The Read goes ever on and on...MrsLee 2024 chapter 4

Yes, it is time for a new thread, but I haven't anything clever to start with, and no glorious photos (because I'm too lazy).

These are the books I'm reading this quarter of the year.
The Oxford Nursery Rhyme Book - Enjoying this, reading the variations and history of the rhymes.
Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot
Lord Peter a collection of short stories, I'm reading these in chronological date within the stories, including the novels as well. Interesting to read this way.

I received two books yesterday which I had ordered for my grandsons. Yep. Really, for them. The fact that I will be keeping them here at my house does not mean they are not for them.

Silver and Summer Evening by Walter de la Mare. He is the man T.S. Eliot wrote a poem to, which intrigued me. These are children's books which illustrate one poem each. They are enchanting. The illustrations by Carolina Rabei are wonderful. Each features a cat, which leads the "story" along.

My three year old grandson is cat-crazy at the moment, so I look forward to reading these to him. In the back of one of those books was a list of other books by that publisher. There I found two more books to give this cat-crazy boy at Christmas.
Mr. Mistoffelees and Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat each with the poem by T.S. Eliot. I'm not sure the touchstones go to the correct book, they are children's books.

ETA: the second one listed is correct, but not the first.

>1 MrsLee: Happy new thread! And the children's books sound wonderful! You'll be giving your grandchildren wonderful memories by reading poetry aloud to them. It sticks with them for a lifetime.

>2 MrsLee: Being owned by a Mr. Mistoffelees (who has grown up into Mr Inky Mistoffelees, the Maharajah of Muddipore), one can only applaud your choice for your grandson!

>1 MrsLee: Happy new thread, my friend. May all the rest of your reads in 2024 be wonderful.

>1 MrsLee: Happy new thread. I applaud your buying books for your grandchildren.

Happy new thread! De la Mare also edited a chunky anthology for children called Come Hither. Perhaps not now, but it might be well to start looking now, since it might be hard to find.

>1 MrsLee: Happy new thread! Nice book selections, you pick the best books for your grands.

>3 jillmwo: It's hard to get the three year old to sit still for a while story yet, but I keep trying. He knows where the books are and will frequently brig me one to read, then squirrel.

>4 hfglen:, >5 clamairy: & >6 pgmcc: Thank you. :)

>7 haydninvienna: I wanted to buy some of his sort collections, but they were quite expensive.

>8 Karlstar: Thank you, I try hard to live up to my grandmother who bought the best books for me.

Happy new thread! Wonderful book choices for your grandson! I love De la Mare's poems and adding cats is the perfect touch.

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread! I love your selections of children's books :)

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread!

Oops. I forgot I ordered 3 of the Walter de la Mare books the other day. Snow came today for a nice surprise. It is a hard cover and has a little Santa theme. Very nice. This one I will give to my youngest grandson for Christmas. No cats in it, but a little dog. Can't find the touchstone tonight, will try again tomorrow.

ETA: Still can't get the touchstone. I've forgotten how to force one.

>15 MrsLee:
Snow came today…
I thought you were giving a weather update.

>16 pgmcc: So did I! And I was confused because JPB told me it was 110° F at his place, and I know he and MrsLee are not that far apart.

>17 clamairy:
Microclimatic literary conditions.

>16 pgmcc: Oh how I wish!

>17 clamairy: It wasn't quite that hot here, thankfully, but it did nudge 100°.

>18 pgmcc: *snort*

I hate to make this correction, since I won't have a book about Hugh's cat anymore, but the other Eliot book I purchased for my grandson turns out to be The Song of the Jellicles and not Mr. Mistoffelees. Hmm, touchstone doesn't work for this one either, but at least it has the right author, if not the right book. Late night posting and purchasing can muddle the brain.

>19 MrsLee:
Late night posting and purchasing can muddle the brain.

I find that too. It is better to do your online commerce earlier, before you start drinking.

:-)

Rule for the most part in my house is to never touch the keyboard after 8:30pm.

What I really wanted to share with you, MrsLee, is that you have moved me to go explore the work of T.S. Eliot, most specifically his poetry. (Although Murder in the Cathedral did pop up.) You have a lovely quiet way of drawing people towards things they might not otherwise be looking for.

>20 pgmcc: Or easing my joints. ;)

>21 jillmwo: Thank you, a very kind thing to say. Do you have Murder in the Cathedral? It is poetry, prose and drama all rolled into one. It's been a time since I read it, but I remember enjoying it. Nothing like his poetry which I recently read though.

>4 hfglen: lol. I was owned by Colonel Tarikinini for a while, which i thought was pretty impressive, but you have outdone me.

>9 MrsLee: cut back his caffeine intake.

>22 MrsLee:
Your sense of humour through pain, or bread as @MrAndeew would say, is amazing. I can just hear you saying, “Purely for medicinal purposes.”

>24 pgmcc: This was the first time I've tried it. I think it helped some with the pain, but sadly, I felt no other effects. I did eat a lot of bread today though, too support MrAndrew, but I think that's because I baked French bread today.

>19 MrsLee: Next best thing: I was brought up by a Jellicle called Skwiyana (isiZulu: "little crying one"; her brother was Slamajuba "killer of doves"), who reached the ripe old age of 21. In Pretoria we had a succession of Jellicles, one of whom walked in one evening, demolished several bowls of cat-food and then settled on my lap for the evening, and every evening after as long as she lived. Fond as I am of our current gang, I still think Jellicles aka Tuxedos are the handsomest of cats.

Happy New Thread. Reading all poetry recs with interest since next year I'm gearing up for shorter works.

>26 hfglen: The naming of cats is a wonderful thing. :) I have never owned a true Jellicle, but two of my current cats love to gaze at the Jellicle moon.

>27 littlegeek: Thank you. Your themed reading is interesting. All in all, how did you enjoy your year of classics?

I finally got my internet back, so will make a longer post here.
I finished my reread of Unnatural Death, read with enjoyment. I tell myself I'm going to look up all the obscure references Sayers throws into her stories, but I don't. The story is too interesting to interrupt. I'm that way with movies too. I rarely pause them to look things up, but my husband is one of those questioners. This is the reason we don't watch movies and TV shows together. Anyway, on to more short stories from Lord Peter before I start the next novel in the chronology.

A question. Perhaps Bookmarque knows the answer, or one of you other serious wine folks. The story I just finished in Lord Peter revolves around a dinner where six wines are tasted and without seeing the label, Lord Peter is able to name the wine, the winery and the year. Is that a real thing?

Picked up some books from a Little Free Library. Not sure I will like any of them, but wanted to try.

A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales - unknown to me, gotta admit, I'm trying it because it is a nice hardcover and I like the picture on the front. As for a regency romance mystery, I have my doubts.

A Better Man by Louise Penny - I have most hope for this one because I've read a couple of her books and liked them.

The Sun sets in Singapore by Kehinde Fadipe - big doubts about this, LT says I probably won't like it. A romance novel I believe, but set in Singapore, so that's fun. Also a jacket which is attractive and a nice hardcover. I am more adventurous when the books are free.

Horror of horrors, we were 2 days without internet. Our router up and died on Saturday and the provider sent a new router and modem which arrived yesterday afternoon. Whew. Since I couldn't watch my Amazon Prime shows, I dug out the bluerays. Started watching Firefly, but my dvd player wouldn't read the second disc. My eyes are better, but reading at night is still very difficult. Anyway, problem solved now.

In those two days without Google, I kept typing from my grandmother's journals; making notes of things I wanted to look up when the Googles came back. I had two pages (small pages, but still).

Yesterday I fell down the internet rabbit hole; looking up when charcoal briquets became a thing (Henry Ford and Thomas Edison had a hand in that), trying to find references to old restaurants (read several articles on the Trocadero in San Francisco. I don't think I had the right one. My grandmother said they ate there, but everything I could find said it was closed in 1955. I wonder if there is a different one? Any S.F. folks out there? I could swear I had heard that name before.

I also spent at least a half hour looking at boats from the 1950s. Her journal said they bought a new Kelson-Craft boat in 1955 or 56, but I couldn't find anything of that make after 1950. It is a difficult brand to find anything at all on. All I saw for 1956 was Chris-Craft boats. My grandfather's boat was wooden. It was a beauty, but gone before I had any memories of it except in their garage. He died in 1970 and my grandmother sold the boat soon after. These are the things which piddle away my days.

>28 MrsLee: " I am more adventurous when the books are free."
Isn't that the sad truth. I must have picked up hundreds either free or at very reduced rates while I was working those Library Sales.

Chris Crafts were gorgeous wooden boats that were very expensive and very time consuming to maintain. Lots of sanding, sealing, waxing, etc. Lovely though. My husband's uncle had one at their place on Lake George.

>28 MrsLee: "The story I just finished in Lord Peter revolves around a dinner where six wines are tasted and without seeing the label, Lord Peter is able to name the wine, the winery and the year. Is that a real thing?"

I'm given to understand that the very best members of Cape wine societies do this to show off, with varying degrees of success.

>28 MrsLee: & >30 hfglen: I suspect this might have been a bit easier back in those days when wine was mostly coming from very few countries. (France, Italy, Spain?) Now I suspect it might be a lot more difficult.

>31 clamairy: You're right; not only for the reason you mention but because "New World" wines have improved beyond all recognition in the last 50 years or so.

>30 hfglen:, >31 clamairy: & >32 hfglen: All reasonable insights. Thank you.

>28 MrsLee: I quite enjoyed the year of classics! All my themed years have been illuminating. Gives me a fresh perspective.

Next year, the year of bodice-rippers.

>28 MrsLee:. Theoretically at least, A Most Agreeable Murder might be worth your while. The marketing blurbs on Amazon indicate that this particular title was one of Publishers Weekly's Best Books of The Year in 2023. Now that and a token will get you on the subway (an old New York City saying dating from before the launch of farecards), but it does suggest that someone at least looked at the thing before it got released to the market.

>35 MrAndrew: I'd rather read rodice-bippers.

>36 jillmwo: Good to know. Not sure when it will work its way into my reading. For now it is safe and cozy on the TBR shelves. So far I'm enjoying my rereading of Sayers' mysteries. :)

Finished The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club yesterday. I am still very much enjoying my rereads of the Lord Peter Wimsey writings. I had forgotten many of the details in this story and so the mysteries of how the victim died and who done it were still surprises to me, albeit surprises with an undercurrent of familiarity. I had completely forgotten the ending, and may I say, inciting someone to kill themselves with a gun in a library is one of the most shocking and inconsiderate things I can imagine. I can't even conceive of cleaning up that mess. I am completely on Wetheridge's side here.

On the personal health side, I am genetically qualified for a drug trial being done at UCSF. This does not mean accepted. I have to undergo all sorts of screening tests like echocardiograms, etc. to see if I am a good fit. This means a trip of four hours to San Francisco for every test they want to do. This week is the echocardiogram. It seems such a silly thing to have to go clear down there for such a simple test that my doctor does in her office. I guess it's about payment and keeping the results controlled by the study hospital and doctor. I am dreading driving in the city, finding parking and lodging we can afford, etc., even more than the medical tests and the trial drugs. This week we plan to do it in one day. Eight hours of driving for my husband. Where are all the transporters and teleporters when you need them? Seems to me the Tardis technology would come in real handy right about now.

>38 MrsLee: Strength to you! Even a good train would help with the driving!.

>38 MrsLee: I am wishing you the best of luck with all of this. Is there no mass transit as you get closer to San Francisco so you can at least shorten the drive time?

>38 MrsLee: Good luck with everything. Hugs!

>39 hfglen: & >40 clamairy: The only train stops at a town 30 miles away at 3 a.m. The Greyhound bus is expensive, inconvenient and not entirely safe or reliable. For longer stays, we will look into parking in the east bay and taking B.A.R.T. into the city, if the station is in a practical area to the hospital. My husband grew up down there, and I lived there several years, but it's amazing how fast one's city driving skills and nerves are lost when you move away to a small town. We are more than a one stoplight town, but there is never a rush hour.

>41 Alexandra_book_life: Thank you.

>38 MrsLee: The hidden spoiler sentence in that first paragraph made me smile. Your second paragraph expresses the anxieties of so many people caught at that same intersection of healthcare and on-going research.

>42 MrsLee: Once one leaves a city or the city environment, the mind and spirit give a huge sigh of relief. We tend to forget what life there demanded of us.

(((Hugs)))

>38 MrsLee:
Wishing you the best for your trip to SF and all it involves. I too dread driving in any city. A long drive followed by city driving is a hard one. I am sure you and your husband will plan the best solution.

>38 MrsLee: What everybody above me said. As to city driving, I never even tried to drive in Doha (the traffic there is insane) nor in London, but driving in Bicester wasn't a great prep for driving in Brisbane either.

My late second mother in law (the mother of my second wife) and her family were of great interest to the medical researchers at the University of Queensland because of an apparent genetic susceptibility to melanoma. She and at least three of her eight children who survived infancy have been treated for it.

>45 haydninvienna: That is interesting (and of course sad). I asked the doctor if I had that type of melanoma, but he said no. The genetic test found that my melanoma would be geneticly responsive to this new drug. The new drug is one that can work on the DNA to prevent the cancer cell from replicating. In theory. If my body can tolerate it. They don't know how long I will have to take it, because the study hasn't been going more than two years. Happily, it is a pill, not an infusion, so that should be easier.

>38 MrsLee: Good luck with the tests!

Good luck with all the driving and the tests!

I love Cats, the musical, but I’m not a huge poetry fan so I haven’t read the poems.

1 test down, four to go. We are going to try walking to two appointments tomorrow. We chose this hotel for its location, but we are paying almost as much each night as we do for the mortgage payments on our house each month. The size of the room is not much bigger than one of our bedrooms. Ah well.

Um, can you possibly go with describing the hotel room as small and "cozy"?

>49 MrsLee: Yikes! I hope that room has a view!

Best of luck with the rest of the tests.

>50 jillmwo: Small, and it has a chair with a footstool. It has everything we need, but not cozy. Too modern for cozy. The fact is, that although the brands are different, there really isn't a single amenity more than the hotel I managed charged, but the highest rate or hotel ever charged was $250 a night. Location, location, location.

>51 clamairy: It has a very nice view. Only a tiny slice of the Bay Bridge and bay, but there is a canal-like thing, a pretty park and the city skyline. I'm looking forward to the dark tonight.

>49 MrsLee: Good luck with the rest of the tests!

>49 MrsLee:
All the best with the tests. I hope your night time view is all you hope from it.

>50 jillmwo:
Do I detect any realtor genes in your post?

>49 MrsLee: Good luck with all the tests!

Thank you all. Two more tests under my belt today. It has been lovely weather here. Today was a walking day. One hospital was a little over a mile from our hotel, and the second only about 3 blocks. Walking back from the first, we walked along the bay. It has been transformed into a lovely place. Many walkers, joggers, preschool classes, etc.

After the second appointment we were ready to retire to the room, so went to a terrific little grocery on the corner and bought provisions for dinner in our room. This included wine, cheese and tiramisu. Yum.

I began reading In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan, while waiting for the PET scan.

Tomorrow is a lunch date with our daughter at a Chinese dumpling restaurant, then an MRI in the afternoon. Tests so far have good results, so I an on track to start the study, possibly by next week.

>56 MrsLee: I LOVE Tiramisu. And here's hoping the tests continue to yield good results. (Next week would be a nice swift start!)

>56 MrsLee: All wonderful news! Which cheese? And I loved that book! I do hope you enjoy it. (I see it's been 16 years since I read it. How can that be? Perhaps I need to re-experience it, but as an audiobook this time.)

>56 MrsLee:
Great to hear the tests are going well. The bayside walk and dumpling restaurant sound good.

>58 clamairy: Oh dear, I forgot the important details! The cheese was Marin French Cheese Co. A fresh brie, no rind, not creamy, like goat cheese. It was good, but not like brie. Also a basic cheddar. The wine was Wild Thing, Old Vine Zinfandel. I love it.

>60 MrsLee: Sounds like a feast! I've never had a brie with no rind.

>56 MrsLee: Sounds like a great time, I'm glad you are having a good time around the tests.

I'm glad you are able to enjoy the city while you are there. Too bad health insurance doesn't pay for the travel expenses.

>63 catzteach: Actually, I think the study sponsors do pay for the lodging. Still not positive, but it's looking like it. That will be very helpful.

>64 MrsLee: That sounds ideal: the joys of San Fran at someone else's expense. Pity about having to do the tests though. Still, if it gets you a therapy that works, win-win.

We are home. Arrived late yesterday afternoon. We have a few days to get situated, reacquainted with the cats, reorganized and packed then Wednesday it's back to the city for two days. Have to do that every week for about a month or two.

Think I'm going to purpose a case I have for a picnic "basket" and keep the non perishable items; plates, cups, flatware, etc. in it, rather than having to constantly repack. This will all get easier the more familiar we are with the process.

Going to make a real effort to clean my house over the next three days. I wanted to finish two of my current books before the end of the month, not sure my head will let me.

>66 MrsLee:
All the best with that travel regime. You are right to standardise as much as you can to avoid a lot of work packing and unpacking. I know it will be tiring, but if you can manage more of the little walks like you did on your first visit, and even identify other things to do while there, then you might be able to think of the trips as little breaks.

Any way, know that we are thinking of you and wishing you well.

>66 MrsLee: Are you cleaning house because it bugs you or because you need a distraction? Because otherwise, I think folks will overlook any wayward dust bunnies and you do have two books to finish. I agree however that the picnic basket makes sense. You're an organized woman.

(((Hugs)))

>68 jillmwo: The house bugs me now. I do like it clean; especially when I don't feel well. Although cleaning house is usually the last thing I want to do, there is a certain satisfaction in getting it done. I have the health and energy at the moment, not guaranteed to have that after next week, hence the push. Of course I had all summer to do this, but did I? No. There were books to read, things to cook, garden to tend and family history to work on; not to mention naps to be had.

>69 MrsLee: Getting your priorities right! Best wishes for the remaining tests and the treatments. I well know that that kind of travel schedule gets old very quickly.

Totally understand the disordered house thing....too much clutter makes me crazy. Hope you can manage it and not tire yourself out. As you have learned, stamina and general conditioning is a factor in qualifying for a study like the one you're going for. I tried telling my brother that, but I don't think he's taken it on board.

>71 Bookmarque: Although they have done oodles of tests on me, there have been zero questions about lifestyle, activity levels, eating habits or state of mind. It seems to me that these things would be considered important, but perhaps they are to hard to quantify scientifically. I know what patients say they do/eat/drink, etc. often isn't true, so I guess there's no point in asking.

Glad to hear your trip went well, that the test results were good and that you managed to enjoy some of the city. I'm with you on teleportation technology - I'd be happy to sign up to test it as soon as someone develops it!

Wow. Just got a call from the doctor. He doesn't think we should start the study yet because my PET scan didn't show any active cancer! In fact, it didn't show cancer in the lymph nodes or lungs at all! This means the immunotherapy is still working. So now I don't have to do anything until December, then I will get another PET scan. Hallelujah!

Now I can read my books in peace. At least for awhile.

>74 MrsLee: Congrats!! That's great news!

>74 MrsLee: Oh, this is wonderful news! I am so happy for you.

>74 MrsLee:
Brilliant news. Happy reading!

woohoo!

>74 MrsLee: Fantasticmarvellouswonderfultremendous! Long may it last!

>74 MrsLee: What they all said! That’s marvellous news!

>74 MrsLee: This is amazing news! You must be over the moon.

>74 MrsLee: That is wonderful news! I hope you enjoy celebrating with your books!

>74 MrsLee: Great to hear. Really happy for you.

>74 MrsLee:. That is AMAZING news! Fantastic. Now, I don't often say this, but stop reading for a brief moment or two and dance around the room in your own inimitable form of a victory jig!!! You are Woman; hear you roar!

Thank you all, I love sharing the good news, much better than the icky reports.

>84 jillmwo: Believe me, there was dancing, whooping, hollering and shouting. All at random and various moments. The cats were not well pleased.

wow - immunotherapy is amazing! I hope you get to enjoy your garden and books in peace now!

>74 MrsLee: Wonderful news!

OMG this is such good news!!! Happy dance for everyone!

I know there are some fans of The Rivers of London series here. I haven't kept up with the series and it's been awhile since I read them, but do any of you know if Aaronovitch worked in to his stories the child and adult human sacrifices that were done when bridges were built?

I was reading in The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes about "London Bridge is Falling Down" and they mentioned that several ancient (but possibly as recent as the 1600s) bridges were found to have children's skeletons at the base of them, little spaces built into the stonework. One at least, was left with some bread and a candle as a sacrifice. It seemed like something he might mention in his stories.

>89 MrsLee: What a horrible tradition. I'm trying to remember what book I read in the last year that had a child or young woman walled up alive inside a bridge structure, but with a small window for food and water to be passed in.

Edited to add: I believe it was The Morningside.

I knew there were "Plague Pits" (mass graves that were needed following the Great Plague) found under or near London Bridge, but not what you have described >89 MrsLee:. Certainly nothing about bread and candles. Talk about creepy!

>90 clamairy: & >91 jillmwo: My husband didn't think it a very good plan. He said if they walked him up like that he would be an angry, angry spirit.

I began reading In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan while waiting for my P.E.T. scan last week. Finished it yesterday. It's been a long time since I read The Omnivore's Dilemma, but it felt like this didn't have much new to say. Perhaps I'm wrong. What I took away from this book is to continue adding plants to my food regime, especially leaves and roots and stalks. Continue seeking a variety of plants at Farmer's Market. Enjoy my food instead of glomming it down in front of a TV. Unfortunately, my husband has never been one to sit and enjoy a meal at the table, so I will have to do this myself. I do spend a lot of time preparing my food, so I should enjoy it as well.

If my comments above about the book sounded negative, I didn't mean it that way. I enjoyed reading it very much. Pollan writes in a relatable way and makes even statistics interesting.

Yesterday I also managed to finish Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers. A reread (at least the third, but possibly more). I remembered almost all of the book except the one scene which haydenvienna quoted in his thread awhile back. Weird. I tried savoring every scene in the book, but my brain wants to gallop along through the story to get to the end. Still, I much enjoyed Miss Climpson's reluctant adventures into the Spiritualist realm, Miss Murchison's office exploits and introduction to the world of lockpicking, and Lord Peter's conversations with Helen in prison.

I am continuing on with some more short stories from Lord Peter, but I'm also going to start Seldom Disappointed, a Memoir by Tony Hillerman. I've saved this book for a long time, and now is the time to read it. Why? Because I want to. :P

>93 MrsLee: Yes, Miss Climpson is a staunch member of the C of E, so her venture into Spiritualism is fun to follow. Although based on a book of non-fiction that I read recently, the Spiritualist Movement was surprisingly well tolerated.

>74 MrsLee: Congratulations! That's fantastic news :)

>74 MrsLee: Even better news than what you expected!! So so glad for you!

Congratulations on the good news!!

The book about London Bridge sounds interesting. I think the stories behind some of our children’s rhymes and games are fascinating. I know during Covid the kids started a “covid tag.” Don’t know if it stuck as a game, but it was interesting to think this is how some of the games came about: children learning how to cope with the trauma and making a game out of it.

I’m doing my best to put more veggies in our diet, but my “Meat and potatoes” husband isn’t happy about it. I made him eat zucchini last night. Oh the horrors. :P

>97 catzteach: This book was published in the 1950s I think. The only frustrating thing about it (besides the very small print of the history of the rhymes) is that they keep saying things like, "This is only a small part of a very bawdy-naughty-lurid song, but then don't give us the song! Even though they do give all the old verses of many other rhymes. ;p

>98 MrsLee:
Such a tease!

>98 MrsLee: It's a serious reference book. Scholars aren't supposed to be titillated by the full text of bawdy-naughty-lurid tavern songs. They just need to know there is one somewhere, buried in a dusty archive and waiting to be called for in consultation with the archivist or some bespectacled university librarian. OTOH, there are more casual readers like you out there and Oxford doesn't want any tender sensibilities to be shocked.

>98 MrsLee: I wonder if you could Google them?

>100 jillmwo: I would go along with that, except they don't seem to mind giving the full version of the horrid, nasty, mean verses that have also gone by the wayside. Such as the ones about walling up children under bridges as a sacrifice to the river gods, and killing/maiming animals or beating/murdering children. I think it was more a sign of the times because one didn't talk about such things in polite audiences.

>101 catzteach: It is possible that I could, but I don't really care that much. lol

The authors don't hold much with what they call the "fantasized" stories of the origin of many of the rhymes, assigning royal personages to them and such. If they know for a fact about a reference they state it, but otherwise most of the ideas are pooh-poohed (in a scholarly manner).

The Green Dragon has been dangerous for me the last week. Or perhaps my good news on the medical front made me relax my guard a bit. I ordered two books, which arrived yesterday.

The Seventh Bride by T. Kingfisher - a bullet from Alexandra_book_life. I loved the idea of the hedgehog, as well as the Bluebeard tale. I've not read Kingfisher, thinking her writing was darker than I prefer. We shall see. I always confuse her with The Girls at the Kingfisher Club by Genevieve Valentine, which book I loved.

The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke. Can't remember which person was talking about this, but I love Clarke's other books, although I haven't yet read Piranesi. Not exactly sure why not. Anywho, this is a lovely little book and since it is titled "Midwinter" I think I shall wait until next month to read it.

>102 MrsLee: Ooh, you got me with The Seventh Bride! I've been ordering a few books lately, and putting even more on hold at the library. I must be in an acquisitive mood -- stockpiling for the winter? Anyhow, I love Kingfisher. Some of her books do have a little edge of horror to them, but it's fairy tale horror, which is more palatable to me. And I'm a wimp about horror.

>103 foggidawn: That's good to know. I'm not OK with life-like horror, but can handle creepy fairy tales. So long as torture isn't vividly described and wallowed in. And they don't hurt children or animals (or anyone really) for fun/gratification.

>104 MrsLee: Yeah, I would not like either of those things, myself. I'd say give Kingfisher a try. And some of hers are just fantasy without the darker edge (A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking comes to mind).

>102 MrsLee: I do love me a good scholarly pooh!

Continuing on my Lord Peter Wimsey marathon, I began Have His Carcass yesterday. The thought occurred to me that it would be lovely to go on a walking tour by oneself. I don't know if Americans do such a thing? We do have hiking trails, but generally they are in rugged wilderness where one brings a backpack and all supplies. There are some trails near highly populated areas, but they are usually for a day hike where you return to your own vehicle and go home at the end of the hike. I don't know of a trail for amblers where they walk in nature and end up at a pub for a drink or a hostel to spend the night. In California there was the mission trail; the padres walked it and the missions were built a day's walk apart. It isn't a trail anymore, it's a freeway.

Do they have walking trails on the east coast of America? Do people still go on walking tours in England? Do they in any other countries?

I'm pretty sure I wouldn't feel safe doing a walking tour alone these days. People get killed and/or raped/mugged even on the city trails in the town 30 miles north of us.

>107 MrsLee: The east coast has the Appalachian Trail for very ambitious hikers. It takes several months to complete.
In West Virginia, there is Rails to Trails, which are very level walking/biking trails converted from abandoned railroad tracks. They can be used piecemeal or extensively, with food and hostels along the way.
My community has The Pinnacles. It’s a challenging hike if you are trying to keep up with college classmates.

I think Oregon has a route from border to border along the coast. That would be one a person could do and stay in different places along the way.

>108 2wonderY: & >109 catzteach: I'm glad they exist. :)

>107 MrsLee: Incidentally, some pubs have a few bedrooms where one can spend the night. When Better Half and I were based in UK, we often used these over a weekend; the ones recommended by Egon Ronay of blessed memory were excellent. Some were old coaching inns; the one I recall most fondly is still going. I think Dragoneers would love it -- it's the Black Boar in Hay-on-Wye, and parts of the building are 13th or 14th century.

>107 MrsLee: The Camino would be the most famous walking tour in Europe. There are routes from France, Portugal and Spain. People will do parts of it and will come back to do other parts. I know people who have done a bit each year until they had covered the whole pilgrimage route.

Ireland has a lot of walking routes through coastal and mountain areas. Some are level walks along old railway line routes, others are mountain hiking routes, and some are historical or scenic routes. Some of the level walkways would also be for cycling. Ireland is not big enough to have hostelries every so far along the routes dedicated to the routes, but there are Bed & Breakfast places everywhere.

Some people even walk from Malin Head to Mizen Head, i.e. from the most northerly tip of the island to the most southerly. Of course, some people go the other direction, but its all up hill that way.

>107 MrsLee: I took a holiday in the southwest of England a few years ago, with a friend, where you walked between inns and a van transported your luggage. One could safely have managed alone. There are also national and local trails, such as Hadrian's Wall, the South Downs Way, etc, which vary in difficulty, several of which could safely be walked alone.

Here in Ohio there are a lot of bike paths that go through both natural areas and towns so you can stop and have a meal or whatever. I don't bike (never learned how), but I know they are very popular with cyclists. That might be similar to the kind of walking tour Sayers describes.

>112 pgmcc: "Of course, some people go the other direction, but its all up hill that way."

LOL!!

Since posting >112 pgmcc:, two adverts have appeared on my Google Newsfeed for Camino de Santiago. Coincidence?
I don’t think so!

>116 pgmcc: Haha, oops.

I don't plan to go on any of these walking tours, but I'm glad they still exist.

There are apparently people who walk from Wilson's Promontory to Cape York (respectively the southern and northern extremities of the continent of Australia). Apparently one of them got bitten, somewhere in the bush, by one of Australia's notoriously venomous snakes. Feeling very unwell, and wondering what to do, he thought "I'll die for sure if I stay here so I might as well keep going", and did so. He survived to finish the journey.

>118 haydninvienna:
Two men were on a hike in a remote area. One of them was bitten on the bum by a venomous snake. Fortunately his companion was well versed in First Aid and was knowledgeable on different species of snake.

Paul (victim of snake bite): John, thank goodness you are here to help. Is that snake venomous?

John: Yes, Paul. As it happens it is. It is probably the most venomous snake in this area. You will need a friend who is willing to suck the venom out of your wound, or else you will die.

Paul: I am glad you are here. What do we do now?

John: Paul, I am afraid you are going to die.

>102 MrsLee: I'm glad you enjoyed this, and you definitely need to read more Kingfisher. This one is probably my least favorite book by her so far, and I still enjoyed it. (I think I've read six...)

As for the Michael Pollan, there might not have been much new in there, but I feel I need that constant reminded to add more plants. I'm pretty good about the fruits and root veggies, it's the green things I tend to forget about.

>115 ScoLgo: ditto :)

>119 pgmcc: i think you omitted the exact location of the snake bite.

>121 MrAndrew:
I think you are correct now that you mention it.

>122 pgmcc: pg13 version

>121 MrAndrew: >122 pgmcc: I dunno... the location seemed an easy ass-umption.

Ha! you know what they say about assumptions.

That reminds me. My grandson and I were playing cars today and his mother and I got into a discussion of trunks and boots. Did the term "bootie" come from the word "boot" in England? And "junk in your trunk" originated in America? Inquiring minds want to know.

>126 MrsLee:
A bootie would be a small woollen boot worn by a baby.

I do not know the origin of boot for what you call the trunk of a car.

I presume the origin of car trunk is from travelling trunks.

I'm trying to read Seldom Disappointed by Tony Hillerman. I have to admit, I'm a little disappointed.

As a memoir it is interesting, but I find the pace plodding. The disappointment is from the fact that I love his novels. They don't plod. This is making me find other things to do besides read and that is always a bad sign.

ah hahaha! i see what you did there!

>128 MrsLee: That seems like false advertising.

>128 MrsLee: Your mileage may vary, but when it comes to books like that, I go through something of the following mental gyrations:

(1) Author has a substantive body of work and is likely to be studied by students and researchers for what his/her books offer by way of commentary about the region, indigenous peoples and current perceptions of the ways in which the societies interact.
(2) The publisher (and maybe family members as well) tell the author that s/he has formed a legacy and it would be worthwhile to write down how s/he got created the material, climbed the ladder of success, and viewed the body of work left behind.
(3) Author writes autobiography. Being a relatively normal soul, his or her biography is relatively ordinary (if only because it's written as the result of a relatively ordinary life). This then serves as a useful tool of analysis by the aforementioned students and researchers. OR NOT.
(4) Publisher is pleased because s/he is sure that great fans of the author will buy out the store. Sometimes this works, sometimes not.

It is a crap shoot. Some people have the gift of story-telling and deliver them to an audience without revealing much of the person behind the curtain. The imagination is what fuels the magic connection, not the day to day events and unfolding of the person's life. If I'm not mistaken, Hillerman's prose is relatively trim -- short sentences, the bit of descriptive prose now and again, but not overloaded. Is that part of the problem as you read his autobiography? What is the piece or appeal that you feel you are missing? What did he not cover that you were hoping for?

Your disappointment reminds me of what I felt when I read David Souchet's account of his time playing Poirot on television, Poirot and Me. It was an incredible disappointment because I'd hoped for so much more from him. Something in depth about his analysis of the character he was playing and the stories -- why they worked and why they didn't. And it just wasn't there.

>131 jillmwo: I am not half way into the book yet. We are still in his WWII experiences. I don't think I have the skill to explain why even what should be the most exciting bits of the story are plodding. I am a person who has been very interested in first person accounts of wartime experiences, and yet this plods. I suppose it could be me. I can't say what he could have done to make it better, I can only say how it reads to me. I do expect at some point for him to describe how and when he became such a respected author of the southwest native customs and peoples. We shall see if at that point the interest picks up.

Why is it plodding?! I don't know. He was raised in the Dust Bowl in Oklahoma. I'm interested in that time and place. He was a soldier in WWII. I'm interested in that. His fictional writing is picturesque and insightful. I'm just not getting that from this. Perhaps it is easier when you are making it up to write that way. It isn't bad, but I'm a bit disappointed. I wanted to love it.

Finally finished Have His Carcase. Fifteen days, which was not the fault of the book, although, I must say this one can be a bit of a slog. The characters go through the alibi so often, checking and rechecking facts. Long conversations, which if one has read the book before, one knows are futile. I still enjoyed the reading of it and being with Lord Peter and Harriet.

Kind of funny, I'm watching the TV series Castle, and the relationship is similar.

The Hillerman book is still not terrific, but at least it has enough interesting bits of history to make it readable. I appreciate his insights into the way the infantry soldiers saw the war, and how it affected them as they blended back into "normal" life when they got home. He doesn't pull many punches about that. There was quite an eye-opening chapter about the politics and law in Santa Fe in the 1940s and early 1950s. One would think it could only be fiction, but sadly, it is history.

>133 MrsLee: I first read that title as “Have His Carcass.” I wondered what kind of book it could be. :)

>134 catzteach: & >133 MrsLee: Oh dear. I always thought it was 'Carcass.' I doubt I'll ever be able to read it any other way...

>133 MrsLee:
I enjoyed Have His Carcase. It was quite and intriguing plot. The descriptions of holiday locations and activities on the south coast was entertaining.

>134 catzteach: & >135 clamairy: Is this a case of British spelling as opposed to American spelling? I wanted to spell it that way as well, but a look at the cover of the book made me spell it the other way. Looking it up on Google tells me they mean the same thing. The dead body of livestock, or sometimes (as in this title) the irreverent reference to a bloody human corpse. It is part of a quote from William Cowper's translation of Book II of Homer's Iliad: "The vulture's maw / Shall have his carcase, and the dogs his bones"

Many chapters in the book have quotes from Death's Jest Book.

>137 MrsLee: I don't think you grabbed the right touchstone. (It's pointing to a Dalziel and Pascoe title which seems odd. Sayers' was writing a good 40-50 years or more before Reginald Hill) I think you want the one that points to the book by Thomas Beddoes. And I am kind of curious about Beddoes book, now that you've brought it to my attention.

>137 MrsLee: I find the evolution of words and the spellings of them fascinating. And the different pronunciations depending on where one lives.

>138 jillmwo: Thank you for catching that. I am also curious about Beddoes' work. She used quotes from a couple of his works as the headers for each chapter.

Beddoes is hard to come by. I have somewhere a selection of his writing edited by F L Lucas. It’s not a large book. Death’s Jest-book, which he never finished, makes up most of it, IIRC. There’s bits of other unfinished plays and some lyrics, and some of his correspondence. Someone apparently said of him that he could be charming when he chose, but “oh, he chose so seldom”. Not generally a nice man, apparently. He wrote one moderately well known poem called Dream-pedlary”:

If there were dreams to sell,
What would you buy?
Some cost a passing bell;
Some a light sigh,
That shakes from Life's fresh crown
Only a rose-leaf down.
If there were dreams to sell.
Merry and sad to tell,
And the crier rang the bell,
What would you buy?

There’s several more stanzas; the poem in full is here: https://allpoetry.com/Dream-Pedlary, with links to some more poems.

>141 haydninvienna: Thank you, I like his word imagery there. I'm feeling lazy and chilled, or I would get up and post a couple of the verses that stood out to me in Sayers' book. Fragments of poetry don't always give you a good picture of what the poet was trying to say though.

I have been saddened by the Oxford Nursery Rhymes Dictionary. Today I read the entry for

"Ring around the rosie
Pockets full of posies
Ashes, Ashes
We all fall down"

They did not have this variation that I grew up with, yet they had many other similar variations. The shattering of my illusions came about because although I had always heard this verse had reference to the Plague, and was sung by children then; the Dictionary says there is no written evidence of it ever being around before the 1800s.

>143 MrsLee: Noooo! Fascinating information, though. I'm trying to remember when that myth first started making the rounds. I'm sure I was an adult when I heard it.

>144 clamairy: Me to, and I think my children were old enough that I shared it with them. It must have been around in the 40s or before though, because that is when this book was published.

>144 clamairy: and >145 MrsLee: Clearly we were all brainwashed during the same time period. I remember reading the same thing about it being related to the Black Death. (A person would be singing in the morning, but dead by nightfall.)

I finished Seldom Disappointed. As a whole, I am glad I read it. Insights into what made the author who he was, and how he became a voice for the Navajo/Dineh peoples and other tribes as well. Took a bit of slogging to get there though.

I will be continuing my journey through the Dorothy L. Sayers novels, first a short story from Lord Peter, then one of my favorites, Murder Must Advertise. I'm also going to begin Fortunate Son. I usually pair a nonfiction read with a fictional read, but too bad. I want to read this now. I may make an effort to finish the Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes before the end of November. Time to move on. I am in the "R" section, so if I dedicate some time to it, I think it can be done.

>147 MrsLee:
I enjoyed Murder Must Advertise, especially where Lord Peter is described as Bertie Wooster with brains, or words to that effect. :-)

>148 pgmcc: He is somewhat of a superhero in that book, and oh so much delights me about it. I even loved the cricket match.

Here is the review I ended up writing for Seldom Disappointed.

"What can I say? I was slightly disappointed. Perhaps it was only my mood, but this book was somewhat of a slog until the last few chapters when he began describing how he came to write the novels about the southwest and the tribal people's there. When I finished and looked back at the whole, it gave me insight into who the author was and how he became that, so in retrospect, I am glad that I read this. Hillerman led an interesting life, from his beginnings in the Dust Bowl of the 1930s Oklahoma, to WWII, his career in journalism and as a college professor. He was a loving husband and father of five children. Quite an accomplishment if that was all there was, but then he became a "voice" for the tribal peoples of the southwest through his novels. He opened the eyes of America and other countries not only to the history and beliefs of the cultures, but to the present day people and who they are.

This made me want to read his novels again, and I purchased the one children's story he wrote: The Boy Who Made Dragonfly: A Zuni Myth."

>143 MrsLee: I, too, thought that was the origins for this rhyme. Did they explain where they thought it came from?

>150 catzteach: A children's game that had the children in the circle curtseying to each other instead of actually falling down. The words "Ashes, ashes" were more like sneezes, but earlier versions had other words. That is a very abbreviated version of their explanation.

>151 MrsLee: Fascinating! So how did the misconception about the plague start, I wonder...

>152 clamairy: Will answer tomorrow when my fingers can type it in the author's words and my eyes can see.

Have to note that I was crying through the first chapter of Fortunate Son. Crying from laughter.

>152 clamairy: I will quote from the book, so you can see the authors' dry (wry?) humor. The version they print as the most common example is:

Ring-a-ring o' roses,
A pocket full of posies,
A tishoo! A-tishoo!
We all fall down.

"The invariable sneezing and falling down in modern English versions has given would-be origin finders the opportunity to say that the rhyme dates back to the days of the Great Plague. italics are mine.

One of the earliest versions they found from about 1790, in New Bedford, Massachusetts, is written:

Ring a ring a rosie,
A bottle full of posie,
All the girls in our town,
Ring for little Josie.

Yet another version, in which the children in the circle squat down, or curtsy:

Round the ring of roses,
Pots full of posies,
The one who stoops last
Shall tell whom she loves best.

The sneezy version didn't become standard until after 1898. They didn't even print or mention the version with "Ashes, Ashes"

There was a longer version printed in What the Children Sing by Alfred Moffat, in 1915:

A ring, a ring o' roses,
A pocket full of posies,
Ash-a! Ash-a!
All stand still.

The King as sent his daughter
To fetch a pail of water,
Ash-a! Ash-a!
All bow down.

The bird above the steeple
Sits high above the people,
Ash-a! Ash-a!
All kneel down.

The wedding bells are ringing,
And boys and girls are singing,
Ash-a! Ash-a!
All fall down.

And for pgmcc, the Gaelic version:

'Bulla! Bulla! Basín,
Ta'n bo sa gùirdín.
Síos libh !Síos Libh!
Éirigidh anois, Éirigidh!
Déanam arís é.

Translation of above:

Clap! Clap! Hands,
The cow is in the garden.
Down ye go! Down ye go!
Get up now, get up!
Let's do it again.

I have given you but a part of the many versions which include German, Swiss, French, and more.

>154 MrsLee: I'm dumbfound at the variations! And think of all the versions from the hinterlands that they probably missed.

>155 clamairy: What with the lack of printed lyrics or liner notes, everyone repeated what they thought they heard on the soundtrack.

And of course there's the 20th century version that begins:

Ring o'ring o'geranium
A pocket full of uranium ...

Sorry but I can't remember the third line. Definitely ends with "we all fall down" though.

Well now. I have learned another word which clearly has a different meaning here than across the pond. Reading Fortunate Son, the word "knackers" was used in reference to the male testes.

I have only heard that word used to mean either someone whose profession is to carry off dead animals, specifically livestock, or to mean exhausted.

Doing a (very) little internet research, I find that the slang term may have derived from the word "naker" a set of small drums worn at the waistline in the middle ages.

The things you learn when reading.

>158 MrsLee: That is also new to me.
I do not think I will ever be using the expression that "I am knackered" again...

>158 MrsLee:

It is also used as a derogatory term for travellers/itinerants.

>159 clamairy: *snort*
>160 pgmcc: Thank you. It is important to know these things to save international misunderstanding. Just as I hope no British man will say that he knocked me up when he simply meant that he knocked on the door to awaken me.

>161 MrsLee:
The nuances of slang are very important. Misunderstandings could arise; just imagine what could happen if you wanted to get up early and you asked that man to knock you up in the morning. He could claim you were sending him mixed messages.

>159 clamairy:
“I am knackered” would always be taken as meaning you are tired or worn out. It is perfectly fine to use that expression without fear of misunderstanding.

Fortunate Son ended all too quickly, which is not to say that it was incomplete. Only that it was so fun to read that I couldn't stop reading until it was done. This was not a happy story, but it was a human story and did not leave me sad. The title is poignant

I found that I could not read another book at the same time, so now I will begin reading Murder Must Advertise

>157 haydninvienna:. We will all go together when we go... (Should you have a fondness for Tom Lehrer.)

>158 MrsLee: >159 clamairy: >160 pgmcc:. Such an educational discussion. One might be tempted to write something up for submission to the OED.

>158 MrsLee:
Bunny's use of knackers would not be a widespread use of the term. The more frequent uses of the term are:
- Being tired, exhausted
- Being totally broken, e.g. "That car is totally knackered." This is basically an extreme version of the above usage.
- Referring to members of the travelling community
- Another use is for a slaughter house where old horses not suitable for human consumption are put down and their bodies processed. In this case it would be used with the word yard, i.e. "Knacker's yard". So an old worn out horsed could be said to be knackered and only suitable for the knacker's yard.

>165 jillmwo: Do not forget to use the final usage in your entry for the OED.

>164 MrsLee:
I started reading Fortunate Son yesterday. I found the Kindle handier on the bus so I am reading Fortunate Son in parallel with The City and Its Uncertain Walls.

>167 pgmcc: For what it's worth, I am now choosing to "see" Bunny as Jason O'Mara. For Fisk, I'm not settled, but in my head there is a younger, but not too young, fit and trim Jack Nicholson. I feel like he would be good at telling the stories. Hume Cronyn would be my first choice, but I was trying to think of someone alive. I don't think Jack Nicholson is acting anymore though, so that ship has sailed too.

>168 MrsLee:
I am not familiar with Jason O'Mara. I had a look at his Wikipedia entry. I have seen none of his TV shows and only on film with him in it: The Siege of Jadotville, a great film which unlike many historical films sticks to the facts of the situation.

Now that I know what he looks like I would not have picked him for Bunny; he is too healthy looking. When I read the first book, A Man With One Of Those Faces, the description was a perfect fit for a Cork man who worked in my place of employment and with whom I had a lot of dealings. The physical make up and the character perfectly fitted my colleague and I cannot think of Bunny in any other way. Being a Cork man he even has the accent.

:-)

>165 jillmwo: "fondness for Tom Lehrer": I do.

>169 pgmcc: Here is my problem. I don't know anyone from Cork. I agree that in the first book, the image described was not that of O' Mara, but in subsequent books which went further back in time, he was more fit, and in my head, I can't see him as repulsive as he was described in the first book because others don't see him that way in subsequent books, although none would describe him as handsome. I searched first for an actor from Cork, can't remember if Jason is. A good actor and makeup could make it work.

>165 jillmwo: >170 haydninvienna: Many of Tom Lehrer's songs are scarily relevant even now. I have a complete collection of his work and sometimes it freaks me out.

>172 tardis: to my mild surprise, he’s still with us. And did you know he has placed all his music in the public domain: https://tomlehrersongs.com/.

>158 MrsLee: well, there's this:

>174 Darth-Heather: Hahahaha! So perhaps it has a foreign origin.

No reading yesterday, and probably none for the next few days due to the panic of cleaning the house for a crawling grandbaby, then arrival of said grandbaby and all the other darlings to celebrate this weekend. Very much looking forward to this. Some things really are better than reading.

>158 MrsLee: In my current book the characters were playing badminton and the shuttlecock hit one of them in the knackers. Made me think of your post. :) The book is an ARC, published in August, but takes place in what I think is supposed to be Victorian England.

ms lee you are very beautiful

>169 pgmcc:. I had to google "Siege of Jadotville". I had been totally unaware of the event. Of course, >158 MrsLee: I also had to google Jason O'Mara as I was equally unaware of him.

Seems as if I've been living under a rock again.

>178 jillmwo:
Jill, I consider you to be wonderful, talented and very knowledgeable, but I do not expect you to know absolutely everything.

.

Playing catchup on LT and have to say Yay! for Lee's cancer-free status! May it comtinue!
Also, lol the conversations on LT are the best.

Just catching up and saying hello!

>174 Darth-Heather: this made me giggle!

>174 Darth-Heather: It occurs to me that knackers is very similar to knockers. Another word with many meanings, and also where I would not want hot coffee.

>183 MrsLee:. It really is important to be aware of the placement of any hot coffee.

Yesterday I finished two of the books I've been reading:

Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L. Sayers. I can't really say enough good about this story. I enjoyed every moment of it. I've read the story several times, and it hasn't lost its shine yet. I was once again struck by Sayer's perceptiveness about the world of advertising. She worked in that field, so had good insight. Really, this book should be a textbook on consumer awareness of the manipulativeness of advertising and commercial products. The other thought that struck me this time around and which required action (other than the dozens of words I looked up or chose to ignore because I was in the middle of a good tale) was the licking of a pencil before using it. I had read this before, but never seen it in action. This required research, in which I learned that the "lead" in a pencil is clay mixed with graphite and licking it makes the pencil write a bit darker. Of course I tried it, and IT WORKS for about 2 letters, then goes back to the lightness it was writing at. Unless you want to be sucking on graphite and clay a lot, I recommend getting a softer pencil. Oddly enough, watching "Castle" last night, he licked his pencil before starting to write something.

Also finished The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes. I've written about this above, and I don't think there were any fresh discoveries which shocked me after that, but I did enjoy reading the entries for the many rhymes I've grown up with. I learned to read while reading Mother Goose's Nursery Rhymes. No one had time to sit and read them to me as often as I liked, so I figured out how to read them myself. This was before I went to school. Nice. The touchstone is showing the book I grew up with. It was my sister's book, so I searched long and hard as an adult to find a copy in a used bookstore. This was before the internet and easy findings.

I'm not sure what I will be reading next. I may need a bit of a break from Sayers, so I'm thinking about a reread of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I don't know why, but it seems a good thing to read at this time of year. Probably because that's the time of year the movies were released.

I fell down the rabbit hole that is the song, "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen. It played in a Christmas song list, by Pentatonix. It is a beautiful song, but hardly a Christmas song. I've never paid close attention to the lyrics, but because I love Pentatonix I watched the video and the lyrics were on it. A very moving song which plumbs the depth of the agony and ecstasy which is love. However, not Christmas. Anyway, that's what sent me on a search of this song, listening to many versions from Cohen (probably my favorite), to Bon Jovi, Bob Dylan and a rock band which I forget the name of, but they did a fine cover of it. I only became aware of this song when the movie Watchmen came out.

Just me, catching up with pop culture, about 40 years later. :P

>186 MrsLee: I think there was a phase of popularity of that song when the first (2nd?) Shrek movie came out.

>186 MrsLee: There's a really watered-down version that some Christian Contemporary group came out with that is specifically Christmassy. I strongly dislike it.

>187 Karlstar: I think I saw both of those movies, but it didn't have the same impact as it did in Watchmen. Watching someone be murdered to it has quite the impact.

>188 foggidawn: Watered down, ptui.

Ok, decided on my next reads. Not going with the trilogy. Reading Tales from the Perilous Realm instead. I was afraid I would become bogged down in the trilogy and my reading time is reduced at the holiday season.

I will also be starting Life in a Medieval Castle by Joseph and Francis Gies because you never know when that information will come in handy.

>185 MrsLee: Seconding you on Murder Must Advertise. My favourite incident is in the cricket match, when Wimsey (who had of course been a top-notch cricketer at Oxford) was playing under the pretence of being a rabbit, until the opposition's fast bowler hit him with a ball. Upon which Wimsey's instincts took over and he proceeded to demolish the fast bowler completely. It would need an explanation of the ways of cricket to show why the otherwise unremarkable Mr Haagedoorn was described as a poor bat, but a cricketer.

>187 Karlstar: First movie. The version used is by Jeff Buckley, IIRC. (Checking Wiki: nope, J J Cale.)

>186 MrsLee: , >188 foggidawn: As to a Christian Christmassy version: that's rude, considering that Cohen was Montreal Jewish, and the song is based on incidents in the Old Testament.

>185 MrsLee:
Murder Must Advertise is one of my favourite Sayers novels. When I came to read it I read the disclaimer at the front stating that the people, company, events, etc... were totally fictitious and did not relate to any persons living or dead. Being the naturally cynical and suspicious person that I am, I, of course, thought, "Ah! This is based on real people and events and Sayers is trying to avoid legal cases". I believe I mentioned that in my reading thread at the time. However, the book led me to research Sayers's life and I discovered, as you mention, that she worked as an advertising agent and hence her disclaimer was likely true and its purpose was to ensure her friends/former colleagues did not feel offended and drop her from their Christmas card list.

My researches also informed me that as an advertising agent Sayers had clients. One of her big accounts was Guinness and it turns out she was responsible for many of the iconic slogans and images used in Guinness advertisements. Off the top of my head she was responsible for the use of a Tucan in the Guinness ads. Also, the famous slogan, "Guinness is Good For You"*, was her invention.



I cannot remember the particular Lord Peter story that contains many references to Guinness slogans. Obviously she was keen on product placement in her books. :-)

I have said it before, and will probably say it again, Sayers gives the reader so much more than the story. Her novels are prime examples of the type of book I like in that they provide humour, some interesting real information, and include allusions to other books and stories that give people fun when they spot them.

*Under current legislation regarding false advertising this slogan can no longer be used as it is an unsubstantiate claim of health giving properties. I recall hospitals giving our bottles of Guinness to patients as a tonic. The Blood Transfusion Service used to give people a pint of Guinness after they had given blood. That all appears to have stopped now.

>191 pgmcc: As a former blood donor in both Australia and the UK, I never scored anything more than a cuppa tea and a biscuit.

>190 haydninvienna: I love reading about that cricket match even though cricket still baffles me.

>191 pgmcc: I caught several references to Guinness, she also mentioned The Mustard Club, one of the first advertising campaigns of its kind which she developed for Coleman's mustard.

>192 haydninvienna: We were served orange juice and a cookie (that's biscuit to you) when we donated blood. I would have preferred a Guinness.

Pint of blood removed, pint of guinness applied. Seems balanced. For a while anyway.

>193 MrsLee: The game of Cricket is a conundrum! What makes the wickets sticky?

>195 clamairy: There are also Googlies to be accounted for along with stumps, beamers, Death bowlers (did Sayers play with this term by giving Wimsey the name Death?) and a dibbly dobbly.

I think I would be like Mr. Pym and sit by the side cheering for everyone and everything because I didn't understand what was going on, but could get fun out of it anyway.

>196 MrsLee: I have to admit I don't know much more about American football, or soccer/football for that matter. I do have a handle on baseball and basketball, and the details for everything else never seemed like they were worth the brain cells.

>197 clamairy: When I was younger, I loved and knew all the American sports (soccer/football was barely a thing when I was in high school), played them, kept stats for the high school boy's football, baseball and basketball teams, avid fan of the Oakland Raiders and the A's. When I had children that interest left me. Guess it was enough watching them play their games. We didn't have a TV for about 10 years, that may have had something to do with it.

>196 MrsLee: and >197 clamairy: I will be sitting right next to you on the sidelines, cheering indiscriminately. Raising two boys, they were thrilled when they realized that their mother could barely associate sports teams with the appropriate geographic location (sometimes even the right sport with a particular team). They had fun challenging me to get that information straight. Honestly, I could associate the Bears and the Cubs with Chicago, but that was about it. I did improve over time with regard to baseball as that was their favored sport.

Received Sister Age by M.F.K. Fisher in the mail. I may have to start this sooner than later.

>200 MrsLee: I hope you do choose to read it in the near term! I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.

Started watching "Heroes," the plot is moving sooo slow. Am I too old for this now? Is the kind of show I used to love, but I don't like all the dark anymore.

>202 MrsLee: That sentiment sounds all too familiar. I tried watching The Bear because everybody was raving about it, but I did not even finish the first episode. Nothing but screaming and stress.

>203 clamairy: Yeah, I bailed on "Heroes" last night. Tried "Bones" but that isn't really doing it for me either. I may have to break out my LotR extended versions and watch those. It's been awhile.

Started reading The Boy who Made Dragonfly by Tony Hillerman, yesterday. I am enjoying it, a YA or even children read (if you are reading aloud to them). Also finished "Roverandom" and "Farmer Giles of Ham" in Tales from the Perilous Realm. The name of this book came from the idea that Tolkien said no fairy tale was complete without an element of peril. I think I've read all the remaining stories in the book, but I will probably read them again to refresh my memory. At the end is his talk of the value of Fairy Tales; I love that.

>204 MrsLee: I read Tolkien's short books as a child (I think the school library had them) but you are making me realise that I really should go back to them. Now to try and find a nice illustrated edition ...

(Yes, you can add a notch to your BB gun!)

>205 Sakerfalcon: I highly recommend the version illustrated by Allen Lee for several reasons. It is lovely, there is a well written forward, it includes the best of his short tales, there is some commentary by Tolkien at the beginning of a couple of stories, and an afterward by Lee (although I admit the afterward doesn't add much).

13 out of 15 candles in the current treasure hunt. Pretty good for me! One of those I sought the answer on Google.

>207 MrsLee: Ooh I hadn't noticed the quiz! Thanks for the heads-up, that takes care of a long afternoon in a very quiet workplace!

>203 clamairy: We got through 2 seasons of The Bear, but I'm just not interested in the over the top drama to continue.

Had a "feel good" moment today. We had to have several dead trees removed from our property. When the contractor came in for payment, he noticed my LotR themed den. Really, you can't miss it. We got to talking and he said his favorite fictional character in a book was Sherlock Holmes. Mentioned he wanted to read the stories again because he hadn't since he was young. (He is probably all of thirty years old) Anyway, I had a pretty tattered paperback of all the stories, with the original illustrations and I offered it to him. He was thrilled. It felt good to share, and I am not likely to read them again.

>210 MrsLee:
A lovely moment.

>210 MrsLee: I bet you are now his favourite customer! How lovely!

>210 MrsLee: That's wonderful. Any time I see a young person with their nose in a book (or Kindle) instead of a phone I celebrate.

That is fantastic! I love it when little serendipitous book moments happen like that. And and Christmastime it's a bonus. Book Joy to the World!

>210 MrsLee: I hope he read it and treasures the book as much as you did.

>210 MrsLee:. You undoubtedly made his day. That was a generous moment of sharing (whether or not you think you'd revisit the stories yourself.) Such kindness needs to be kept in the forefront of our lives.

>210 MrsLee: This is wonderful! A feel good moment indeed :)))

>210 MrsLee: What a great moment!

I'm quite behind in posting, for several reasons. I have had a lot of company this holiday season, some of whom were staying in the room where my laptop lives. I am having a lot of trouble with my hands lately which makes use of my phone painful. Yes, I could have taken my laptop to the other end of the house, but it's a pain and I am lazy and I had company to visit with! So. This is a catch up post.

I finished reading Tales from the Perilous Realm by Tolkien. A lovely read, one of my favorites is "Leaf by Niggle."

Read The Boy Who Made Dragonfly: A Zuni Myth Retold by Tony Hillerman. This is a lovely tale, and nicely illustrated by his daughter.

Read The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke. A very short story (60 pages) which is almost a poem. It would make a beautiful bedtime story for a cold winter night. I happened to read it on Midwinter's night. Fitting.

Read The Land of Little Rain by Mary Austin. If you like nature writing and you haven't read this, it is well worth your while. She writes in such a way that opens your eyes to things you have seen before, possibly quite often, but never really looked at. Speaking of the different types of storms which happen in the southern California Sierras she writes,
"The same season brings the rains that have work to do, ploughing storms that alter the face of things. These come with thunder and the play of live fire along the rocks. They come with great winds that try the pines for their work upon the seas and strike out the unfit. They shake down avalanches of splinters from sky-line pinnacles and raise up sudden floods like battle fronts in the cañons against towns, trees, and boulders. They would be kind if they could, but have more important matters."

In a chapter entitled, "The Streets of Mountains," she is talking of pine trees.
"...Pine woods, the short-leafed Balfour and Murryana of the high Sierras, are sombre, rooted in the litter of a thousand years, hushed, and corrective to the spirit. The trail passes insensibly into them from the black pines and a thin belt of firs. You look back as you rise, and strain for glimpses of the tawny valley, blue glints of the Bitter Lake, and tender cloud films on the farther ranges. For such pictures the pine branches make a noble frame. Presently they close in wholly; they draw mysteriously near, covering your tracks, giving up the trail indifferently, or with a secret grudge. You get a kind of impatience with their locked ranks, until you come out lastly on some high, windy dome and see what they are about. They troop thickly up the open ways, river banks, and brook borders; up open swales of dribbling springs; swarm over old moraines; circle the peaty swamps and part and meet about clean still lakes; scale the stony gullies; tormented, bowed, persisting to the door of the storm chambers, tall priests to pray for rain. The spring winds lift clouds of pollen dust, finer than frankincense, and trail it out over high altars, staining the snow. No doubt they understand this work better than we; in fact they know no other. "Come," say the churches of the valleys, after a season of dry years, "let us pray for rain." They would do better to plant more trees."

I also read several children's books which I purchased for a soon-to-be-born great niece or nephew. The parents chose not to know beforehand.

A book I have chosen to read, From Mud-Flat Cove to Cold to Statehood by Irving Stone. This is taken from Men to Match my Mountains by the same author, which I have read, but it's been a long time and I like to read about California history.

I'm trying to read more in these last days of the year, but probably won't get another book finished before the 31st. Things keep popping up, family comes by, etc. I try to look at them not as interruptions, but as complements to my finished "work." (A reference to "Leaf by Niggle." Family will be coming again this coming weekend, so posting may get spotty.