at Tulane, when we received a guidebook that included words and phrases that were unique to New Orleans like yat, muffuletta (fabulous sandwich), po' boy (an even more fabulous sandwich), and lagniappe (receiving something extra or unexpected).

Hmm, I haven't had a King cake (another New Orleans favorite) in awhile, probably not since I ordered one when a visit to the Madisonians happened to fall during Mardi Gras.

Cold weather is made tolerable by sunshine...

Um, it depends. A couple of years ago the kids did not have to go to school, as the wind chill was less than -35 F (air temperature -17 degrees, wind chill -37 degrees F). I remember that it was a day filled with brilliant sunshine and bright blue skies. We stepped on the porch to see how cold it was, and went back in within seconds, before our frozen noses and fingertips fell off.

Sounds like you got some great books!

Definitely. Murielle and I have been making Christmas wish lists on Amazon for the past 7-8 years or more, mainly for me to use for her and the kids, and for her to buy books that I want the most (Dave's Christmas gift from me is a renewal of his New York Review of Books subscription, which he has faithfully read ever since I've known him). We each pare our lists down to a bare minimum, and I designate the four or five books I want the most ("Highest" priority), which makes it easy for her to purchase books for me. She wrote me this afternoon to let me know that my gift box arrived today, one day ahead of schedule. She'll wrap the kids' gifts, and I'll give them out on Tuesday. They will spend Christmas morning alone, but their closest neighbors and their daughter will come over for dinner.

I posted this in the Author Theme Reads group earlier today, if anyone is interested in reading books by José Saramago:

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is selling 12 of Saramago's novels in an e-book only edition entitled The Collected Novels of José Saramago, which is currently available. The list price is $36, but Amazon is currently selling the Kindle edition for $28.80. The following books are included in this collection:

Baltasar and Blimunda (1987)
The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis (1991)
The Gospel According to Jesus Christ (1994)
The Stone Raft (1995)
The History of the Siege of Lisbon (1997)
Blindness (1998)
The Tale of the Unknown Island (1999)
All the Names (2000)
The Cave (2002)
The Double (2004)
Seeing (2006)
Death with Interruptions (2008)
The Elephant’s Journey (2010)

More info: http://www.hmhbooks.com/saramago/

ETA: Make that 12 novels and one novella, The Tale of the Unknown Island.

Hope you enjoy Nothing to Envy: my favorite non-fiction read of the year and, with all going on with North Korea in the news lately, timely. Happy Holidays!

Edited to add: Reading your above post makes me have e-book reader envy. What a great deal on one of my favorite authors.

I'm dithering about the Saramagao as I already have The Elephant's Journey on Kindle and History of the Siege of Lisbon in DTB version. Tempted, but...

oooh, King cake. I had never had that until I was in New Orleans for the weekend before the main party (I didn't intend to be there for Mardi Gras, but still caught the first floats, so had the fun without the overkill...) My B&B served king cake... Between that and the little donuts at cafe du monde...

Try cold, damp and gloomy to boot -- as in, not seeing the sun for 2 months. Hey, I have been skiing in -40 weather (at which point, it doesn't matter whether you're talking Celsius or Fahrenheit). Yes, it's cold, but if you dress properly, it's fine. (Of course, this was when I lived in Ottawa, a city with such a fierce winter that Soviet diplomats used to get hardship pay for living there...)

>169 Chatterbox:: the little donuts at cafe du monde...: beignets, right? YUM.

#170: Right, Laura; the original Café du Monde specialized in beignets and café au lait made with chicory. That area near Jackson Square and the French Market is dangerous for one's waist, as the Central Grocery Company (home of the famous muffuletta sandwiches) is nearby, as is a praline place whose name escapes me. Café du Monde was a favorite late stop for shoppers, or partiers trying to sober warm up, before staggering heading out of the Quarter.

ETA: There used to be a Café du Monde in Underground Atlanta, a mall in the downtown area, but I don't think it's there anymore.

#168: Thanks, Lisa! I'll read Nothing to Envy in April, for the Reading Globally second quarter theme on Wars & Regions in Conflict that Deborah (arubabookwoman) and I will be leading.

I have all 13 of those books by Saramago, so I won't benefit from that great offer, either. I suspect that I will get an iPad sometime in 2011, after the new model comes out (and is tested thoroughly), and I'll get a chance to look at my best friend's new Nook next week.

I was supposed to read The Master and Margarita this year but never got to it, so I am hoping to in 2011. It will not be in January though, since I already feel overwhelmed by what I am reading then and the year has not even started yet!

#171, Back in the very early 80s, I went to New Orleans with a former roommate who was from there. We definitely went to Café du Monde for beignets and the coffee with chicory (in fact, I bought a bag of it to bring home), and one night her brother, who was going to college there, took us out to many of the cool spots in New Orleans that the tourists don't go to (although we did start at one place in the French Quarter favored by tourists just to see what it was like). I don't remember the names of the places we went to (and the passage of time is probably not the only reason for that), but we did go to one place where I was persuaded, for the first and only time in my life, to eat an oyster.

Why the only time, Rebecca? I nearly gave up on oysters after eating some bad ones in Brittany (it had been raining and the boats hadn't gone out, but I'd just arrived and didn't know that...) Spent the next four days in an orange-wallpapered hotel room (I will never forget that wallpaper) and it took me 3 days to get across the English channel and back to London and 2 weeks to get back to normal. (This was 1992, pre Eurostar...) I think it was about seven years before I tried oysters again.

I'm feeling very hungry after reading this thread. I've never had oysters at all.

Suzanne, that oyster experience sounds truly horrible: I'm surprised you ever tried them again. (I haven't had mussels since I had some bad ones about four or five years ago - but my suffering was nothing compared to yours!)

Merry Christmas, Darryl.

I had to be coaxed into it! It certainly redefined what food poisoning can be -- more than just a queasy stomach.

But yes, oysters can be v. tasty. There are a couple of v. good spots to eat them in NY!

#178, Because it was raw and slimy, Suzanne. Even washed down with hot sauce and beer.

But I have gotten sick from shellfish (forget what kind) at a friend's birthday party at a restaurant called the Maryland Crab House, also back in the 80s.

Aha, another texture issue. Friends of mine loathe things like avocado and eggplant because of texture.

I thought eating raw fish would bother me more than it did when my family first moved to Japan. Turns out that I quite like it; more than I like the cooked version, often. (That is definitely the case with oysters!)

Anyway -- Happy Christmas, Darryl! Yes, i know you're working, but I'm sure you can pop on a red hat and trumpet "ho, ho, ho"? No? :-)

Happy holiday wishes for you, Dr. D!

Merry Christmas, Dr Darryl

Wishing you and your loved ones a very merry Christmas, Darryl.

It was a busy but pleasant day at work, as all of the families I had were quite nice, which isn't always a given at this time of year. No one wants to be in the hospital at Christmas, of course, but this unfortunately is the busiest time of year for us, as more kids are hospitalized in December and January than at any other time of the year. We started the day with 78 patients, but by the time I left we had discharged at least 20 kids. Hopefully there won't be a ton of admissions tonight, and I can leave the hospital by early tomorrow afternoon.

It doesn't look as though Atlanta will see much, if any, accumulating snow tomorrow after all. We'll probably only get a light dusting in the city, but I'll surely see snow on Tuesday when I fly to Madison.

#173: I do want to read The Master and Margarita, so I'll definitely join the 11 in 11 group read, along with several other 75ers and Club Readers, and bring it with me to Madison.

#174: With certain exceptions, the best food in New Orleans is away from the French Quarter, and the further away from Bourbon Street the better. Did you eat an oyster po' boy (one of my all time favorite sandwiches) or have raw oysters (which I also love, as long as they are fresh)? I'm now getting very eager to return to New Orleans, especially to see if some of my favorite eating places, such as Dooky Chase (great red beans & rice with Andouille sausage), Camellia Grill, Mother's (po' boy heaven), and a Creole restaurant on Esplanade Avenue whose name escapes me, are still there.

#175: That sounds horrible, Suzanne. I applaud you for being brave enough to try oysters again after that horrific experience.

#176: You must try oysters, Caty. When they are prepared properly they are divine! I love mussels, and I especially like the ones at Bertha's in Baltimore's Fells Point section (although I haven't been there for years).

#177: You'll have to tell me where to get good oysters in NYC, Suz.

#179: Thanks for the Christmas wishes Suz, Luxx and Linda! I hope that all of you have a wonderful holiday, as well.

ETA: Merry Christmas, Caroline! And Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of my friends on LT! I'm pleased that I met nine LTers in 2010, and I hope to get together with more of you next year.

Merry Christmas, Darryl! I am working too, so I can commiserate :)

Happy Christmas Darryl!

Merry Christmas Darryl

Hope you're having a good Christmas, Darryl!

Merry Christmas, everyone! I did leave work quite early, just before 1 pm, and stopped at a local Indian restaurant for lunch. I wouldn't have expected that any restaurants (other than Waffle House) would be open today, but one of the Jewish doctors I'm friendly with mentioned that he and his family would be having a "Jewish Christmas" at his house, a movie and Chinese food, since many Chinese restaurants are open today. I asked if the Indian restaurants are also open, and he said that they probably would be. So, I called Cafe Bombay, which was open, and picked up a takeaway meal (gosht dahiwala, vegetable samosas, naan and roti), half of which I had for lunch. Yum!

It's already snowing here in Atlanta, and we're supposed to get 1-3 inches in the city. Unfortunately we may also have accumulations of ice, so tomorrow's drive to work might be interesting. The snow is headed to the Northeast, and it looks as though a full-fledged blizzard may be in store for Philly, NYC and Boston, with 5-10 inches forecast for NYC and a foot or more for Boston.

I'm off for the rest of the day, and will resume reading Moving Parts by Magdalena Tulli, the last book I need to complete my 1010 challenge.

Darryl

Stay warm and cozy. I hope you enjoy the book you set aside to read. A friend called a few minutes ago. She drove home from Philadelphia and said it was starting to snow there.

Your comments about the fact that Chinese restaurants are open today brought a smile. After company left last night we watched the classic movie A Christmas Story. The scene when the dogs at the turkey and the family had to eat at a Chinese restaurant was ever so funny.

All the best to you my friend! You are a treasure and I hope to meet you in 2011.

#189: Thanks, Linda; and Merry Christmas! I won't go back outside until tomorrow morning's drive to work. My parents are currently driving on the NJ Turnpike to Jersey City, and they haven't seen any snow yet. They were completely unaware of the snowstorm that is supposed to hit the Northeast, so they may be there for awhile.

Ooh, there are big fat snowflakes falling outside. It's not sticking yet, but it will once the temperature drops below freezing.

I'll have to watch "A Christmas Story", maybe with my friends in Madison later this week. I had no idea about this "Jewish Christmas" tradition and thought that Stan was pulling my leg, until one of my partners mentioned the same thing later in the day. I Googled it, and found other references that mentioned the same thing. Who knew?

ETA: Yes, I hope we do get a chance to meet next year, maybe at a NYC or Philadelphia LT get together.

Darryl, the forecast I heard calls for the snow to start in NYC in mid to late morning tomorrow, so I don't think it would hit the NJ Turnpike until a few hours before that. They're saying 8 - 12 inches, but I'll believe it when I see it!

Darryl, I am glad to see you survived your night last night. I did as well although it was busy. Have a nice night off tonight!

#191: It sounds as if this is going to be a classic Nor'easter. The National Weather Service has placed the NYC area under a blizzard warning, and now predicts 11-16 inches of snow:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
355 PM EST SAT DEC 25 2010

...A MAJOR WINTER STORM WILL IMPACT THE REGION FROM SUNDAY THROUGH
MONDAY AFTERNOON...

CTZ007>012-NJZ002-004-006-103>108-NYZ071>075-078>081-176>179-
260500-
/O.UPG.KOKX.WS.A.0005.101226T1800Z-101227T1800Z/
/O.NEW.KOKX.BZ.W.0002.101226T1100Z-101227T2300Z/
NORTHERN MIDDLESEX-NORTHERN NEW LONDON-SOUTHERN FAIRFIELD-
SOUTHERN NEW HAVEN-SOUTHERN MIDDLESEX-SOUTHERN NEW LONDON-
WESTERN PASSAIC-EASTERN PASSAIC-HUDSON-WESTERN BERGEN-
EASTERN BERGEN-WESTERN ESSEX-EASTERN ESSEX-WESTERN UNION-
EASTERN UNION-SOUTHERN WESTCHESTER-NEW YORK (MANHATTAN)-BRONX-
RICHMOND (STATEN ISLAND)-KINGS (BROOKLYN)-NORTHWESTERN SUFFOLK-
NORTHEASTERN SUFFOLK-SOUTHWESTERN SUFFOLK-SOUTHEASTERN SUFFOLK-
NORTHERN QUEENS-NORTHERN NASSAU-SOUTHERN QUEENS-SOUTHERN NASSAU-
355 PM EST SAT DEC 25 2010

...BLIZZARD WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM SUNDAY TO 6 PM EST
MONDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN UPTON HAS ISSUED A BLIZZARD
WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM SUNDAY TO 6 PM EST MONDAY.
THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

* LOCATIONS...NORTHEAST NEW JERSEY...NEW YORK CITY AND ITS
IMMEDIATE SUBURBS...LONG ISLAND...AND COASTAL AND INTERIOR
SOUTHEAST CONNECTICUT.

* HAZARDS...HEAVY SNOW AND STRONG WINDS...WITH CONSIDERABLE
BLOWING AND DRIFTING OF SNOW AND NEAR ZERO VISIBILITY AT TIMES.

*ACCUMULATIONS...11 TO 16 INCHES...WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS
POSSIBLE IN HEAVIER SNOW BANDS WHOSE EXACT LOCATION IS STILL TOO
EARLY TO DETERMINE. SNOW MAY MIX WITH OR CHANGE TO RAIN AND
SLEET AT THE HEIGHT OF THE STORM LATE SUNDAY NIGHT ACROSS
EASTERN LONG ISLAND...AND POSSIBLY ACROSS COASTAL SOUTHEAST
CONNECTICUT...WHICH COULD HOLD DOWN AMOUNTS THERE...BUT ONLY
AFTER SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATIONS HAVE ALREADY TAKEN PLACE.

* IMPACTS...EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TRAVEL CONDITIONS DEVELOPING DUE
TO SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS...AND STRONG WINDS CAUSING
CONSIDERABLE BLOWING AND DRIFTING OF SNOW. VISIBILITIES WILL BE
NEAR ZERO AT TIMES...WITH WHITEOUT CONDITIONS EXPECTED. STRONG
WINDS MAY ALSO DOWN SOME POWER LINES...TREE LIMBS...AND
CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS.

* TIMING...LIGHT SNOW WILL LIKELY BEGIN DURING SUNDAY
MORNING...THEN BECOME HEAVY AT TIMES FROM LATE SUNDAY AFTERNOON
INTO MUCH OF SUNDAY NIGHT. LIGHT SNOWS WILL LIKELY LINGER INTO
MONDAY MORNING AND POSSIBLY INTO MONDAY AFTERNOON.

* WINDS....DURING THE HEIGHT OF THE STORM SUNDAY NIGHT...NORTH
WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 20 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS 40 TO 55
MPH...HIGHEST ACROSS CENTRAL AND EASTERN LONG ISLAND.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A BLIZZARD WARNING MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE
EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. FALLING AND BLOWING SNOW WITH STRONG
WINDS AND POOR VISIBILITIES ARE LIKELY. THIS WILL LEAD TO WHITEOUT
CONDITIONS...MAKING TRAVEL EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. DO NOT TRAVEL. IF
YOU MUST TRAVEL...HAVE A WINTER SURVIVAL KIT WITH YOU. IF YOU GET
STRANDED...STAY WITH YOUR VEHICLE.

#192: Thanks, Stasia. I'm not on call this weekend (i.e., I don't have to do any new admissions, but I do have to see my old patients and new ones that the overnight doc admits), so it makes for an easier few days.

All the kids in the hospital received presents in large gift bags and a visit from Santa today. One of my patients, a 4 year old boy, showed me his new transformer truck that he received from Santa while I was examining him. When I asked him why Santa came and brought him presents he said "Because it's Tuesday." I asked him if Santa came every Tuesday and he said "Yes!" His mother and I were practically in tears with laughter, but she didn't like the thought of having 52 Christmases every year.

Stay safe and warm!

(And I'm so glad you had a good day at work!)

Thanks. It was a better than average Christmas Day, as none of my families pitched a fit because they couldn't leave the hospital first thing in the morning. I normally see the potential discharges first, so that they can spend the day at home with their families, but some parents are impossibly demanding and unpleasant to interact with at this time of year.

Merry Christmas, Darryl! I'm happy to hear that you had nice families and a pleasant time at work. And your Indian lunch sounds delicious!

For the last few years, my parents and I have had a "Jewish Christmas" - they come over around lunch time, pick up some Chinese food, we open presents and watch movies and play a card game or two, have some dessert, and then they go home! We're all happy and relaxed, there's barely any cleanup, and we have a good time.

I hope you're enjoying the rest of your book (and perhaps some leftovers?) and have a peaceful night!

Well, I guess I'll just wait and see about the snow. I don't have to go anywhere, so I'm not really worried. About 6 or 7 years ago, there was a huge snowstorm on Christmas itself and we were up at my sweetie's mother's in northern Westchester. As the snow started falling, I convinced him we should skip the evening party at another relative's house and start back for the city in the late afternoon. It was the scariest drive I've ever been on!

Merry Christmas Darryl :)

Holy Toledo. I'm supposed to be traveling (by train) to NJ in the morning... and HAVE to be back on Monday. Think I will check with my friends to see if they want to be picking me up at any train stations!! Thanks for posting...

Glad you had a better than expected Christmas -- and soon you'll be winging your way to your REAL Christmas. And yes, movies and Chinese are a classic "Jewish Christmas", although I heard on NPR today about a walking tour and visit of sites on the lower east side, where everything is open (including, possibly, Russ & Daughters?)

ho ho ho!

Merry Christmas Darryl!

Í've just read 182 messages on here, yikes - I am adding The Emperor of all Maladies to my wishlist.

I hope your drive to work is uneventful and will be checking in for weather updates later on... we had a white Christmas here but nothing like 11-16 inches!

Happy St. Stephen's Day! Or Boxing Day! Whichever you prefer, Darryl, may it be a happy, happy occasion, unaffected by the blizzard impending here east of I-95.

Be safe, Darryl.

We've been visiting my FIL in the rehab center where he was moved 2 days ago, and there are some very lovely people who work there. I think they all have such difficult jobs that are made all the more challenging with demanding (and usually anxious or scared) family members. I made a huge patch of cookies on Christmas Eve and we brought it over for the staff at the nursing station by his room. They were all so sweet and came over to thank us, and tell us how much they liked the cookies.

Thankfully my FIL likes his PTs because he can be awfully stubborn and crabby, especially when he's in pain, and with his trigeminal (sic?) fibromyalgia worsening, he seems to be in constant pain all day and night now.

The weather here was fine. Midtown Atlanta only received a dusting of snow on the streets, but the further I traveled north to the hospital the amount of snow on the asphalt increased to maybe 1/2 inch. The far northern suburbs did see significant snow (for Atlanta), though. But, this still counts as the snowiest Christmas in Atlanta since 1882.

It was a horrible and very sad day on our service today. I'll spare you guys the details, but I had to give unexpected and very bad news to the parents of the 4 year old boy I mentioned yesterday, and one of my partners sent a girl to the ICU on Christmas Day who is doing extremely poorly today.

Ugh. I'm not in much of a mood for reading threads or books at the moment. I think I'll call it a night and check back in tomorrow after work.

>203 kidzdoc:: I'm so sorry, Darryl. That sounds really difficult.

oh, how sad.

You're a gentle soul and a sweetheart, Darryl. I'm sorry you have to face such horrible days.

#203: I am so sorry to hear about the 4-year-old who thinks it is Christmas every Tuesday. It sounds like he is going to learn that it is not, and not in a good way. ((Hugs)) Darryl.

Very sorry to hear about your horrible day, Darryl. (((Hugs))) Keeping you and your colleagues, your patients and their families in my thoughts and prayers. (((More hugs))).

#204-208: Thanks for the hugs and kind thoughts, although the families of those two kids need them far more than I do.

Today was my last work day of 2010, and I'm off until the Saturday after next (1/8). By this time tomorrow I should be having dinner with my best friends, and words cannot express how much I look forward to seeing them and the kids. It appears that my flights (Atlanta to Detroit, and Detroit to Madison) will leave on time, as there will be no weather problems in any of these cities. However, Delta's web site won't let me check in for my flights, which makes me a bit nervous.

Darryl

I hope you have a lovely break and time with special friends. You care ever so deeply for your patients, and alas, those who care pay an emotional price.

Hugs.

Have a great break, Darryl. I'm happy that you will be in the company of your best friends and their families to recharge your spirits. Safe travels, dear friend.

Have a great time with your friends, Darryl! Hope you'll be checking in regularly on LT.

Happy 2nd Christmas to you Darryl.

Safe travels, Darryl. Enjoy your visit to Madison.

Friends came over for a holiday visit the day after Christmas. While they were here they proposed a long weekend in New Orleans in March. Jane and I used to go a couple of times a year, but we haven't been since we've had Jack which means since the year before Katrina. We are pretty sure we can make it happen, and it was delightful to really get in the mood reading your thread. I didn't love the oyster po'boy, but I adore getting a muffaletta from Central Grocery and then eating it straight from the wrapper sitting on the bank of the Mississippi. Is the Praline place you're thinking of in Fauborg Marigny? We had great pralines somewhere in the Marigny, but I remember no details other than that.

I'm so sorry about the little boy and his family. As someone who has been intimately involved in the life and death of a very sick child, I hope it brings you some comfort to know that caring professionals make a world of difference.

Have a wonderful second Christmas with your friends, Darryl.

Fingers crossed on the flights! I bet it's just because they don't yet know which plane is going to be there -- they often won't let you check in in advance in that case, when planes aren't located where they are supposed to be.

Hope the break recharges your batteries -- and gives you lots of reading time!

Travel safely, and enjoy your time as a temporary Wisconsinite! They're saying we might hit 50 degrees on Thursday or Friday, so you shouldn't be socked in with snow while you're here. (And not that I'm assuming or anything, but enjoy the Madison bookshops too!)

I hope you have a nice, restorative visit with your friends!

#217 I haven't been there in awhile but, when I'm in Madison, I like to visit the mystery bookstore, Booked for Murder.

Safe journey and happy voyage, Darryl...you need some good, solid happy time.

Safe travels, Darryl!

Have a safe trip and very relaxing holiday in Wisconsin, Darryl.

Hope your travels are safe and uneventful, and you have a wonderful time with your friends.

Thanks again for your heartfelt wishes, everyone.

There was quite a disparity in the snowfall totals from this week's storm; my parents' town in suburban Philadelphia received 10 inches, but Jersey City received 26 inches, and several NJ towns just south of J.C. received 30 or more inches.

I was finally able to check in on both of my flights this morning, so I should be in good shape. I think I'll get to the airport earlier than I usually do, just in case there are any last minute changes, as I have a tight window (35 minutes) between the time my first flight is supposed to land in Detroit and the second flight that will leave from there to Madison.

#212: I'll check in to LT at least once a day, but I'm sure that it will be less than I normally would. On past trips I haven't been able to access my friend's home WiFi network on my netbook, so I'll either have to use their computer or my BlackBerry.

I'll bring six books with me, two to finish 2010, Moving Parts by Magdalena Tulli and Lighthead by Terrance Hayes, and four books that I'll start this year but won't finish until after Jan 1, The War of the End of the World by Mario Vargas Llosa, Life Ascending: The Ten Great Inventions of Evolution by Nick Lane, The Memory Chalet by Tony Judt, and A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore. I'll definitely leave the Moore and probably the Lane with Murielle, and the Judt with Dave if I finish it before I leave.

#215: The praline shop I was thinking of is Aunt Sally's on Decatur Street, not far from Central Grocery. Ooh...I'm now in the mood for pralines, but I shouldn't order them, since little Mary is allergic to tree nuts.

I sent my patient home yesterday. We diagnosed him with a well known and feared virus, which we weren't expecting. We tested him for this virus as part of an immune deficiency workup after he presented with his fourth episode of pneumonia within two years, but we didn't think that he had it. I told his father on Sunday after the second, confirmatory test came back positive (the screen was positive on Christmas Day, but at that time we thought that it was probably a false positive). His father then told me that he and his wife were also infected (and apparently the father got the virus from someone else, and passed it on to his wife and son). Neither parent told any of the doctors, since Mom tested negative during pregnancy. To say the least it was difficult for me to talk to Dad without becoming angry at him, but he was obviously tortured and depressed at the knowledge that he caused this to happen to his son and wife. The boy will need close follow up, but he looks quite good at the moment; hopefully he will stay that way.

Unfortunately the other girl did not improve, as we feared, and she will probably be taken off of life support today.

I'm very glad to be able to get away for awhile, although I certainly won't forget these past few days.

#216: I was just able to check in a few minutes ago, Suz. Your comment makes perfect sense, and that may be why I couldn't check in. However, the Delta web site wasn't functioning properly yesterday, maybe because of all the activity from people trying to make alternative arrangements in addition to the uncertainty of whether planes would be available or not. Fortunately ATL is Delta's main hub, so it's much more likely that there are sufficient planes here or at DTW (Detroit), which is now a hub city after Delta merged with Northwest Airlines.

#217: I saw that too, Laura; AccuWeather is forecasting a high temperature of 44 degrees on Thursday in Madison, which is balmy for late December. It looks as thought the temperature will drop overnight, but I didn't see any mention of significant snowfall for the next 7-10 days. Tomorrow looks to be nice (39 degrees and sunny), so I'm sure that we'll be outside during the day (and I wouldn't be surprised if the kids wanted to go to the Milwaukee Zoo, if Dave is off from work).

#218: I haven't been to or heard of Booked for Murder, but I'll bet that Murielle has, since it's on University Avenue just across from the UW Medical Center where Dave works. I'll ask her about it today. She prefers to go to Barnes & Noble and the discount bookseller that Laura mentioned (whose name escapes me). There was a great bookstore off of State Street that was on the ground floor of an inn or bed & breakfast (name?), which is now an antique book store that is nowhere near as appealing to her or me.

Were you referring to that little 4 year old? I hope his prognosis is ultimately good.

A visit with friends is just what the doctor needs! So sad about your last two patients. I'm sure you never get used to bad news.

Thanks for sharing your reads with us this past year, Darryl. I hope 2011 has many more good books in store for you. I think it is so cool that you are leaving behind some of your books for your friends to enjoy. The perfect host and hostess gifts!

Woo! I made it to Madison in one piece, although I needed serious intervention to be able to make the flight from Atlanta on time, and I arrived a couple of hours later than expected due to a delay in the aircraft and the crew in arriving to Detroit. No complaints, especially since I and my luggage arrived together. The weather here isn't bad, as Laura said, although there is still plenty of snow on the surfaces and side roads.

I brought Angel of Death: The Story of Smallpox by Gareth Williams instead of Life Ascending: The Ten Great Inventions of Evolution, so that will likely be my first read of 2011.

#224: The first child I mentioned is the 4 year old who said that Santa came on 12/25 because he always comes on Tuesdays. I assume that everyone has figured out which virus I'm referring to. His prognosis does look to be good, since he was almost certainly infected before or shortly after birth, has not received treatment, and is doing well, with a normal CD4 count. In fact, his numbers are so good that the infectious disease specialist said that he doesn't need treatment for this virus at this point.

#225: A visit with friends is just what the doctor needs!

Absolutely right, Donna; I can't think of anything better than visiting my best friends at this time. They are like family to me, and the kids are probably closer to me than any of their biological aunts, uncles and grandparents, since I see them far more often than anyone else does. This past 1-1/2 years has been unusual, as I've only been here three times since then, but I'm sure that I'll visit considerably more often in 2011.

So sad about your last two patients. I'm sure you never get used to bad news.

Right again. Dave, who is a pediatric neurologist at UW (U. of Wisconsin), told me about several of his worst cases over the past few months after I told him about these two kids as he drove me from the airport to his house. He was also deeply affected by the loss of those young patients that he took care of.

I think that 2011 will be a better reading year for me, not so much in terms of number of books read, but the quality of the books that I'll read, and the effort to read books that I've been meaning to get to for months or years.

I'm still unable to log on to my friends' WiFi, and my BlackBerry's coverage (T-Mobile) is fair to poor in Madison, so I'll probably have to use their computer, when I can, to log on to LT, which may be sporadic, at best. I'll try to keep up with my own threads for the next week, but I may not be able to do much more than that.

Glad you made it Darryl. But, I have to ask what does I needed serious intervention to be able to make the flight from Atlanta on time mean?

Have a great time!

Darryl, I hope you have plenty of time to unwind and enjoy this holiday with your friends. I can think of no one more deserving.

Glad you made it there safely. Enjoy your holiday.

#227: I had a difficult time checking in for my flights online, but I was finally able to early yesterday morning. I didn't print a boarding pass at home, since I could always do it at one of the Delta kiosks at the airport--until yesterday. When I tried to use a kiosk I was told that I would have to see a Delta agent, and I had to get on an incredibly slow moving line with at least 100 other passengers. I realized that I would probably miss my flight if I stayed in this line, so I pleaded for help from a Delta representative that passed by. She initially wasn't helpful, but once I started sobbing openly she came back, pulled me out of the Russian bread line, and fast tracked me through another area. I had my tickets in 10 minutes (I was upgraded to first class on the Atlanta to Detroit flight, which was why I couldn't use the kiosk), and made it to the gate 15 minutes before it boarded.

#228, 229: Thanks Stasia & Caty! After my parents' house this is my second home.

Funny story about the reaction to your outburst, Darryl. I had a similar experience years ago in a bank, after an ATM ate my card. Nobody was helpful until I started essentially throwing a temper tantrum -- then I got plenty of attention. But how nervous-making for you knowing the flight was about to leave!

ETA This also worked for me in a hotel I was trying to check in to when I was going to a friend's wedding. I needed to get to the room to shower, wash my hair, and dress up before some other friends of hers came to pick my up. Despite my reservation, my room wasn't ready, and I confess I started crying. All of a sudden, they had a different room they could give me, which turned out to have a gorgeous view of Baltimore harbor and probably usually cost a lot more than the one I had originally reserved.

Darryl

Once again, I want to say that my heart goes out to you and the families you serve. Like you, I would find it difficult to deal lith the dad who knew he had the "well known and fearful" virus. What's up with these people anyway? Something is happening to me as I get older in that I have very little patience for people who are selfish and unthinking, perhaps uncaring.

Back to the positive, I hope you have a lovely time with your dear friends. Three R's for you...rest, relax, read.

Hmm, need to learn how to sob more attractively in 2011... this has never worked for me yet!

But then, I'm glad it did for you, Darryl, and you made it.

I'm glad that at least the 4-year-old was born into an era where there are treatment options. There are lots of selfish people out there, some of whose actions have horrible consequences, from drunk driving to this. As Richard, I think, said a short while ago, often they end up suffering as much as their victims -- I hope so, certainly.

BTW, I was kidding about sobbing openly; I think I would have been taken away by TSA officers if I had done that.

We've had a fun day so far. The kids and dog waited patiently (though not quietly) outside my bedroom door for me to wake up, and I was greeted with hugs and kisses (and tail wags). I can't think of a better way to start my day! After breakfast each gave me a private violin concerto, and I amazed to see how much each one has progressed in the past 8 months. We exchanged Christmas presents (photos soon), and I read to Tommy for a couple of hours while Mary read the first of the Narnia series by C.S. Lewis. They are outside playing in the snow at the moment.

I'm already much more relaxed and rested, though a bit sleepy since Dave & I stayed up after 1 am to talk.

Sounds like you are having a wonderful time Darryl!

Well, you may have been kidding, but I wasn't. I have to say in neither case did I turn on the emotion on purpose, and in fact I was mortified both times, but it definitely worked. I don't think I could turn it on just to achieve an effect.

Glad you're having fun and resting. Just to make you jealous, although you probably also got this e-mail yourself, Book Culture is having a 20% off New Year's Day sale, with a bagel brunch at 10 AM!

#235: Definitely!

#236: I was very fortunate that the Delta representative came back and helped me out, as I doubt that anyone else would have.

I haven't checked my Yahoo! Mail account since Tuesday morning, so I haven't seen the Book Culture e-mail. Actually I'm not jealous, after going there twice earlier this month, but in a month or two I'm sure I'll be eager to return there.

I finished my 162nd, and probably last, book of 2010: Moving Parts by Magdalena Tulli, a mildly humorous but very confusing novel about a narrator who attempts to write a story, but is hampered as he has no control of the story or its characters. Parts of it were amusing, but much of it was unreadable and unenjoyable. I may give this another go in the future, but for now I'll give it 3 stars and recommend it only for lovers of experimental fiction. It's an Archipelago book, so this makes my 10th Archipelago book of the year, and I've now completed my 1010 challenge (10 books in 10 categories in '10; see Message 1).

I'll now migrate to my 2011 Club Read and 75 Books threads over the next day or two. My first book of 2011 will be Angel of Death: The Story of Smallpox by Gareth Williams, which I started on Tuesday. I'm nearly halfway through it, and will probably finish it on 1/1 or 1/2. My next fiction read will be A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore, which will be my first Orange January book.

Congratulations on finishing 162 books in 2010, Darryl! I'll be interested to hear what you think of the book on smallpox and on A Gate at the Stairs.

So, is it snowy and cold in Wisconsin (or is that a silly question)?

Thanks, Pat. Angel of Death: The Story of Smallpox is good so far, but it doesn't come close to The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer. The former book was shortlisted for the Wellcome Trust Book Prize, the award for books on medicine and literature, which is how I heard about it.

It's actually warm (39 degrees) and foggy in Madison today. We haven't seen the sun all day, and it's been dark and damp. It's supposed to rain tonight and tomorrow, then the temperature will drop Friday night into Saturday, and return to more normal temps (highs in the low to mid 20s). There is still plenty of snow on the ground, but a bit less today as compared to yesterday.

I can tell you're feeling relaxed already, Darryl. That's great after the brutish week you had. How lovely that they prepared a little concert just for you.... now THAT's love, that is.

When do you go back?

#240: I fly back next Wednesday 1/5, and return to work on Saturday 1/8, so I have several days left here.

162 books! What an accomplishment!

Thanks, Linda. I also read 162 books in 2010, so at least I'm consistent.

Congrats on reading 162, Darryl. Easy number to remember (162 games in an MLB season).

I'm at 155 right now, same as in 2009 but I may finish #156 before the year ends.

Ha ha! I didn't rhink about that, Linda.

Congratulations on your accomplishment as well. I conceivably could read a short book that my Madisonian friends have at home to reach 163 books, but I highly doubt that I'd do this.

I'll probably finish 156 tonight or tomorrow. If so, next year, I'll have to aim for 157, just to follow my pattern.

I'm glad you have a nice long break, Darryl. My company's given us tomorrow and next Monday off so I don't need to be back to work until Tuesday.

Have you read Plants Don't Drink Coffee by Unai Elorriaga from Archipelago Books? There are a few books I'm considering buying from them that were released before my subscription started, and this sounds interesting, but I'm trying to find out if anyone's read and liked them a lot first.

I'm glad that you have a four day weekend, Caroline; you deserve a nice break from work and personal responsibilities.

I did read and enjoy Plants Don't Drink Coffee; my review from 2009 is on the book's page on LT.

*waving hello*

I hope you are having a wonderful time, Darryl!

Yes, I'm definitely enjoying myself. I feel very comfortable here, and I definitely want to resume visiting my friends far more often in 2011.

I'm almost 2/3 of the way through Angel of Death: The Story of Smallpox by Gareth Williams, and I might finish it today. Since I probably won't review it before tomorrow I'll list it as my first book of 2011.

Looks like your spending a wonderful holiday with people you enjoy and who enjoy you!. Best wishes for a year full of wonderful travels and good books!

Thanks, Lynda! I hope that 2011 is an enjoyable and productive year for you, as well.

I hope you have a wonderful new year, sir!

Thank you, madame! I hope that you, Mike and the monsters have a fabulous New Year too.

Happy new year Darryl, and I'm glad you're having a great time in Wisconsin!

I liked your review of Plants Don't Drink Coffee, Darryl. I've ordered my copy from Archipelago as an end of year treat to myself. :-)



I hope you'll enjoy the last day of 2010 with heaps of merry making with your friends and here's wishing you another wonderful year of books in 2011.

#255: Happy New Year, Cushla! The weather continues to be a bit strange here (now 38 degrees and very foggy), but the temperature will plummet over the next 24 hours, from above normal to below normal temperatures (today's high will be 44 degrees, but it will only reach 17 degrees tomorrow).

#256: Thanks, Caroline! I'm glad that you liked my review, and I look forward to your comments about Plants Don't Drink Coffee. We'll have a quiet night tonight, especially since the snow on my friends' street has partially melted and will likely freeze once the temperature starts to plummet. The main roads are fine, but the side streets will probably be very icy tonight and tomorrow.

Happy New Year, Darryl! Hope you have a marvelous sojurn in Madison and return refreshed and ready to do battle with the forces of darkness...

*grin*

Darryl, I'm hopelessly behind on reading the threads, but I wanted to stop by and wish you a Happy New Year (and safe travels)!

#258: Happy New Year, Suz! It's been a lovely stay so far, with lots of soul-restoring hugs & kisses from the kids, laughs with my friends, extreme tail wagging from Charlie (the perpetually starving family dog), and plenty of time to read. I also sleep better here than anywhere else, especially on cold winter nights.

Oh, I haven't posted pictures of Murielle, the kids and myself opening up Christmas presents on Wednesday. I'll transfer them from my BlackBerry to my Facebook thread shortly, and post them on my profile page and 2011 thread later tonight or tomorrow.

#259: Happy New Year, Terri! I'll have to pay close attention to the weather up here early next week, so that I don't get stuck (which nearly happened to me on two prior occasions).

Have a great New Year Darryl. Enjoy your time with your friends and kids.

Thanks, Deborah!

I've posted a couple of Christmas pictures on my LT profile page and Facebook account.

Happy New Year Darryl -
the perpetually starving family dog Lol, I have one of those.
Enjoy your time with your friends, it sounds very restful.

Happy New Year Darryl, it's been wonderful getting acquainted with you this year. Here's to heaps and heaps of great books in 2011!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Just saying hello! Happy New Year!

...Darryl...? Thread the newth? Yet? Hmmm?

I knew I couldn't get through your thread without adding something to my wishlist! Added The Emperor of Maladies. But that crepe looks like it has a huge spider crawling over it! (Hate to hear what a doctors would say about my Rorschach test!)

#267: Happy New Year to you too, Sacil!

#268: My new thread is here, and it already has 138 messages. I can't compete with you, though.

*points prayer mat toward LI, again*

#269: Hi, Bonnie! I'd highly recommend The Emperor of All Maladies; Terri (teelgee) is reading it now, and seems to be enjoying it.

Great. Now you've ruined the desirability of that crepe (although maybe that's a good thing...). I think you'd be diagnosed with terminal arachnophobia if you saw a spider on that crepe.

It sounds like you ended your no book buying spell in style.

I read Invisible Man more than 20 years ago and would love to join in a group read some time this year, as a push to reread.

#272: Luci, I'm going to post your message on my 2011 thread, as I think that a couple of other people also expressed interest in a group read of Invisible Man.

I'm going over to the new thread to post.

It may sound a little like a bi-plane passing over ATL as I am feeling somewhat slow and shaky today.

*See* your dear self over there.

Love, R

I will post there at some point, but I'm totally daunted by the number of pre new year posts on 2011. I think I'm going to prioritise group threads over individual ones next year, hopefully that will mean more of a chance to talk to newer people as well.

#275: I understand. I spent several hours yesterday catching up with and deleting new 2011 posts, especially in the 75 Books group. I think I'll ignore 75 Books threads from new members for the time being, and hope that anyone with similar interests will post on my thread, as I'll be working almost every weekday and a couple of weekends over the next five weeks.