Diane - Randomly Reading Through the Night 2

New topic

A new thread calls for more cupcakes!

Definitely can use cupcakes. Happy new thread.

Happy new thread, and happy belated birthday!

>2 rocketjk:, >3 dchaikin: youse guys! (Philly talk). No more cupcakes. Back to diet.
>4 labfs39: thank you

I read Local Woman Missing last night. It was well done and disappointing. Well written but a few very hard to believe surprises at the end. There is a lesbian couple who just aren’t filled out enough but are very important to the plot.

Last night I read Where is Mark. On November 25, 1991 a boy in our community disappeared. He’s never been found. The book is written by a local police officer. There are some startling things in the book - which is basically about Mark and what kind of kid he was as well the investigation into his disappearance. I’m surprised the book is pretty good and pretty shocking. Surprising that the police know so much but can’t find him.

I'm catching up on everyone's threads and figured it's not too late to wish you a belated Happy Birthday.

>8 rhian_of_oz: thank you

I’m going to a military ball tonight.

>10 dianeham: That's a line I've never had the occasion to say! I hope you have fun at the ball. (I've never said that either. Lol.)

There were men tossing rifles at the ball last night.

I finished another Louise Penny book.

Today I read Passersthrough.

I’ve read 16 books this month.

>15 dianeham: great month!

Unrelated to reading…

I have an infection in my gum that didn’t respond to antibiotics. I was getting an implant and the infection is under the tooth next to the implant site. So now the implant has to be undone to get at the infected area. But I asked if we could do a bridge instead of an implant so now it will cost less. But the infection is bothering me.

I’d like to do more with my topic here but I’m too tired all the time now.

>17 dianeham: What a nightmare that surgery has been! It's already been a couple of months, right? Wow. I hope they can fix it soon for you.

Congrats on 16 books this month!

>18 labfs39: You’re right. I didn’t realize it had been that long.

Having more oral surgery today. sigh

Hope this time goes better... Good luck

Just want to sleep now.

Our mail was covered with ants today. What is that about?

Sent husband to buy hydrangea and he bought geraniums.

>24 dianeham: Well, I would not know the difference either so don’t blame him to much. :)

>25 AnnieMod: I’m happy with either.

Finished another Louise Penny.

I’m reading another Louise Penny - The Kingdom of the Blind. There always seems to be something in her books that annoys me despite the fact that I end up liking most of them. In this book, she has referred to a couple of people as ugly. One character, every time he appears, she reiterates that he is ugly. I don’t think people are ugly and I object to describing someone as ugly.

>29 dianeham: Finished and I really disliked it.

>30 dianeham: Sounds like this one grated more than usual. Will you continue reading them?

I only have 2 left so I probably will. She wrote this after her husband died and she didn’t think she would continue the series. So I’ll take that into account. I just don’t understand all the ugly stuff. Maybe the world was ugly for her at that time. There were just so many references to whether people were attractive or not.

I would find that irksome as well. I only have two Maisie Dobbs mysteries left. Since I don't read them for the mystery, but for the historical aspects, my enjoyment of the book depends on how much time is spent on the mystery itself. In this latest one, I didn't find the mystery compelling, but I did like the parts about the Blitz. Do you read them?

No, I haven’t read Maisie Dobbs.

Just started The Mannequin Makers. New Zealand 1903

Reading The Night and The Music short stories starring Mathew Scudder. Just started The Disturbance: Hard Science Fiction

I applied for a position on a not for profit board - Coast Guard Community Foundation. https://coastguardcommunity.org/
We live in Cape May County which is the home of the Coast Guard enlisted training base.

>37 dianeham: Good luck!

>38 rocketjk: thanks

I’ve been reading too late at night. I’m falling asleep just as i’m starting a new book and totally forget it by the time I wake up.

My last of the 3 Pines books All the Devils Are Here. This is my 5th Louise Penny this month.

I started This Poison will remain but I quit after I finished the sample. I loved Fred Vargas when I read the other 6 books of the series but she didn’t grab me this time. Plus the ebook is $12 and I’m not sure I would finish it. The overdrive collection I have access too doesn’t have much in translation.

I just started Believe me: A Memoir of Love, Death and Jazz Chickens. Think I’ll be reading that putting it down and reading again.

So now I need a next book.

Jazz chickens?

>43 dchaikin: Haven’t gotten to that part yet.

>43 dchaikin: Found it! Jazz Chickens https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfxGL4ZY-kg

These are the three books I am currently reading.

>45 dianeham: :)

I gave up on Gather the Daughter and got my money back. Don’t need to read a book about girls/women being mistreated in a cult. It only cost 1.60

I’m trying to find a book that I was reading and put down bur now I forget the title and author.

>49 dianeham: Lol. Sounds like something I would do!

Does this sound familiar to anyone? Driving me crazy.

This is an adult fable. There is a king who lives on the top of a mountain. Villagers live in the valley. There is a man whose job it is to cook one meal for everyone who lives there. People line up to get their meal. The king gave the man this job.

>51 dianeham: I found the book - Popisho. Funny thing, it’s dedicated to Shaka which is the name of our dog.

I finished When We were Orphans. Really surprised a lot of LTers didn’t like it.

Now I’m reading Life After Life

I’m not really liking Life After Life. I thought I would - so many people do. I’m finding it boring. I’m not particularly fond of any of the characters. I’m thinking it may be a dnf.

I’m starting to think I should only read Canadian books. Reading Rabbit Foot Bill.

Rabbit Foot Bill was excellent.

>54 dianeham: I liked Life after Life, but didn't love it. 3.5*

>57 labfs39: I think I saw that.

>54 dianeham: I read Life After Life and loved it - but I can definitely see how it wouldn't be for everyone.

>59 Julie_in_the_Library: many people loved it. I seem to be very fond of Canadian authors so I’m going to look up more of them. Helen Humphreys seems very good. Thinking of trying a Jane Urquhart next. I haven’t read Miriam Toews or Alice Munro.

I read Margaret Laurence when I was younger. Also read Margaret Atwood, Carol Shields and Timothy Findley

>60 dianeham: If you are looking for more Canadian writers, I've loved Lori Lansens, and Mary Lawson. But get through Helen Humphreys first - she's terrific, and her books are all super short.

>61 raidergirl3: thanks, not familiar with Lori Lansens but very fond of Mary Lawson. And short is good.

>61 raidergirl3: started reading The Girls by Lori Larsen but It’s slow going. I love the subject, conjoined twins, but reading about them is getting boring. I think it’s the writing. Think so far this is a DNF.

I seem to have wandered into another fantasy novel that I thought was a mystery. Omens so far is strange. Seems pretty normal but odd things keep happening.

Not feeling well. Really nauseous worse when I stand up.

Oh, dear. Any idea why?

>66 labfs39: better now. I think it might have beed acid reflux. Thanks.

My husband bought this for me. Looking forward to it. The pictures are great.



The first major Gullah Geechee cookbook from “the matriarch of Edisto Island,” who provides delicious recipes and the history of an overlooked American community. The history of the Gullah and Geechee people stretches back centuries, when enslaved members of this community were historically isolated from the rest of the South because of their location on the Sea Islands of coastal South Carolina and Georgia. Today, this Lowcountry community represents the most direct living link to the traditional culture, language, and foodways of their West African ancestors.

Just parking this here.

This is such a broad question - I’m getting lost trying to think how to answer it. Also I’m so old I’ve read a variety of mysteries.

I’ll list my favorites:
Matthew Scudder series by Lawrence Block Scudder, like Block, is an alcoholic and he gets sober within the series.

Sharon McCone series by Marcia Muller The series started in 1977 with Edwin of the Iron Shoes

Tony Hillerman

Burren Mysteries series by Cora Harrison 16th Century Ireland. The detective is a Brehon judge (female)

A Fever Devilin Mystery series by Phillip DePoy The sleuth is a retired academic folklorist who return to his Appalachian home. This series was great.

The Tom Ripley books by Patricia Highsmith

Fred Vargas

Best Nordic mystery writers: Henning Mankell, Ake Edwardson, Hakan Nesser

I’m reading Local Gone Missing by Fiona Barton. It’s not bad but so completely different than The Widow. Wonder if it’s going to be a series?

New book - The Poetry of Pablo Neruda

Got this today.Savages

Currently reading Anthem

My answer to the current question.

I’ve been intending to read at least one book each by the dueling English sisters Byatt and Drabble for years but still haven’t gotten around to it. I intended to read Collette and George Eliot but when I try - just can’t get into it. There are authors I’ve deliberately ignored and I have no guilt about that. I didn’t study literature in college and I didn’t attend college after high school. So all my reading was self directed. I read lots of poetry - most of it post wwii. I was strongly influenced by Gertrude Stein and read everything she wrote in my early 20s. I’ve read books that are in other people’s gaps. And vice versa. Two authors I think I will read that I overlooked are Virginia Wolf and Jane Austen.

No one ever stops in here.

What angel, if I called out, would hear me?
And even if one of them impulsively embraced me,
I’d be crushed by its strength. For beauty
Is just the beginning of a terror we can barely stand:
We admire it because it calmly refuses to crush us.
Every angel terrifies. And so I control myself,
Choking back the dark impulse to cry.

—Duino Elegies, RAINER MARIA RILKE, TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN BY GARY MIRANDA

>76 dianeham:

We're definitely lurking about!

>76 dianeham: Me too! Though I don't always have something interesting to contribute.

>77 dianeham: this is lovely

>76 dianeham: it’s not you, I basically missed all of June (so I couldn’t tell you in time that Life After Life doesn’t exactly get better, but the the past lives reach with connectors to the later lives. Suddenly you realize what this character would do, and is thinking, and what’s really underneath what they are saying. And it all becomes much more meaningful. So in that sense it improves. But you have get in chunk to get that aspect. So while some readers love it immediately, most readers finish happier with it than with their first impression.)

>72 dianeham: looks gorgeous - the Neruda.

>78 lilisin: thank you. I get lonely in here sometimes.

>79 labfs39: I think you are always interesting.

>80 dchaikin: missed you. Have you read Neruda? The book is 996 pages.

>83 dianeham: i have two books waiting…much shorter. I haven’t read more than a handful of his poems.

I haven’t been feeling well. Taking a medication that doesn’t agree with me.

I ‘ve started a few books but finished none. I’m reading 3 or 4 books but just too tired to write about them right now.

Here’s some descriptions without title. Can you guess the titles?

The two adult daughters of a woman’s college acquaintance keep coming to her house and bothering her while her father is in a hospital utility closet sick from not-covid?

Fictional autobiography of a while South African author who has bizarre opinions of his mother and life in general.

Waiting for library copies of 2 books that I read samples of. One is a technology adverse physicist who predicted and discovered the god particle.

The other is about an English painter who spends the summer on an Irish island where the Irish residents find much humor in his weird ways - like snapping his fingers to get attention.

I can’t guess the titles, but I enjoyed thinking about what books they might be.

>85 dianeham:
Companion Piece - I cannot remember this title to save my life. Have to look it up all the time.
Scenes from Provincial Life
Elusive
The Colony

I too am having a hard time finding the next book to read.

I finished Companion Piece. So far it’s the only book I’ve read by Ali Smith. I say that because I’m wondering if it would have been less confusing if I was more familiar with her. I gave it 4.5 stars and truly loved it by the end. There is a section of the book having to do with blacksmiths that baffled me but that became clear at the end. However, there are people who keep coming over to the main character’s house uninvited and I’m not sure what that is about. The book is due at the library on Tuesday but I may need to reread it at some point.

That’s exciting, another Ali Smith fan. So, would you read more by her?

>41 dianeham: my sis lent me this one. we both were in paris,and she loved revisiting the places in the book

>60 dianeham: Read two of Helen Humphreys afterimage and the frozen thames ant thought both quite excellent. Ive been reading lots of canadian authors as well Timothy Findleey is a favorite (I have his bio sitting on my tbr stack and really should read. Carol Shields and Atwood of course.

>76 dianeham: well I decided to find your thread so here I am! we have lots of reading in common

>85 dianeham: Fictional autobiography of a while South African author who has bizarre opinions of his mother and life in general.

Trevor Noah born a crime?

>41 dianeham: doublepost

>93 cindydavid4: thank you so much for visiting. I too like Canadian authors. Love Timothy Findley - what's the title of the bio? Will check out the 2 Helen Humphries you mentioned. Oh, the Companion Piece was very hopeful. >94 cindydavid4: It’s Boyhood by Coetzee. But the Trevor Noah book is on my radar.

>90 dchaikin: Yes I will definitely be reading more Ali Smith.

>95 cindydavid4: have you read any books by Fred Vargas? I loved them when I read them but had trouble getting into this one. I think it was because I didn’t remember the characters that well.

No I haven't. what does she tend to write about? Re the Findley bio Tiff a life of timothy findley and Ill look for companion piece

>98 cindydavid4: They are all mysteries in series.

oh ok, Im not big on mysteries that much

I just got The colony and Complete Poems of Carl Sandberg from the library. I read the ebook sample of The Colony and wanted more. My father was from County Donegal in Ireland and the people on the Irish island in Colony remind me of Donegal.

Speaking of Ireland - I’ve been reading Small Things Like These and the husband and wife talk to each other in clichés. I can’t decide if the author is saying, this is the way Irish people speak to each other or this the way you think they speak. It just seemed like empty phrases.

Hi Diane!

I've been waffling on whether to read Small things like these. Your description tips me towards not.

>102 markon: I gave it 4 stars. It was very profound. I think the cliche thing may have been done o purpose to point out that on the surface everything is about getting by and getting along. But under the surface there is something deeper going on in the town and in the moral conscience of main character. I don’t think you’ll regret reading it.

And now I'm tilting back the other way. We'll see.

>104 markon: it’s only 72 pages. You can do that standing on your head.

I’m still reading The Colony. There’s a strange thing going on with the writing. Sometimes it goes on for pages with 2 words per lines and other parts there are no paragraph breaks for pages. An English artist and French linguist are spending the summer on an Irish island. The lines that are like poetry seem to be in the artist’s parts ad the no breaks for the linguist. The two guys can’t stand each other. The linguist is there for the 4th summer in a row studying the Irish language as used on that island.

I’ve been reading the kindle sample of Miriam Margolyes’s This Much Is True but haven’t decided if I like it yet.

Also started A Girl of the Limberlost but the girl’s mother is so mean not sure I’ll continue.

>106 dianeham: The Colony sounds challenging. Not sure I would be up for that in this heat.

>106 dianeham: I’m intrigued.

>106 dianeham: Elnora's mother improves over the course of the book and you'll understand her bitterness (though her expression of it on Elnora is, I agree, abominable.)

Also, I didn't realize until I was an adult that there is (was) a real Limberlost Swamp in Indiana.

>109 markon: oh thanks. Will keep going with it.

I finished The Colony and still thinking about it. There’s a lot to think about. The French linguist and the Irish language add a layer on top of the English artist and the "troubles" in the north. Really an excellent book. There’s so much there.

Reading Oh William!. I really like the way she writes.

I read 8 books during the first 15 days of August and now I’m stalled out. I’ve been reading one not very long book since then. Brother Mambo: Finding Africa in the Amazon is basically a record of the author’s anthropology field work from the 1970s. The author has since taken up law so not sure why he published this now. The Africans in the Amazon were brought over as slaves for the plantation system in the 18th C. During that time there were many escapes deeper into the forest where independent communities were established. Of course the missionaries showed up and had their influence. The book gets boring when talking about the Moravians vs the Catholics and how they influenced the philosophy and life styles of the Africans. I’m 55% done but really dragging my feet now.

>112 dianeham: I was curious about that one.

So which 15 books have you already read this month?

>113 dchaikin: 8 books in 15 days, not 15 books. Will post later when I come back from dinner.

Sorry, didn’t post the books yet. Got the flu.

Oye. Hope you feel better soon

>116 dchaikin: thank you. Had a doctor phone visit and got some meds.

>115 dianeham: A summer flu is no fun at all. Wishing you a speedy recovery.

>118 RidgewayGirl: thank you. They dug up our street last week. It could be an allergic brochitis. But feeling better with meds.

Feel better

>120 labfs39: thank you. Doung better.

I am reading The Trust thatis on the booker longlist and I’m surprised how much I like reading it. I’m not sure what makes books more readable for me. But this book just is so compelling to me. I prefer that there not be a lot of detail or description. I like things to move forward. Nothing about this book except the odd personalities of the main characters is anything I would like - like rich people, stock exchange and money.

Turns out Trust is 3 books in one. First book is a fictional novel about the financier. The 2nd book is by the financier, and the third? Not sure yet. I’m on book 2 now but I’m confused because all the names changed from the novel to the autobiography. I’m having trouble associating people with their "real" selves.

If you liked that (and I'd like to read it try stones fall it starts out as a mystery - why did the financier fall from a windo to his death. ? Starts in present time, goes back in time to London, Venice and Paris. I ended up rereading it again chronologically. Fascinating

>124 cindydavid4: thanks. That looks interesting.

What I read in August

Where The Crawdads Sing ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Small Things Like These ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Colony ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Oh William! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thunderbird ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Mouth to Mouth ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Subdivision ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Pieces for the Left Hand ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Brother Mambo: Finding Africa in the Amazon ⭐️⭐️1/2
Trust ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
The Orville: Sympathy for the Devil ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Bonsai ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

I got some medical stuff going on. Not life and death but extremely annoying. Going to the doctor today.

>127 dianeham: I hope all goes well. These health issues, even if not really serious, can be very irksome, I know, and not least because of the wasted time they require. All the best.

>128 rocketjk: had a great appt with the doctor. He is very accommodating. Just starting type 2 diabetes meds and they were doing a number on my stomach.

>129 dianeham: Thanks for letting us know. A good, accommodating doctor makes all the difference.

>130 rocketjk: IKR? The thing that worries me is that he’s older than me and I’m 72.

Sorry to hear you are having more medical issues. Take care of yourself.

>132 labfs39: thank you. Things are improving.

I think I’ve mentioned dreams before. All my life I’ve been aware of my dreams. I think my recent change in meds is effecting my dreams. Well that and the book I’m reading, The Hail Mary Project. In my dream there was a new life form created that could look like anything you wanted it to. I can’t remember the details but the dream was disturbing me. So now i’m awake.

>134 dianeham: As I said in the What are You Reading thread, I loved Project Hail Mary. My daughter and I watched The Martian last night, which made me wonder if they will make PHM into a movie.

>135 labfs39: I couldn’t figure out why so many people liked it so much and though I didn’t hate it - it was getting on my nerves. And FINALLY aT the 30% point something is happening. I was going to message you ask if there was a reason to keep going. So I’m good now. I thought my taste in books can’t be THAT much different than all these other people, can it?

>136 dianeham: Oh, I don't know. Sometimes I think I dislike a book simply Because everyone else is raving about it. I also end up disliking books sometimes simply because it was the wrong book at the wrong time. If you don't like PHM, no worries! For me, it was the perfect book at the perfect time. I was in a bit of a reading rut, and it was pure fun.

I read Project Hail Mary. I was going to give 1/4 of the way through the book and I’m glad I didn’t. It was a very good book.I read almost half of Olive Kitteridge and stopped. I just didn’t like anyone in the book. It was short stories and Olive wasn’t even in all the stories. Can’t figure out why it got a Pulitzer.

>138 dianeham: I had the same reaction to Olive Kitteridge. It especially annoyed me that every mother in the book was an unlikeable person.

Getting a tooth pulled today. A molar all the way in the back - no implant.

Ow! so sorry! Hoping it all goes well and you heal soon

>141 cindydavid4: thanks Cindy. Seem to be okay but really tired. Got 2 books from the library on the way to the dentist.Sleepwalk and Diabetes Quick-fix with Magic Foods

I’ve read 100 books this year so far.

Congratulations! That's quite the milestone

I’m reading Happiness about a fox in London.

oh thats funny; Im reading two of her other books the hired man and ancestors stones and recently saw that one. Interested in your thoughts.

>146 cindydavid4: cool. I was wondering if anyone here read others by her. kidzdoc gave Happiness 4.5 stars and someone else really liked it - BLBera

I had so much to catch up on on your thread. Apologies for taking so long to get back over here. Perhaps in next year's Club Read we might make a thread for poetry - for those of us who read poetry regularly (I used to write it and do very little now).

>134 dianeham: I am also a person who dreams profusely. I have had eras where I noted them in a journal in the morning (having trained myself to not move from the bed before I go over the dream to 'fix it" in my brain).

Yeah, medical issues. No fun. I hear you. We go, we do.

>148 avaland: thanks for stopping by. I also haven’t written in a while. A poetry thread sounds good to me.

Slow going reading Happiness. I like the story and the characters but it kind of drags.

I thought I posted here but it’s not here. Oops.

What Is Left The Daughter - still reading. What a strange book. The narrator’s parents committed suicide on the same night by jumping off 2 different bridges when he was 17. Then he went to live with an aunt and uncle in Canada and to learn their toboggan making business. This was during wwii and the uncle became obsessed with German Subs hidding in the maritimes. They had an adopted daughter who fell in love with a German who had moved to finland then Canada.

I got Lucy by the Sea today.

I bought Happiness on audio, and got bogged down in the middle. I liked Hired man quite well, and don't have a clear memory of Ancestor stones.

>154 markon: I’m still bogged down in Happiness

I finished Happiness. Glad I stuck with it. It was very good. In the book a woman is tracking foxes in London and formerly she studied coyote in the US in urban environments. Saw this article in the nyt today about coyote in NYC
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/03/science/coyotes-new-york-diets.html?campaign_...

I greatly enjoyed Happiness, so I'm glad that you stayed with it, Diane. Aminatta Forna is one of my favorite writers, and I especially enjoyed The Memory of Love and The Hired Man.

Catching up. Congrats on 100 books. Interesting about Olive Kitteridge. I didn’t like it (in 2008) but just read and really took to My Name is Lucy Barton.

>157 kidzdoc: thank you. I will look for those two.

>158 dchaikin: thanks for stoping by.

My street is being dug up today. We are finally getting water lines in our community. We have well water which we won’t drink. The well water is loaded with iron and a couple of times it tested positive for bacteria. It’s quiet now but the ruckus was making me anxious. Listening to Yo-Yo Ma.

>157 kidzdoc: thank you. I will look for those two. The Memory of Love is 465 pages. I try to stay under 400 pages. Large books are much less attractive to me at this point in my life.

>158 dchaikin: thanks for stoping by.

My street is being dug up today. We are finally getting water lines in our community. We have well water which we won’t drink. The well water is loaded with iron and a couple of times it tested positive for bacteria. It’s quiet now but the ruckus was making me anxious. Listening to Yo-yo Ma.

I fell asleep after dinner tonight - which I often do - but this time I slept until midnight. I had take out from an excellent Italian restaurant and dinner was manicotti over spaghetti. I didn’t eat all the spaghetti but that was a lot of carbs for a diabetic. It was so delicious. It’s so easy to get bad manicotti.

Two days ago my husband got bad chills while he was grocery shopping and had a fever. He took 2 naproxen and had a nap and was completely better when he woke up. The fever went away and he hasn’t had any other symptoms since. Very strange.

I read Just One Damned Thing After Another - the first book in a light time travel series. It was good enough to make me start the 2nd one. But meanwhile I have Jackal checked out from the library for two weeks and haven’t started it.

>161 dianeham: Oh, no, were you able to get back to sleep? Yum, manicotti

>161 dianeham: He took 2 naproxen and had a nap and was completely better when he woke up. The sign of a good immune system, I say. Plus he rested instead of trying to plough onward.

I started reaing Hag Seed - a personal recommendation from cindydavid4.

:) do hope you enjoy it

I suddenly have too many books to read at once. Getting Lost, Jackal, Hag-Seed and A Second Chance. The first 2 are 2 week loans so better get moving on them.
.

Whoops! I posted on the wrong thread. I thought I was on What Are You Reading. Sorry, Diane!

I finished Jackal. I wasn’t impressed but since it classified as horror/thriller, I probably never should have read it. Too many things happening. Think she could have done without the whole supernatural element.

I have diverticulitis. Taking the horrible meds for it. Liquid diet for 2+ days. Very tired.

Oh Im so sorry; are the meds helping? I was on a liquid diet for 2 weeks after my surgery. Lived on banana peanut butter shakes and protien milk and icecream. I know the tired feeling. the protien milk seemed to help that. take care

>168 dianeham: I hope you are doing ok, Diane. And that you'll see improvement soon. Take care of yourself and nap if you can.

>168 dianeham: I've heard that can be very painful. Rest up and hope you feel better soon.

>169 cindydavid4: the 2.5 days of no food plus the meds helped a lot. Doesn’t hurt anymore but the meds are giving me a headache. One of the drugs is cipro and there are so many warnings of things not to take with it - like no nsaids, no coffee, no diabetes meds, no muscle relaxers (helps me sleep). I was on clear liquids but didn’t last as long as your liquid diet.

>170 RidgewayGirl: yes, sleeping a lot and feeling better. I was really lucky to get ahold of my doctor on Friday to get the meds.

Sounds so difficult. Glad you’re improving and feeling better.

Sorry to hear that you have been 'under the weather' but glad you note that you are feeling better.

>173 dchaikin: >174 avaland: thank you both. I am feeling better but started feeling a little down - sick of being sick.

I live at the Jersey shore - the southern tip. We are close to Wildwood, a popular vacation spot. Our favorite pizza place on the Wildwood boardwalk is closing for the season today so darling husband is going to pick up our last Sam’s pizza of the year. http://www.samswildwood.com/

I'm sorry you haven't been feeling well, Diane—I hope that pizza goes a long way toward cheering you up.

>175 dianeham: thank goodness for doing husbands!

mmmmm, soon, soon......

>178 dianeham: yeah. That looks good

I got Our Missing Hearts today. Looking forward to it. I decided not to read Getting Lost - not interested. I still have On Canaan’s Side from the library but since it’s not a new book I can keep it 3 months unless someone else requests it. And still want to get back to Hag-Seed.

Our library no longer charges fines - are all the libraries in the US doing that now? Before I retired from the library the director tried to do away with fines but the library board wouldn’t agree. So at that time they just stopped charging fines to children - so that kids wouldn’t be afraid to come back to the library. Now there are no fines for anyone. The library here has a dedicated percentage on real estate tax. And we have communities like Stone Harbor and Cape May City where the properties are worth millions. So the county government can’t control the money. Therefore even with a very small tax percentage, the library has lots of money, unlike libraries in other places. All of that is to say that the library never needed the money it collected in fines. It wasn’t a significant part of it’s budget.

>181 dianeham: The two libraries that I frequent here in Maine have also stopped charging fines (implemented during Covid). I would be curious to know if it has impacted them much, both in terms of budget and lost books. I'll have to ask if they have tracked it.

>181 dianeham: It's definitely a trend in libraries across the country. The myth that fines prevent people from walking away with books, or increase accountability for getting them back on time, have been disproven. In fact, fines disproportionately impact the poorest members of communities, who may not have reliable transportation to get to branches before their checkout periods are up, and for whom even a small fine can represent a financial hardship. So instead, they just stop going to the library, or else their accounts are frozen because of unpaid fines and they can't use it—which is counter to the library's mission in the first place, of providing access to those who need it most. Plus... it's not the library's job to teach accountability. That isn't and shouldn't be part of its mission.

Some libraries are dependent on the revenue, true, but it's also cost-intensive for staff to enforce and process fines and fees. And it costs in good will, too.

OK I'll shut up now. That's just a thing of mine.

>181 dianeham: No fines in the one I use except for ILLs (these are still $1 per day if you don’t return it on time). 10 days after your due date, the book is charged to your account as if you lost it - the charge is removed if you ever return the book.

Which is nice in theory - in practice I see a lot more overdue books than I used to (you can see due dates on any book in the system you look at and when there is a single copy and you are the only person waiting for it, someone holding it for days after it is due is not nice). Or maybe I am just reading weird books. :)

>184 AnnieMod: our library automatically renews books that are renewable and they do that twice. It’s convenient I guess but I dislike the library making that decision. It won’t be renewed if there is a request for the book. Annie, do you use the Phoenix Public library? A friend of mine used to be the head of tech there.

When I worked at our library, the woman who filled holds would check requested books out to staff even if the staff member wasn’t there that day. I hated that. I told them not to do that for my requests - sometimes, I needed to see the book and had no intention of checking it out. The director overrode me and my requests got checked out to me in my absence. I felt that was very paternalistic- even though it was women doing it.

>183 lisapeet: You are preaching to the choir here.

I was the Assistant director in charge of technology.

>185 dianeham: Mine renews up to 6 times for 2/3 weeks each time (new books (aka under 6 months in the system at the time you checked it out originally)/all other books) (as long as noone wants the book and it is not a "Most Wanted" copy which never allows renewals or holds anyway). They just implemented that a few months ago and I love it - they usually renew 3 days before the due date (with correct dates so you do not lose 3 days every time). In the current case the book is 5 days overdue and I am (in)patiently waiting for it - the last one came back and to me after being 15 days overdue... :)

I use the Scottsdale one - it is a smaller system but one of their branches is closer to where I live than the closest Phoenix one (and on my way when I go for my big weekly grocery run unlike the two Phoenix branches which may be almost close enough but out of the way) :) I used to have cards from both but I kinda prefer Scottsdale even if there was no difference in transportation so I let the Phoenix one lapse for now.

Well, they probably had their reasons - not allowing staff to just pull books and keep them on hold? While you may have behaved properly, probably someone did not so rules were made. Who knows. :)

Hi Diane, just catching up with you. Sorry to hear of your being under the weather, that is no fun.

Our library here does not charge fines any more, and that started with Covid when people could not necessarily get out to return books on time. I usually check out ebooks using Libby or hoopla, rather than using the on ground library. They do have really good book sales though.

>181 dianeham: Our library had done fine free summers for kids for a few years. We did not charge fines during Covid and hadn't reimplemented them - finally got approval from the county comissioners and the board of directors to implement for everyone this summer.

We have a rule of 10s
-1 item 10 days or more overdue blocks your account.
-10 or more items 1 day overdue blocks your account.
-If you have charges over $10.00 on your account it is blocked.

>178 dianeham: Not to start a controversy in your thread here, but in my personal experience, New Jersey has the best pizza.

>181 dianeham: My library when I lived in SC is still charging fines, but my IL library does not and simply keeps renewing a book for you unless it is requested by someone else.

>189 RidgewayGirl: OMG 😱 Pizza Controversy.

>188 markon: do you work at the library? That rule of 10 sounds too complicated to me.

I’m reading Hag-Seed. I keep forgetting it’s by Margaret Atwood because it doesn’t scream Atwood at me. Atwood has usually had women as the main characters so this feels very different. I’m not familiar with the Tempest so I don’t know how much of the content is dictated by the original. Having to write a novel based on a play sounds like a homework (or thesis) assignment to me.

I put off reading Our Missing Hearts until I got stronger reading glasses. I got the glasses but still wasn’t reading it. Today I got an overdrive ebook copy so I’m much happier to read it on my ipad.

>192 dianeham: Enjoyed your comments on Hag-Seed :-)

>188 markon: Yes, I work at a public library. I also think it's hard to remember, but now that I've explained it to patrons multiple times, I think I have it figured out. I run into problems with long overdue items that I can't always find, and families that check out 15+ books run into it too.

I should really keep track of changes being made here in lt. My lt home page looks different and I don’t know it it’s safari or lt.

I’ve been reading Our Missing Hearts. I’m around the halfway point and feeling very disappointed. She’s describing life leading to their dystopian present and it just seems very vague - just glosses over it. It feels like a children’s book in many ways. Not sure if I’m going to keep going.

I’m also in the middle of Hag-Seed and feel like I should be familiar with The Tempest to understand it.

I have a question about the word - queer. Queer was considered a slur. I understood that gays reclaimed the word. However, the word is used by anyone to describe LGT people. Why is that?

>196 dianeham: Because people started identifying with it and the word got normalized. I suspect a big part of the normalization was actually part of a statement of a kind: "You call us queer? So be it - but we are proud about it and we are going to call ourselves so". Once you remove the stigma from a word/expression/whatever and especially when the people supposed to be stigmatized by it start using the word and even demand people to call them so, you kinda turn the table on the bigots.

Isnt that what happened with the "black is beautiful" movement a chance to turn the tables perhaps

>196 dianeham:

Many gays still find "queer" insulting. If in doubt, best to avoid it. (I might describe myself as "queer" to an audience I judge sympathetic, but I won't apply it to other people without permission.)

>197 AnnieMod: that’s a good explanation.
>199 LolaWalser: across my long life time, I’d say I was/am bi. I’m still uncomfortable with the word queer.

>200 dianeham:

Understood. I like "queer" for its double meaning--I'm "odd" in so many ways... :) But like I said, it's not a word to use lightly. My most frequent label is "not straight".

2 books waiting for me at the library: Foster & The Revivalists. Guess they can wait until Monday.

I started reading The Book of Evidence by John Banville

>196 dianeham: I think the word queer is very useful for an unspecific way to express yourself without getting into details on gender, sexuality, asexuality etc. I strongly agree with LolaWalser on not applying it to people without permission. I think that because it has a sensitive background, it would ideally only be used by people in regards to themselves, or in reference to queerness as a concept by people who identify with it.

This makes me think more on it though. I'm about 20 and the term has been normalized since I came out. I knew about its background, but I've rarely seen queer used as anything but an unspecific label. I'll definitely be more intentional with it in the future having seen this discussion, I agree with what you guys have said.

>203 liz4444: Thank you Liz. I’m 72 so been around a while :) Pleased to meet you.

Enjoyed catching up on your thread, Diane. Interesting reviews and discussion.

I had to skip past the pizza photo quickly. I can't eat it any more, but boy - sometimes I miss it.

>205 AlisonY: thanks for stopping by. Hope you are feeling better.

>206 dianeham: Not quite there yet, Diane, but thanks for asking.

I had oral surgey yesterday. Can’t stay awake long enough to read anything.

You’ve had such a time, Diane! Hope you feel better soon.

>209 labfs39: thanks Lisa, doing goid today.

Glad you're feeling better Diane

>211 markon: thank you. I’m feeling weirdly emotional today.

My mouth is feeling a little better but I’m annoyed that my jaw is bruised. No more dental implants from now on. I’ve had plenty but getting too old for them. I had terrible teeth when I was young and never smiled. Now I have eternal teeth. :-)

I was reading The Revivalists off and on but it was due back at the library today. So dnf. Last night I started The Life of Margaret Laurence.

Tired of saying I don’t feel well but I got really sick right after thanksgiving. It acted like a stomach flu but I haven’t been around anyone to catch it from.

>214 dianeham: Sorry to hear that Diane. Hope it's gone this morning.

You've been having a rough time of it, Diane. Here's hoping you recover from the stomach bug thing and enjoy a lengthy stretch of good health.

Thanks you, I’m feeling better. I read The Man who folded himself. I didn’t like it but I think I would have liked it back when it was written in 1972. I’m surprised I never read it back then but I wasn’t familiar with David Gerrold.

Now I am reading During-the-Event which was recommended to me by avaland. I bought a used copy of the book but I’m finding it hard to read physical books. I bought the strongest reading glasses I could find - 4.0 - but it’s still hard to see the print. I haven’t been to an eye doctor in a million years. I guess my near vision is really bad. That’s so weird to me because I could always read the finest of fine print. Maybe I should go to the eye doctor. I just find them so unpleasant.

I haven’t finished The Life of Margaret Laurence yet and I do want to finish it but it’s not well written. I will get back to it because I’m really curious how she balanced her writing and alcoholism.

Oh, Diane, that sounds like a lousy few weeks. Glad you are feeling better! I hadn't noticed any problems reading books until very recently -- it might be just the specific books but it seems the print has gotten smaller. I have "Progressives" lenses so no easy or inexpensive way to change that lower "reading" bit, but perhaps I can just pick up some "readers" (sucks getting older, doesn't it)

Saving these for 2023

A poet’s work … to name the unnameable, to point at frauds, to take sides, start arguments, shape the world, and stop it from going to sleep. ~Salman Rushdie

Poetry is the achievement of the synthesis of hyacinths and biscuits. – Carl Sandburg

I read Johnno by David Malouf. I didn’t like it at all. Now i am reading Dream Stuff, short stories by the same author. I should reread Remembering Babylon by him because I loved that book. But I’m too lazy to go look for the actual book in my house. Plus when I find it I probably won’t be able to see to read it anyway.

Not book related…
Months ago I got a dental implant started and it got infected and had to be removed. I wouldn’t let the dentist try again but finally he convinced me. Well this one failed too. So that was removed today. So tired of this.

>222 dianeham: That doesn't sound fun. My commiserations!

>222 dianeham: I'm so sorry, Diane. You have had quite the year, health-wise. I hope 2023 is a much better year for you.

oh no! so sorry thats happening! Can you go to another dentist? you have had a rough road healthwise this year. Hoping 2023 is much better!

ETA just looked up dental implants. Ouch! you had to do that twice?Id toss that dentist on his ears.

Ugh Diane! You'll at least be able to eat at Christmas, right? Like others, I hope the new year brings less health issues for you.

>223 WelshBookworm: >224 labfs39: >225 cindydavid4: >226 markon: You’re all so sweet thank you. The dentist is partners with my dentist of 30 some years. My dentist doesn’t do the surgical type stuff. I’m going to refuse anymore implants. I’ve had lots, some done by the same dentist, that worked. Either we’ll work out a bridge or just leave it. It’s not particularly obvious. It’s a little depressing since I tend toward depression at the holidays. I try to stay cheerful because my husband loves Christmas but …

>227 dianeham: Yeah, the holiday season seems to order us to exhibit manic happiness when the days are at their shortest. I'm all for plenty of quiet time mixed in to feel melancholic and just spend time with books and maybe a cup of something hot.

>228 RidgewayGirl: same here. that song that say "its the happiest time of the year' has never suffered from depression or loss. Or been a minority religion,

I made dog biscuits with my new appliance today. The are rice and chicken and Shaka loves them. I have to work on making them look better. Maybe slightly thinner batter.

>230 dianeham: How cool is that!

Christmas Eve day and it’s very cold here in Cape May, NJ. The house is warm but a little drafty. Hubby is picking up an apple pie we ordered. Just staying home us and Shaka. Presents in boxes hope I can find everything I bought. Shaka got a present from a neighbor already. We pre-ordered a dinner for tomorrow - lobster and prime rib.

I finished The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum. I thought it was pretty strange. Santa was a mortal who lived in a valley. He was friends with all the forest immortals like nymphs and fairies. He carved things from wood - from trees that fell in the forest, he never cut down a tree - and these carvings of cats were the first toys he made. According to this book, children never had toys until Claus. He took toys to children all year round until the immortal that lent him 2 reindeer said Claus could only borrow the reindeer on Christmas eve. Santa also invented hanging stocking by the fireplace and Christmas trees. There was no religious tie-in at all with the Christmas thing. This was written in 1901.

Have a lovely Christmas, Diane. We're doing our festive dinner tonight and doing the whole turkey and sides as we were unable to spend Thanksgiving all together. But lobster and prime rib sound perfect!

>232 dianeham: not surprised there was no Christmas connection; I thought Santa Clause was a pagan legend.

https://explorethearchive.com/where-did-santa-claus-originate-from

"Santa Claus may owe his earliest influence to Odin (also known as Wodan), a god revered by Germanic peoples in Northern Europe as early as 2 B.C.E. Odin was celebrated during Yule, a pagan holiday that took place midwinter. During this time, Odin was said to lead the Wild Hunt, a ghostly procession through the sky....

t’s unclear to what extent Odin in particular has had an effect on Christmas. But as a bearded, cloaked man who traveled through the winter night sky, Odin undoubtedly bears similarities to Santa Claus, sparking speculation that the god was an early pagan influence on the modern-day mythical figure."

of course this was the author of Oz, so it might just have been his gift for fantasy to make a back story of him.

Have a nice holiday, Diane.

Have a good holiday, Diane, and I hope you can enjoy whatever victuals come your way.

>233 RidgewayGirl: hope you had a great holiday.

>234 cindydavid4: thanks for the Santa backstory.

>235 avaland: >236 lisapeet: thank you both.

I started Liberation Day: Stories the other day but the first story which is eponymous didn’t end before the kindle sample did. I got lucky and checked out on overdrive. So I just finished it. Not the book - the first story. What a story. Everyone should read this story. He managed to predict the future based on a battle in the past and it’s really amazing.

>237 dianeham: I haven't read anything by George Saunders yet, you make me thing I need to push him up the TBR.

>238 labfs39: I tried reading the rest of the short stories last night but got bored with some because they weren’t as stunning to me as the first one. How do people read short story collections? Do you space them out or plow on through?

>239 dianeham: I space them out.

I'll read a few stories from one collection a day, and go straight through the book that way. But plowing through anything in one sitting generally isn't an option for me because I rarely have enough blocks of time to read as it is. That actually works well for short story collections, come to think of it.

I like dipping in and out of essays or short stories, find i enjoy what Im reading more when there is a gap between reads and I can think about what I read.

>239 dianeham: I've read a few short story collections this year. I've tried reading them straight through and intermittently, and I find that I prefer intermittently, between longer reads.

A short story collection doesn't have the pull-you-along-to-the-end momentum that a novel or nonfiction narrative does. And while not all short story collections are single author, for those that are, there's also the fact that reading the same author too many times in a row gets monotonous.

Reading other, longer works between stories allows me to approach each story fresh and appreciate it fully. It also allows for more variety in my reading, which keeps me from getting bored.

Thank you everyone for your feedback

We heat our house with propane and we ran out today. No heat. No hot water. At least it’s warmer out today. I feel so anxiou and i don’t need to. We’re not freezing and they are sending someone at some point today.

Bundle up and hopefully the propane truck will be there soon. It's always something, isn't it?

>244 dianeham: I would be anxious about that! I hope you're back to a warm house quickly.

>239 dianeham: To jump in late to the conversation, I try to space out a collection of short stories, reading either one story a day or between other books, but if I'm enjoying the collection, I end up binging on the last few stories. I agree that the first story in Liberation Day was the strongest one, but there are a few other bangers in there.

Not sure where to ask this so asking here. Is there a way to know that you were mentioned in a post? I lose track of some conversations because i forget to go back and check for a response.

>247 dianeham: You might try this:

1. Do a search on "dianeham" in the LT search bar
2. Click "talk" on the left sidebar
3. On the right side of the screen at the top of the search results, click "last message"

>248 labfs39: thanks

Still no propane. We bought space heaters but we have no hot water.

Oh my, Diane. I'm sorry you still have no propane. Any idea when they will get to you??

>251 labfs39: It’s a nightmare dealing with them. I really think their call center is in Asia. Three calls yesterday and nothing they said was true. 1st person said we would get a delivery the next day (today). 2nd person said he would call me during the day until we got delivery - he never called. 3rd person said we would get delivery within hours - we didn’t. 1st person today said the same as 1st person yesterday - you’re scheduled for tomorrow. I asked to speak to a supervisor but he/she was "in a meeting." It’s a nightmare. There is a fb group of Amerigas customer who are having the same problems. Some people haven’t had gas since before Christmas.

I’ve called 4 times and never got the same person. They claim they are in Cleveland but I don’t believe it. They just follow a script.

!! So sorry to hear this... maybe a stupid question, I don't know what heating a house with propane entails, but is there a chance of getting an emergency tank from somewhere else?

>253 LolaWalser: I’m going to try another company if they don’t show up tomorrow.

thats horrible; no explanation? Have you used them before? and people have had none since Christmas? there is just no excuse for that

>255 cindydavid4: used them for over 30 years.

>256 dianeham: oh wow....maybe they are just overwhelmed? crazy

The company was bought by a larger company and this seems to be happening all over the country. I was able to contact a corpoate person for customer relations and I think she is taking care of us. Let’s hope.

All fixed.

YAY!

whew!

Glad your heat is back. My heat didn't go out, but we had two days of a boil water advisory because 7 water mains broke during our cold spell.

>262 markon: oh dear. We have well water and never drink it. However they put in city water lines this year and we have to switch over.

I’ve read 121 books this year

3 books of short stories
8 nonfiction
2 memoirs
3 children’s books
1 young adult
104 fiction

40 males
43 females

Authors’ nationalities

33 USA
14 UK
8 Canada
8 Ireland
3. Japan
2. Argentina
1. Chile
1. Lithuania
1. South Africa
1. Australia
1. South Korea
1. Sweden
1. Germany
1. Spain
1. Denmark
1. France
1. Nigeria
1. Iceland

A good reading year and a warm house. Happy New Year!

>265 RidgewayGirl: happy new year to you too.

Fantastic reading year!