Katie's Reading Retreat - Chapter 11

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For anyone new to my thread, I’m Katie: reader, wine drinker, food appreciator, shenanigan-ator, and non-sufferer of fools. I live outside New York City with my husband, "The" Wayne, our cat, Leonard, and our dog, Nuala/Noodles.

My reading varies widely - I love genre fiction (romance and crime), contemporary and historical fiction, and narrative nonfiction. I try to balance my reading in all these areas. I also use my thread as a bit of a life journal, which mostly means I talk about what I’m cooking, eating, drinking, watching, doing, and avoiding doing.

Thanks for being here!

Currently Reading
(Kindle) (Audio)

BOOKS COMPLETED

Books Off My Shelf: 53
Books Off My Kindle: 30
Books from Audible/Chirp: 13
Library Loans (print/e-books/audios): 83
Friend Loan:

DECEMBER
179. Comedy in a Minor Key by Hans Keilson (3.5 stars)
178. Good Company by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney (audio) (4 stars)
177. Once Upon a Winter's Eve by Tessa Dare (3.5 stars)
176. Red Christmas by Reginald Hill (3.25 stars)
175. I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue (3.5 stars)
174. One, Two, Buckle My Shoe by Agatha Christie (3 stars)
173. Autocracy, Inc. by Anne Applebaum (audio) (4.5 stars)
172. Red Hook Road by Ayelet Waldman (4 stars)
171. The Christmas Pact by Meg Easton (audio) (3 stars)
170. Yours From the Tower by Sally Nicholls (audio) (3.75 stars)
169. Under the Mistletoe (Kindle collection) by Various Authors (3.5 stars)
168. Commonwealth by Ann Patchett (4.5 stars)
167. We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby (audio) (3.5 stars)

Did Not Finish (YTD)
01. Death of Riley by Rhys Bowen
02. The Cracked Spine by Paige Shelton
03. The Unsettled by Ayana Mathis (will try this one again at some point)
04. This Is My America by Kim Johnson (might try in print; did not enjoy audio narrator)
05. The Evidence of Things Not Seen by James Baldwin
06. Upstate by Kalisha Buckhanon
07. The Lonely Hearts Book Club by Lucy Gilmore
08. From the Jump by Lacie Waldon
09. The Girl I Was by Jeneva Rose
10. The Bookstore by Deborah Meyler
11. Paris is Always a Good Idea by Jenn McKinlay
12. How to Fall Out of Love Madly by Jana Casale
13. New Yorkers by Craig Taylor
14. Silver Bells by Fern Michaels et. al.

Q4 COMPLETIONS

NOVEMBER
Favorite:

166. The Longest Road by Philip Caputo (4 stars)
165. The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan (audio) (3.75 stars)
164. James by Percival Everett (4.5 stars)
163. Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey (audio) (3.5 stars)
162. This Must Be the Place by Maggie O'Farrell (4.25 stars)
161. What Time the Sexton's Spade Doth Rust by Alan Bradley (audio) (3 stars)
160. The Book Haters' Book Club by Gretchen Anthony (3.75 stars)
159. Baggage by Alan Cumming (audio) (3.75 stars)
158. Guide Me Home by Attica Locke (3.75 stars)
157. The Book Swap by Tessa Bickers (4.5 stars)
156. Four Weekends and a Funeral by Ellie Palmer (audio) (3.75 stars)

OCTOBER
Favorite:

155. Ten Things I Hate About the Duke by Loretta Chase (4 stars)
154. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (part audio) (3.5 stars)
153. Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton (audio) (4 stars)
152. Dear Committee Members by Julia Schuman (3.5 stars)
151. The Butterfly House by Marcia Preston (3.5 stars)
150. C is for Corpse by Sue Grafton (audio) (3.5 stars)
149. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (4 stars)
148. The Christmas Pact by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward (audio) (2.5 stars)
147. Love at First Psych by Cara Bastone (audio) (4 stars)
146. Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner (4.25 stars)
145. Wishes and Wellingtons by Julie Berry (audio) (4 stars)
144. Beauty and the Blacksmith by Tessa Dare (3.25 stars)
143. Trust by Hernan Diaz (3.75 stars)
142. A Walk in the Park by Rebekah Weatherspoon (audio) (3.25 stars)
141. The Weirdies Get Weirder by Michael Buckley (audio) (4 stars)
140. Seatmate by Cara Bastone (audio) (4 stars)
139. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson (3.5 stars)
138. West with the Night by Beryl Markham (4.25 stars)
137. How to Build a Girl by Caitlin Moran (audio) (4.5 stars)
136. Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson (3.75 stars)

Q3 COMPLETIONS

SEPTEMBER
Favorite:

135. Mohawk by Richard Russo (4 stars)
134. The Temporary Gentleman by Sebastian Barry (audio) (4.25 stars)
133. Accidentally Amy by Lynn Painter (audio) (4 stars)
132. On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan (4.5 stars)
131. Therese Raquin by Emile Zola (audio) (3 stars)
130. The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives by Lola Shoneyin (3 stars)
129. The Melting Season by Jami Attenberg (2.5 stars)
128. The Dirty Book Club by Lisi Harrison (3 stars)
127. She Said by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey (3.75 stars)
126. Wellness by Nathan Hill (audio) (5 stars)
125. Hearts and Minds by Amanda Craig (4.5 stars)
124. Heirs and Graces by Rhys Bowen (audio) (3.25 stars)
123. The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon (audio) (3.5 stars)
122. The False Friend by Myla Goldberg (3.75 stars)
121. Remember How I Told You I Loved You? by Gillian Linden (3 stars)
120. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks (4.5 stars)
119. Meaty by Samantha Irby (audio) (3.5 stars)
118. Five Bells by Gail Jones (3.25 stars)

AUGUST
Favorite:

117. Books and Islands in Ojibwe Country by Louise Erdrich (3.75 stars)
116. In the Bag by Kate Klise (3.5 stars)
115. How the Light Gets In by Joyce Maynard (4.5 stars)
114. Sidelined: Sports Culture and Being a Woman in America by Julie Dicaro (audio) (4 stars)
113. Nine, Ten: A September 11 Story by Nora Raleigh Baskin (audio) (3.5 stars)
112. Southernmost by Silas House (audio) (3.5 stars)
111. Nightbirds on Nantucket by Joan Aiken (3.5 stars)
110. A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell (4.25 stars)
109. Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen (3.5 stars)
108. Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman (4 stars)
107. Howard's End by E.M. Forster (3.5 stars)
106. On a Night Like This by Ellen Sussman (3 stars)

JULY
Favorite:

105. Death in Summer by William Trevor (3.75 stars)
104. Meet Me at Beachcomber Bay by Jill Mansell (audio) (3.5 stars)
103. The Lost Boys of Montauk by Amanda M. Fairbanks (3.75 stars)
102. The Summer Guest by Justin Cronin (4.25 stars)
101. What Strange Paradise by Omar El Akkad (Audio) (4.5 stars)
100. Sips & Strokes by Sarah Skye (3 stars)
99. Wonderland by Steven Johnson (audio) (4 stars)
98. Clear by Carys Davies (4 stars)
97. Where the Children Take Us by Zain Asher (3.5 stars)
96. Count the Ways by Joyce Maynard (4.25 stars)
95. The Undateable by Sarah Title (3.75 stars)
94. Iron House by John Hart (4 stars)
93. Wow, No Thank You. by Samantha Irby (audio) (4 stars)

Q2 COMPLETIONS

JUNE
Favorite:

92. Midnight on Beacon Street by Emily Ruth Verona (3.5 stars)
91. Dukes Are Forever by Anna Harrington (4 stars)
90. Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin (audio) (4 stars)
89. The Crocodile Bird by Ruth Rendell (4.5 stars)
88. The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson (3 stars)
87. The Hours by Michael Cunningham (4.5 stars)
86. All We Shall Know by Donal Ryan (audio) (4.25 stars)
85. Catch of the Day by Kristan Higgins (3.5 stars)
84. Word by Word by Kory Stamper (4 stars)
83. Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons (3.25 stars)

MAY
Favorite:

82. Field Notes from a Catastrophe by Elizabeth Kolbert (3.5 stars)
81. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See (3.75 stars)
80. Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara (audio) (4 stars)
79. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (3.5 stars)
78. Roommaid by Sariah Wilson (3.5 stars)
77. Ruby Spencer's Whisky Year by Rochelle Bilow (audio) (3.75 stars)
76. Kindred in Death by J.D. Robb (4 stars)
75. The Dogs of Littlefield by Suzanne Berne (4.25 stars)
74. The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride (4 stars)
73. The Shades by Evgenia Citkowitz (audio) (3.5 stars)
72. B is for Burglar by Sue Grafton (3.5 stars)
71. Rumours by Freya North (4 stars)
70. The Detective Up Late by Adrian McKinty (audio) (4 stars)
69. The Lost Man by Jane Harper (4 stars)

APRIL
Favorite:

68. Rape: A Love Story by Joyce Carol Oates (3.75 stars)
67. The Appeal by Janice Hallett (4 stars)
66. Funny Feelings by Tarah Dewitt (audio) (3.5 stars)
65. Unfollow Me by Jill Louise Busby (audio) (3.5 stars)
64. Garden of Lamentations by Deborah Crombie (3.75 stars)
63. The Red Car by Marcy Dermansky (audio) (2.5 stars)
62. The Other Side of Disappearing by Kate Clayborn (4 stars)
61. The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell (audio) (3 stars)
60. Talking to the Dead by Helen Dunmore (4.25 stars)
59. Starting from Happy by Patricia Marx (3.5 stars)
58. The Last Ballad by Wiley Cash (4 stars)
57. Our Homesick Songs by Emma Hooper (audio) (4 stars)
56. Queen Lucia by E.F. Benson (4 stars)
55. The Intimate City: Walking New York by Michael Kimmelman (audio) (5 stars)
54. The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren (4.5 stars)
53. Piglet by Lottie Hazell (audio) (3.75 stars)
52. How To Be a Girl in the World by Caela Carter (4.25 stars)

Q1 COMPLETIONS

MARCH
Favorite:

51. The Boys in the Trees by Mary Swan (4 stars)
50. Grief is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter (audio) (4 stars)
49. Goodbye Without Leaving by Laurie Corwin (audio) (4 stars)
48. Trash: A Poor White Journey by Cedar Monroe (3.75 stars)
47. Emily, Alone by Stewart O'Nan (5 stars)
46. Charm City by Monica McCallan (audio) (3 stars)
45. Wednesday Walks & Wags by Melissa Storm (2 stars)
44. Death on Demand by Carolyn Hart (audio) (3.5 stars)
43. The All-Night Sun by Diane Zinna (audio) (3 stars)
42. Kala by Colin Walsh (4.25 stars)
41. Slippery Creatures by K.J. Charles (audio) (3.5 stars)
40. Alias Emma by Ava Glass (3 stars)
39. Twice Shy by Sarah Hogle (audio) (2.5 stars)
38. Sky Burial by Xinran (3.5 stars)
37. The Great Unexpected by Dan Mooney (audio) (4 stars)
36. The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood (4.25 stars)
35. The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell (3.25 stars)
34. Days of Awe by Lauren Fox (audio) (4 stars)
33. The Cactus League by Emily Nemens (4.5 stars)
32. A Useful Woman by Darcie Wilde (audio) (3.5 stars)
31. Up at the Villa by W. Somerset Maugham (3.75 stars)
30. Scoreless by Skye McDonald (3.5 stars)

FEBRUARY
Favorites:

29. Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl (audio) (5 stars)
28. Looker by Laura Sims (audio) (4.5 stars)
27. The Body in the Dales by J.R. Ellis (2.5 stars)
26. You Say It First by Katie Cotugno (audio) (3.5 stars)
25. At the Edge of the Orchard by Tracy Chevalier (4 stars)
24. Perestroika in Paris by Jane Smiley (audio) (4 stars)
23. Broken Harbor by Tana French (4.25 stars)
22. No Baggage by Clara Bensen (audio) (2.5 stars)
21. Ghosts by Dolly Alderton (audio) (4.5 stars)
20. A Day at the Office by Matt Dunn (4 stars)
19. Tar Baby by Toni Morrison (3.5 stars)
18. Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris (3.75 stars)
17. Perennials by Julie Cantrell (audio) (2.5 stars)
16. Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio by Amara Lakhous (4 stars)
15. Just a Heartbeat Away by Cara Bastone (audio) (3.75 stars)

JANUARY

Favorite:

14. Books Can Be Deceiving by Jenn McKinlay (audio) (3 stars)
13. Intercepted by Alexa Martin (3.5 stars)
12. Go Back to Where You Came From by Wajahat Ali (audio) (3.5 stars)
11. Ruined by Sarah Vaughn et. al. (3 stars)
10. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (4.25 stars)
09. Day by Michael Cunningham (audio) (4.5 stars)
08. The Birdcage by Marcia Willett (2.5 stars)
07. London't Number One Dog Walking Agency by Kate MacDougall (audio) (4 stars)
06. The Summer of Katya by Trevanian (2.5 stars)
05. Let's Be Just Friends by Camilla Isley (audio) (2 stars)
04. Police at the Station and They Don't Look Friendly by Adrian McKinty (audio) (4.5 stars)
03. The Betrayers by David Bezmozgis (audio) (4.25 stars)
02. The Adults by Caroline Hulse (4 stars)
01. Shady Hollow by Juneau Black (audio) (3 stars)

My Ratings (revised, once again, as I continue the fruitless search for the perfect scale...)

5 stars = Perfect, for me
4.5 stars = Excellent read
4 stars = Good read
3.5 stars = Not a waste of time
3 stars = Some redeeming qualities, but I wish I’d read something else
2.5 stars = Didn’t work for me
2 stars = Why didn’t I DNF it?

(Anything below 2 stars is unlikely to be finished)

Welcome, friends!

October in Review
(Numbers in parantheses are YTD)

Books Read: 20 (155)
(Puzzles Completed: 6 (59))

Mine: 16 (85)

Library: 4 (70)

Male authors: 5 (40)
Female authors: 16 (119)
Non-Binary: 0 (1)

New-to-me authors: 10 (97)
US/UK authors: 19 (135)
Other: 2 - Argentina, Australia (25 - Singapore, Algeria, Canada x3, China, Ireland x5, Italy, Japan, Latvia, India, Australia x4, Nigeria x2, Egypt, France, South Africa, Argentina)

Print: 5 (53)
Ebook: 5 (39)
Audio: 10 (63)

General/Popular Fiction: 3 (26)
Literary Fiction: 1 (26)
Historical Fiction: 1 (15)
Romance: 6 (29)
Crime/Thriller: 2 (24)
Juvenile/YA: 2 (7)
Classics: 2 (8)
Speculative: 1 (1)
Nonfiction: 2 (19)

Publication:
New (2023 or 2024): 1 (18)
2020-2022: 6 (37)
2020-2019: 7 (59)
2000-2009: 1 (17)
1980s-90s: 2 (13)
1950s-70s: 1 (3)
1900-1949: 1 (6)
19th c.: 1 (2)

Re-reads: 1 (3)
DNFs: 0 (12)

Best of the month (not counting re-reads): How to Build a Girl by Caitlin Moran
Worst of the month (not counting DNFs): The Christmas Pact by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward

My total number of completions (20) was padded a bit by some short Audible picks, but still a good month in terms of quantity but also quality. I had a bunch of 4 and 4.25 star reads. I don't expect to do as much reading/listening in November, as my MIL will be with us for over a week at Thansgiving, and several of those days, we'll be out of town. That said, my only "for sure" reads are James for RL book group and This Must Be the Place for my Julia Memorial Read. Beyond that, we'll see what strikes my fancy.

Happy new thread, Katie!

You had quite a stellar reading month. Just zipping along.

Just finished reading your last thread and viewing the ad. I will probably be hyperventilating all of Nov. 5 and probably after that.

>1 katiekrug: So lovely.

>8 katiekrug: Solid, satisfying month of reads, Katie. Happy last-2024-thread wishes!

Happy new thread, Katie! Love your cozy autumnal image up top.

Happy new thread, Katie. Congrats on doubling up on 75! You are zipping through the books this year.

Happy Friday, Katie. Happy New Thread. Have a great weekend, my friend.

Checking in on the new thread, Katie. Have a wonderful weekend!

>14 BLBera: What Beth said!

Happy new thread, Katie.

I may be getting confused (easily done). Had you read The Flatshare or am I mixing you up with someone else?

>9 figsfromthistle: - Thanks, Anita!

>10 ffortsa: - I don't think you'll be alone in that, Judy, but I am cautiously optimistic.

>11 laytonwoman3rd: - Very calming, isn't it, Linda?

>12 richardderus: - Thanks, RD.

>13 curioussquared: - Thank you, Natalie.

>14 BLBera: - Lots of audios, Beth :)

>15 msf59: - Thanks, Mark, you too!

>16 alcottacre: - Thanks, Stasia.

>17 Helenliz: - I read it several years ago and very much enjoyed it :)

Four Weekends and a Funeral by Ellie Palmer

Alison attends her ex-boyfriend's funeral where no one got the memo that they had broken up. She ends up agreeing to help his best friend clear out the deceased's apartment and finds herself inconveniently attracted to said friend. It's a cute premise, and I mostly liked this one, but Alison tried my patience a bit and Adam, the love interest, had hang-ups that I didn't fully understand. Still, the overarching theme of being true to yourself was reasonably well done, and I don't regret the time spent listening. Also, I loved the pub trivia parts (because of course I did).

3.75 stars

The Book Swap by Tessa Bickers

Erin and James were friends in school, until they weren't. Years later, they end up communicating (not knowing who the other person is) via margin notes in books from a community library in the neighborhood they both live in in London.

A warm hug of a book that I gobbled up. Yes, there are coincidences that beggar belief, and yes, the ending is a little too pat, what with every loose thread tied up neatly, but I don't care. This book made me happy, though it deals with some heavy stuff, including bullying, mental illness, and grief. The portrayal of different kinds of love - romantic, friendship, sibling, parental - were lovely, and I closed the book with a happy, satisfied sigh.

4.5 stars

ETA: For a debut novel, I found the writing and pacing really impressive. I hope Bickers will write more.

>21 katiekrug: Sometimes it's about what you need not what you know is "correct" and this one's it.

Happy new thread, Katie! I'm so impressed with your reading this year!!

>21 katiekrug: I've been hit! Checking this one out from the library 😊 I could use some warm book hugs.

Hiyah, Katie! Happy new one!

>21 katiekrug: That does sound like a fun premise, Katie. I might have to look for that one.

Happy new thread, Katie! Very heartening ad you posted on towards the end of your last thread. The coming week will be a nail-biter even for those who don't have a say.

Happy new one, Katie! Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow, and hope it turns out to be a good game. I'm looking forward to your thoughts on James.

Edited to get the touchstone to work

Happy New Thread, Katie!

Thank you for your visits, Richard, Reba, Natalie, Jim, Beth, Meg, Mary, and Deborah!

We had a nice weekend, capped off for me, by going to the Giants game with Mary! They lost (of course), but kept it reasonably competitive. And the weather and company were delightful. After the game, Mary and I got a bite to eat. We didn't take a selfie, but here's a picture of our drinks, LOL:



Regular Monday stuff on the agenda for today, as well as incessant Twitter scrolling. I'm so excited to vote tomorrow! We have vote-by-mail and in-person early voting here, but I like to go on Election Day if at all possible. Our plan is to go mid-afternoon. Our polling station is at the elementary school down the street, so it's an easy walk. They give the kids the day off from school here; when we lived in Dallas, we also voted at a school, but it was in session. Anyhoo, I'm feeling cautiously optimistic about the results but all fingers and toes remain crossed.

Oh, books? Right. I'm currently istening to New Yorkers on audio and my hold on Guide Me Home by Attica Locke just came in, so I'll be starting that today :)

>21 katiekrug: Adding that one to the BlackHole, Katie. Thanks for the review and recommendation!

Have a marvelous Monday!

>30 katiekrug: Books! What a thought, mentioning books! Whereas I am going to talk about GBBOs past to you, not books at all. Remember Josh from last season? His Nan-centric babbling irked me mightily, but he's transitioned to being the baker-in-residence on New Scientist's YouTube channel. I must say I enjoy learning the chemistry of baking.

I'm glad you and Mary enjoyed the meetup, if not really the game! Vote hearty.

>30 katiekrug: Love the drinks photo :) Glad you guys had a good meetup!

>30 katiekrug: It does amuse me that the pictures we have of what we did together is the drinks and no selfie :D

I'm voting tomorrow, too, planning on heading out early before work. I just spent the afternoon looking over the ballot questions (there are FIVE in MA this year!) and local candidates.

I enjoy voting in person, I like annoying the pollsters by 1) refusing to give them my voter number 2) giving them an English lesson before 3) declining to tell them who I voted for. Being in a marginal constituency has been a lot of fun.
May the right person win this time around.

>35 Helenliz: I'm intrigued...what's the English lesson consist of? (Please don't grade mine, OK?) I haven't voted in person since before the pandemic, but have never encountered any exit pollsters. I think we're probably too small to matter in our township, and also, sadly, very red and predictable.

>31 alcottacre: - Hope you enjoy it, Stasia!

>32 richardderus: - I vaguely remember him...

>33 curioussquared: - Thanks, Natalie!

>34 bell7: - We don't have any ballot questions this year and only a few local races.

>35 Helenliz: - At first I thought you were referring to the poll workers, and I couldn't figure out why they'd be asking who you voted for :-P

Like Linda in >36 laytonwoman3rd: - I've never encountered any exit pollsters.

We'll be voting around 2pm today to avoid the pre- and post-work lines and the lunchtime voters.

Happy Election Day, Katie! If that is even possible. Love the cartoon. 🤞🤞

>37 katiekrug: de Adder's pen to the goddesses' to-do list.

>36 laytonwoman3rd: they always ask "Can I ask you who you voted for?" I then explain that can is a question of capability and not a question of permission, so that they ought to be asking "May I ask you who you voted for?" At which point I decline to answer. By which time a good number of people have escaped the pollsters without being bothered. I treat it as a public service. It's a side effect of living in a marginal constituency, we've swopped sides just about every election since we moved in.

>40 Helenliz: I love the way you think! A public service indeed.

Gee, I've never encountered a pollster either. I savored the benefit of a rural residency: No line, no wait.

I'm so very sorry.

Hi Katie. I assume you are busy taking care of yourself today. It's a sad day.

I'm also curious about how you're liking Guide Me Home.

Thanks for keeping my thread warm, friends. I was in quite the funk yesterday, and it has not completely passed, but I will try to re-engage here. My funk yesterday was exacerbated by talking to my trans cousin who is in college and Texas and inconsolable. I am just glad he feels that he can talk to me and that I might have something to offer, though I'm not sure I did yesterday. *heavy sigh*

I have lots of thoughts about the election, but it really comes down to something I saw on Twitter. "The cruelty is the point." When people were given the choice between competence and cruelty, they chose the latter, and that has really shaken me.

_________________________

Books:
I finished Guide Me Home last night, and found it a good wrap-up to the trilogy. It was an interesting reading experience starting it before the election and finishing it after, because it's set in 2019 and there is a lot of ruminating on Trump in the book. I have now switched to something lighter for sanity's sake - The Book Haters' Book Club. On audio, I'm enjoying Baggage, read by the author, actor Alan Cumming whom I adore.

Viewing:
Wayne and I finished the latest season of 'Only Murders...' and while it wasn't my favorite, we still had a good time with it. We also finished the final season of 'Jack Ryan' and our current shared series is 'Succession,' which we are obviously late to but are liking a lot.

Cooking:
I haven't been doing much cooking lately - too distracted in the last week or so. I did make a good soup - 'Creamy Tortellini with Sausage' and my old stand-by 'Lazy Spaghetti and Meatballs' didn't let me down earlier this week. Tonight, I will attempt to get back in the swing of things, probably with carnitas bowls.

>45 katiekrug: I remain shaken, and am stirred to the action I can take...reviewing books that suit my #ReadingIsResistance narrative.

May not be much, could be useless even, but it's what I got.

Hi Katie, pardon me while I jump in to post a PSA for the groups 2024 Christmas Swap. I'm trying to cast a larger net to make sure as many people know about it as possible. Not everyone follows me, or might not see the Group Announcement thread. So I'm visiting a bunch of the more active groups to post a link to the group thread.

The 2024 Christmas Swap thread is live. If you or anyone who follows you are interested head on over, all the details are there. If not, no big deal, thank you for your time. :)

https://www.librarything.com/topic/365525

>45 katiekrug: That Twitter post would shake me too. Too much truth there for comfort. Reconfirmed my feelings about large parts of this country, though and makes me wish Pacifica was more than a dream.

So sorry for your poor cousin. Can he move to a more friendly part of the country?

One of my neighbors had finally found a home care person she liked, and shortly thereafter the woman was discovered to be undocumented and the service fired her. Very sad. People don't want to be cruel to 'their' immigrants, of course. Knowing someone personally changes perspective. But at a distance, cruelty can be approved if also denied.

Oh jeez Katie, my heart goes out to your cousin. I sincerely hope they can find support, somehow. Your post reminded me to check the election results in Delaware, where I found one small bright spot: Sarah McBride
Delaware Lawmaker Wins House Seat, Becoming First Openly Transgender Member of Congress

>45 katiekrug: I think the "cruelty is the point," quote is what bothers me the most as well. What are we teaching our kids? Grandkids? It's OK to disagree on policy, but we don't have to be mean about it.

>46 richardderus: - We all can only do what we can, RD. xx

>47 mahsdad: - No worries, Jeff!

>48 RebaRelishesReading: - I am pretty sure he will move when he's done with college, but his parents started his college fund in a state-centric fund (I don't really know how it works...) so I don't think he can move while in school. That said, he seems to have found a wonderful group of friends and his family is fully supportive of him which, sadly, can't be said for a lot of trans people.

>49 ffortsa: - The whole situation is just so sad, Judy. People are so very short-sighted...

>50 lauralkeet: - I saw McBride's victory on Election Night and was pleased for her. I will say my cousin has very good support among his family and friends, which makes things slightly less awful for him.

>51 BLBera: - I think they are teaching their children/grandchildren exactly what they want to...

Wednesday was a pretty awful day for me too, Katie. I don't know anyone so immediately threatened by the coming administration as your cousin, but that didn't stop me from going into a deep state of existential terror. The first thing I did was to send a new donation to the ACLU, because they are sure as s**t gonna need it. That helped me a little. Dug around and found a few nuggets of good news among the down-ballot results, although NOT in PA, dammit. We lost (probably--Senate seat still not conceded) both our Democratic voices in Congress, and they are both local men, decent people who practiced a brand of politics nearly lost to history (remember the term "public service"?). Then a couple friends offered slightly different perspectives on the "why" of all this, which, if true, also helps a little. What we've got going forward doesn't look any better, but I may have a less dismal view of that "cruelty" thing being the actual choice that was made. Having become SO invested in the political situation in the last few years, it's easy to overlook the fact that most of the voting public hasn't been paying that much attention to anything either side was actually saying, and when the pen hit the ballot it was a belief that their grocery bill was going to be lower that drove their choice, not any ideological stance. (Never mind that they don't understand any more about economics than they do about governance.) I can name a few examples of that in my own circle, and I know none of them are hateful people, nor do they buy DT's horseshit wholesale. They DO work hard, and some struggle to feed their kids. They don't trust government, no matter who's in power, and they do not appreciate being talked down to, patronized and ridiculed. So along comes a snake-oil salesman who seems to "get" them... Paraphrasing Mr. Rogers, we need to keep looking for ways to be the helpers.

>53 laytonwoman3rd: - I've had a recurring monthly donation to the ACLU set up since after Election Day in 2016 :)

I guess I could amend the quote to "The cruelty, abetted by selfishness and willful ignorance, is the point." But I stand by it, either way. If people themselves aren't hateful, hate isn't a deal-breaker for them, and I'm not sure that's much of a difference.

Guide Me Home by Attica Locke

A mostly-satisfying conclusion to the Highway 59 trilogy featuring Texas Ranger Darren Mathews, a Black man conflicted by his love for his East Texas home and the racism and injustice it harbors. I didn't like this one as much as the first two, but it was certainly a timely read in that it takes place in 2019 amid the specter of Trump's re-election.

3.75 stars

"With books, had his father escaped Darren's fate of growing up feeling forever trapped between his uncles' two different versions of being black in America? One built on our native optimism, a natural tendency to see and believe in our ability to make beauty out of almost anything, and the other built on base pragmatism, on recognizing the limits of our grace in the face of folks who double down on their cruelty at every turn."

"Texans, he knew, could be vicious, but they were rarely rude. It was a truth and a lie at the same time, the state's storied friendliness. It masked all kinds of bad deeds."

>45 katiekrug: "The cruelty is the point." I have been mulling that very thought over lately. It is really disheartening.

>55 katiekrug: Hmm, even with the lukewarm review, I will add this to the list. I liked both Bluebird, Bluebird and Heaven, My Home a lot (both better than her Jay Porter series) so I'll want to complete the trilogy.

Hang in there, Katie.

>56 EBT1002: - If you've read the two previous, it's definitely worth reading this one if for nothing else than some closure...

Baggage: Tales from a Fully Packed Life by Alan Cumming

I love Alan Cumming - his movies, his cabaret shows, his audiobook narrations, his social media presence... So I was very pre-disposed to like this memoir, and I did. It's an interesting follow-up to his first memoir about his abusive father. That experience colors some of his stories in this one, but this is a much more show biz-y, gossip-y book, but one that also provides for some real introspection. That said, I probably liked all the "back stage" stories the best because I can be shallow like that. And, of course, I have to recommend the audio of this one because Cumming reads it himself.

3.75 stars

The Book Haters' Book Club by Gretchen Anthony

I am a sucker for books set in and around bookstores and this one includes several familiar tropes:

Found family: check
Failing bookstore: check
Secrets and lies: check
Community rallying around: check

So, yes, it's a bit derivative, but sometimes one just wants a feel-good story, no? This one is set in Minneapolis and deals with the inexplicable decision of Irma to sell her beloved bookstore after the death of her business partner. It's inexplicable to Irma's daughters and to the reader, and my biggest quibble with the book is that Irma's motivations are revealed after I became so frustrated and annoyed with her, that I had a hard time re-setting my opinion.

3.75 stars

Hi Katie. The cruelty is the point. That's what's so disheartening. We (meaning us) can no longer say we're (meaning USA) are better than that. We're not. We are that. I saw a random video on IG recently where a man in remote, not very accessible Alaska was giving viewers a tour of his grocery store with its eye watering prices. I think his point was just "check out what things cost here" but so many of the comments were "Wow, thanks Biden." As if Trump is going to offer his private plane for free to fly groceries up there? People are SO uninformed and it is crazy-making. Hang in there. I will take comfort in The Book Swap (thanks for the BB) and friends here.

I wanted to let you know that I started The Book Swap yesterday based on your recommendation and hope to finish it today. I am very much enjoying it although at this point, not quite as much as you did. That may change as I finish it. Thank you again for your recommendation!

>60 AMQS: - Hi Anne!Yes, people are both cruel AND dumb. It's mind-boggling just how many...

I hope The Book Swap hits the spot for you!

>61 alcottacre: - Wow, you got your hands on that one fast, Stasia :) I'm glad you're enjoying it. It was a matter of right book, right time for me. I think if I had read it at another time, it wouldn't have found my sweet spot.

Happy-making things in my life at the moment:

- I got a new puzzle board that tilts (the depth of my excitement over this is a bit concerning :))
- In an effort to be more present in and for my community, I have signed on as a volunteer with a local food pantry. I'll be helping out as needed with the clients on-site but my primary role will be delivering food to homebound clients once a week.
- I have decided to delete my Twitter account (I would have already, but I am waiting on them to send me the data file of my account before I do). I've been exploring both Bluesky and Threads and the vibes at both are so much better - upbeat, welcoming, and fun.
- We are going out of town in a couple of weeks, and I am very much looking forward to a change of scenery.
- I think we are finally re-connecting with our trivia buddies to play tomorrow. It's been several weeks since we all played together, and I've missed those fellow nerds.

>63 katiekrug: Yay for volunteering...it will do a lot for your outlook, I think, aside from the good you'll contribute to the community. I almost wish I had a Twitter account I could delete...but I've never signed on to that one.

Your list of happy-making things is lovely. I should do something similar. I've been pretty down about the election results -- glad that I live in the only blue state that got bluer this election, but just really worried about those more vulnerable, like your cousin. I talked to my mom and her perspective was that the only thing we can really do now is do what we can to help those who need it, so I think you're on the right track with your new volunteer gig :) I should look into similar opportunities.

ETA: I also need to ditch Twitter once and for all. I never post, but I still doomscroll way too often.

>63 katiekrug: ...and Bluesky now has Tim AND an official presence!

>66 richardderus: - I saw that. But TBH, I find him a little full of himself. At least that's the impression I get from how he's posted on Twitter in the past...

>67 katiekrug: I'd agree. It doesn't bother me, but it wouldn't would it? I'm more delighted that they're putting an official site account there. I'm probably leaving Birdland in January. I need a way to get my site news.

>63 katiekrug: Good news, Katie. I think volunteering and helping where we can is the way to go.

Morning, Katie. Yep, it has been a stressful week but we are hanging in there. Thanks for the reminder about the Highway 59 series. I completely forgot about book 2, Heaven, My Home, so I hope to get to that one. Good luck at Trivia.

>63 katiekrug: In-person working with the general public (when your livelihood doesn't depend on it) is so invigorating. I hope you enjoy it.

>62 katiekrug: I finished the book last night and gave it 4.25 stars, not quite as high as you, but I enjoyed the read. I completely agree about the 'right book, right time' comment.

>63 katiekrug: Yay for all the happy-making things!

Have a terrific Tuesday!

>68 richardderus: - I'm really liking Bluesky now that it's getting a critical mass. I fully deactivated my Twitter this morning - at least I think I did. It went a little haywire with the screen constantly blinking and refreshing but it was a log-in screen after I hit "Deactivate" so I think I'm good...

>69 BLBera: - I agree, Beth.

>70 msf59: - I hope you find your way back to Highway 59, Mark :) It's certainly timely these days.

Thanks for the good wishes!

>71 norabelle414: - I'm really looking forward to it, Nora!

>72 alcottacre: - Glad it also worked for you, Stasia. Have a good day yourself!

>63 katiekrug: That sounds like a list of very good things to do!! I hope they all bring you the expected happiness!

>73 katiekrug: The only things that show up on Twitter under your old handle is stuff I've posted to you. I think you're completely gone when looking you up results in the "does not exist" page. The Brazilians coming there after Muskrat disobeyed their court really boosted numbers.

>74 RebaRelishesReading: - Thank you, Reba!

>75 richardderus: - I'm so happy to no longer exist :) (Thank you for checking for me!)

>63 katiekrug: What a wonderful list full of happy!

I saw a tilting puzzle board a few weeks ago and thought that was pretty cool!

Yay for volunteering! I am sure those homebound clients will be happy to see you.

Good luck at trivia :)

>77 figsfromthistle: - Hi Anita!

We won at trivia last night, so that was fun :)

>78 katiekrug: Brava! It's always fun to win when the stakes are pride not prejudice.

It's Wednesday, isn't it? So happy Wednesday to you wherever it may take you.

>79 richardderus: - And happy Wednesday to you, too!

What Time the Sexton's Spade Doth Rust by Alan Bradley

It's nice to see Flavia growing up and maturing, and I liked the back-and-forth between her and her cousin, Undine, but I think I am officially done with this series. Very little of it made sense, and while the characteristic improbability was kind of fun when Flavia was younger, now it just seems silly. Also, I don't care about the Great Conspiracy that's been hovering over the last few books.

All that said, Jayne Entwhistle's narration continues to be a delight.

3 stars

Next up on audio: Upright Women Wanted

>78 katiekrug: Hey, cool!! Congrats on the win!

Love the title Upright Women Wanted -- looking forward to your comments on it.

>83 RebaRelishesReading: - Thanks, Reba!

The book is pretty short so it shouldn't take me long to finish and make some comments...

Trying to revive my much-neglected Substack...

https://open.substack.com/pub/thepresentperfect/p/let-there-be-light?r=9qeb7&amp...

>85 katiekrug: I enjoyed that, Katie. I also wanted to let you know that your mention earlier this week about starting a gig with the food pantry inspired me to look for new volunteer work myself, something that would help meet a community need. And now I have a plan. See what a positive influence you are?!

>85 katiekrug: Yup....good to get that all out in formal fashion, Katie. I always feel better if I rant "on paper", as it were. Food pantries are a great way to be the good you want to see in the world.

>81 katiekrug: Even if they offer me the next one, it's a no from me. A joke's a joke, this one's tired.

Liked your substack!

>78 katiekrug: Yay for the trivia win!

>81 katiekrug: That was just a series I could get into. I think I read the first two books maybe and then washed my hands of it.

>58 katiekrug: Good recommendation. I love Alan Cumming when he introduces Masterpiece Mystery on PBS. ;-)

>85 katiekrug: I will look for you and subscribe.

>85 katiekrug: I enjoyed that as well, Katie.

Enjoy your new puzzle board , Katie. I have one that fits up to !500 pieces and it tilts, so it is easier on the neck. It's handy if I need to clear the dinner room table for company. Good for you, volunteering with a food pantry and delivering food to people. The church I attend makes a dinner for about 120 people each week , and we employ two people that take meals from various churches to homeless people in the city 6 nights a week. I am not involved in that except for donating money, but perhaps one day I will help with the cooking or serving of the meal. I did very much enjoy the new Alan Bradley.

>86 lauralkeet: - Oh, yay! Thanks for letting me know, Laura.

>87 laytonwoman3rd: - Thanks for the support, Linda!

>88 richardderus: - Agreed.

And thanks :)

>89 alcottacre: - I'm honestly not sure why I stuck with it for so long, Stasia. Oh, well. Onward!

>90 EBT1002: - Ellen, if you ever get a chance to see one of his cabaret shows, they are fantastic. He also does one with Ari Shapiro from NPR that I have yet to see but I will someday.

And thanks for subscribing!

>91 BLBera: - Thank you, Beth.

>92 vancouverdeb: - My only complaint about this tilting board is that it doesn't quite work vertically (I mean, if the puzzle is vertically oriented). It's too tippy, but The Wayne said he could fix me up a prop to help with that.

There are several churches near me that do something similar to yours, Deborah. They seem to always need volunteers, but I am not a church person :)

I saw Adrian McKinty's post about 2 new Sean Duffy novels coming out next year. So that's something to look forward to!

I'm glad you're back to writing - I enjoyed the latest.

>94 vivians: - Yes, I am excited about that, Vivian!

And thank you re: my latest Substack post... I really hope to be more present there.

I finished This Must Be the Place this afternoon. It was my November Julia Memorial Read, and once again, she did not steer me wrong :)

Next up:



My RL book group will be discussing this next week.

Puzzle question! I'd like to get a jigsaw puzzle for our family to do over the holiday break. So I'm looking for something that will take some time but not be so hard that everyone gives up. I'd like a holiday theme, thinking probably 500-1000 pieces. I've only done a few puzzles, so I'm not sure how to judge from looking at them online. Do you have any suggestions of brands to look at or how to judge the level of difficulty?

Hi Jennifer! Fun question. I personally find landscapes/natural world puzzles more difficult because they can have large swaths of the same or very similar colors. I look for images with a lot of variation of color, pattern, etc. Some of my favorite puzzles are "collage" style which are things like book covers, postage stamps, little individual mini puzzles that fit together. A couple of years ago, I did a fun Christmas postage stamp one.

If there are 4 of you working on it, I'd go for 1000 piece. Some of my favorite brands are Galison, Blue Lobster, eeBoo and Cavallini (probably my absolute favorite - beautiful images, high quality pieces, wow I sound like such a nerd....).

Amazon has a lot of puzzles, and even if you don't want to buy from there, if you see one you like, you can just Google search for the brand and name of the puzzle.

I just saw this one and think I might get it for myself :) It's a good brand, too (Bboldin).

Hope that helps!

Very helpful, thank you! I'll let you know what I end up with.

This Must Be the Place by Maggie O'Farrell

Sprawling and crowded, layered and fractured, this novel about a marriage required some focus to keep track of the changing perspective and timeline. I ultimately found it very worthwhile but understand some of the criticism others' had in their reviews. I did knock off a quarter star because I thought there was at least one chapter that included an unnecessary sidetrack.

I read O'Farrell's memoir, I Am I Am I Am last year and really liked it; I look forward to reading more of her fiction.

4.25 stars

I really liked her The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox and The Marriage Portrait. I'll add This Must Be the Place to my list.

Hi Katie. Interesting reading here. And on your Substack. Your (and Deborah's) mention of puzzles reminded me that I've been hoarding an Artifact puzzle borrowed from The Grand Claire. It's only 300 pieces, but I like them. Coincidentally, my dining/library table is totally clear, so I can tackle it.

Nice post on Substack, Katie. I've also planned to do some good this year, but I got sidetracked a little (or a lot) by other events. Today I got a call from the people I had said I would volunteer with, asking, essentially, where I'd gone to. So now I have to file a schedule request and get down to it.

Hi Katie! I have an active Threads account and will begin the process of migrating to Bluesky and away from the thing formerly known as Twitter, especially now that I see many of the organizations and individuals I follow are doing the same thing. Hopefully by the end of the month I can cut ties for good.

>100 katiekrug: I love O'Farrell, Katie, and thought this one was good. Although the star was Hamnet. :)

Looks like a lot of solid reads this week, Katie. Sending you cozy weekend vibes.

>101 japaul22: - I have both of those on my shelf still to be read, Jennifer, along with a couple of others by her.

>102 weird_O: - Have fun with it, Bill!

>103 ffortsa: - Thanks, Judy. I hope you can make the volunteering gig work.

>104 kidzdoc: - So far, I like Bluesky better as an alternative to Twitter. There's more "meaty" content there. Threads is a bit... tamer? Of course, that may be its algorithm for me... I'm @katiekrug.bsky.social if you want to connect when you get there :)

Poor Wayne can't deactivate his Twitter because the lawyers representing him and others in their dispute with The Musk Ox told them not to (yet). It's killing him :)

>105 BLBera: - I'm planning to nominate Hamnet as one of my picks for my book group, Beth.

>106 MickyFine: - Thanks, Micky! Back atcha!

Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey

I really love novellas, but I think this one would have worked better as a longer piece. The premise is intriguing (a near future American Southwest with subversive librarians, sapphic romance, and shoot-outs) but it wasn't fully developed, nor were the characters. Still, a fun listen, and I love the tagline on the cover, "Are you a coward or are you a librarian?"

3.5 stars

Starting my holiday reading a little early, since Thanksgiving is so late this year. Next up on audio:

I did a little "snack" puzzle the other day...



"I Read Banned Books" 500 pieces.

>109 katiekrug: This was one of my holiday reads last year and I really enjoyed it. I hope you have a good time with it.

I like the idea of a Christmas themed audio book -- I need something to get me into the spirit a bit!

Like your Banned Books puzzle too.

Upright Women Wanted sounds like fun, Katie. I might check that one out.

Love the puzzle!

>109 katiekrug: looks really cute. I'm spending tomorrow reading MR. NORTH'S POLE, my equivalent of it.

Fun snack puzzle, Katie! I'm still working on my Halloween puzzle, woe is me. I just haven't spent the time with it and I admit I am finding it a bit challenging. I have plenty of puzzles I want to do, so I've got to get cracking.

>111 MickyFine: - I'm enjoying it, Micky. The audio narrator is making Carmen a bit whiny, which is annoying, but it's not ruining it for me.

>112 RebaRelishesReading: - Thanks, Reba! If you want a good holiday audio, I really liked Christmas by the Book a few years ago... Also, Mutts and Mistletoe was cute.

>113 BLBera: - You could read it in an afternoon, Beth, and it's not a terrible way to spend a few hours :)

>114 richardderus: - Heh. Great title.

>115 vancouverdeb: - I've started a 1500 piece puzzle with a 1980s theme. I don't usually do larger than 1000 pieces, but this one was free on a puzzle swap site in my neighborhood so I grabbed it...

We're having a mostly quiet weekend, absorbing the tranquility before TW's mom comes on Thursday. She's not chaotic or anything but it is a disruption to the routine which neither of us deals well with :)

TW had whisly club last night, so I binged the first 4 episodes of 'Rivals,' based on a Jilly Cooper book, and it's as silly as expected.

Today, I'm hoping to convince TW to help me load and deliver several boxes of books for donation. A local private school has a huge annual booksale and they accept donations throughout the year, and you can drop off anytime, which I find helpful. So many places have limited drop-off times... Anyway, I'm also hoping to talk him into making dinner. He was making noises about arroz con pollo which would be just fine with me!

I only have about 30 pages left in James, so I'll finish that up today and start The Longest Road by Philip Caputo.

Hope you all have a great Sunday!

Sounds like a decent Sunday, Katie. It sounds like you're trying to take advantage of "the calm before the storm." Wise move. I hope you're successful in lobbying TW to assist with the books and make dinner!

>117 katiekrug: Isn’t “Rivals” fun, in a silly way?! I’ve watched the first three episodes so far. AND I bought an electronic copy of the book since my library hasn’t gotten it yet. Is that because Cooper is a British author?

Happy Sunday!

Karen O

>118 lauralkeet: - Sadly, I was unable to convince him on either task! He's felt rather sluggish today, which is normal for the day after whisky club 😂

>119 klobrien2: - I don't think Cooper ever made the leap to this side of the pond. She's the UK's equivalent of Judith Krantz, Jackie Collins, etc. I think she's still writing but don't know how popular she still is. Maybe one of our British friends could chime in....

Oh my. Jilly Cooper is, to my mind, inextricably stuck in the 1980s, maybe the 1990s. They were around when I was a teen and they were considered quite outre at the time. He owns a load of them, read into that what you will. I read Riders ~ 10 years ago and felt that it had dated poorly.

She is still alive, and recently featured in a series of writers in their own words. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0022tn8

However, they are something that has sort of stuck in the nation's psyche, I present this as a reference.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmEbF2uhsZk

Happy Sunday, btw & good luck with the visitation.

>116 katiekrug: Good thought but I read that Christmas by the Book in 2002. I could go back to it but I think I'd like something new. I'll see what you think of it when you're done.

James is my RL bookclub pick for January so I'll be reading that one before too long. Better late than never :)

Sorry TW didn't feel like cooking. You're very happy that he's a good cook though. Hubby makes his own breakfast and lunch (usually -- I occasionally get wild and cook something for both of us) but the only thing he can cook for dinner is spaghetti (jar sauce) and I'm left to clean up his giant mess afterwards so I definitely don't encourage it. (He's a sweetheart otherwise).

>121 Helenliz: - Thanks for the info, Helen!

I've seen that video before but it was a while ago, and I loved it all over again :)

>122 Helenliz: - Thanks on both counts.

>123 RebaRelishesReading: - Well, there's no shortage of good Christmas reads out there, so I'm sure you'll find something :)

I'm about to post some comments on James. I think my book group will have a good discussion of it.

We don't eat breakfast here, and TW mostly takes care of his own lunch, which is usually a bagged salad kit. But when he does have the time and/or inclination to cook, I do appreciate it. My favorite part of not working is learning that I don't actually hate to cook, I just don't like doing it under time pressure after a full day at the office!

James by Percival Everett

Several reviews have called this a "re-telling" of Huck Finn, and it is most decidedly not that. What it is is an excellent and important companion piece to that adventure story, providing context to the times, and endowing Jim with the humanity and agency that every person possesses. I am glad I re-read Huck Finn before tackling this one, as it was interesting to contemplate the choices Everett made in what he included from the source material and what he didn't. I expect my book group will have lots to chew on in our discussion on Thursday.

4.5 stars

"And so, after these books, the Bible itself was the least interesting of all. I could not enter it, did not want to enter it, and then understoof that I recognized it as a tool of my enemy. I chose the word enemy, and still do, as oppressor necessarily supposes a victim."

***

"'To fight in a war,' he said. 'Can you imagine?'

'Would that mean facing death every day and doing what other people tell you to do?' I asked.

'I reckon.'

'Yes, Huck, I can imagine.'"

>124 katiekrug: The Christmas Bookshop is available on Audible and I get two credits tomorrow :).

I'm not sure I've ever read Huck Finn so definitely plan to do that before I read James. My RL bookclub has it scheduled for January so I won't start it for a bit.

Nice comments about James, Katie. I do want to re-read Huckleberry Finn, as I haven't done so in at least 45 years, and then give James as second go.

Fingers crossed that it wins the National Book Award for Fiction on Wednesday!

Very happy to see your 4.5 stars awarded to James. It’s so good!

>100 katiekrug: Adding that one to the BlackHole, Katie. Thanks for the review and recommendation! I very much enjoyed O'Farrell's Hamnet.

>110 katiekrug: Love that puzzle!

>117 katiekrug: I do not deal well with disruption to my routine either, Katie, and this week is going to be nothing but disruption. I guess I will see how much hair I have left at the end of the kitchen cabinet installation. . .

>125 katiekrug: Dodging that BB as I have already read it. Glad to see you enjoyed it!

>126 RebaRelishesReading: - I should finish The Christmas Bookshop today and will report back. I have a few quibbles, but nothing major...

I think it's wise to read Huck Finn before James for sure.

>127 kidzdoc: - Ooh, I didn't realize the NBA was announced on Wednesday. Thanks for the heads-up!

>128 lauralkeet: - Sure is, Laura!

>129 alcottacre: - I'm so glad I have lots more O'Farrell to read, Stasia.

I hope the cabinet installation goes well!

Hello, Tuesday. It should be a quiet day here and I'll spend much of it relaxing, though I do have a few "chores" to do. We're playing trivia tonight, so I don't need to worry about dinner. Last night's dinner was excellent - make your own stuffed pitas. I marinated chicken breasts in Greek dressing for several hours, then popped them in the air fryer. Sliced them up and set them out with cucumber, red onion, red pepper hummus, tzatziki, and feta cheese, along with warm pitas. So there's your menu idea for the week :)

As I mentioned to Reba, I should finish up my current audio today and then will start a new one - probably a collection of essays or something similarly easy to take a long break from, as I don't think I'll have much audio time once my MIL arrives. I need to check my library WL to see what's available... In print, I'm enjoying The Longest Road. It's nonfiction, chronicling the journey a couple took in an Airstream trailer from Key West to Deadhorse, Alaska.

>131 katiekrug: From Key West to Alaska towing an Airstream!!! WOW!! When we had an RV we sometimes talked about going from the west coast up to Alaska but never did it but adding a diagonal trip across the lower 48...WOW!

>131 katiekrug: Yeah, that is quite a trip! I am not really a road trip kind of person and I think it's because Denver isn't really near anything. I mentioned on my thread that I would love to do a road trip up the Pacific coast some time, but the logistics of it are daunting. We would either have to fly/rent a car, or drive, and it would be 16 hours just to get to the starting place.

My family did a road trip from southern Minnesota to Alaska twice when I was a kid -- five kids in the station wagon. It was so much fun. I still love road trips.

>132 RebaRelishesReading: - I think you'd like this book, Reba. Caputo and his wife make the trip together, along with their two dogs, and there are a lot of insights into where we are as a country today, even though it's over 10 years old now.

>133 AMQS: - We always drove for vacations when I was growing up, but we didn't take a lot. Our longest was CT to FL to go to DIsney World when I was 7. The Wayne and I used to drive Dallas to Miami every Christmas, but now I find the Christmas drive from NJ to VA to be about as much as I care to do. Still, the idea of a longer one has a certain appeal...

>134 BLBera: - I'd love to see more of the country, Beth, but I'm definitely more of a plane/hotel person than an adventurer :)

The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan

A cozy holiday read about a floundering 20-something who moves in with her seemingly perfect sister in Edinburgh and takes a job at a failing bookshop. There's a bit of romance but the story is more about Carmen (finally) growing up and finding her feet, and how the two sisters come to better understand one another. There is also a delightful supporting cast, especially Carmen's 3 nieces and nephew.

My only quibble was that the audio narrator gave Carmen some very annoying intonations that made her more unlikeable than I think she was actually written.

3.75 stars

I'll try to ignore the intonations :) I did use one of this month's credits to buy it but I'm going to wait to listen until sometime in December -- probably the second half of December.

Hi Katie!



Serious sadness continues of course, and I'm sorry about your trans cousin in Texas being so understandably stressed. I'm glad he's got the support of you all. My daughter and her fiancée are getting married tomorrow in Brooklyn in order to help safeguard Hwan’s right to stay in the US. They were going to get married regardless, but have moved it up because of the horribleness to come.

>63 katiekrug: I hope your excitement over the new puzzle board has continued – we need joy these days.

Reading James for our January book club discussion, Hamnet the month after. Great minds and all that…

Other than that, I hope the visit with TW’s mother goes well, hope TW can get rid of his Twitter Account sooner rather than later, and I briefly looked at BlueSky but spazzed out when I start reading about it. I’ll stick with LT… *smile*

>130 katiekrug: Suffice to say that the cabinet installation did not go well at all. . .

>136 katiekrug: I will have to see if I can locate a copy of that one. I need some Christmas reading right about now. Thanks for the mention, Katie.

My laptop is on the fritz and TW's mom arrives in a bit, so I'll be back when I can to respond. Hope you all have a good Thursday!

>125 katiekrug: I was wondering if it was necessary to read Huckleberry Finn before James as I've never read it, and to be honest, I have only the most basic idea about what happens. Sounds like I need to do this.

>140 katiekrug: Strength and fortitude.

>137 RebaRelishesReading: - It was a pleasant listen, Reba, despite my quibble :) I hope you enjoy it!

>138 karenmarie: - Congratulations to Jenna and Hwan! What made them travel to Brooklyn for the wedding (just curious...)?

The puzzle board is lovely, and I'm only sad that it won't see any use while my MIL is visiting.

My book group had a great discussion about James last night. I hope yours is equally good in January. I decided against nominating Hamnet because I wanted to nominate Prophet Song instead and was pretty firm in my other two choices.

>139 alcottacre: - Sorry about the kitchen woes, Stasia. It'll be worth it when it's done, but what a hassle... We need to do a kitchen reno and two bathrooms, and I am not looking forward to it (hence it not having gotten done yet!)

>141 SandDune: - My book group agreed having Huck Finn fresh in mind made James even better.

>142 richardderus: - The Wayne fixed my laptop and the MIL visit is going ok.

Hi all - Things are good here, though it is cold (37F) and wet. We need the rain, so I can't complain too much about that. My book group met last night, and we had a great discussion of James and politics and the sorry state of the world.

We are having a quiet day at home with my MIL today; tomorrow we are going into the city to see 'Suffs' and have an early dinner. Sunday will be quiet again, as the excursion will probably take a lot out of MIL, as she has some mobility issues. Plus, we all like to watch football :) TW is going to make some sort of German beef stew.

My current read is Commonwealth by Ann Patchett, which I'm enjoying. No audio book right now.

>144 katiekrug: Yay for Commonwealth from an Ann Patchett fan.

Have a fantastic Friday, Katie!

Glad MIL visit is going well and that you're getting some reading time in. I like Ann Patchett although I read Commonwealth so long ago I remember nothing about it -- if I pulled it off the shelf and looked it over a lot would probably come back to me but other things taking priority today.

German beef stew sounds good, Katie. I'm glad your MIL is enjoying her visit. James would be a great book for a group discussion.

Glad to hear the MIL visit is going OK thus far. I saw you loved Suffs, hopefully she enjoyed it too!

Dropping in to wish you a great start to the week!

Glad the visit from your MIL is going well.

Thanks, all! I'm on my phone so won't respond individually at the moment. We've arrived in Ithaca and our hotel is lovely. And I've made friends with the hotel bartender. He is now my bestie.

More later!

>150 katiekrug: Have a wonderful time! Drink a bramble for me...I need it tonight.

>150 katiekrug: bartender bestie … why am I not surprised?!

Enjoy!

Hope you have a lovely time -- with bestie already found I'm sure you will :)

I hope all my American friends had a nice Thanksgiving holiday!

We got back home yesterday afternoon, and I am in dire need of some Katie time. *sigh* Two more days, two more days... I did at least manage to get some Christmas shopping done, so it won't be a mad dash before we leave for Virginia later this month.

November stats will have to wait until I have some quiet time and my desk back :)

>155 katiekrug: xoxo hang in there, Katie.

>155 katiekrug: you've done great, Katie. I'm sure your MIL enjoyed herself, but I'm glad for all of you that there will be a break in the action until Xmas.

>156 richardderus: and >157 lauralkeet: - Thanks, RD and Laura! I just want my life back :)

And I've only read about 10 pages the last week or so which is not helping my mood!

Flagged the above message as spam.

>158 katiekrug: Glad you're about to have your life back (and that we will have you back too)!! You've earned a big block of Katie time -- enjoy it!!

Hiya, Katie. Kudos to you for re-reading Huck Finn before reading James. I read HF too long ago to be able to figure out what Everett chose to leave out. Anything interesting jump out at you? Wish I could’ve been at your book club discussion- I loved James.

MIL is on the train back to Virginia, and I have my house and my life back :) Talk about mental exhaustion. 12 days is far too long for any family to visit, and when said family refuses to voice any opinion/preference with regard to anything - activities, meals, etc. - it's even worse. Plus, she can't walk or stand for very long, so the options for things to do were incredibly limited. There was a lot of sitting around with the TV on because we ran out of topics of conversation :-P

I'll be spending the afternoon setting my desk back up and getting myself organized. And TW and I have a date to play trivia this evening - yay!

>160 laytonwoman3rd: - Thank you, Linda.

>161 RebaRelishesReading: - Thanks, Reba :)

>162 jnwelch: - Surely you don't expect me to remember a book I read a whole month ago, Joe?!?! LOL. I'm trying to think about what Everett omitted from his telling of Jim's story. One big part was the end of Huck Finn where Huck and Tom Sawyer are reunited and Jim is captured and they hatch a plot to "free" him. But there were also some incidents along the river that were changed up - I'll try to remember to dig out my notes from book group.

>163 katiekrug: Glad to hear that you can get your life back on track today, Katie. I hope you have a wonderful time at trivia tonight!

>165 alcottacre: - Thanks, Stasia!

Welcome back Katie! Enjoy your night out -- you deserve it, and then some.

Triviate successfully and let your chest expand and shoulders drop consciously. Takes practice after 12 days. I'm impressed we don't all need to chip in for your bail money.

November in Review
(Numbers in parantheses are YTD)

Books Read: 11 (166)
(Puzzles Completed: 5 (64))

Mine: 4 (89)

Library: 7 (77)

Male authors: 4 (44)
Female authors: 7 (126)
Non-Binary: 0 (1)

New-to-me authors: 6 (103)
US/UK authors: 10 (145)
Other: 1 - Canada (26 - Singapore, Algeria, Canada x4, China, Ireland x5, Italy, Japan, Latvia, India, Australia x4, Nigeria x2, Egypt, France, South Africa, Argentina)

Print: 4 (57)
Ebook: 2 (41)
Audio: 5 (68)

General/Popular Fiction: 3 (29)
Literary Fiction: 1 (27)
Historical Fiction: 1 (16)
Romance: 1 (30)
Crime/Thriller: 2 (26)
Juvenile/YA: 0 (7)
Classics: 0 (8)
Speculative: 1 (2)
Nonfiction: 2 (21)

Publication:
New (2023 or 2024): 5 (23)
2020-2022: 4 (41)
2020-2019: 2 (61)
2000-2009: 0 (17)
1980s-90s: 0 (13)
1950s-70s: 0 (3)
1900-1949: 0 (6)
19th c.: 0 (2)

Re-reads: 0 (3)
DNFs: 2 (14)

Best of the month (not counting re-reads): James by Percival Everett
Worst of the month (not counting DNFs): What Time the Sexton's Spade Doth Rust by lAlan Bradley

My total number of completions (11) is the second lowest of the year but not unexpected since my mother-in-law was visiting for 12 days at the end of the month. I rated two books 4.5 stars in November, and the nature of those books illustrates why I struggle with ratings. James was an excellent book in terms of story and writing and creativity; The Book Swap wasn't great in any of those ways, really, but it totally hit my sweet spot at the right time, and I loved it. It's hard to justify giving them the same rating, but here we are... *shrug* I am toying with the idea of giving books a "quality" rating and a "vibe" rating next year (though I'm not sure I like those terms for what I want to do).

December "must reads:"
Commonwealth by Ann Patchett (I started this in November but set it aside during The Great MIL Invasion)
Red Hook Road by Ayelet Waldman (this is the last book I have to read to complete the reading challenge I've been doing all year)
One, Two, Buckle My Shoe by Agatha Christie (Julia Memorial Read)
Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O'Nan (annual holiday re-read)

>167 lauralkeet: - Thanks, Laura! The "and then some" will be some wine (not that I didn't indulge while she was here...)!

>168 richardderus: - I think if there had been another day or two involved, the GoFundMe for bail might have needed to be started :)

Ooops = finished this one last month but never wrote up any comments...



The Longest Road by Philip Caputo

Caputo and his wife traveled from the southernmost point of the continental US (Key West, FL) to the northernmost (Dead Horse, AK) (reachable by road) in search of answers to the question of what holds the country together. The inspiration for the trip and what they learn along the way makes for interesting reading, and though this was published 11 years ago, there is much food for thought for where we Americans find ourselves today.

4 stars

"As Justice Louis Brandeis said in 1941, we could have democracy in this country or we could have great wealth in the hands of the few, but we couldn't have both. Bigness was the gravest threat to liberty: big banks and big corporations in alliance with big government - an oligarchy, a corporatarchy, a plutocracy, call it anything you like."

"Strangely enough, much of this fury wasn't directed at the financial mandarins who had brought the nation to the edge of the abyss; no, it fell on citizens like the aging engineer who, afflicted with Parkinson's disease, was mocked and abused at a Tea Party rally in Ohio because he supported health-care reform. That was the America I didn't recognize - spiteful and cruel."

12 days!!! That's really long. Congrats on getting back to your routine.

What japaul22 said. Ouch. A week is plenty.

>164 katiekrug:. Thanks for thinking about what from Huck Finn Everett left out or changed in James. Sorry to make you time travel so far back in your reading!

James was just so clever in its construction and execution that I’m more curious than I normally would be, and I didn’t have the presence of mind that you did to re-read HF first.

Well done on reading Huckleberry Finn before James, Katie. I haven't done that yet, but I intend to next year.

In reading James I couldn't help but think of parallels in the way that many Black people carried and in some way still carry themselves, especially Black men, to either make themselves more acceptable or less threatening to Whites, starting in childhood, especially in the 20th century. Essentially all of us were taught how to carry ourselves when we went into stores, knowing that store employees and Security officers would assume that we were there to shoplift items, as compared to White kids.. Dressing acceptably and speaking well were also indications that we were "good" Black people, although still not as good in the eyes of many Whites. Granted it sometimes worked in our favor, as it did for me, as in my overwhelmingly White high school I was known as the smart, cool and athletic Black kid (I played on the football, track and cross country teams), and was well known by all of the teachers, even those whose classes I didn't take, although I was tolerated by my classmates more than accepted.

>172 japaul22: - It was really long, Jennifer! Never again...

>173 jnwelch: - No problem, Joe. I just have such a garbage memory :) James really was excellent, though.

>174 kidzdoc: - Darryl, the parts about language, and how the slaves would change the way they talked depending on the audience reminded me of the "code switching" we hear about today. And I couldn't help think about the grief Kamala Harris got because she'd "sound different" when speaking to an audience like her sorority. It was infuriating (the BS attacks about it, not the fact that she did it, obvs).

We came in second at trivia (of 20 teams!), so that was nice. We scored perfectly on the last three rounds and were rather proud of ourselves :)

Today is a bit busy, as the HVAC guys are coming to do the winter tune-up, The Wayne has physical therapy, and I need to run to Target to pick up an order I placed (Christmas presents for the nephew). I also still have some organizing to do in my office, which is back to being my office and not the guest room. Leftovers for dinner tonight.

Books:
I've picked Commonwealth back up and will be getting back to my puzzling and listening routine. My current audio is We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby.

>176 katiekrug: Brava! Second of twenty is excellent. Enjoy your Patchetting.

>175 katiekrug: Exactly. Also, we are expected to talk and carry ourselves in certain fashions, whether it's to "act Black" or "not act too Black" and therefore be viewed as a threat to whomever. Me, my brother and my male cousins would routinely get accused by our "country cousins" from South Jersey, Ohio and Alabama as "acting White" because of the way we talked, when we were simply talked the way we were raised to speak, and when I was taking night classes at Drexel U. in Philadelphia some Black men would occasionally spit at my feet and call me an "Oreo" when I walked from campus to nearby 30th Street Station to take a train back home, because of the way I dressed.

Other ethnic minorities are also expected to live up to cultural norms within their groups, as I'm sure you know. My best friend from medical school is second or third generation Chinese, but he doesn't speak Mandarin or any of the other Chinese languages, and for years older Chinese women and men would chastise him for not speaking the language. On occasion when I was working I would look at the name of a patient before I entered his or her room, notice that it was Latino, and assume that the parents spoke Spanish; unfortunately on rare occasions those parents, who without fail were second or third generation Latino, didn't more than the most rudimentary Spanish, and embarrassedly had to admit that to me.

Hooray for surviving the endless MIL visit! I really must read James, but I haven't ever read Huck Finn. I might tackle that one first.

Congrats on coming in second at trivia. Nice!

So when is you MIL expected to visit again? ( ha ha) Glad all went smoothly.

I know it is December, but when I read the date here on LT thing, it seems hard to believe. We were so fortunate to get Muffin and as you say, what a sweet loving breed she is . On her spay information, she was a listed as Havanese mix, but if so , I am unable to guess the mix. But she is lovely. Glad you enjoyed James

Happy Friday, Katie. I like your December reading plans. Good luck with it. Commonwealth is one of my favorite Patchett novels and that is saying a lot. I will be watching for your thoughts on Red Hook Road, since I have had a copy of that on shelf forever.

>177 richardderus: - Thanks, RD!

>178 kidzdoc: - It's interesting that some of the more education/class-based signifiers (e.g. language, clothing) can transcend racial identity. I grew up in a very rural, low income (except for the "weekenders" from the city) area but went to private schools (on scholarships) from age 8, and I was never able to make friends with local kids because I was considered stuck-up. That said, I'm not trying to draw an equivalence between our experiences - just one shared thread.

>179 curioussquared: - I would definitely recommend reading HF first, Natalie.

>180 figsfromthistle: - Well, it was about two years in between this visit and her previous one, so I may be safe for a while :) We'll be seeing her and the rest of TW's side of the family in Virginia at Christmas. I did put my foot down (though he didn't need much convincing), that I was not staying a week or more at his sister's. We'll drive down the sUnday before Christmas and come back the Saturday. Very doable!

>181 vancouverdeb: - December really snuck up on me, too, Deborah. For me, having Thanksgiving so late this year explains a lot of it... I'm so glad you and Muffin found each other!

>182 msf59: - I am loving Commonwealth, Mark. I can't believe how long it took me to finally pick it up.

We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby

This is a collection of essays featuring Irby's signature humor and frankness. I may have listened to too many of these collections too close together, as this one didn't seem as fresh or as funny. I still enjoyed it fine, and there were a couple of stand-out pieces, but I think I'll wait a while for picking up another collection by her.

3.5 stars

12 days is a LONG visit. Congrats on surviving it. I still need to read Irby.

>183 katiekrug: It's interesting that some of the more education/class-based signifiers (e.g. language, clothing) can transcend racial identity.

That's a great point, Katie. My father and mother were both working professionals (aerospace engineer and nutritionist, respectively), and we lived in middle class neighborhoods in Jersey City and suburban Philadelphia. We certainly fit in with essentially all of our White neighbors on a socioeconomic basis, and more so than the poorer White and Black kids who lived there or who attended my public schools in PA. I was treated well and had only one very trivial experience with racism in my teenage years, but my friends came a neighboring town that was a long established community on the Underground Railroad, who attended a different high school in our school district, and not from my schoolmates.

>185 BLBera: - Irby is fun and funny. I hope you like her when you get to her!

>186 kidzdoc: - Class in this country is a never-ending puzzle to me. My first memory of being made aware of it was when my grandmother (an Irish Catholic housewife from The Bronx married to a postal worker) came to visit us and discouraged me from playing with a girl who lived next door because she "wasn't our class." I think I was about 8 or 9...

Happy weekend! It's sunny and brisk here, with clear blue skies and the wind has finally abated. We are having, or will have, a productive day at home catching up on chores and putting up the Christmas tree. Since the season is so short, and we'll be gone for a chunk of it, we are just putting up the smaller of our trees. It's still 6' tall but our "usual" tree is 8' or 9'... I'd forego the tree if it were up to me, but The Wayne wants to put one up. His whisky club is meeting tonight but he's decided not to go because we have a full day tomorrow (going into the city), so we'll have a quiet evening at home with some sort of takeaway/delivery and maybe a game or two. We found a great game store in Ithaca over Thanksgiving and acquired a few new ones.

I haven't reported on my viewing lately - we finished the current season of GBBO which was meh, and started 'Receiver' on Netflix (we love sports series!). I've also been watching 'Somebody Somewhere' which is just so, SO good. It looks like it won't be renewed which is a damn shame. I also have the last episode of 'Rivals' to watch. I've sort of been saving it because I enjoyed the outrageousness of the show so much. And while my MIL was here, I got her into 'Taskmaster' which never fails to crack me up multiple times per episode.

In books, I finished a collection of contemporary romance holiday stories, as well as Commonwealth, which I loved. I'm now reading Red Hook Road and listening to Yours from the Tower.

Speaking of books, I put together a list of cozy holiday reads, if anyone is interested:
https://open.substack.com/pub/thepresentperfect/p/might-i-recommend?r=9qeb7&....

>188 katiekrug: Ugh! I always dislike it when a really good series does not get renewed past the first season.

Thanks for the list of cozy reads. Sounds perfect.

I'm so pleased you made it through the MIL visit and that the settling back into routine has been so pleasurable.

I hope your productive day was satisfying.

https://pics.cdn.librarything.com//picsizes/0e/79/0e792998faefa47636a76533951415...

This is a link to a picture of the puzzle I bought based on your suggestion to search for a "collage" puzzle. We just completed it yesterday. It was so much fun and the whole family participated (the 15 year old only swooping in at the end, of course!)

I didn't want to clutter up your thread with the full picture, but let me know if the link doesn't work.

Hiya Katie! Your Saturday sounds pretty nice. I hope you enjoyed your quiet evening. We just finished watching today's F1 race, the last one of the season -- highly recommend! Have a great day.

>189 figsfromthistle: - I wasn't clear, Anita - 'Somebody Somewhere' is in its 3rd season. But it deserves more!

>190 MickyFine: - Thanks, Micky. Yesterday was a nice day and today promises more of the same :)

>191 japaul22: - Great puzzle, Jennifer! I'm glad the family enjoyed doing it.

>192 lauralkeet: - Done and dusted, Laura! TW set his alarm to watch it live, though we now have the F1 app so he can watch anytime. I was happy for Hamilton. My hatred of Verstappen only increases with every race, heh.

Glad to hear that you survived the MiL visit. Even when you get on, 12 days is far too long!
Hope you get time to take a deep breath before Christmas visits.

>193 katiekrug: Hamilton was amazing today, what a great way to conclude his time with Mercedes. I'm glad Verstappen has competition now, that's made the sport so much more interesting. I can't wait to see Netflix's coverage of this season.

>194 Helenliz: - Thank you, Helen!

>195 lauralkeet: - Totally agree on all counts, Laura.

Under the Mistletoe by Various Authors

This Amazon Original collection of holiday romances is a mixed bag. They are sold individually, but I am counting them as one book, since the stories are very short.

Cruel Winter with You by Ali Hazelwood
This was probably my favorite of the five, as Hazelwood is a deft writer and knows how to employ humor in service of her story. It's also the longest story, so there was more plot and character development than in the others. It's a forced proximity romance but with a lot of back story. 4 stars

Merry Ever After by Tessa Bailey
This was a sweet story about a farmer and a transplanted city girl, with Bailey's signature spice. I really wish it had been at least novella length because I wanted more of the giant farmer :) 4 stars

All By My Elf by Olivia Dade
Fun premise of two adjunct professors earning extra money over the holidays by driving a mince-pie-mobile (think Oscar Mayer Weinermobile) around. I loved the silly humor but the characters were pretty boring. 3 stars

Merriment and Mayhem by Alexandria Bellefleur
Once again, the short form doesn't work here - the insta-love and hijinks just all feel forced and unbelievable. And then there's a dumb climax (not that kind) that was totally unnecessary. 3 stars

Only Santas in the Building by Alexis Daria
Daria shows how characters and relationships can be decently developed in under 50 pages. This was a good one about neighbors in a New York City apartment. I was unfamiliar with the author but will seek out one of her novels to try. 4 stars

Overall rating: 3.5 stars

Commonwealth by Ann Patchett

I loved this. It's a rich and beautifully written novel about a blended family and childhood trauma. Patchett does a masterful job of centering the story on Franny but including other threads anchored by various members of the family to create a portrait of the whole. It's very compelling and one of my favorite books of the year.

4.5 stars

Yours From the Tower by Sally Nicholls

A nicely done YA historical novel told in letters among three school friends who are making their way in the world in very different ways. There is a lot of not very subtle discussion of options available to women in the late Victorian period, as well as some other social issues. Nicholls does a nice job of giving each character a distinct voice, and while some of the action is silly, I enjoyed the book overall. The audio narration is top notch.

3.75 stars

>197 katiekrug: Oh, so too bad about ALL BY MY ELF! I love that title. And the mince-pie mobile needs to come down my block soonest.

>199 katiekrug: looks charming indeed. Victorian girls had so few good options and opportunities I think I'd be inclined to forgive the clunkiness.

Stay well so you can be in top triviating form tomorrow.

>197 katiekrug: Hmm, taking note.

>198 katiekrug: If Mt. TBR wasn't so out of control I'd be tempted to that Commonwealth down from the shelf for a re-read. It is a lovely book indeed.

I looooved Commonwealth, it was a 5-star read for me so naturally one of my books of the year, too (in 2016).

I loved Commonwealth as well, Katie, and after listening to interviews with Patchett, I think it's a bit autobiographical, which may have helped.

All in for Patchett. I just came back from a 2 day conference in Nashville (where it was 16 degrees - never left the hotel!) and ubered over to Parnassus Books before my flight home. As you'd expect, a beautifully curated store with a helpful staff.

>200 richardderus: - Yes, that story was particularly disappointing since I've enjoyed Dade's work in the past.

I didn't dislike the Nicholls as much as I usually dislike YA, so that's a win :)

>201 MickyFine: - I read them all so you don't have to!

>202 RebaRelishesReading: - It's a keeper for my shelf, too. I can definitely see myself re-reading it.

>203 lauralkeet: - I considered 5 stars, but I tend to reserve that for books that have a special emotional resonance for me (usually that means they made me cry!) and while I loved this one, it didn't quite strike that chord for me.

>204 BLBera: - I remember hearing that there were autobiographical elements to the novel, Beth. Of course, now I want to know which ones!

>205 vivians: - I still kick myself for not visiting Parnassus when I was in Nashville the one and only time (also for a conference)... *sigh*

>197 katiekrug: I've enjoyed what I've read from Daria. Hope you like her books if you try her out! I think You Had Me at Hola and Take the Lead are good places to start.

>206 katiekrug: I'm the same with 5-star ratings, Katie so I totally understand!

Hooray for Commonwealth! Patchett Rocks! I am so glad you loved it too.

>207 curioussquared: - Thanks for the suggestions, Natalie!

>208 lauralkeet: - Great minds...

>209 msf59: - It was terrific, Mark. I'm glad I finally got around to it :)

I made this recipe for dinner last night and it was a hit. I'm trying to eat more vegetables :) I jazzed up the sauce, and didn't use asparagus because it didn't look good at the store. Next time, I won't bother with the red onion because it got lost in the mix. I'd probably add another bell pepper. Anyway, it's definitely going in the regular rotation (which doesn't actually exist, but you know what I mean...)

This afternoon, I'm taking Nuala to the vet. She had a weird episode yesterday afternoon where she was hacking, so badly at one point that she brought up her breakfast, which had been at least 4 hours earlier. And then her breathing seemed congested. TW was afraid she had kennel cough, and when I called the vet, they couldn't see her until Friday but put me first on the list for cancellations. She was fine yesterday evening and was her usual self this morning, but the office called to say they had a 3pm cancellation so I figured I should at least get her checked out. She does seem a bit less energetic than usual.... I'm hoping she "just" has a minor respiratory issue or something. Poor doggo.

In books, I'm listening to a very mediocre holiday romance, but my print book, Red Hook Road, is pretty good.

>211 katiekrug: I love that style of recipe. I have a similar one for Greek chicken and veggies that we eat with either couscous or pita. I'll give it a try sometime!

Poor Nuala. Stelios and I adopted a dog eons ago from a shelter that was nowhere near our home. She ended up with kennel cough, too, and the shelter wanted us to bring her back for a visit. It just wasn't logistically possible so we called our vet, who told us to give her a spoonful of honey when she coughed. Honestly it did the trick, AND she loved it. We used to call her honey lips:) I hope Nuala feels better very soon.

re Irby: I like her essays best in smaller doses. I don't enjoy an entire collection all in one go. But I did have a funny story about We Are Never Meeting in Real Life. I was reading it on an airplane while I was sitting next to an Upstanding Citizen. I was on the chapter with the band-aid - you know the one - and he must have glimpsed some of the book. He scootched as far away from me as is possible in those economy seats. I did not intend to traumatize my neighbor, but alas.

>212 japaul22: - This was definitely one of the better sheet pan dinners I've had, Jennifer!

>213 AMQS: - Thankfully, I don't think it is kennel cough, but I will remember that honey trick!

That airplane story is hilarious :D

Katie, I found a new cooking show to fill my GBBO vacancy: Clash of the Cookbooks. Chefs compete to make really fancy food from *really* expensive cookbooks. I loved the two I watched on Roku. Max Miller, the food history/cooking show YouTuber, is the judge and Phoebe Robinson is the host. Worth a whirl when you need something to escape into.

Aww, poor Nuala! I hope everything checked out okay at the vet.

>215 richardderus: - Thanks for the tip!

>216 lauralkeet: - Thank you, Laura. The vet thinks she may have just picked up a little cold or something. Other than being less energetic, she's been fine today. He said if she became more symptomatic, we should bring her in for blood work and/or an x-ray but that he expected she'd be fine :)

I've started Autocracy, Inc. on audio, and after just the introduction and first chapter, I've learned so much. I encourage everyone to seek it out.

Happy to hear about Niall, thanks Katie

Good news about Nuala. I hope she is better soon.

>211 katiekrug: The recipe looks great. I've printed it off and plan to try it fairly soon.

Sorry to hear Nuala is under the weather. I hope she recovers quickly.

Happy mid week.

I hope Nuala feels better soon and returns to her normal self.

>219 lauralkeet: - Thanks, Laura!

>220 BLBera: - Thank you, Beth. She seems fine today.

>221 RebaRelishesReading: - I hope you like the recipe, Reba. And thanks re: Nuala!

>222 figsfromthistle: - Hi Anita! She seems pretty much okay now, though a little grumpy that its rainy here and she can't spend much time outside :)

We came in 3rd of 10 teams at trivia last night. Next week will be our final competition of the year...

It's rainy and gross here today. I have to go to the grocery store but otherwise will stay tucked inside. I'm making Creamy Bean and Sausage Soup for dinner (new recipe - I'll share it if it turns out okay). I also need to tidy up for Maribel's visit tomorrow.

I should finish up Red Hook Road today, and I'm not sure what I'll pick up next. PRobably something a bit on the lighter side... I was going to start my re-read of Last Night at the Lobster, but I think I might do it on audio on the drive to Virginia, since The Wayne has never read it, and I feel like he should be aquainted with one of my favorite books :)

The Christmas Pact by Meg Easton

I might have liked this one a bit more if I had not listened to it, as I found the narration mildly annoying. As a story, it's a pretty typical contemporary holiday romance - there is nothing groundbreaking here. There were some sweet moments with a little boy exposed to the magic of Christmas, but otherwise, it was pretty meh.

3 stars

>224 katiekrug: The results are excellent! Congrats. I hope the scrummy-sounding soup turns out to be good, too.

Happy rainy, ickyptooptoo day, and please schmoozle Nuala's ears to help make up for her dull day.

>223 katiekrug: my grandkids will be here next month and they both like to cook so I think we'll try it out then.

>225 katiekrug:. I hear you about the effect of annoying narration -- in my current book one character has been given a (probably fake) Bostonian or New Yorker accent that I find really annoying -- I still like the book but I would like it better without that

Glad Nuala is feeling better

>226 richardderus: - Thanks, RD! We are going back for more tonight with a special Christmas Movie Trivia contest at a local brewery :)

Nuala appreciates the schmoozles!

>227 RebaRelishesReading: - Depending on how bad the narration is, I am not averse to just stopping the listen. But that is pretty rare. I usually just grind my teeth and keep going...

Last night's soup was pretty good! It could use a bit of tweaking, especially in the seasoning department, but it's worth another go. Recipe: https://www.foodiecrush.com/creamy-bean-soup-sausage/

Maribel has been and gone and my house (at least the first floor) is shiny and clean. I used the forced time at my desk to get our Christmas cards finished, so I'm feeling rather accomplished. I'll reward myself with a pedicure this afternoon. I might try a new salon just down the street from me. I like my regular place but parking is a bitch.

I finished Red Hook Road yesterday and started my final Julia Memorial Read, One, Two, Buckle My Shoe. And I should finish up Autocracy, Inc on audio today.

The sheet pan veggies and chicken sound delicious, Katie. I'm glad that Nuala is feeling better.

>229 katiekrug: Looks nummy indeed. I made crockpot lentil soup that I kludged up and, well, to say it was meh is as good as I can go. Canned ham with its gel saved it.

>230 vancouverdeb: - Hi Deborah!

>231 richardderus: - I love lentil soup! Sorry yours was disappointing.

We played Christmas movie trivia last night at a local brewery with three friends and came in 2nd! It was a fun night - there's a decent pizza place across the street so we scarfed down some pie and good beer (and I'm not much of a beer drinker!) and had a lot of laughs.

Today, I went into the city for a few hours to meet my best friend for some Christmas shopping at the Bryant Park holiday village. It was packed - I can't imagine what it's like on the weekend! In the past, I've gone at night and it's sort of magical with all the lights and the big Christmas tree behind the main branch of the NYPL but during the day, it's just an over-run tourist trap. I did manage to pick up a couple of small gifts - some candles, a pretty ornament, and some hot sauce for TW's stocking. We had lunch and a good catch-up and then we both headed home. I often think of going intot he city as a big deal and requiring a whole day, but it's really doable for a few hours. Must remember when I want a change to my routine...

Books:
I've started I Hope This Finds You Well, which is sort of depressing at least in the beginning. I'll stick with it, though. I haven't started a new audio yet, but when I do, it will be Good Company.

>233 katiekrug: What a great way to celebrate the season. (I mean the trivia, not the shopping...crowds *shudder*)

Merry wintertime sunshine!

>234 richardderus: - The trivia was fun, and we did better than expected.

Red Hook Road by Ayelet Waldman

This novel is about how two families respond to tragedy and channel their grief. It's set in a small community in Maine - one family is local and one owns a summer house there. It started very strongly, and I was caught up in the relationships and tensions between various characters, but the pace was not sustained until the end. My empathy for the characters became tempered by frustration with them, especially Iris. I wish Waldman had finished as strongly as she had started; still, not a bad read by any means.

4 stars

Autocracy, Inc. by Anne Applebaum

A must-read, especially for anyone interested in global affairs (which, really, we all should be!). Applebaum describes the web of autocratic states around the world that support and defend each other despite ideological, cultural, and religious differences. It's a sobering analysis, told in strong, lucid prose, with a lot of fascinating examples.

The key point I took away is that these autocrats depend on people becoming inured to the grift and corruption and just tuning out. Like many, I've been taking a break from primary news sources, but burying one's head in the sand is not the answer.

4.5 stars

One, Two, Buckle My Shoe by Agatha Christie

This was disappointing. It was convoluted and ridiculous to the point of disbelief. I read it as my final Julia Memorial Read, and it's the only one that was a miss for me. Thankfully, it was short.

2.5 stars

I added my Top 5 books to the LT user-generated list. I had a bit of a hard time narrowing down among my 4.5 star reads. I think I only had 2 5-stars and those were easy to put on the list. Mine are:

Emily, Alone by Stewart O'Nan
The Intimate City: Walking New York by Michael Kimmelman
What Strange Paradise by Omar El Akkad
Wellness by Nathan Hill
James by Percival Everett

>239 katiekrug: We didn't overlap, but your choices helped inspire me to make mine.

Never mind :)

>237 katiekrug: Katie, this looks like an important read. I am also trying to reduce my news consumption. I also feel so bogged down by teaching and householding that it’s too easy to tune out.

>237 katiekrug: Like many, I've been taking a break from primary news sources, but burying one's head in the sand is not the answer.
I agree completely, Katie. I'm still keeping my distance from primary sources, relying mostly on regular dispatches from Heather Cox Richardson and Joyce Vance. I recently started taking a peek at The Guardian each morning for world news and less amped-up coverage of goings-on in the US. I guess the common theme is reading news sources only once a day. How about you?

Both the Applebaum and the Waldman go on my list For some reason, I thought I had read Red Hook Road; I've read others by Waldman that I really liked, but LT says not.

Nice top five list.

>239 katiekrug: Good Top 5, Katie. I also really enjoyed Wellness and I have added What Strange Paradise to the obese TBR.

I am also glad you liked Red Hook Road. I NEED to get that one off shelf.

>240 richardderus: - Glad I could provide a nudge!

>241 RebaRelishesReading: - Oh, man. Now I want to know what you had posted :)

>242 AMQS: - I think it's very natural to tune out to some degree - and healthy - but "they" want us to be so disheartened and feeling helpless that we won't even know what's going on...

>243 lauralkeet: - I think checking in with overseas news sources is a good compromise, Laura. I'll often do that with the BBC and BlueSky posts often link to interesting pieces from The Guardian. I also have subscribed to some good Substacks and newsletters. I don't read them all in full every time, but if a certain topic catches my eye, I like the deeper dive. And I have a carefully curated list of follows on BlueSky that help me stay informed without becoming enraged :)

>244 BLBera: - What other Waldmans do you suggest, Beth? I'd like to try another one by her.

Happy Sunday! This time next week, we'll be on the road to Virginia for Christmas. I think I am in good shape as far as prep goes. Yesterday, I mailed out my cards and shipped a box of gifts to my family in Texas. Most of my shopping is done for the Virginia contingent, though I'll make one or two stops this coming week to pick up odds and ends for stockings. And then I can focus on wrapping, which is my very favorite holiday activity :)

Last night, we went out to dinner and saw 'Red One' at the theater. It was not as terrible as I feared (TW wanted to see it), but I could have happily watched it at home. Today, we are baking cookies (butter cookies and cranberry orange shortbread cookies) and watching football. Should be very relaxed. "Gourmet" hot dogs for dinner...

Books:
I've started Good Company on audio but am only one chapter in. On my Kindle, I've got I Hope This Finds You Well going, which is pretty decent so far. I'm hoping to finish it tomorrow, though I'm not sure what I'll pick up next.

It seems like I must have read some of Waldman's books pre LT because I'm sure I read Love and Other Impossible Pursuits, but it's not in my library. Love and Treasure was good. I read her mystery series, which I enjoyed and her nonfiction A Really Good Day was good, in a train wreck sort of way. I listened to it, and I remember thinking TMI frequently, but the stuff about depression and its treatment was fascinating.

Hi Katie, you were right, Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting was a good one. Good on you for being all prepared for Christmas. Here there will be very few Christmas Cards this year as our postal workers called a strike staring in mid November.

>248 BLBera: - Thanks for that, Beth!

>249 Familyhistorian: - I'm glad you enjoyed it, Meg!

Bummer about the postal strike and Christmas cards. I love getting them.

Happy new week. It's rainy here, but not as cold. I have to run some errands, which is a bummer, because I hate doing it in the rain. Oh, well. Needs must. Other exciting plans include taking an inventory of gift bags and boxes to see if I need to buy any and cleaning up the kitchen a bit. In addition to cookie baking, The Wayne processed the last of his tomatoes and made sauce and a huge mess :) No idea what's for dinner, but I'm taking it easy this week on the cooking, because I don't want a bunch of leftovers hanging around right before we go out of town.

The shortbread cookies I made yesterday are delicious, though not the right texture to accurately be called shortbread. Whatever. Next time, I'm going to experiment with adding more orange flavor, as the almond extract is a bit strong, despite the extra orange zest and juice I added. Still, a lovely accompaniment to my morning coffee.

Books:
I'll be finishing up I Hope This Finds You Well today and starting... I don't know what... I didn't have any audio time yesterday, but should be able to make some progress with Good Company today.

>251 katiekrug: I've always failed on shortbread due to texture. Somehow this startlingly simple recipe defeated me every time I attempted it...sticky or mealy or something in that family of screw-ups. Better luck to you and more orange with the almond had me drooling at the idea.

>252 richardderus: - I did not expect my first attempt to be successful, and the dough was a pain in the ass. The flavor makes up for it!

>246 katiekrug: Sorry -- I don't remember -- don't even remember why I changed my mind but suspect I had posted something that made no sense after I looked further or reread something.

>254 RebaRelishesReading:- Well, it's nice to see you now. Hope you had a good weekend!

I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue

This wasn't quite what I was expecting. I thought it would be a funny work-place comedy, but it's much darker than that. There was some entertaining humor and some of the characterizations of "typical" office personalities were spot-on. The themes of personal growth and moving past trauma were developed nicely for the most part, but for some reason, I just didn't love it.

3.5 stars

Hi Katie, have you watched this week’s UC? The winning team is incredible.

>257 lauralkeet: - Thanks for the reminder, Laura! I totally blanked on it last night. We watched two episodes of my current obsession, 'Succession' :)

I'll try to watch UC this afternoon...

Last night was our final trivia competition of the year, and we won! There were 21 teams, so it was a great victory indeed :)

I only have one errand to run today - to pick up wine for my book group meeting tomorrow. We didn't read a book for December, so this is just a holiday gathering with a Yankee/White Elephant gift exchange, food, drinks, socializing. Should be fun. Next month, I am hosting - yikes!

I hope to do some wrapping today and other than that, nothing much is on the agenda. I should finish up Red Christmas this morning and then I'll probably start a holiday-themed read next - not sure what. The audio of Good Company is very good and I should finish it in time to start something new on the drive to VA on Sunday.

>233 katiekrug: Congrats on coming in second at trivia!

I have all my shopping to do still. I noticed that stores are not as jam packed if you go as soon as they open up during the week. I tend to avoid shopping on the weekends :)

>259 katiekrug: First place! Nice!

Hope you have a wonderful rest of the week.

>259 katiekrug: Yippee on the trivia triumph! I think the book-club hosting will go off better than social anxiety is jabbing you with. Odds are strongly against an outbreak of anthrax beginning in your living room, and self-immolating climate protestors don't usually choose suburban lawns for their stage.

Enjoy the creative outlet of wrapping!

>259 katiekrug: Wow, yes!! 1st out of 21 is indeed a big win. Congratulations!!

>260 figsfromthistle: - Thanks, Anita! And good luck with your shopping :)

>261 richardderus: - It's not social anxiety so much as concern about how many people will be there, and the size of my living room... But I'm sure we'll make it work.

I always enjoy wrapping gifts - I try to stretch it over several days so I don't burn out on it.

>262 RebaRelishesReading: - Thanks, Reba!

The end of the week has creeped up on me, and I need to hustle to get things done before we leave Sunday morning. There are snow flurries in the air and all I want to do is curl up with my book, but needs must!

My book group's holiday party was last night, and it was a lot of fun. I ended up with a book of recipes for small plates that pair well with wine, so I was happy. And I got to push Last Night at the Lobster on a whole new group of people :) As my contribution to the pot luck, I made a new-to-me recipe - a Greek dip. It was dead easy, and people LOVED it. https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/greek-pita-spread/

Books:
I'm about 3 books behind on posting comments, so I'll try to get that done today. My current audio is Untamed by Glennon Doyle, and my current print read is Comedy in a Minor Key.

Red Christmas by Reginald Hill

Published in 1972, this was a mildly diverting spy story set at Christmastime in a country hotel with a Dickens theme. Some of it was pretty silly, but it made for a nice change of pace in my holiday-themed reading which leans heavily into romance.

3.25 stars

Once Upon a Winter's Eve by Tessa Dare

Speaking of romance... This is part of Dare's Spindle Cove series and was a nice second chance romance. I did miss Dare's signature humor which was sadly lacking here. Still, not a bad way to while away some time.

3.5 stars

Good Company by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney

This was a very satisfying novel. It's not great literature, but it deftly explores issues of marriage, friendship, infidelity, creativity, and motherhood. It's the story of two couples who meet as 20-somethings in New York City, three of them involved in theater and one a doctor. From different perspectives, Sweeney shows us the evolution of their relationships and careers and how it changed them. I liked the varied perspectives but occasionally found the shifts in time to be confusing at first. The whole thing, though, comes together really nicely. Also, the audio narration was excellent. I'll be seeking out more audios narrated by Marin Ireland.

4 stars

Excellent comments on the books, Katie. I have 2 new Audible credits and I think I'll head over and get Good Company to listen to after I finish my two latest Royal Spyness listens.

>264 katiekrug: I'm glad the book club party was fun, Katie and I hope a few people pick up *Lobster* based on your rec. I assume you're driving to VA? I hope all goes smoothly!

It's snowing! And sort of sticking! Errands will have to wait...

>268 RebaRelishesReading: - I think you'd like Good Company, Reba. It's perfect for listening while doing something else... like knitting or puzzling :)

>269 lauralkeet: - I included a copy as part of my gift for the White Elephant, so at least one person will likely give it a try.

Yes, we're driving with the dog and cat. Always an adventure! I'm just glad we aren't staying as long as usual, though it does mean I can't pester you to meet up ;-)

Aww that’s okay Katie, it’s a busy time of year!

>271 lauralkeet: - Yeah, I think the year we did it, it was New Year's, so your daughters had left already and my family wasn't as focused on Family Holiday Togetherness.

Happy Friday, Katie. I wanted to mention to you that I started watching "Rivals". I think I am on ep 5 and I am really enjoying it. We also just watched My Old Ass, a film streaming on Prime. It was so good. Another gem from this year.

>273 msf59: - Hiya, Mark! I'm a bit surprised that you are enjoying 'Rivals' so much. It's so soap opera-y and fluffy, I was sure you'd hate it :) But I'm glad you don't! Sometimes pure, mindless entertainment is just the ticket. I still need to watch the last episode. It has been renewed, which I was glad to hear.

I'll check out My Old Ass - haven't heard of it!

ETA: Did you watch 'Succession' when it was on? That's our current obsession. So smart.

Heads up...Wellness rave up tomorrow. I know we both liked it so I got it polished in time for you to vet and assess before the trip.

Solstice cheer, Katie!

Thanks, RD!

Comedy in a Minor Key by Hans Keilson

A very spare novella about a Dutch couple who hide a Jewish man in their home during the Nazi occupation of their country. The writing is beautiful and the insights into both the hiders and the hidee are thought-provoking. I'm not sure I entirely "got" it, but I enjoyed the read.

3.5 stars

>270 katiekrug: I'll be starting Good Company this afternoon.

Road trip with dog and cat...oh my!! Hope you all have a fun family visit!

>279 RebaRelishesReading: - I hope you like it!

The dog and cat actually travel reasonably well. Leonard will yowl for a bit but eventually settle down in the little basket thing he's tethered in, and Nuala will stretch out across the back seat in her hammock :)

>278 katiekrug: That's one weird story until you realize when it was written it was a take on current events. I suspect me and thee could never really "get" it because none of the events resemble our lives in the slightest.

But it really is beautiful.

Wishing safe travels to you, TW, and the critters. May the family give you occasional quiet breaks!

>280 katiekrug: Sounds like they do well. Years ago we had a (mostly)Irish setter and a cat. We also had a weekend place in the mountains and one time we tried to take them both with us in the car. Cat didn't think it was a good idea at all and we decided she could better stay home if it was just a weekend in future. The dog was happy with anything that involved being with us. Adding to her glee we would sometimes stop for a burger at In and Out (do you know them?) and buy a plain one for her too. I really miss having a dog 😢

Wishing you a very merry holiday week and a good trip!!

Thanks for the messages, Richard, Micky and Reba!

I seem to have acquired a nasty cold, so I am feeling quite sorry for myself. Feeling like poop away from one's own home is the pits.

Anyway, I'll just leave this here for all my friends...

Nadolig Llawen, Happy Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Winslow and all of us wish you a very happy holidays!


I hope you feel better very soon.

Happy Christmas, Katie. Boo to the cold.

Thinking of you at this time, Katie.

Sweet Thursday, Katie. Sorry to hear about your cold. Hoping for a quick rebound. I do not mind a "soap opera-y" TV drama, like "Rivals" or "White Lotus" now and then especially with a good cast, plus it is something I can watch with my wife. I am enjoying Red Hook Road. Of course, some characters can be frustrating but that's like "real life", right? I should finish it tomorrow.

I'm kinda lonely over here....

https://www.librarything.com/ngroups/24622/75-Books-Challenge-for-2025

>292 drneutron: when you do set up a new home, can you let us know where to find you - I find the 75 group rather intimidating!

Thank you for the holiday greetings, Rhian, Anne, Helen, Paul, and Linda. I hope you all enjoyed some relaxing time with loved ones.

>291 msf59: - Thanks, Mark. Glad you are enjoying RHR! And the soaps :)

>292 drneutron: - YAY! Thanks, Jim.

>293 Helenliz: - I sure will, Helen. I don't plan to set up shop over there until I'm back at home.

Today is the first day since Sunday I don't feel like crap, so hooray! Despite various germs in the house (Charlie has a double ear infection, my BIL is getting over a cold, my MIL has something that is not strep, the flu, or COVID...) we had a pretty nice Christmas. I got several new puzzles and some books. We are driving home tomorrow, so I hope to be more present after that, including setting up my thread in the new group.

Hi Katie.

Not even a remote chance of actually catching up, but I am pleased to see that your November book of the month was James. I’ve just started it for my January book club discussion.

Thanks for the book bullets! I'll look for Good Company in audio next time I log into the library.

And I hope you are feeling better. Holiday colds are !#$!#%.

Glad you seem to have escaped the germ-pool you were staying with and that your holidays were pleasant ("pretty nice" isn't bad). Hope your trip home goes well and that you have a relaxing, pleasant New Year's Eve followed by a delightful 2025.

Happy healthier visit! Get home well entirely, should the microbes allow.

Happy holidays!!! Hope you are feeling 100% soon. I'll be seeing you over in the 2025 group. : )

Safe travels and feel better soon, Katie. See you next year in the 2025 group.