Berly Turns the Page #7

Beacon Rock Hike in WA
One mile hike, 850 feet up, and 53 switchbacks!! More pictures to follow...

So many choices!! What should I read?

Reading Now
@ Hench (K 445 pages) by Natalie Zina Walschot with Mark
✔ Why Was the Partridge in the Pear Tree?: The History of Christmas Carols by Reverend Mark Lawson-Jones
@ How to Give Up Plastic (B 212 pages) by Will McCallum

2022
@ The Sentence (B 386 pages) by Louise Erdrich
✔ Red Clocks (B) by Leni Zumas, INDIEspensable group read, January
Minor Feelings Cathy Park Hong for Literary Arts 1/27/22--need to get
Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson, group read in March

Read in December ?? pages / ?? 🎧 hours
2021 Total // pages / ?? 🎧 hours
77. ✔ Shadow Tag by Louise Erdrich With Paul and Stasia 3.75
76. L Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller (1st week in Jan Family Bookclub) 3.0
❤️ @ The House in the Cerulean Sea (B 398 pages) TJ Klune 4.5
74. L A Town Called Solace (K 299 pages) by Mary Lawson 4.0

Read in November ?? pages / ?? 🎧 hours
2021 Total // pages / ?? 🎧 hours
73. @Mrs. Rochester's Ghost (K 392 pages) by Lindsay Marcott 3.5
72. @ Christmas Party (K 402 pages) by Georgette Heyer 2.5
71. @ The Guilty (🎧 3.5 hours) by James Patterson 3.0
70. @ How Much of These Hills is Gold? (B 272 pages) by C Pam Zhang 3.0
69. @ Hard Time (🎧 14 hours) by Jodi Taylor 3.5
68. @ Doing Time (🎧 12.5 hours) by Jodi Taylor 4.0
❤️ @ Fledgling (B 310 pages) by Octavia Butler 4.5
66. @ Tales of Terror and Madness (B 429 pages) by Edgar Allan Poe 4.5

Read in October 2,207 pages / 21.75 🎧 hours
2021 Total // 11,124 pages / 135.75 🎧 hours
65. L Troubled Blood (K 945 pages) by Robert Galbraith 3.5
64. @ The Midnight Library (B 288 pages) by Matt Haig with Ellen 3.75
63. ✔ The Buried Giant (B 336 pages) by Kazuo Ishiguro 4.0
62. @ Found (🎧 7 hrs) by Harlan Coben 3.75
61. @ Seconds Away (🎧 7.5 hrs) by Harlan Coben 3.75
❤️ @ Shelter (🎧 7.25 hrs) by Harlan Coben 4.0
59. @ F is for Fugitive (K 320 pages)by Sue Grafton 3.0
58. @ Broken Horses (K 318 pages) by Brandi Carlile 3.5

Ratings
❤️ Favorite(s) of the month
Loved it! 5.0
Really Good 4.0
Good 3.0
Hmmmm 2.0
Don't Bother 1.0

Source
IR = Indiespensable Readers
LT = LibraryThing Early Reviewer
✔ = Off the shelf (not acquired this year)
L = Library
↩ = Reread
@ = Acquired this year
✗ = DNF

Media
B = Printed Book
🎧 = Audio
K = Kindle
= Graphic Novel

Read in September 1,796 pages / 25.5 🎧 hours
2021 Total // 8,917 pages / 115 🎧 hours
57. @ Elon Musk (K 399 pages) by Ashlee Vance 3.0
56. The Butterfly Lampshade (B 284 pages) by Aimee Bender 4.0
55. Moranthology (🎧 8.5 hours) by Catlin Moran read by Helen Monks 3.75
❤️ @ Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy (B 258 pages) with Ellen 5.0
53. @ The President's Daughter (B 594 pages) by Pres. Bill Clinton and James Patterson 3.75
52. @ The Pact (🎧 17 hours) by Jodi Piccoult read by George Guidall 3.5
❤️ @ Becoming Nicole: The inspiring story of transgender actor-activist Nicole Maines and her extraordinary family (B 297 pages) by Amy Ellis Nutt 4.5

Read in August 803 pages / 34.5 🎧 hours
2021 Total // 7,121 pages / 89.5 🎧 hours
50. ✔ Beautiful World, Where Are You (B 15 pages, sample) by Sally Rooney
49. ✔ The Book of Delights (B 140/274 pages) by Ross Gay ✗
48. @ A Good Day for Chardonnay (🎧 12 hours) by Darynda Jones, read by Lorelei King 4.0
❤️ @ A Bad Day for Sunshine (🎧 12 hours) by Darynda Jones, read by Lorelei King 4.5
❤️ @ Outland (🎧10.5 hours) by Dennis E Taylor 4.5
45. @ When We Believed in Mermaids (K 348 page) by Barbara O'Neal 4.0
44. @ The Lost Apothecary (B 300 pages) by Sarah Penner 4.0

Read in July 3,206 pages / 0 🎧 hours
2021 Total // 6,318 / 55 🎧 hours
43. @ Gold Diggers (B 344 pages) by Sanjena Sathian 3.0
42. @ I Have Always Been Me (K 250 pages) by Precious Brady-Davis 3.5
41. @ The Magic of Found Objects (K 362 pages) by Maddie Dawson 2.75
40. @ One Two Three (B 408 pages) by Laurie Frankel 3.5
❤️ ✔ Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent (B 395 pages) by Isabel Wilkerson 4.5
38. @ Hadley and Grace (K 344 pages) 3.75 by Suzanne Redfearn
37. ✔ Black Coral (K 317 pages) by Andrew Mayne 3.75
36. @ I Thought You Said This Would Work (K 301 pages) by Ann Wertz Garvin 4.0
35. ✔ In Bad Company (K 485 pages) by Viveca Sten 3.5

Read in June 2,349 pages / 0 🎧 hours
2021 Total // 3,112 pages / 55 🎧 hours
34. L Sweep with Me (146 pages) by Ilona Andrews 3.5
33. L Sweep of the Blade (322 pages) by Ilona Andrews 3.5
32. L One Fell Sweep (K 340 pages) by Ilona Andrews 3.5
31. L Sweep in Peace (K 315 pages) by Ilona Andrews 3.75
30. ✔ Clean Sweep (K 226 page) by Ilona Andrews 3.5
29. @ The Puma Years: A Memoir (K 298 pages) by Laura Coleman 3.75
28. @ The Immune Mystery: A Doctor's Impassioned Quest to Solve the Puzzle of Autoimmune Disease (B 288 pages) by Anita Kass 4.0
❤️ ✔ Voyagers (B 414 pages) by Robert Silverberg ARC 4.5

Read in May 763 pages / 4 🎧 hours
2021 Total // 5,733 pages / 55 🎧 hours
26. @ Billie Eilish (🎧 2.0 hours) by Billie Eilish 3.5
❤️ @ Klara and the Sun (B 303 pages) by Kazuo Ishiguro, RL Bookclub 4.5
24. @ I'm Not Dying With You Tonight (2 of 🎧 5.5 hours) by Kimberly Jones - ✗
23. @ Special Circumstances (K 460 pages) by Sheldon Siegel with my Dad 3.0

Read in April 0 pages / 23 🎧 hours
2021 Total // 4,970 pages / 51 🎧 hours
❤️ @ Later (🎧 6.5 hours) by Stephen King 4.5
22. @ Beginner's Mind (🎧 1.5 hours) by Yo-Yo Ma 4.0
21. @ Between Two Kingdoms (🎧 13 hours) by Suleika Jaouad 4.0
20. @ Sleeping Dogs Lie (🎧 2 hours) by Samantha Downing 3.75

Read in March 1,495 pages / 3 🎧 hours
2021 Total // 4,970 pages / 28 🎧 hours
19. ✔ In the Name of Truth (K 459 pagers) by Viveca Sten 3.5
❤️ @ Anxious People (K 349 pages) by Fredrik Backman, RL Bookclub 4.5
17. ✔ The Sandman (🎧 3 of 8.5 hours) by Neil Gaiman ✗
16. @ IR Leave the World Behind (B 256 pages) by Rumaan Alam 4.0
15. @ In the Woods (B 431 pages) by Tana French 4.0

Read in February 1,802 pages / 25 🎧 hours
2021 Total // 3,475 pages / 50 🎧 hours
❤️ @ Untamed: The Wildest Woman in America and the Fight for Cumberland Island (B 310 pages) by Will Harlan 5.0
14. @ The Book of Delights (B 141/274 pages) by Ross Gay ✗
13. @ The Cipher (K 325 pages) by Isabella Maldonado 3.75
12. ✔ IR Did You Ever Have a Family (B 295 pages) by Bill Clegg IR #55 with Paul 4.0
11. ✔ In the Shadow of Power (K 393 pages) Book #7 by Viveca Sten 3.5
10. ✔ In Search of Black History (🎧 5.5 hours) by Bonnie Greer 3.75
9. @ Dead Heat (B 338 pages) by Patricia Briggs 3.5

Read in January 1,673 pages / 25 🎧 hours
8. @ Keep Sharp (🎧 8 hrs) by Sanjay Gupta 4.0
7. @ The Viscount Who Loved Me (K 344 pages) by Julia Quinn 3.75
6. ✔ Squeeze Me (B 336 pages) by Carl Hiaasen 4.0
5. @ Banker (K 323 pages) by Dick Francis 3.5
4. ✔ Heaven's River (🎧 17 hrs) Bobiverse #4 by Dennis Taylor 3.75
❤️ @ Themes and Variations (K 17 pages) Essay by David Sedaris 4.0
2. ↩ Jazz (K 244 pages) by Toni Morrison 3.0
❤️ ✔ Girl Waits With Gun (B 409 pages) by Amy Stewart 4.25

Catalogued shelves -- I want to finish this in 2021 and I was off to a good start, but now I don't know...!

1/5 -- I am now in the M's.
1/25 -- In the N's.
3/19 -- In the P's.
3/22 -- In the R's
3/25 -- In the S's.
4/19 -- More S's.



Books Freed = 0
Powell's isn't open for drop-offs....although I do have a bag waiting to go and I just found out I can enter them by ISBN and see if they are willing to take them. Another project!!! : )

2021 RL Book Club #1
✅ February - News of the World by Paulette Jiles
✅ April - Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
✅ June - Caste by Isabel Wilkerson
✅ August - The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
October - The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead

2021 RL Book Club #2
✅ February - Caste by Isabel Wilkerson
✅ June - Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
✅ September - Becoming Nicole: The inspiring story of transgender actor-activist Nicole Maines and her extraordinary family by Amy Ellis Nutt
✅ October - Broken Horses by Brandi Carlile
✅ November - How Much of These Hills is Gold by C Pam Zhang

2022 RL Book Club #2
January - The Sentence by Louise Erdrich

2022 Family Bookclub
January - Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller

Literary Arts 2021-2022
October 2021 -- Daniel James Brown Facing the Mountain
January 27, 2022 -- Cathy Park Hong Minor Feelings
February 17, 2022 -- Britt Bennet The Vanishing Half
April 21, 2022 -- Richard Powers The Overstory (have it) & Bewilderment (free copy from LA later in the year)
May 12, 2022 -- Edwidge Danticat Everything Inside

Powell's Indiespensable Readers

Hubby signed me up for this (Thank you!!). Over the years I have received over 90 installments (some with two or three books), and I haven't read all the books yet. Not even close! Ummm...obviously I need to work on this category next year...

Let me know if any books interest you (ones I haven't read yet)! Beth, Ellen, Stasia and Paul are in for at least some of the ones listed below.

2022 Challenge
January -- Red Clocks by Leni Zumas

Other 2022 potential reads....
Moonglow by Michael Chabon
Your Duck is My Duck by Deborah Eisenberg
The Blazing World by Siri Hustvedt
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra
The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne
The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead

The complete list can be found here and I'd love to have some friends do some group reads with me in 2022. Suggestions?

https://www.librarything.com/topic/336987#n7662792

I can't resist buying books!!

I seem to manage to read around 50% of my newbies, except in 2019 where I (ahem) added a few more books to my collection than normal. But then in 2020 I killed it and read almost 75% of my newbies!!

2017 47/85
2018 45/88
2019 45/128
2020 78/103

Let's see how I do this year...

2021 48/96 Read

✅ Keep Sharp by Sanja Gupta MD
2. Paradise by Toni Morrison
✅ Themes and Variations: An Essay by David Sedaris *
✅ Hadley and Grace by Suzanne Redfearn *
5. Cold Earth by Sarah Moss (Thank you TwinB!) *
6. The Liar's Dictionary by Eley Williams
✅ The Book of Delights by Ross Gay - DNF
8. Effie by Suzanne Fagence Cooper (Thank you Whisper1!) *
9. Infinite by Brian Freeman *
✅ Voyagers by Robert Silverberg * ARC
✅ The Cipher by Isabella Maldonado
12. How to Avoid a Climate Disaster by Bill Gates
✅ Untamed: The Wildest Woman in America and the Fight for Cumberland Island by Will Harlan
14. In the Woods by Tana French
✅ In Bad Company by Viveca Sten
✅ The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
✅ Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
✅ Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
19. The Light Through the Leaves by Glendy Vanderah *
20. My Year Abroad by Chang-Rae Lee * IR # 90 (Thank you Hubby!)
21. Hummingbird Salamander by Jeff VanderMeer
✅ Beginner's Mind by Yo-Yo Ma *
✅ Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouad *
✅ Sleeping Dogs Lie by Samantha Downing *
✅ Billie Eilish by Billie Eilish 3.5
✅ I'm Not Dying With You Tonight by Kimberly Jones
✅ Special Circumstances by Sheldon Siegel with my Dad 3.0
✅ Later by Stephen King
✅ Beginner's Mind by Yo-Yo Ma *
✅ Gold Diggers by Sanjena Sathian * IR #91
31. The Murmer of Bees by Sofia Segovia
✅ The Immune Mystery by Anita Kass *
✅ Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
✅ The Puma Years:A Memoir by Laura Coleman
✅ The Pact by Jodi Piccoult *
36. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier *
✅ Shelter by Harlan Coben *
✅ Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters *
39. A Burning by Megha Majumdar * Thank you Mark!
40. The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich * Mark again!
41. Everyone Knows Your Mother is a Witch by Rivka Galchen * IR #92
42. Love Like That by Emma Duffy-Comparone * IR #92
✅ Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney * IR #92
44. Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart
✅ The Magic of Found Objects by Maddie Daws *
✅ I Have Always Been Me by Precious Brady-Davis *
✅ Mrs. Rochester's Ghost by Lindsay Marcott
✅ When We Believed in Mermaids by Barbara O'Neil *
✅ Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance
✅ A Bad Day for Sunshine by Darynda Jones
✅ A Good Day for Chardonnay by Darynda Jones
✅ Outland by Dennis E. Taylor
53. These Toxic Things: A Thriller by Hall Rachel Howzell *
54. Perfect Little World: A Novel by Kevin Wilson
55. What Strange Paradise: A novel by Omar El Akkad * IR #93
56. The Thirty Names of Night: A Novel by Zeyn Joukhadar
57. On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous: A Novel by Ocean Vuong
✅ The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
59. In Our Time by Hemingway
✅ The Butterfly Lampshade: A Novel by Aimee Bender
61. Doc: A Novel by Mary Doria Russell
✅ Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy with Ellen
✅ The Midnight Library: A Novel by Matt Haig with Ellen
64. Second Place: A Novel by Rachel Cusk with Ellen
✅ The President's Daughter by Pres. Bill Clinton and James Patterson
✅ Becoming Nicole: The inspiring story of transgender actor-activist Nicole Maines and her extraordinary family by Amy Ellis Nutt
67. The Barefoot Summer by Carolyn Brown
68. Thermodynamics: Four Laws That Move the Universe by Jeffrey Grossman *
69. How to Give Up Plastic by Will McCallum
70. Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead
71. Still Lives: A Novel by Maria Hummel
✅ Daughter of the Morning Star by Craig Johnson *
✅ Tales of Terror and Madness by Edgar Allen Poe
73. No Time To Spare by Ursala K. Le Guin
✅ Doing Time by Jodi Taylor *
75. The Plot Against America by Philip Roth
76. Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami
77. Flight Risk by Joy Castro
78. Under Color of Law by Aaron Philip Clark
✅ F is for Fugitive by Sue Grafton
80. These Toxic Things by Rachel Howzell Hall
81. Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots
82. The Barefoot Summer by Carolyn Brown
83. A Carnival of Snackery by David Sedaris
✅ Seconds Away by Harlan Coben
✅ Found by Harlan Coben
✅ Detransition Baby by Torrey Peters
✅ Hard Time by Jodi Taylor
✅ Fledgling by Octavia Butler
89. Pattern Master by Octavia Butler
90. Poet Warrior by Joy Harjo
91. The Woman Who Fell From the Sky by Joy Harjo
92. The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
93. A Good Time For The Truth: Race in Minnesota (Thank you TwinB) *
94. Flying on the Inside by Rachel Gotto *
95. The Spires by Kate Moretti *
96. No Way Back by JB Turner *

* Free or gift

Favorites from 2020
Fiction
Miss Suzy by Miriam Young (Childhood Favorite)
The Night Before Christmas by Jan Brett (Christmas Tradition)
The Institute by Stephen King
There, There by Tommy Orange
Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson
The Highest Tide by Jim Lynch
The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter

Non-Fiction
I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O'Farrell
How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X Kendi
Vesper Flights by Helen Macdonald
Still Life with Oysters and Lemon by Mark Doty
Liquid: The Delightful and Dangerous Substances That Flow Through Our Lives by Mark Miodownik

I am going to try and keep track of series I am currently enjoying here:

Series/Author/Next Book
Bobiverse / Dennis E. Taylor / #5 not yet published
Quantum Earth / Dennis E. Taylor / #2 not yet published
Bridgerton / Julia Quinn / #3 An Offer From A Gentleman
The Chronicles of St Mary's / Jodi Taylor / #6 What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
The Time Police / Jodi Taylor #3 due out in 2022
Cormoran Strike Series / Robert Galbraith / #6 Not yet published
Kinsey Millhone Mystery Series / Sue Grafton / Read ABCDEFQX / Next G is for
Kopp Series / Amy Stewart / #2 Lady Cop Makes Trouble
Sandham Murders / Viveca Sten / #10 Buried in Secret / release date Jan 2022
Sweep Series / Ilona Andrews / #6 not yet published
Sunshine Vicram / Darynda Jones / #3 A Hard Day for a Hangover Dec 2022
Mickey Bolitar / Harlen Coben / #4 not yet published

Oops, didn't need this one. : )

I am giving Thanks for my LT friends!!

And we are thankful for you!

Happy new thread!

>14 Berly: >15 quondame: Hello there!!

And here's a toast to you for being #1!

>16 Berly: Psst! It's me down here!

>17 quondame: You mean I shouldn't toast myself? LOL. I can count. Really! It's just bad typing. Fixed. : )

Makes me second Kimmers but still with a thirst for Champers.

Happy new one. x

Happy new thread!

>19 PaulCranswick: Well, I am sure I have another glass around here somewhere...Cheers!!

>20 figsfromthistle: There's plenty for everyone!!

Slurp! This is one great party!

: )



So I finished The Guilty (🎧 3.5 hours) by James Patterson. It's a short one about a famous playwright and something that happens on stage. An all-star cast does the audio -- I don't usually like multiple audio voices, but this one is very well done. 3.5

From Audible: Tonight, Osmond Box, the reclusive yet wildly successful writer/director known for his completely surprising Broadway plays, is debuting his seventh and most highly anticipated production of his career: The Guilty. Nothing is known as about the story, the setting, the premise, or even the actors involved. The first people to discover the truth will be the lucky ones sitting in those seats opening night. Phones are collected; doors are locked. The rest of the world eagerly awaits the first reviews....

Two hours later, when the doors are finally allowed to open, half of the audience will be applauding wildly. The other half will be fleeing the theater in mortal terror. Has Osmond Box done it again? Or has he done something far, far worse?

Happy new thread, Kim!

Thanks, Stasia!! I am still trying to pick myself up of the floor after seeing your BlackHole count...!

Happy new thread, Kim!
Thank you for the beautiful topper #Iwanttogotheretoo

Happy new thread, Kim!

>1 Berly: What a lovely view!

>7 Berly: Still stuck at P-Q-R. I miss the yellow sticking paper ;-)

>28 FAMeulstee: Hello! So nice to see you here.

I have more pictures to post, hopefully today. Just a gorgeous walk.

And I am actually in the Ss, but I had hoped to finish by the end of the year and that's fast approaching. Hmmm....

I'll try to remember the yellow sticky note next time I post a pic though! ; )

Happy new thread, Kim. What a stunning topper!

Happy New thread, Kimmers! LOVE the Beacon Rock topper. Wow! I am glad to see you are enjoying Cerulean Sea. Hooray for having Doc queued up. I should join you on Hench. I have had that one saved on my Kindle, since RD & Joe were raving about it. When do you think you would start it?

Happy new thread TwinK! We need to hike on my next Portland trip! I love the photo. I would be up for a shared indispensable read next year, to keep you at it. :)

Happy Thanksgiving. I am thankful for you, so take care.

Loving the topper!

Hi Kim, and happy new thread! Beautiful topper.

>12 Berly: I just read the first of the Kopp Series in a shared read with alcottacre. I have the second on my shelves, just waiting for the right time. It’s a long wait for the next Cormoran Strike, I’m afraid.

Happy Thanksgiving. I know I’m thankful for a bit more than usual now, but am always thankful for LT and friends like you.

Morning, Kim! Happy new one! Your topper is full of gorgeous.

Happy new thread, Kim ... and Happy Thanksgiving coming right up. Hope you and the family have a lovely party, safely in a warm garage :)

Have you all a happy Thanksgiving, Kim and family.

Ours is being a three-day festival this year, in part to accommodate the field hockey player and her driver, who must be in Richmond, VA, at 9 a.m. Friday. That's a six hour drive from here. So Thanksgiving dinner for my family on Wednesday at my son's house, who is both principal chef and the hockey chauffeur. Thanksgiving on Thanksgiving at my house for my brother and his wife with my daughter and me. And day-before cooking commencing to begin this afternoon.

Yippie!

And I just finished book #99.

Happy new one!

Kim, that topper is extraordinary! I saw that and the other pictures on FB, and was agog!

>30 jessibud2: Thanks and welcome! It was truly one of the best hikes I've been on. The scenery was just amazing! I'll post the rest today...

>31 msf59: I could skip Doc and start Hench next. After Thanksgiving or later? You choose!

>32 BLBera: Oh! I would love to have your help to inspire me on my INDIEspensable reads!! I'll make sure my thread for that is up to date and then you can choose one, or one a month, or somewhere in-between!

>33 magicians_nephew: Thank you! Views like that just are just so inspiring, humbling, centering. Loved it.

>34 karenmarie: SO thankful to see you here. I just want you to know how treasured you are. And if you want to read another Kopp book, let me know!

>35 Crazymamie: Thanks, Crazy. I just finished making my cranberry sauce for the turkey tomorrow. It was a bit of a challenge. Had to go to three stores to find raisins and never did find canned whole cranberry, just the jelly kind, so I bought a bit of whole cranberry with the sugar already in it. Added my spices and it's close to my recipe and will have to do. No room in the fridge, so I'll make the potatoes tomorrow. LOL

>36 RebaRelishesReading: Thanksgiving #1 was in the garage, just to be extra safe for the people who will be around someone doing Chemo for Thursday's Thanksgiving. My Th Thanksgiving will be inside, thank goodness! Wishing you a wonderful day, too!

>37 weird_O: Three celebrations!! You have me beat! Although my daughter is doing four, so she beats us both. LOL. Hope you get some leftovers out of the deal. ; ) And congrats on #99. I expect #100 any minute!!

>38 drneutron: Thank you and here's an early Happy Thanksgiving to you!!

>39 ffortsa: Pretty cool, right? I was glad I made it to the top!

I'm going to post those pictures here, too....

More pictures from Beacon Rock
850 feet up, 1 mile and 53 cutbacks!!



Looking UP



Looking OUT



Looking DOWN

Along the path



More path



The Top!!

Gorgeous pics, Kim! How long did it take to get to the top (bottom pic)?

Great photos! I want to go!

Happy Thanksgiving.

>46 jessibud2: About an hour. Doable!!

>47 BLBera: Come visit and we'll go. xoxo

>48 BLBera: Thanks and same to you. : )

>21 Berly: Thank you Kimmers!

I don't know whether we are supposed to comment over on your thread to track your Indiespensible Books by Powells but I have read 7 of the books and have a further 33 on the shelves.

Yes, it's okay to comment over there. I would love it if my friends could help me choose books and maybe do group reads in 2022! Just choose from the books I haven't read. ; )

Happy Thanksgiving, Kim!

Regarding the pictures from Beacon Rock, I applaud you being able to get up there. I never would. I tell everyone there is a reason God made me 5'2" - he knew I would be afraid of heights!

Happy Thanksgiving, Stasia!! I was fine walking up the paths and ramps, until I reached the very pinnacle. The stairway there had steps that were almost as tall as my knee! LOL. Luckily there were only 10 or so. And I am only 5'4", so no excuses!!

>53 Berly: Steps as tall as your knee? What were the engineers thinking?!

BTW - I left a note for you on your "indie" thread. Let me know if you are interested.

>54 alcottacre: I'll take a look! Thanks. : )

>55 Berly: You are most welcome!

I am so very grateful for all my wonderful friends here on LT.

I wish all of you (and yours) happiness and health on this day of Thanksgiving. And cookies. : )

A Thanksgiving to Friends (Lighting the Way)

In difficult times
a friend is there to light the way
to lighten the load,
to show the path,
to smooth the road

At the darkest hour
a friend, with a word of truth
points to light
and the encroaching dawn
is in the plainest sight.

Kimmers, to a friend in books and more this Thanksgiving

>49 Berly: Deal!

I'm thinking the view was worth your hike, especially when taking the thread topper with the photos later in the thread!

Happy Thanksgiving, Kim. I have 2 books ahead of Hench. So a couple of weeks? Lets remind each other.

>44 Berly: Love the Beacon Rock photos!

>44 Berly: >45 Berly: Great photos Kim, looks like a wonderful trek.

I am exhausted just looking at the photos from that hike!! Congratulations to you two for making it (and still having the energy to dance for the camera).

Hope you have a lovely day today!

Looks like an awesome hike!

>58 PaulCranswick: Love the poetic side of you, Paul. Thank you! Privileged to count you among my friends.

>59 BLBera: >60 thornton37814: Totally worth it! I would gladly do it again.

>61 msf59: I have a hunch we will read Hench later!! ; ) THat's fine by me.

>62 Caroline_McElwee: Thank you! It's hard to take a bad shot with that kind of scenery.

>63 RebaRelishesReading: Well, I do love to dance, so I can almost always fit that in. LOL

Happy Thursday!

>64 drneutron: I am recommending that hike all my kids and friends. And there is this really cool waterfront town on the way back which is perfect for a lunch or dinner. : )

Hi Kim my dear, Happy New Thread and we wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving Day my dear friend.

Happy Thanksgiving, Kim

Hi Kim my dear, thank you for the Thanksgiving photo and message, it so touched my heart that i had a tear in my eye, i could lie and say it was a bit of dust but that would be wrong. One day we will get over the pond to meet you and your family, in the meantime we will continue to converse on here and FB and of course we are friends forever, my very dear friend.

>68 jessibud2: Thank you! Hope you are having a wonderful day.

>69 johnsimpson: LOL. I think we cross-posted! Thank you for the wonderful holiday wishes and I am glad you liked mine to you. You are indeed a special friend, now and always.

Happy Thanksgiving! You keep the energy level high around these parts!

>71 quondame: I try!! When I'm here. LOL

Hi Kim!

>41 Berly: I’m the only one in my family who likes Cranberry Sauce. I made some from scratch in about …. 1984 or so… and it didn’t taste significantly better than OceanSpray, so I haven’t bothered making it since. I also love Cranberry Relish that my MiL used to make, but again, I’m the only one who likes it. What’s your cranberry sauce recipe? Raisins, spices…?

>44 Berly: Looking down…. Nooooo.

Hi Kim!
I'm dropping off a little something for you now that it's officially the Christmas season.


And it looks like you'll work it off fast. Beautiful pictures!

Hmmmmmm. Thanksgiving happiness.

>73 karenmarie: Hi Karen--I'm the only one who likes the cranberry thing, too. Well, Hubby once in a while, but he goes for the gravy first. Anyhow, just for you...

Ruby Chutney
1 16 oz can whole cranberry sauce
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ginger
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 Tbsp curry powder
1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire
1 Tbsp molasses
1/4 tsp tabasco

Mix all ingredients together. Bring to a boil and simmer 15 min. Serve with turkey, ham or pork or appetizer with cream cheese.
Keeps in fridge up to a month. Enjoy!

And look up! LOL

>74 mstrust: Jennifer--Why thank you! Yes, Thanksgiving decorations have to come down this weekend and Christmas goes up. But we are probably not getting our tree until next weekend. And thanks for the treat! I appreciate it because I think all the pie is gone already. LOL

>75 weird_O: A good time was had by all!! And we have leftovers! Except for the pies. I am looking forward to a quiet Friday with my books and maybe a neighborhood walk. Also I am way behind entering the books I have read on my thread into the LT library. Task for the day. Happy Friday!

Wonderful pictures of the hike, Kim. I'd love to do it with you the next time we are on the left coast. It's inspiring!

Glad your Thanksgiving was good, and you had leftovers! We went to a friend's house - I can't imagine what their leftovers look like - they prepared to feed a small nation.

>78 ffortsa: Left coast! Love that. And next time you visit we can surely fit a hike in. And speaking of "left"s...I am currently trying to decide which leftover to eat for a late breakfast....!

>76 Berly: ...tobacco...?

>44 Berly: I was fine until I looked DOWN *gaaak*

>80 richardderus: Not tobacco! Ugh. No, no, no. Tabasco!! LOL. Good catch.

Look up! Look up! Picture #1. : )

>76 Berly: My recipe leaves out everything below the salt and uses fresh ginger cooked with garlic in a sugar and vinegar simple syrup reduction to which the can of cranberry sauce is added. The smell of this process is indescribably piercing and drives my family out of the house. The result is fabulous.

I love cranberry relish and make it every year at this time even though I am the only one who ever eats it. My recipe only has 3 ingredients so it is dead easy to make.

>82 quondame: >83 alcottacre: You know what this means, don't you? We should have a cook off!!! No, just kidding. No competition. It just means that we can hang out together and enjoy the better things in life--cranberry relish--hurrah!

my favorite kind of cranberry sauce is a sot of a chutney with walnuts and other spices and things.

You can join the cranberry party!! But don't put any nuts in my serving. 911.

Interesting takes on cranberry sauce. Walnuts, spices, et al sounds most interesting. I always do cranberry-raspberry sauce and we all love it. It couldn't be easier and adds a nice sweet note to the meal...but walnuts, spices, etc...do you have a recipe Jim?

Hi Kim, I finally found you! The photos of your hike look incredible -- we might have to drive down and try that one sometime :)

Cranberries-orange juice and peel-jalapeños and brine. Perfection with smoked or fried turkey!

(I add toasted pecans to mine.)

Hi Kim! Love the Beacon Rock pictures.

Wonderful pictures again, Kim.
I wish you and yours a wonderful sunday!

>87 RebaRelishesReading: Hi Reba! Jim??? : )

>88 curioussquared: You found me!! Yay! And the hike is totally worth it. I enjoyed it in this nice cooler weather because otherwise I think I'd get all hot and sweaty going uphill. ; )

>89 richardderus: Yum! We should hang out together. Smooch.

>90 banjo123: Thanks! We are off to try another one today....!

>91 SirThomas: Happy Sunday, Thomas! I will try to get another batch of photos on our hike today.

Christmas Party aka "Envious Casca" (K 402 pages) by Georgette Heyer 2.5

I think I prefer Heyer's romances over her mysteries. And I liked them better when I was a teen. This one had annoying characters and a predictable ending. Ah well. At least it was the right season!

Fledgling (B 310 pages) by Octavia Butler 4.5

Loved this take on Vampires! And what it means to be different. I only wished Butler had lived long enough to write more on this character.

Fledgling is the story of an apparently young, amnesiac girl whose alarmingly inhuman needs and abilities lead her to a startling conclusion: She is in fact a genetically modified, 53-year-old vampire. Forced to discover what she can about her stolen former life, she must at the same time learn who wanted—and still wants—to destroy her and those she cares for and how she can save herself. Fledgling is a captivating novel that tests the limits of “otherness” and questions what it means to be truly human.

I've loved all the books by Butler that I've read, TwinK! I am not a big fan of vampire books, but I might give this one a try.

Cranberries, cooked with some sugar, are perfect. I did make a pretty tasty buttermilk cranberry pie this year. No nuts in the cranberries!

>94 Berly: Her mysteries were plotted and peopled by her husband, the lawyer Rougier. Which is why they don't have the same...oomph...as the Regencies.

>93 Berly: *sigh* I would love to! But the corpus is rapidly descending into "corpse". When Valerie visited in September, we spent as much time in her suite as out doing stuff...plopped on sofas chatting!

Happy newish thread, Kim. I should have checked in earlier when more pictures were available. There were two of your hike left so I got some idea.

I agree with you about the Heyer mysteries. Not nearly as fun as her romances. I've pulled one of her histories off the shelf, An Infamous Army. Will see how that goes.

>92 Berly: Yes Jim -- sorry, I was responding to his post >85 magicians_nephew: on your thread.

>84 Berly: Well, there is nothing cooked in mine, so it would be a "raw-off" I guess?

>95 Berly: I think that one is already in the BlackHole. I will have to check.

Behave yourself while I am gone over this next week!

A pretty decent murder mystery with enough ties to Jane Eyre to make it interesting. Parts of it where a tad unbelievable, but I enjoyed the multiple character viewpoints. 3.5

In a modern and twisty retelling of Jane Eyre, a young woman must question everything she thinks she knows about love, loyalty, and murder.

Jane has lost everything: job, mother, relationship, even her home. A friend calls to offer an unusual deal―a cottage above the crashing surf of Big Sur on the estate of his employer, Evan Rochester. In return, Jane will tutor his teenage daughter. She accepts.

But nothing is quite as it seems at the Rochester estate. Though he’s been accused of murdering his glamorous and troubled wife, Evan Rochester insists she drowned herself. Jane is skeptical, but she still finds herself falling for the brilliant and secretive entrepreneur and growing close to his daughter.

And yet her deepening feelings for Evan can’t disguise dark suspicions aroused when a ghostly presence repeatedly appears in the night’s mist and fog. Jane embarks on an intense search for answers and uncovers evidence that soon puts Evan’s innocence into question. She’s determined to discover what really happened that fateful night, but what will the truth cost her?

>96 BLBera: Fair warning, since the vampire is in her 50s she likes sex, but weird because she is in a kid's body. Just saying. If you can get past that and the vampire...it's a great read! LOL

>97 richardderus: Ah! That makes perfect sense. I'll stick with her romance, if and when I read Heyer again.

I understand. If I am back in NY again, without a wedding crew (!), chatting can be arranged. Smooch.

>98 Familyhistorian: Sorry you can't see all the pics--they still show up on my thread. In any case, it was a great hike and we took another one yesterday. More pics to come!

And you'll have to let me know how the historical Heyer goes!

>99 RebaRelishesReading: >85 magicians_nephew: LOL. I was trying to prompt Jim to share his recipe!!

>100 alcottacre: Mine is cooked. Yours is raw. cook-off raw-off One-off? : )

Fledgling is a good read. Make sure it's in your Blackhole!!

Must I stay out of trouble? Our family saying is, "Don't do anything I would do. And get caught!"

>103 Berly: Sorry -- I missed the nuance -- needed to hear it rather than read it I think. I just posted a request on his own thread :)

>104 RebaRelishesReading: Nope. My bad. Hopefully he'll respond to one of us with the recipe!!

Mrs. Rochester's Ghost sounds like fun.

Still not sure about the Butler vampire book...Although you make it sound sooo appetizing. ;)

: )

Another hike last Sunday at Latourelle Falls Loop Trial, Corbitt, OR. 3 miles, 728 ft elevation. Two waterfalls!!

Beautiful hike Kim. Three miles would tempt me but the 700+ elevation gain means "probably no" for me. Great to see the beautiful photos of your and your hike though.

>108 Berly: >109 Berly: How beautiful, Kim, thanks for sharing the pictures!
3 miles would be doable, but 728 ft elevation absolutely not. It took us some weeks to recover from only 236 ft elevation, during our vacation in October.

>109 Berly: Wow, fabulous photos of amazing scenery.

>109 Berly:, Great photos Kim my dear, gorgeous scenery.

Oh, jeez, Kim. Who left the water running?

That's really beautiful scenery, Kim. Thanks for posting the pix!

>110 RebaRelishesReading: Going up actually wasn't that hard; it was coming down! Pretty steep, rocky, and my knee was not happy. But overall an amazing day.

>111 FAMeulstee: Well, then I would definitely choose another trail!! We just got this new app called AllTrails and its great because you can put in criteria like length of hike, purpose of hike, how far from where you are, elevation, etc. Pretty cool!

>112 quondame: Thanks! It was just gorgeous. I'd gladly go again.

>113 johnsimpson: It is one of several hikes, each with amazing waterfalls, just 40 minutes from my house. I had seen the waterfall close to the road, but had never hiked back in to the second one. And the sounds were amazing too. Just the sound of water, the breeze and the bird calls.

>114 weird_O: Ha!! At least the drain was working. : )

>115 lauralkeet: Happy to share. We have to enjoy the good things in life, especially right now.

Just saw this...Literature Candles!! From Uncommon Goods. 7 different stories to choose from. Each with different spices. $32

https://www.uncommongoods.com/product/literature-candle?utm_medium=shopping%20si...

Why Was the Partridge in the Pear Tree?: The History of Christmas Carols by Reverend Mark Lawson-Jones.

Very appropriate for the season and a 75er past Xmas swap gift from Lycomaflower!! Thank you!

>120 Berly: I enjoyed that one when I read it.

Wondering what a "The Great Gatsby" candle would smell like.

"Her Scent was full of Money"?

Judy's cousin Bonnie took us up around the Cascades some years back - love all the waterfalls and the bright verdant scenery

>119 Berly: - Personally, I love the candle on the right, the one called *Noble Objects*. I don't see it being sold separately. Not that it matters. They don't ship to Canada. Pfft

>109 Berly: Such lovely photo's Kim. I love the tree that looks like it is striding up the hill in bell-bottoms.

>108 Berly: Wow! Quite beautiful.

Have a great Wednesday :)

>108 Berly: I love the hiking photos, Kim. Such beautiful locations. I am jealous.

Happy Wednesday! I hope you are having a great weekend.

Hi Kim! I'm finally rolling up to wish you a happy new thread so I've missed all the photos before post 100. But I can see the others - isn't Nature amazing?!

Wonderful pictures, Kim, thank you for sharing.
I wish you an equally Weekend!

>121 thornton37814: Yay! I am looking forward to learning more about all these Christmas carols.

>122 magicians_nephew: The Great Gatsby Candle: Notes of teak, cedar, leather, sandalwood, musk, and patchouli capture the decadence of 1920s Long Island living in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s most famous work. But your answer was more fun!

>123 jessibud2: Dang. That's the candle I liked too, but it isn't one of the ones listed. So no bonus points for living in the US, LOL.

>124 Caroline_McElwee: Love that description of the trees! Bell bottoms! Yes.

>125 figsfromthistle: It was an awesome hike. Happy Friday to you!

>126 msf59: Had a great weekend and gearing up for another. Mission for this one is to find a Christmas tree and get it up and decorated. We are skipping the hike this weekend because I got a cortisone knee injection this week and I am supposed to take it easy for a few days. So instead, we are going to go on a drive somewhere and have dinner out. So, I still get a date with Hubby!

>127 humouress: Hello! SO nice to see you. Yeah, I love nature and often wonder why she puts up with us.

>128 SirThomas: Happy weekend ahead, Thomas! I have all my Christmas decorations up save the tree. And I found my holiday music CDs, so its beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!!

A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson 4.0

Wonderful, flawed characters in a small, quaint town. A missing child, a new neighbor, a broken marriage and lots of love. The writing is not very sophisticated (much of it is told from the viewpoint of an eight-year-old girl), but the ideas beneath it are quite wonderful and I enjoyed the different narrators. Teared up once or twice. ; ) Thank you for the BB Laurelkeet!

>133 Berly: This is sitting on my desk. I hope to get to it yet this year.

I love the lit candles! See what I did there? :)

Hi Kim my dear, I concede the race to 75 books read for the year, you have one to go and i am only on book 72, congrats dear friend.

>133 Berly: I'm so glad you liked A Town Called Solace, Kim. I've loved all of Mary Lawson's novels.

Good luck finding a Christmas Tree, Kim! The news here is that there's a shortage. Many Christmas Tree farms here in BC were flooded.

>134 BLBera: I hope you find time to read it soon! And nice. LOL

>135 johnsimpson: With 72 under your belt, you are sure to reach the goal this year!! And I did finish #75 today....review to follow. ; )

>136 lauralkeet: I will have to look up other novels by Mary Lawson--I really liked it!

>137 Familyhistorian: Well, I think there are trees here, but it was a rainy day today so we will be headed out tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune 4.5

Another great read! An eclectic cast of characters, most of them magical, in an isolated orphanage under review for suspected violations. These kids are all different, some potentially dangerous and the townspeople are wary of them. But even the most "normal" among them, the inspector, is not at peace. Can any of them find a way to be true to themselves, be accepted, find love and family? Though these characters are magical, their struggles remind me of the problems we face today in real life. I don't mean to make this book sound dark, because it is filled with quirky humor and lovable characters. This book is about what we need: trust, love, respect, encouragement, honoring diversity, and joy. Recommended. And perfect for #75!

Congrats on 75, Kim! I loved that one, too 😁

Congratulations on 75, Kim!
Since this book has been praised so often in this group, I ordered it today. I am looking forward to it.

>140 curioussquared: Thanks! And I am glad we agree! LOL

>141 SirThomas: Another thanks! And I am one of many who have been recommending The House in the Cerulean Sea, so I hope you enjoy it, too.

Starting this one and......this one!

Congratulations on 75 books!! You did it!

Adding my congratulations Kim.

Congrats! Glad #75 was a good one!

Congrats on your 75th for the year. Get yous a perfect tree. The grower-seller we've gotten trees from for the past 5 or 6 years is but 15 minutes away. Not so sure I'm going to do a tree this year.

Another congrats on the 75!

Congrats on reaching 75, TwinK!

It sounds like a good one, too. I'll add it to my WL.

Congrats on 75!

Sadly, I don't see your photos above.

I'll be interested in what you think of Erdrich's Shadow Tag.

Yay! 75! Congratulations!

75! Yippee!

>139 Berly: This one was talked about a few months ago with everybody blasting book bullets every which way.
Now (staggering)(clutching at chest) ya got me partner!

Congrats on reaching the magic number!

>119 Berly: I like those candles.

Similarly, I saw these over the weekend while Cmas shopping. Smelled nice! Others included Hemingway, Austen and Dickens.
https://paddywax.com/products/library-charlotte-bronte

Congratulations on reaching 75, Kim!

Congrats on hitting 75, Kimmers. My next read is A Town Called Solace so I am glad you enjoyed it. I also had a good time with Cerulean Sea.

Would you still be interested in reading Hench with me? I could start it mid-month or after. Let me know.

Hi Kim!

>76 Berly: Thank you. It sounds quite wonderful, and I have everything in the house except the cranberry sauce. Another recipe I love is cranberry relish from Bill’s Step-mother. Another one that only I eat.

Kay Hengeveld’s Cranberry Salad

1 lb cranberries sorted, washed, and coarsely chopped
1 6-oz package cherry or raspberry jello
¼ - ½ cup sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup chopped celery
1 small orange, seeded and ground (include peel)
1 20-oz can crushed pineapple, drained
¾ c boiling water
2 T lemon juice

Combine jello, water, sugar if desired, and lemon juice and chill ‘til partially set. Add everything else and put into a 9-cup mold or 9 x 13 pan. Chill until set. Makes 15-20 servings.

Obviously leave the pecans out… We do not need 911 calls.

>94 Berly: I think I prefer Heyer's romances over her mysteries. Me, too. In fact, I gave away all the mysteries I had to someone here on LT. I consider Heyer’s mysteries as Christie wanna-bes.

>95 Berly: I’ve only read one book by Butler – Kindred – and it was wonderful. Fledgling sounds fantastic and I’ve just added it to my wish list.

>119 Berly: Great idea! I may get Pride & Prejudice for Jenna for Christmas.

>139 Berly: Congrats on a perfect book for #75.

>143 Berly: I read Swimming Lessons in May and gave it 4.5 stars. It was fabulous.

Adding my congrats on reaching the magic number, Kim.

>144 humouress: >145 Caroline_McElwee: >146 drneutron: Thank you!! Happy to have made the magic 75. : )

>147 weird_O: The first two tree places we visited had very slim pickings, so we went to a You-Cut tree farm. We made it there 5 minutes after they officially closed, but they let us in. Phew! It was dusk, so we wandered around with our head lamps, which were luckily in the car from our weekend hikes, and we did finally manage to find the perfect tree.

Now we just have to fix all the bulbs that are out and put up the lights and ornaments!!

>148 charl08: >149 BLBera: >150 thornton37814: Happy 75 dance! Thank you.

>151 laytonwoman3rd: The pictures are showing up fine on my thread as far as I can see. Sorry.

I am finishing up Swimming Lessons and then I will start Shadow Tag. It's interesting -- the first book has a wife who leaves letters to her husband hidden in books, telling stories of their life together as she saw it; and in the second, the wife has two diaries, one that she knows her husband reads and then a private one she keeps locked up. I look forward to comparing the two stories!!

>152 quondame: >153 ffortsa: Thank you! Thank you!

>154 magicians_nephew:

You're welcome!! The Cerulean Sea has an LT rating of 4.33 and it's #5 of the top 2021 books listed by readers.

>155 figsfromthistle: >156 alcottacre: Yay me! And yay you for helping me celebrate!!

>157 charl08: More literary candles! You can never have too many. As long as they aren't too near the flammable books. ; )

>158 FAMeulstee: Thank you! Now I can start thinking about plans for next year...

>159 msf59: I am glad our reading and ratings are sympatico! I can start Hench in about a week, so mid-December sounds great.

>160 karenmarie: Wow! Look at you! So nice to see you here and thank you for all the individual comments to my posts. You are so sweet. : )

-- Love the recipe (minus the nuts)! Thank you.
-- Only reading Heyer romances from now on.
-- I have loved every Butler book I've read and they are all completely different. Hope you enjoy Fledgling.
-- Hope Jenna loves the candle if you get it for her!
-- 75! Whoohooo! You passed that mark long ago...
-- I have read about 75% of Swimming Lessons and really want to find out what happens. I feel so sorry for the kids...

Happy Tuesday!

>161 MickyFine: Thank you! Now the pressure is off. Not that reading should be about the numbers, but I am slightly competitive. LOL

Happy Tuesday, Kim! I will be starting Shadow Tag later today.

Wifi's back...posted more reviews...and you're over the 75!

Yay!!

*smooch*

Congrats for finishing the challenge, Kim! :D

>168 alcottacre: Good to start Shadow Tag tomorrow!!

>169 richardderus: Thank you!! Smooches in return. : )

>170 Ape: Well, look who's here!!! Stephano!! It's awesome to see you. Try to make visiting my thread a New Year's Resolution, okay? : )

>163 Berly: I can see them all now, except for >1 Berly:.

Hi Kim, congrats on reaching 75 books! And with a good one, too - my daughter Marina and I loved that one. I've now been hit multiple times by A Town Called Solace and I was already a Mary Lawson fan, so... hit again.

I can't see any of your hike pictures. I suspect it may be the school wifi that is protecting me from potentially dangerous images (or at least trying to prevent me from walking out the door to do a hike of my own). I'll try again when I'm at home (eating lunch at my desk now).

Late to the cranberry party, but I make a cranberry salsa that has ginger and orange and lime and serrano and rum and that is now a family favorite. Several years ago I messed up and tried a new cranberry recipe - something sweet and stewed with bourbon that sounded amazing but the disappointment in no cranberry salsa was so acute that I ended up making it that weekend and have never varied from what is clearly now a required dish.

>172 laytonwoman3rd: Fixed!! : )

>173 AMQS: I hope the pictures show up for you when you get home. LOVE your explanation of your school trying to protect you from going AWOL. LOL Your cranberry salsa sounds delicious! Would you be willing to share the family recipe?

Hey TwinK!

Would The House in the Cerulean Sea be a good book club selection? A good discussion book?

Congrats on reaching 75! Glad it was a good book, too :)

>1 Berly: Oh, my! Thanks for letting me see that at last.

>175 BLBera: Absolutely!! The House in the Cerulean Sea would be great for discussion. Topics can include segregation and discrimination, work policies, adoption, learning styles, friendship, love, family, and there are lots of fun symbols too: buttons (enjoying the small things in life); a phoenix; music; locked doors, etc!

>176 bell7: Thanks and thanks! : )

>177 laytonwoman3rd: Yay! Glad you can see the beautiful view! It was a marvelous hike.

>174 Berly: I can see the picture up top but not any of the others. I can imagine, though. Oregon hikes are pretty spectacular. So are CO hikes, so I'm lucky!

I forgot to tell you that you hit me with Why Was the Partridge in the Pear Tree. I love Christmas carols and have worked in the performing arts for so long that I'm pretty sure I know every single one, but perhaps not their origin. Once at my husband's company party at a trivia night one category of question was Christmas carols and my team was glad to have me, even though my knowledge of them is considered freakish by normal people:)

I am very happy to share the cranberry salsa recipe! I can't really call it mine, as it was published in The Denver Post probably at least 25 years ago, but I have adapted and simplified it over the years and we still love it. It calls for four serrano peppers. People I've shared the recipe with over the years have called me to ask if I'm sure about the number of serranos because they're really hot, but yes, somehow it creates heat but not too much. My daughters are heat-averse but snarf down the salsa. Maybe the cranberries neutralize? It would be a good chemistry study. For someone else:) I do wear gloves to prepare them, and when I haven't, regretted it bitterly. The ingredients call for many things to be finely chopped, but one of the modifications I have made over the years is to use the food processor, which you have to do anyway to finely chop the cranberries - not a task that is even possible, I would think, with a knife. So I start with the ginger and peppers cut roughly and then blitz in the food processor, then adding the cranberries and cilantro.

Colorado Cranberry Salsa
2 heaping tablespoons peeled, finely minced fresh ginger
4 fresh serrano peppers, seeded and finely chopped
1 bunch cilantro, leaves plucked and finely chopped
1 bag (12 oz) fresh cranberries, rinsed and picked over
1 orange - you will need the juice and the zest
2 limes - you will need the juice of both and the zest of one
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons rum

I begin by peeling and roughly chopping the ginger. Blitz in the food processor with the roughly chopped, seeded serranos. Add the cilantro leaves and the cranberries. If you don't have a fine-zester and your orange and lime zest is thick or long, then blitz that also. If it's fine, you can add it in the next step. Everything should be finely chopped.

Transfer food processor contents to a bowl and add the lime and orange zest if you didn't already, the orange and lime juice, the sugar, and the rum. Mix well and allow the flavors to blend. I typically make this on Wednesday (day before Thanksgiving). It is the most beautiful color on a plate and is amazing with turkey, mashed potatoes, etc.

Enjoy!

>179 AMQS: That does sound fine!

There is this walnut/yogurt/serrano chili chutney I love.

>179 AMQS: That's sounds great. Much more interesting than the standard sweet stuff.

Happy Friday, Kimmers! It looks like there might be a couple more people joining us on Hench. Yah!

Happy weekend-ahead's reads, Kimmers!

Have a wonderful weekend, Kim! I will be finishing up Shadow Tag over the weekend and am curious to see what you and Paul think of it when you are done.

>178 Berly: Thanks TwinK!

>139 Berly: Happy 75th!
Love that cover too.

>140 curioussquared: >141 SirThomas: I haven't even heard of it! (until now)

I am overwhelmed by my reading at present, I want to read all the books but can't seem to sit still long enough to actually do it. That will be why I read in the bath and in bed....it's the only places I am settled and untroubled by household stuff.

Congrats on reading 75, Kim. I hope you enjoy Hench. I thought it was a really good read.

Author Anne Rice, Interview with the Vampire died today. Sadness.

https://www.facebook.com/markvorel/posts/10223886533584123?notif_id=163932519542...

>179 AMQS: I tried to refresh the photos; hopefully they can be seen again! No hike this weekend. 1) Because it was raining like cats and dogs and 2) Had to get the tree up and decorated, which we did.

I thought it was/is (I'm not finished yet!) really interesting to read about the origins of all these iconic holiday carols. I hope you enjoy it, too!

Thank you so much for such a personal response and for sharing your recipe and all the tips and history! How fun and yummy. I cannot wait to try it.

>180 quondame: >181 ffortsa: : )

>182 msf59: Yay! The more the merrier on Hench! RL got in the way this weekend, so not much reading, but I plan to do some tonight. Do you have a separate thread up or are we just sharing on your thread?

>183 richardderus: Thank you, although I didn't turn a single page. Maybe I'll do better during the week. LOL Smooch!

>184 alcottacre: I did finish Shadow Tag!! Just have to find time to write the review. What a book!

>185 BLBera: Anytime. xoxo

>186 LovingLit: May you find a copy of The House in the Cerulean Sea and more importantly, may you find some peace and quiet soon!

>187 Familyhistorian: Thank you on the 75. : ) Glad to hear another fan of Hench because I am diving in tonight!

Man, I must have been a good girl this year. My Secret Santa from the 75ers just sent me a pile of books!! And I think I know who it is...LOL. Thank you Weird_O!! xoxo

>192 Berly: I have no clue who it could be from ;0)

All individually wrapped; how thoughtful! You get to anticipate opening each one.

ETA: {expression, for clarity}

>193 humouress: You are being sarcastic! LOL. Because it says his name on the helmet. It's from Weird_O! I am very excited to open them and, yes, he did a great job wrapping them. I feel very lucky. : )

Shadow Tag by Louise Erdrich 3.75

This is a powerful book. The main characters have a love/hate relationship and I found the abusive marriage hard to take. I also think that the kids could have been developed a bit more. I did enjoy how the sections of the book kept getting shorter and shorter, so I was expecting some kind of blow-out ending, but I didn't predict the one that happened. Interesting take on artist and their subjects and I really liked the title, Shadow Tag, and the how references to shadows carried throughout the book: giving the feeling of depth in paintings, standing still at high noon and having no shadow, being caught in the shadows, or lost in the shadow of genius, etc.

>195 Berly: That sounds interesting, Kim. I recently finished reading Erdrich's Love Medicine novels and have also read a couple of her newer ones. I'm on the library list for her latest, The Sentence. So I guess I'm an Erdrich fan LOL. And my library has Shadow Tag, so I've made a note of it for future hold requests.

Hi, Kim. I hope you had a good weekend and got in some quality reading time. I have not read Shadow Tag yet but I want to get to Love Medicine first. I plan on starting Hench on Wednesday.

>2 Berly: I've added Why Was the Partridge in the Pear Tree?: The History of Christmas Carols to my TBR list.

I hope today is a good one for you!

>195 Berly: Great comments, TwinK. It's been a while since I read this one, but I remember not liking it as much as some of her others. It might be worth a reread.

>195 Berly: I'm glad to know you enjoyed it!

*smooch*

So you have gift books under your tree, Kim. Having no tree, I opened my gift books—from drneutron it has been revealed—and completed one already. Wheee!

Mac 'n' cheese with hot sausage for supper. And lunch. And another supper.

Gifts to wrap too.

>195 Berly: Great review, Kim. I think the book was worth the read, but it is not one I will ever re-read. Just a little too close to home for me, I think.

Happy Monday!

>196 lauralkeet: I am reading The Sentence for January bookclub!! Maybe we can read it together.

>197 msf59: Shadow Tag is not my favorite of Erdrich's. I usually rate her books in the 4's, but 3.75 isn't bad!! I started Hench, but I am only 3% in according to my Kindle tracker.

>198 Whisper1: Hello you!! I hope you enjoy a little Christmas carol history. : ) Today was a great day and I hope the same was true for you. I actually went to TKD with my nephew, so a lower class than mine, but still, I was able to do some basic sparring techniques with no hip pain for the first time in months!! Hurray!! And, of course, I wanted to go back again later tonight for my black belt class, but the smarter side of me won out and I abstained and just lived with my small victory.

>199 BLBera: Shadow Tag is definitely one of her darker ones, for me. But she is still an amazing writer and storyteller and there were several elements of the story that I really enjoyed.

>200 richardderus: Me too! Smooches. I am barely keeping up on my thread lately, so I will make the rounds one of these days. Tonight was TKD. Tomorrow, Thursday and Sunday we are having our Holiday Cheese Parties (with mostly family each night to separate the crowds). And Wednesday is Zoom bookclub. Whew!!

And what you may ask is a Holiday Cheese Party? LOL. My hubby started this years ago. We take various kinds of cheese and write up a small blurb about each one, funny stories or historical background, methods of production, etc. And then we print those out and attach them to the cheese and wrap them up in Christmas paper and put them under the tree. Each person get to choose a random wedge, unwrap it, read the info and then we taste them! It was our effort to expand our children's palettes and have some fun. It is such a hit that their friends still ask US when we are going to have the parties and can they come! Yum.

>201 weird_O: Hurray for books to open!! With or without the tree. : ) And the man 'n' cheese sounds yummy. Good luck with the wrapping. I am all caught up...for now. Until the crush of shipments arrive the day before Christmas, as is most likely. Sigh.

>202 alcottacre: Happy Monday!! I am glad I read Shadow Tag, particularly with you and Paul. : ) Sorry it hit so close tot home. : ( Not going to be a reread for me either, but then I don't do too much of that anyhow.

>203 Berly: I'm at the mercy of the library, Kim, but will be happy to read with you if I have the book in time!

>205 Berly: Love your cheese party idea!

>204 Berly: No hip pain is a win!

>207 lauralkeet: Crossing my fingers!!

>208 RebaRelishesReading: Last night's cheese party was fun. My two favorites were a soft creme cheese called Délice de Bourgogne and a Gouda.

>209 humouress: You're telling me!! : )

So, I am about 1/3 of the way into Hench and I am enjoying it! It's strange and fun.

Anna does boring things for terrible people because even criminals need office help and she needs a job. Working for a monster lurking beneath the surface of the world isn’t glamorous. But is it really worse than working for an oil conglomerate or an insurance company? In this economy?

As a temp, she’s just a cog in the machine. But when she finally gets a promising assignment, everything goes very wrong, and an encounter with the so-called “hero” leaves her badly injured. And, to her horror, compared to the other bodies strewn about, she’s the lucky one.

So, of course, then she gets laid off.

With no money and no mobility, with only her anger and internet research acumen, she discovers her suffering at the hands of a hero is far from unique. When people start listening to the story that her data tells, she realizes she might not be as powerless as she thinks.

Because the key to everything is data: knowing how to collate it, how to manipulate it, and how to weaponize it. By tallying up the human cost these caped forces of nature wreak upon the world, she discovers that the line between good and evil is mostly marketing. And with social media and viral videos, she can control that appearance.

It’s not too long before she’s employed once more, this time by one of the worst villains on earth. As she becomes an increasingly valuable lieutenant, she might just save the world.

A sharp, witty, modern debut, Hench explores the individual cost of justice through a fascinating mix of Millennial office politics, heroism measured through data science, body horror, and a profound misunderstanding of quantum mechanics.

>211 Berly: Ah; the Palindrome.

>211 Berly: Is that where The Auditor makes an appearance?

I so loved that read.

>205 Berly: I love that! What a great way to make the palate expansion fun and festive. I'm unsurprised that your kids' friends still want to come.

>211 Berly: I have that one in the BlackHole already. Too bad my local library does not have it in any format but e-book. I hope you continue to enjoy the book.

Happy Wednesday, Kim!

I love the idea of a cheese party! You're reminding me about what I liked about Hench. I found it to be such an original premise.

Hi, Kimmers! I am also enjoying Hench. About 25% or just over a 100 pages in. It continues to be clever and unpredictable.

>211 Berly: Great comments, TwinK! You've piqued my interested. Or as my students would say, "peaked."

>212 humouress: More please....

>213 richardderus: I had no clue what you were talking about until 10 more pages read and now I know! The Auditor has arrived!

Round Two of Cheese Unwrapping is tonight. : )

>214 alcottacre: I have a hunch you'll get to Hench soon!! And happy Thursday!

>215 Familyhistorian: Hench is a very unique take on the cost of super heroes. Fun! No idea where it is going...

>216 msf59: Exactly!! Thanks for sucking me in to this read.

>217 BLBera: Another potential Henchman!! : )

Hench sounds like a goodie.

Cross posted!! LOL. There really is a link there. : )

>218 Berly: That’s Anna’s chosen super-hench name. She only uses it once or twice but it’s quite early on in the book, I thought. Don’t worry; there are no spoilers inherent.

Happy weekend-ahead's reads, Berly-boo! *smooch*

I'm so glad you're enjoying Hench so much.

Happy weekend, Kim!

>222 humouress: Yes, it's definitely her super-hench name now. ; )

>223 richardderus: It's the weekend!! Today's mission is to pick up furniture my FIL no longer wants. I am saving the pieces for when the kids need them later on in a bigger lodging.

And then I am going bowling with the leadership team from TKD. I am on the verge of not wanting to be in public again because of the Omicron variant, but we have very few cases here to date, so masking up and going for a strike!

>224 alcottacre: Happy weekend!!! I think my Christmas cards are turning into New Year's cards...oops!

Just popping in to say thank you again for The House in the Cerulean Sea - I loved it.

Hench sounds fun!

Delurking to wish you a wonderful Sunday!

Happy Sunday, Kim. I should finish Hench tomorrow. It continues to be so good. I am glad we teamed up on this one. I hope you are enjoying the weekend.

Be quick and double-mask that trip! *smooch*

>226 SirThomas: The House in the Cerulean Sea was a good one, wasn't it?! : ) Glad you enjoyed it!

>227 banjo123: Hench is definitely a good read! A real twist on the Hero genre. Love her sense of humor and am hoping for a sequel (so is the author!).

>228 figsfromthistle: And a happy Tuesday to you!

>229 msf59: Finished!! Hench was a great recommendation, Mark. My Kindle version also came with a short story, or perhaps first chapter, about one of the Meats. Really hoping for a sequel.

>230 richardderus: I was well masked. ; ) And I actually had the high score in the third game of bowling!! Not that this is saying much, because I was only mid 100s for a score, but I beat Master Im. Hah!! Or Hi-Ya!! LOL

Okay, I don't like really long threads, so one more to end the year!!

: )