SqueakyChu LEAVES the past behind...and moves ahead in 2022! 2nd Quarter

Moving ahead in 2022, I see that finally covid is subsiding around me...but it's not gone. I think it's just lurking.

My reading continues to be enjoyable this year. I hope that continues.



Total pages read this year: = 5,326
Reading rate: decreased to 28 pages/day
Books on Mount TBR: increased to 421
Ever onward...

APRIL:


Photo by Wall Boat - Flickr, CC-A

BOOKISH EVENTS:
1. Real life BookCrossing meetup at home of ResQGeek on Saturday April 23 at 1pm in Alexandria, Virginia. Yay! It was total fun!

COMPLETED:
13. Siddhartha - Hermann Hesse - TIOLI #6: Read a book recommended on Facebook or another public forum (Better Than the Movie BookClub on Facebook) - 152 pages
14. Fight Night - Miriam Toews - TIOLI #12: Read a book set in a country that is a member of the British Commonwealth (Canada) - 251 pages
15. Leap of Faith - Queen Noor - TIOLI #7: Read a book whose title includes at least three one-syllable words - 467 pages

MAY:


Photo by Bernard Spragg - Flickr, Public Domain

BOOKISH EVENTS:
1. Gaitherburg Book Festival in Bohrer Park, Gaithersburg, Maryland on Saturday May 23. I was sad to have missed this, but I was afraid of the large crowd and covid plus the very hot weather.

COMPLETED:
16. Homage to Catalonia - George Orwell - TIOLI #5: Read a book that was published within 10 years before or after your birth year (1952) - 232 pages
17. Keep Sharp: Build a Better Brain at Any Age - Sanjay Gupta, MD - TIOLI #6: Read a book with a flying animal in the title or author's name (jay) - 318 pages
18. Azit the Airborne Alsatian - Motta Gur - TIOLI #6: Read a book with a flying animal in the title or author's name - 80 pages

JUNE:


Photo by Dorothy - Flickr, CC-R

BOOKISH EVENTS:
1. Bookcrossing Meetup on Father’s Day. I’ll have to miss the meeting.

COMPLETED:
19. Bewilderment - Richard Powers - TIOLI #1: : Read a book by a new-to-you author whose last name starts or ends with the letter "S" - 278 pages
20. Kids in America: a Gen X Reckoning - Liz Prato - TIOLI #13: Read a book that has a person (human) on the cover - 187 pages
21. A Burning - Megha Majumdar - TIOLI #16: Read a book by an author who has the same initials for first and last names (M) - 291 pages
22. The Swimmers - Julie Otsuka - TIOLI #17: Read a book where at least one title word includes a double letter - 25/176 pages = 14%
23. Born a Crime - Trevor Noah - TIOLI #13: Read a book that has a person (human) on the cover - 288 pages

Happy new one!

>4 SqueakyChu: Thanks, Jim!

Love the leaves! Happy new thread, Madeline. x

>7 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul.

Happy new-ish thread, Madeline!

>9 alcottacre: Thanks, Stasia!

>10 SqueakyChu: Happy Tuesday! I am raring to go on the April challenges! (as soon as I finish what I can for March, lol)

>11 alcottacre: Thanks! These months are just zipping by! I keep having to move all of my current reads into the following month's challenges so frequently.

>12 SqueakyChu: I know that feeling. I am having to move books from March to April.

>13 alcottacre: I'm not going to be able to move ahead with Paul's Asia Book Challenge because it will take me a while to finish my current book by Queen Noor (of Lebanon). I'm taking a long time to read it for personal reasons, and it's a long book. I was hoping to finish it in time to report on it in March as I don't consider a challenge completed if it's not done in its own time period. I guess that's from running the TIOLI challenges for so long. LOL!

So the deal with Queen Noor's book as I explained on a previous thread is that my late sister-in-law Miriam used to work as a housekeeper and governess for the family of Queen Noor's sister Alexa in the Washington, DC, area. Miriam was beloved by Alexa and Alexa's husband as well as by Queen Noor and King Hussein. My husband just found this picture and gave me permission to post it. I don't know from which year it was but it is of Queen Noor, Miriam, and King Hussein.

>14 SqueakyChu: Don't beat yourself up about not finishing the book in time - take your time and enjoy it!
I'm not as strict as the lady who runs the TIOLI!
Nice photo and I can see why there would be a personal connection to the story.

Happy new thread, Madeline!

>12 SqueakyChu: I had to move three books from TIOLI March to April. So glad I found a place for them all :-)

>16 FAMeulstee: Yes. Sometimes that’s a challenge as well, Anita!

>14 SqueakyChu: I think that Paul will forgive you not finishing the book in March, Madeline. I believe that he is allowing all year long for reading the books by Asian authors, so you still have plenty of time.

>18 alcottacre: I'll probably just post a review of Queen Noor's book here when I finish, but I might add a link on Paul's challenge thread later. I don't like to be doing cross-month challenge reading. It's too confusiing.

Question: Why is it that, while I'm reading a book, I find all kinds of other books I want to read at the same time, BUT...after I finish reading a book, no other book seems to catch my eye?

Yup, been there...

>21 drneutron:...but this happens ALL of the time! :(

>20 SqueakyChu: Hahaha, if I could answer that question, Madeline, I may have decidedly less than the 5,000 unread books on my shelves constantly plaguing me for attention!

>20 SqueakyChu: I have that same problem! So I'm constantly switching books and never seem to finish anything.

>23 PaulCranswick: >24 _Zoe_: It really takes everything I have to not start browsing through a more interesting book while halfway through a current read. That is often my downfall...which begets yet another question...

Now that I have time to read a previously started book, do I start from the beginning once again to refresh my mind of the forgotten details, or do I begin from where I previously stopped reading?

Since it's Poetry Month, here's this:

Pigeons Flew
As Pigeons Do.

>26 m.belljackson: That's a great poem for jessibud2 as she would love for all of her outdoor pigeons to leave her alone already! :D

>25 SqueakyChu: It depends on the type of book and how far along you are! I'm more likely to restart a novel and continue a non-fiction book wherever I left off.

>26 m.belljackson:
To continue

When their number grew
So did the poo.

>29 PaulCranswick:

To continue further and turn mine to a topical limerick:

"They're smelly"
Said Shelley
"Take them to the zoo".

>30 PaulCranswick: LOL!

P.S. Don't tell jessibud2! :D

>31 SqueakyChu:

She wishes!

>31 SqueakyChu: I did notice that the poor lady is being plagued by them again at the moment but I'm sure (mostly) that she will see that affection drives the versifying!

>30 PaulCranswick:

When the zoo
Fills with poo
Far away they will flew!

>33 m.belljackson: Last line is a bit troublesome, Marianne.

Maybe.....
Then the keepers have work to do.

>34 PaulCranswick:

Careeeee! Carooooo!

>33 m.belljackson: >34 PaulCranswick: >35 m.belljackson: LOL!

Have a wonderful week, Madeline!

>37 alcottacre: Thanks, Stasia. You, too!

13. Siddhartha - Hermann Hesse



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TIOLI #6: Read a book recommended on Facebook or another public forum (Better Than the Movie Book Club on Facebook)
---------------------------------------
As a preface to my reaction to this book, I must say that the choice of this book was not my own, but rather the choice of my book club. I personally do not care for books I feel are allegorical. I find them too simplistic with philosophical thought cast at the reader and carefully delineated rather than allowing the reader freedom of thought about what was just read.

After reading half of the book, I found Siddhartha truly annoying and would have bailed, had I not agreed to read this book for someone other than myself. I hated that he left his father and then left his friend Govinda, first to seek the life of an ascetic and then to simply pursue riches...which was also accompanied by greed, lust and other vices. Nothing against those last three things other than they had no antithesis in Siddhartha's life at that time. There was later a character I liked very much...a ferryman by the name of Vasudeva. He was a hard-working, thoughtful, kind and caring man. He certainly seemed more well rounded than Siddhartha.

At the end of the book, as I suspected, we the readers were told what we should have gotten out of this story. I read it. Yeah. Yeah. Beautiful and all that...but very abstract. I like more literal story-telling.

I am glad I read this book, though, as I had never before read a book by Herman Hesse, and this author was one of my dear late aunt Emma's favorite writers. I might later explore more of his works to see if there are other books of his I might like better.

Rating - 3 stars

But I think it is important to only love the world, not to despise it, not for us to hate each other, but to be able to regard the world and ourselves and all beings with love, admiration, and respect.

Following my reading of Siddhartha, I then went to read biographical information on Herman Hesse. That was so interesting. I see much of his biographical information reflected in his writing of Siddhartha.

>39 SqueakyChu: It has been eons since I read that one - I was a teenager, I think. I am not tempted to revisit it.

You might like Hesse's Steppenwolf more. . .although it has been eons since I read it too. I remember liking it better though.

>41 alcottacre: Thanks! I’ll look for Steppenwolf since I think I should give this author another try.

>42 SqueakyChu: No problem! I hope you enjoy it more.

14. Fight Night - Miriam Toews


-----------------------------------------
TIOLI #12: Read a book set in a country that is a member of the British Commonwealth (Canada)
----------------------------------------------
When I first picked up this book and browsed through it, I was confused by what I was reading, but as the novel started to clarify itself and make me laugh out loud, I could not put it down. This book is hilarious! It’s the story of Swiv, a young girl in Toronto, Canada, and her daily life with her pregnant Mom and her Grandma.

I simply fell in love with Grandma! I spent lots of time during my read of this book writing down “Grandma said...” quotes. Her outlook on life as an older person with all of its complications was both familiar and refreshing. It always brought a smile to my face if not a true belly laugh.

I think this is a really nice look at aging of a lovable individual with many of the characteristics defining an older person, but one who has a good but realistic outlook at life. I especially loved the bond between Grandma and her granddaughter Swiv. I never had the good fortune to know either of my own grandmothers but feel blessed to have grandchildren of my own. It’s a very special bond.

I was fascinated by Grandma’s secret language and did some research to find out that it was Plautdietsch, a language spoken by Russian Mennonites. Some of the phrases were similar to German so I could figure it out a bit.

One of the most interesting parts of reading this novel was concurrently reading biographical information about its author, Miriam Toews, who put much of her real life experience and emotional baggage into her fiction.

I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading other works by this author.

Rating - 4.5 stars

She said when Mom was born the doctor was so useless at removing babies from women that Grandma had to say to him would you please get your hands out of me and let me do this myself.

Sedordle 2022-04-22

15/16

14-20-13-15
10-04-05-19
❌-12-16-07
21-18-11-17

https://sedordle.com/

I dare you!

>44 SqueakyChu: Already in the BlackHole or I would add it again!

BTW - I finished Time and Again today for TIOLI Challenge #11. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I hope you do too, Madeline!

>46 alcottacre: I'm enjoying Time and Again very much, Stasia. It'll take me a while to finish it as I'm a much slower reader than you are. If I don't finish it by the end of this month, then for sure by the beginning of May.

I hope that I’m still going to be safe from covid because I was around a ton of people this weekend...mostly unmasked. I had dinner with my family and a friend’s family in her house (8 people) in Silver Spring, Maryland. My BookCrossing book club met in a member’s yard (12 people) in Alexandria, Virginia. I had lunch in an outdoor restaurant (5 people) in Ellicott City, Maryland. I (masked) visited a tiny museum (3 people) in Ellicott City, Maryland. It was so much fun and so...normal. I’m double vaxxed and double boosted.

Plus I have a new favorite DC United soccer player! (which has nothing to do with covid safety and everything to do with a fun weekend).

>47 SqueakyChu: I am glad to hear that you are enjoying the book too, Madeline!

>48 SqueakyChu: I hope that you are going to be safe as well. COVID is not fun. I got it despite being vaxxed and boosted.

Have a wonderful week!

>48 SqueakyChu: I'm trying to be careful by avoiding crowds and people I don't know as well as masking when inside a retail establishment such as our grocery store.

>45 SqueakyChu: I still daren't! I'm trying not to get hooked on another one, Madeline!

>51 PaulCranswick: LOL!

15. Leap of Faith - Queen Noor



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TIOLI #7: Read a book whose title includes at least three one-syllable words
---------------------------------------
This book was a deeply emotional read for me. Members of my husband's family were employees of Queen Noor's family so I always heard from my late, beloved sister-in-law how wonderful Queen Noor and King Hussein were. Being Jewish myself and having lived in Israel, I was most interested in reading about King Hussein's fervent desire to help bring about peace between Arab nations and Israel.

From stories I heard about about King Hussein in his non-royal role, I greatly appreciated learning in this book about his life-style with Queen Noor. My favorite picture in the book is one in which Queen Noor and King Hussein are out riding his motorcycle. It brought back memories of hearing from my husband's family about the King's checking out Harley-Davidson dealerships when he was in the Washington area.

This biography seems more like a friend sharing a precious diary with me than a Queen having written her memoirs for people the world over. Everything seems so personal. I found it extremely difficult to read the very end of the book which described King Hussein's failing health and then his death at age 62 of cancer.

I have a special copy of this book, signed to me by Queen Noor. I never read this book before. I'm not sure why. However, I think it means more to me now as I can reflect back on what Queen Noor and King Hussein not only meant to my husband's family, but what they meant to the whole world, and how special the Queen and King were as individuals with their hearts in exactly the right place.

Rating - 5 stars

The only way to overcome the enmity of previous generations is to enable the next generation, the future guardians of peace, to meet and interact openly and honestly in a secure atmosphere of trust.




Left to right: Queen Noor, my sister-in-law Miriam Bosques, King Hussein

wish you a good start into this new week, Madeleine

Löse Paul Stalders selbst erstelltes Wördl: wordle.at/+du/?Paul%20Stalder/KL6MRF
find the Jewish/German word

>54 paulstalder: Thanks for stopping by, Paul. Wishing you a good week as well.

I think I'm doing enough word games presently. Ha!

16. Homage to Catalonia - George Orwell


--------------------------
TIOLI #5: Read a book that was published within 10 years before or after your birth year (1952)
-----------------------------
This is the British journalist and author George Orwell’s memoirs of serving in a militia of a Spanish communist political party against the Fascists during the Spanish Civil War. He gives a raw, detailed description of his life as a poorly equipped soldier in a ragtag military unit determined to defeat a hated enemy, the Fascists, based on his personal belief at that time of equality for everyone. Sadly, war stories remain relevant, generation after generation. This particular account moved me deeply as I have a great love for the country of Spain, and this was such a difficult part of its history.

It was fascinating to read Orwell's detailed description about life as a militia man. He describes just about everything he experienced during the time he fought with the militia-—the environment, the weather, the living conditions, the deprivation, the actual warfare, his thoughts on being a soldier, his reactions to happenings around him. It had me pondering how much of what he experienced people in various contemporary wars still experience, although modern warfare is vastly different in so many ways.

Trying to understand the political factions involved in the Spanish Civil War was a bit head-spinning for me, but worthwhile nonetheless as it helped me understand more of what each of the individual parties represented. What I found especially eye-opening about his discussion of political parties was that it made me realize from where the author got his ideas for his future novels Animal Farm and 1984.

One specific thing that George Orwell had completely spot on in this book was describing how different news sources completely mangle and change the “facts” they report dependent for whom they work. The line he wrote, “...they agree on nothing except in putting the blame on the other side” made me laugh, albeit sadly.

The last part of this book was mesmerizing, unputdownable and soul-searing. It described Orwell’s hazardous last days in Spain, what happened to the men in the militia in which he served, and how he made it out of Spain.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Don't hestitate to get it and read it.

Rating - 5 stars

I was breathing the air of equality, and I was simple enough to imagine that it existed all over Spain. I did not realize that more or less by chance I was isolated among the most revolutionary section of the Spanish working class.

A personal reflection: I never realized how dangerous it had been for me to sit in a bar with college students in 1973, during Franco’s regime and with armed Civil Guards in the street, and be singing “Andaluces de Jaén”, a song from a poem about olive-pickers of Andalucia which called for them to revolt in order to improve their social conditions and the power structure of the economy. Of course, that is now history. The author of that poem, Miguel Hernandez, was eventually imprisoned and died in prison a few years later.

>56 SqueakyChu: So glad to see you loved Homage to Catalonia, Madeline, great review.
I read it in 2017, you can find my thoughts here.
I have never been to Spain, only through books. I am reading a book by Almudena Grandes now.

>57 FAMeulstee: Great review of yours, too, Anita.

I was so impressed by this book for so many reasons. One thing that haunts me is the harm that comes from dividing people. We see that over and over again these days, but that issue is at the forefront of Orwell's book.

If you get the chance, go visit Spain. At least you won't have to visit it under Franco!:D

>58 SqueakyChu: Finding middle ground is way better, we still don't learn from history.
We might get to Spain some day.

DEFENDING THE ROCK is one of the strangest and more illuminating books about Spain during World War II.

>60 m.belljackson:. Thanks for the recommendation, Marianne. I’ll have to look for it. It sounds interesting.

Interestingly enough, I never got to visit Gibraltar. When I was in Southern Spain in 1973, the Yom Kippur war had just broken out in Israel, and my Israeli visa on my passport precluded me from traveling to Gibraltar because to get there we would have had to travel to Morocco first. Morocco would not let us in at that time being an Arab country.

Our world has been and probably always will be terribly messed up. :(

Madeline! I was wondering why I wasn't seeing a thread from you so I went looking. It appears I didn't have it starred! Well, that's fixed now. And my ears weren't even burning when you guys were talking about me, way up there in the thread! HA! Yep, I am still battling the pigeons but I have decided not to punish my little song birds by keeping the feeder inside and I just continue to zap the pigeons with the hose! Those poems were hilarious. And incidentally, the Toronto Zoo actually sells *Zoo Poo*! Seriously, fertilizer....;-)

It's been very hot and humid here this past week, far too early, if you ask me. My little back garden is looking pretty good so far but I am wiped out.

I have the Queen Noor book but haven't read it yet. How wonderful to have such a personal connection! And I have the same issue with books, finishing and can't decide what to read next, or starting several at the same time....

>62 jessibud2: I also have forgotten to star posts, so easy to do. takes me a while to realize Im no seeing any posts!

I am still battling the pigeons

there is a wonderful song from Tom Leher that you must hear: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhuMLpdnOjY

>62 jessibud2: Speaking of Zoo Poo, I once bought Barbara a gift of stationary made out of elephant poo. I don’t know if she ever used it for a letter. I’ll have to ask her.

I noticed it was pretty warm here today too. It’s either too cold, too hot, or too rainy to work in the garden, yet there’s much I have to do. I’ve been harvesting rhubarb, though. Of course, that just grows by itself every year. Best veggie/fruit I’ve got!

I really enjoyed the Queen Noor book. I think you’d like it as well. It was interesting reading her views on Israel as she obviously saw everything from a different viewpoint.

I just added a fifth book today to my “currently reading”. It’s a book for Paul's Asian challenge. I can’t seem to finish those books in a timely fashion! Time’s running out for his “Stans” challenge. :O

>64 SqueakyChu: Don't worry about me, Madeline! I never set any deadlines - just enjoy the books and finish them at your own pace and include 'em as you will. I love having you contribute to the challenge. xx

>65 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul. My book for your challenge, The Bad Muslim
Discount by Pakistani author Syed M. Moosad is so good that I think it will be the first book I finish of my five (Ugh!) current reads!! I have no resistance to just peeking into newly acquired books...and then they just grab me...and won’t let go! :D

17. Keep Sharp: Build a Better Brain at Any Age - Sanjay Gupta, MD


--------------------------------
TIOLI #6: Read a book with a flying animal in the title or author's name (jay)
-------------------------------------
I was very impressed with this book. I read through most of it at first thinking that I wasn't learning much new as the plan for brain health is pretty much what is needed for cardiac health. What I was astounded to learn, though, was that doing the "right things" for good health, especially brain health, must start when we are young.

I was sure that I would not be that much interested in the latter part of the book because I am not currently dealing with a loved one diagnosed with dementia. I was wrong. The last part of the book was simply superb. It dealt with pretty much all aspects of dementia in a very easy-to-read and informative manner. It had excellent advice for those either dealing with dementia or not just yet in self or others. It also ended on an optimistic note...which all of us need at this time.

Rating - 5 stars


It is especially important for those living with dementia and their caregivers to have people reach out to them to keep those relationships going or develop new ones. Remember: you can't catch dementia from others, and sharing a smile and a laugh may be the best medicine there is.

>67 SqueakyChu: - Thank you for this great review, madeleine. I am going to see if my library has this handy. Goodness knows I could use something uplifting these days, when it comes to dementia....

>68 jessibud2: It is a wonderful book and very easy to read, Shelley. It is a very uplifting book, I think. It has many ideas for dealing with this issue whether it is a current concern (as it is for your family) or a possible future concern (for myself).

18. Azit the Airborne Alsatian - Motta Gur -


----------------------------------------------------
TIOLI #6: Read a book with a flying animal in the title or author's name
---------------------------------------------------------
This is such a sweet book about a brave dog with the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) whose job was search and rescue. The introductory chapter explained how the author, Motta Gur, got Azit, a female German Shepard.

The first story was of a rescue mission in which Azit was actually parachuted into the Judean desert to rescue paratroopers who had been kidnapped while hiking and were left bound by rope in a dark cave.

The second story was how Azit was sent to find three soldiers of which one was injured, and they were unable to light a signal light because the enemy was near. In thanks for her assistance, Azit was sent a red beret (symbol of IDF paratroopers). Stories three and four followed and were equally as interesting.

This book was an amazing treat for me. I had the pleasure of using and improving my Hebrew while reading this very engaging book. Books such as these are printed by the Jewish Agency to help new learners of Hebrew. It has been so many years since I’ve read anything in Hebrew besides letters and prayer books. This was such a thrill for me because it was pretty much exactly on my knowledge level of Hebrew. It had the hardest words which I did not know translated below the main text. I found this book by pure chance in a Little Free Library in my grocery store. I hope someone leaves another one there in the future!

I loved reading this book aloud to practice my Hebrew. Doing this also helped me understand the meaning of what was written and practice my spoken Hebrew. I hope this will also help me remember new-to-me Hebrew words. I was surprised how much Hebrew I remember from my days of living in Israel. I’m thinking that this book might be the first one ever that I’ve read in Hebrew. I intend for it not to be my last.

Even though the stories were in easy Hebrew, they were interesting and suspenseful. I was telling Israeli friends of mine about this book, and they had already read it…but not in “easy” Hebrew, of course!

Rating - 5 stars

Sounds great, Madeline. I remember buying kids books when I was there in order to do exactly what you did, improve my reading skills (not easy in another alphabet!).

>71 jessibud2: This was such a great book! I was thinking of you as I read it. I'll be passing it along to my friend Barbara now as she wants to try to read it as well.

19. Bewilderment - Richard Powers


------------------------------------------
TIOLI #1:: Read a book by a new-to-you author whose last name starts or ends with the letter "S"
--------------------------------------------------
This story was absolutely brilliant but utterly depressing. The writing was beautiful, but the story was the perfect storm of things going wrong. Quite a few themes were interwoven in layers beneath the main story which brought everything to life.

This is the story of astrobiologist Theo Byrne and his emotionally disturbed son Robin. After the untimely death of his wife Aly, Theo takes Robin to a fellow scientist who tries a new neural feedback technique on Robin which seems to be promising. Due to a mistake in judgment by Theo, he belatedly realized how his life with his son might be changing.

This story was written as a conflict between the extremes of religion and science, as well as the need to care for planet earth, but it was especially hard to read because of its political undertones. I found the story frighteningly realistic.

My heart bled for both Theo and Robin as their relationship was so dependent on one another after the death of Aly. I wanted to do everything I could to protect both of them. I couldn’t because this was only a story. It was dreadfully anxiety-provoking and disturbing, though.

I definitely have to read more work by this author. His personal ideas are so well expressed through his story-telling.

Rating - 5 stars

I wanted to tell the man that everyone alive on this fluke little planet was on the spectrum. That’s what a spectrum is. I wanted to tell the man that life itself is a spectrum disorder, where each of us vibrated at some unique frequency in the continuous rainbow.

my fav book of his is time of our singing At Marion Andersons performance in Washington in 1939 a Black woman and German Jewish refugee meet, and connect through music. They marry and have three children growup during the Civil Rights era, come of age in the violent 1960s, and live out adulthood in the racially retrenched late century. The writing is extraordinary, and through it all ends with a note of hope. Highly recommended

>74 cindydavid4: I am still feeling sucker-punched from this depressing story, but the writing was so exquisite that I definitely need to read more works by this author. Thanks for the recommendation, Cindy. I'll put it on my wishlist.

I take it that this author finds special grace writing about social problems with the hope that his readers will not only enjoy his stories, but will be made more aware of greater societal needs as well.

just came to say hello

I went to an orthodox Jewish cemetery of the Agudas Achim synagogue of Zürich, the guy who is taking care of the cemetery explained me this work is not paid but honorable (he used the Yiddish term, which I forgot ...) since the dead cannot repay you. They did a great job of cleaning and renewing every grave stone (the cemetery exists since 1902). They will probably use my pictures and upload them to findagrave.
Afterwards I met Barbara (Ameise1) and her husband for coffee, that was a good exchange, too

>76 paulstalder: Hi, Paul. Thanks for stopping by.

Yes, the work you are doing is definitely a mitzvah. I love that you are doing this. You'll probably never know the extent to which your work is used and appreciated. Anyway, this is the highest kind of mitzvah.

It is so nice that you got to meet up with Barbara and her husband! I am still avoiding groups and meetups because of covid. Close friends of mine keep on testing positive so I'm a little wary of groups although I do go out more and wear masks less. It's nice to see some smiling faces for a change and have conversations which I can understand (I read lips as well as use my hearing aids). I did get a visit from LTers Zoe (lives in New York state) and her husband radicarian the last time they passed through the DC area. I was comfortable with having them mask-free in my house because they had been vacinated, and we had not yet heard of breakthrough covid! We were all fine, though. :)

>77 SqueakyChu: hej madeline, thanks, 'mitzvah' was the word he used. I like doing that work, well hobby, but something I wonder about the amount of time and energy - shouldn't be used doing something for the living? Well, I agree, this is valuable for the family, but sometimes it's just too much past-orientated and we are turned away from our own future (the future the dead already know now).

The situation here in Switzerland is quite different, in as much as we don't have covid-rules anymore, no masks, no mandatory home office, no certificates ... And the vaccinations don't help against getting the disease, it helps having the thing. My son was vaccinated, I was vaccinated, our friend who should have preached last Sunday in our church was vaccinated - got it and stayed home. Be careful, yes, but also live a fine/meaningful/good life. God may bless your coming and going.

>78 paulstalder: Sure! It might be time to do something for the living now!

I’m of the opinion we’ll all get it eventually. I want to postpone getting it as long as as I can because I believe the treatment for it will improve as time goes by. This month I’ll be going out more, but I’ll still be cautious. I worry very much about my husband contracting it as he has heart and lung problems. We have our rapid tests here at home in case we start having symptoms. I just regret all of the chaos and sadness the past two years of pandemic has caused for so many people. I also have one friend who has long haul COVID so she’s been sick off and on for a very long time. WeI’ll just have to see what the future brings.

20. Kids in America: A Gen X Reckoning by Liz Prato


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TIOLI #13: Read a book that has a person (human) on the cover
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Wow! This book contains very powerful and thought-provoking essays—each one examining a different serious facet of the age of the Generation Xers. As changes were happening throughout the years, not each of us were equally aware or as immersed in what was happening so I think it personally did me good to have this opportunity to read in depth about these changes.

The essay about Native Americans was gruesome and sad. The essay about date rape was truly something over which to become enraged. The essay about the author Liz’s black friend Alicia whose single mom died while she was in high school had me in tears. The letter to Frederic Lyman, teacher who for years was sexually assaulting his students but never really held accountable, was an exposure of an outrageous situation.

The essay “Change in Altitude” was the story of the author Liz and friends during a break from school and the end of her relationship with her boyfriend Leon. I liked hearing about what eventually happened to her friends later in their lives.

As a hard of hearing Baby Boomer, I never watched Beverly Hill 90210 but I enjoyed and laughed through this author’s description of the TV series and how thoroughly she tore it apart because of what it was and what it was not. Glad I missed the whole thing.

This is a very sharply-written book with so much to talk about in it. I kept having to stop reading (while I was devouring it very quickly) so I could talk to others about its contents. I’ve frequently thought about how hard it would have been for me, shy as a child, to have been born a Generation Xer as opposed to the Baby Boomer I am. I guess all ages have their advantages and disadvantages, but this book helped me understand the Generation Xers in a way that I wouldn’t be able to do in a casual conversation with them. It dealt with some hard issues that I’m not sure l'd feel comfortable discussing with young people I know.

Liz Prato is an excellent writer. In this book, she does incredibly sharp and beautiful essays about tough subjects.

I found the essay “Flights of Two” very different in tone from all other essays in this book. However just one line made me laugh out loud and love it. The line was...”The word of Robert’s disqualification spread quickly, whispered about in the bleachers and in the bathrooms and by the potato salad.”

I found the last essay the most powerful one in the book. It gave me chills as I started to read it and left me in tears. Rather than tell you what it’s about, I’ll tell you it’s title: “Falling Off Radar”. Now you go read it. Read the whole book, but leave this story for last, though.

Rating - 5 stars

When the program celebrated its fortieth anniversary in 2012, seven hundred Native Americans had graduated from Dartmouth (which is, you know, significantly better than the twenty students in its first 200 years).

whats the dif between generation X and the millenials? hate those labels but am curious of the generations after mine

>81 cindydavid4: After the Baby Boomers, came Generation X. After Generation, X came Generation Y (Millennials).

The Boomers are between the ages of 56-75 years old and were born between 1946 and 1964. Gen X are between the ages of 40 and 56 and were born between 1965 and 1980. Gen Y (Millennials) are between the ages of 25 and 40 and were born between 1981 and 1994.

thanks for that clarification. And so what happens after generation z?.....

>83 cindydavid4: LOL! I don't know! I just looked up the information for Generation X because of the book I read. I came to learn that one of my kids is a Gen Xer, and the other two are Millennials--for whatever that is worth. I personally like being a Boomer. I think having been a teenager in the 60s and a young adult in the 70s was a blast!

And of course, the weird thing about these generational labels is how soft they are. I was born in 1962, so supposedly a Boomer, but since I was 6 years old when Woodstock was happening, have never really felt like one. 😀

>83 cindydavid4: That made me smile, Cindy!

I am an early GenXr being born in 1966 - one thing I don't understand from your clarification Madeline at >82 SqueakyChu: is why the generations are getting shorter.
The Boomers get 18 years, Generation X has 15 years and the Millennials are being squeezed into 13 years?

>86 PaulCranswick: Ive noticed that too. Gen Z is 1997-2012. So a bunch of kids have been born in the last 20 years.
So what are they. and what happened to y.? And who makes these calls,they are really just dumb and hate that the media tries to portray them as differeent or as enemies.

>85 drneutron: Im the same way. was born in 1957, my sibs were 10 years older than me and I always felt like a different generation. But I am a boomer and proud, we had the best concerts!

>86 PaulCranswick: I have no idea. I think it might have to do with current events and cultural things happening. I don't think there is a definite line between the generations or the years. I also think people differ on their ideas of the ends and beginnings of those generations.

I think young people feel part of a certain generation because of how they relate to events of their time. For example, as a Baby Boomer, I was marching against the war in VietNam, I was participating in Civil Rights rallies with black friends, I was aware that young people were starting to smoke weed, I was into the music of that time (Beatles, Motown, folk music), and I'd do hippie-like things (bake my own bread, sling a guitar on my back and go toDupont Circle in DC to jam with other people playing instruments).

>87 cindydavid4: I actually never knew who the Gen X and Gen Y generations were before. I looked it up in order to more intelligently read and review that book above.

>88 cindydavid4: Oh, those Baby Boomer concerts! I saw musicians such as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, the Four Seasons all live and in person. The outdoor concerts were great. I think that's where I lost my hearing, though! I'd leave all those concerts with ringing ears. Who knew?!

>89 SqueakyChu: I suppose if I think of myself in those generational terms, Madeline (which I most often do not), then I guess I would consider myself "a child of the seventies" whatever the heck that means. For me it means long hot summers, cricket and getting pummeled by the brilliant West Indians, Leeds United being the best team in the world and everybody hating us, the three day week, strikes, power cuts, eight-track cartridges and singing along in the back of the Ford Cortina to the Big O and the Man in Black, not having much money but having lots of fun, of my Gran and her wonderful stories, sweets from the corner shop, Quality Street, Wimpey Bars, day trips to Blackpool or Bridlington, football cards with the chewing gum that made your jaw ache, discovering the joy of reading and how much I liked girls, climbing trees and stealing fruit from the derelict Vicarage grounds, Doctor Who and The Sweeney, The Onedin Line and The Brothers.

>90 PaulCranswick: “Child of the seventies” sounds fine to me.

>53 SqueakyChu: >56 SqueakyChu: >67 SqueakyChu: Adding those to the BlackHole. Thanks for the reviews and recommendations, Madeline.

>70 SqueakyChu: I wish I knew even "easy" Hebrew so I could read that one!

>73 SqueakyChu: Glad to see that one was a 5-star read for you too, Madeline.

>80 SqueakyChu: Too bad my local library does not have that one. It sounds like an interesting read.

Have a wonderful week!

>92 alcottacre: Kids in America hasn’t been published yet! It’s coming out tomorrow. I got my copy as an advance reader copy from Andrew Gifford, founder of the indie publishing company Santa Fe Writer’s Project (sfwp.com). I love reviewing books for his small indie press because most of them are outstanding.

I got to know Andrew because he was a presenter at a book fair in which in which I worked. He was the son of the family which ran the iconic Gifford’s Ice Cream Parlor back in the 60s and 70s when I used to live in Silver Spring, Maryland. He wrote a book about his dysfunctional family called We All Scream. So I talked to him and found out that an uncle of his wrote a book that I read and reviewed for LibraryThing Early Reviewers!! I told him about my BookCrossing group.

From then on, Andrew has been sharing ARCs of his books with me. I just love to get them. There is some irony here because in order to sell books and have them prominently posted on Amazon, they have to have highly rated reviews. Amazon won’t post my reviews because I refuse to buy anything from them. Andrew knows this. I post my reviews of his books here on LT, on GoodReads, and on BookCrossing. I pass the ARCS along to others, hoping to get some more posted reviews for Andrew. He’s a good guy. I’m happy his small press is doing well because the pandemic did a job on publishers and booksellers everywhere.

21. A Burning - Megha Majumdar


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TIOLI #16: Read a book by an author who has the same initials for first and last names (M)

ASIAN BOOK CHALLENGE 2022 - JUNE IN THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT
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This is a beautifully-written, heartbreaking debut novel. It takes place in India and is about Jivan, a young woman who comes from extreme poverty but hopes to live a middle class life. She leaves school after finishing tenth grade to work at a shop called Pantaloons. She is arrested by the government for what is construed as a terrorist act, but what was truly a momentarily poor choice she made innocently enough. We meet her struggling parents and her friend Lovely, an hijra (transsexual) she is tutoring in English. We also learn about PT Sir who had been her physical education teacher at school. The story follows the trajectory of Jivan, Lovely and PT Sir through time and the influences they have on each other.

This is the kind of book that, once again in my life, makes me hate politics, mostly for the damage it does to some individuals and for shining a light on how corrupt it can be. I like this story, however, for its characters, and the way the story is told in halting English dialect. I would gladly read more of this author’s work and thought she created a deeply sad, but wonderful first novel. I wish her success on her future career in writing. She is off to an excellent start.

Rating - 4.5 stars

Beware…what all you do on Facebook. It’s full of criminals.

(post deleted - duplicate post)

>94 SqueakyChu: I read it last year and enjoyed it, Madeline, although you spend much of the book hoping that it will end up differently to how you imagine it will.

>96 PaulCranswick: I know. I hate moral decay of people! :(

I found the character of Lovely most interesting, though.

22. The Swimmers - Julie Otsuka



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TIOLI #17: Read a book where at least one title word includes a double letter (M)
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I think the best way to read this book is as I did—going in blindly and knowing nothing about the subject matter but trusting the author to tell you a good story. It starts with a large underground pool and lots of swimmers. I won’t tell you where it will take you, but it will be some place unexpected and sad. Grab your bathing cap and dive in for the swim. Prepare yourself, though. Despite this deep dive, you might find yourself in your own water of tears.

This book is also a social commentary on contemporary life in addition to the main story. Jabs are sneaked into the narrative every so often. Be alert for them!

The author writes so beautifully that you’ll find it hard to put this book down and start reading it faster and faster despite the upsetting subject matter. Many lines made me cry. This whole tender story made my heart hurt. Near the end, I thought to myself, “What a depressing book". By the time this book ended, I was devastated.

However, this is a beautiful novel incorporating a fascinating way of writing a story and is one I would highly recommend.

Rating - 5 stars

You may worry…That you are not missed (but you are, more than you will ever know).

My newest thread continues here...but this thread is not over yet! :D

23. Born a Crime - Trevor Noah


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TIOLI #13: Read a book that has a person (human) on the cover
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This autobiography of South African comedian Trevor Noah is mostly an enjoyable reading experience. With the background of apartheid South Africa, Noah pointed out those things which made him into the personality he is today. His mom had the biggest influence on his life, first of all just by being a black South African woman concieving a child with a white Swiss-German man because such a cross-race sexual relationship at that time it occurred was a crime. As a child, Noah’s mom made him believe that he could be whatever he wanted, despite the color of his skin. He was often thought of as “white” among his black relatives until he lived among other “colored” people later in his life.

I loved reading about Noah at age twenty-four finding his dad again. It made me cry. Noah wrote this about his feelings at that time, “Being chosen is the greatest gift you can give to another human being”.

Reading about apartheid, particularly about the arbitrary classification of individuals as either white, colored, Indians, or black...and where they could live, whom they could marry, and what rights and jobs and privileges individuals they could have...was shocking. Some families, as Trevor Noah’s was, were torn completely apart in that system.

I was surprised at how much trouble Noah got into as a child and how he was always setting himself up in borderline criminal activities. Life was a struggle for him, but he was a happy kid and later a happy young man.

Only one part of the book made me feel uncomfortable. It was when he told a story about a friend of his named Hitler who danced at a party for which Noah was DJing for a Jewish organization. Noah explained how his friend got the name Hitler and the uproar that his friend’s name caused at the party, but the entire story was told in a way I personally found offensive. Other than that, I enjoyed learning about Noah’s youth and liked his manner of story-telling very much.

The ending of the book blew me away. There Noah recalled the story of his stepfather Abel trying, but not succeeding, in killing Noah’s mom. She was the unsung hero of Noah’s life. After reading about all of the trials and tribulations of Noah’s childhood, I feel relieved that he is now in a successful career as a comedian, but I also love that he’s an author.

Rating - 4.5 stars

The doctors took her up to the delivery room, cut open her belly, and reached in and pulled out a half-white, half-black child who violated any number of laws, statutes, and regulations—I was born a crime.

Hopelessly behind on LT, but wanted to drop in and say Hi! And look -- Born a Crime is one of my very favorites. I loved listening to it on audio. Any new winners since then? Hope all is well. : )

it is quite excellent; Love his stand up shows, and love watching hi on the daily show; I love his perception of our country, love his humor and his revulsion at times. but he is always honest and natural, always questionig what he experiences

>101 Berly: Hi Kim. Thanks for stopping by. I'm now reading two other enjoyable books. I'll more post about them in my third quarter thread when I finish them. One of them is a book about sharks I got in my Little Free Library. It's Why Sharks Matter by David Shiffman. One of my friends wanted to read that book and requested it. I later got a second request for the same book by another friend who went to grad school with the author. In the meantime, I started reading it and love it. So the book became a bookray (a BookCrossing "thing" in which people sign up to read the same copy of a book, and the last person on the list gets to keep it).

>102 cindydavid4: Hi Cindy, I never paid much attention to Trevor Noah until I watched a full-length clip of him at the 2022 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. Then I started watching clips of him on FB and a friend gave me this book. I'm not sure how she knew I was interested in learning more about Noah. Reading about his life and how he got to where he is now was very interesting.

>103 SqueakyChu: Well, it is Shark Week on TV so perfect time to read that one. : )

>104 Berly: Actually, the author HATES Shark Week (and frequently speaks out against it) because it emphasizes fear of sharks. I HIGHLY recommend this book for anyone with even the smallest interest in sharks, because it is so much FUN to read. Plus it dispels wrong information that is spread about sharks.

Oops! That's too bad. I was looking forward to watching Shark week and learning cool new things about them. I didn't realize it was so fear inspired. Maybe I'll just read the book!

>106 Berly: Do both! Be fully informed...and critical. It's always fun to watch sharks in action (on film or in real life). I was always excited to watch sharks around the pier at which we fished every year for many years in Emerald Isle, North Carolina. When people caught sharks, kids would gather round to touch their skin. Sharks have different scales than other fish (making them not kosher for people of the Jewish faith to eat), but they do have what are called dermal denticles which kids like to touch just to feel the difference when they are rubbed in opposite directions. I find sharks fascinating.

Yes ma'am!! I have felt a shark before and it is was so cool to rub it in different directions. Why Sharks Matter duly wish-listed and off to record some of Shark Week!

>108 Berly: Let me know how you like Sharing Week as well as the book!

Stopping by to note that DC United has been quite active in the transfer market with Rooney at the helm. Here is hoping that it turns into solid results for the rest of the season.

>110 Oberon: He has been pretty active! Our team has not been the same since he left so I love having Wayne Rooney back here as coach now. Every day brings a new surprise. I hope this will all translate into bringing DC United fans back from being the worst kind of cynics into once again becoming ardent supporters. It's tough being the worst team in the entire MLS. :(