Irene's (atozgrl) Reading 2024 - Thread 4

^Blue Ridge Parkway in fall (NMP) - hoping that the Parkway will look more like this again next year, at least where roads are open/rebuilt

Hello everyone! Welcome to my fourth thread of 2024.

In case you missed my introduction on the previous thread, I'm Irene, retired librarian, and I've been on LT since 2008, but I joined to catalog my book collection. Unfortunately, RL intervened, and I still haven't finished cataloging my books, but continue to work on it sporadically. I did not get involved in the social aspects of LT until last year, when I returned to the site after a long absence to track the books I've been reading since I retired. I found the 75ers at that time, and have really enjoyed meeting folks here.

I'm married, living in central NC. No cats, unfortunately, because my DH is allergic. But we enjoy feeding the birds in our backyard. I hope to make a big dent in the clutter around the house this year. I've got lots of paper to sort, and stuff inherited from my parents that I need to go through and organize or donate. I also love baseball, especially the Cubs.

My work in the library was mostly with systems and websites, not so much directly with books. I also worked for a government library, not a public library, so I don't know as much about current fiction as the public librarians do. I didn't actually have much time to read books while I was working, so I have a lot of recent fiction to catch up on. I've got a large collection of nonfiction, mostly history, that I've collected over the years, and I'm trying to concentrate on reading much of that. I enjoy a wide range of genres but especially enjoy historical fiction. Growing up, I loved reading classics, some for school, but most for my own enjoyment. I also read a lot of science fiction and fantasy when I was young, but haven't kept up with it over the years, so I've got a lot of catching up to do in that genre as well. I have also realized there are some classic children's books that I somehow missed while growing up, and I need to read them too. Last year I joined a RL book club mid-year, and this year I'm starting with a second one which reads challenged books, which means I may not get as many books read off my own shelves as I hope to this year.

Looking forward to a good year of reading!

Also participating in:

1. The ROOT challenge
Link to my thread there: https://www.librarything.com/topic/356718

2. 2024 Nonfiction Challenge (75 Books Challenge) 75NF
    - December 2023: As You Like It
    - January 2024 - Prize Winners (prizes that are off the beaten tracks; including shortlisted works)
    - February - Women's Work (what women do or did)
    - March - Forensic Sciences
    - April - Globalization
    - May - The Wild, Wild West
    - June - Middle Europe - did not read anything
    - July - Insects
    - August - Being Jewish - did not read anything
    - September - Essays - more info: https://www.librarything.com/topic/354851#8276266
    - October - Music, More Music
    - November - Too Small to See - did not read anything
    - December - As You Like It; or Political Biography

3. Reading Through Time
     Quarterly Challenges (RTTQ)
        - January-March 2024: Prehistoric
        - April-June 2024: Ancient/Biblical Times
        - July-September 2024: Arthurian Britain
        - October-December 2024: Medieval Ages Plus the Vikings
     Monthly Challenges (RTTM)
        - January: Janus
        - February: Aquarius & Amethyst
        - March: Medicine, Epidemics, and Plagues
        - April: Characters with disabilities
        - May: International Labour Day
        - June: Wonders of the World! - ran out of time to read my intended book
        - July: Vive la France!
        - August: The Joy of Reading
        - September: Royal to the Bone
        - October: Adultery
        - November: Biography/Memoirs
        - December: Reader's Choice

4. The War Room (75 Books Challenge) 75WR
    - January: Ancient Wars
    - February: The American War of Independence
    - March: The War of the Roses
    - April: Wars of Religion
    - May: The Napoleonic Wars
    - June: The English Civil War - did not read anything
    - July: Colonial Wars - more info: https://www.librarything.com/topic/361168#8551734 - did not read anything
    - August: World War II
    - September: The American Civil War
    - October: American Follies (Korea, Vietnam, Gulf-War, Afghanistan) - did not read anything
    - November: The "Great War"
    - December: The Spanish Civil War

5. 2024 Historical Fiction Challenge (Category Challenge) HF

6. 2024 HistoryCAT (Category Challenge) HCAT
    - March: Science and Medicine
    - April: Riots, Revolution, and Mayhem
    - May: Middle Ages
    - June: Historians
    - July: Spies
    - August: Byzantine Empire - did not read anything
    - September: WWI/WWII
    - October: Disasters!
    - November: Ancient History
    - December: Religions and Religious Festivals

7. 2024 RandomKIT (RKIT)
     Monthly Challenges
        - July 2024: Favorites
        - September 2024: It’s Raining Men! (Weather)
        - November 2024: I told it my way

8. Memorial for Rosalita (MFR)

9. Memoriam Read for Anita (MFA)

Note: hat-tip to kac522 for most of the challenge codes.

RL Book Clubs:

ASC Book Club (ASCBC)
✔ January - Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel
✔ February - I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
✔ March - The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
✔ April - Island of Sea Women by Lisa See
✔ May - Kitchen God’s Wife by Amy Tan
✔ June - Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: and other lessons from the crematory by Caitlin Doughty
✔ July - Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby
✔ August - Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent by Isabel Wilkerson
✔ September - Between Two Kingdoms by Suleika Jaouad
✔ October - Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
✔ November - The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

Challenged Books Club (CBC)
✔ January - Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
✔ February - Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
✔ March - Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
✔ April - A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
summer break
✔ September - A Separate Peace by John Knowles
✔ October - Looking for Alaska by John Green
✔ November - Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
✔ December - The Last White Man by Mohsin Hamid

ROOTs Counter

Top Reads of 2024 (in order read)

5 stars
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
5-Minute Core Exercises for Seniors: daily routines to build balance and boost confidence by Cindy Brehse and Tami Brehse Dzenitis
84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
Caste: the Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

4.5 stars
The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff
Burning the books: a history of the deliberate destruction of knowledge by Richard Ovenden
1776 by David McCullough
Year of wonders: a novel of the plague by Geraldine Brooks
A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle
The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See
The Silver Branch by Rosemary Sutcliff
Founding Brothers: the Revolutionary Generation by Joseph J. Ellis
The Black Count : glory, revolution, betrayal, and the real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss
Band of brothers : E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest by Stephen E. Ambrose
A Christian Case Against Donald Trump by Patrick Kahnke

Books read in 2024 (1st quarter)

January
1. The little bookstore of Big Stone Gap : a memoir of friendship, community, and the uncommon pleasure of a good book by Wendy Welch - ROOT; 75NF (Dec 2023)
2. The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel - ASCBC; RTTM; HF
3. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger - CBC; reread
4. The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff - 75WR (Jan); HF

February
5. Burning the books: a history of the deliberate destruction of knowledge by Richard Ovenden - ROOT; 75NF (Jan)
6. 1776 by David McCullough - ROOT; 75WR (Feb)
7. Are you There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume - CBC
8. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou - ASCBC; ROOT
9. Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke - MFR; reread

March
10. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley - CBC; reread
11. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett - ASCBC
12. Neanderthal: Neanderthal man and the story of human origins by Paul Jordan - RTTQ; 75NF (Mar); ROOT
13. Year of wonders: a novel of the plague by Geraldine Brooks - RTTM (Mar); HF; HCAT (Mar)
14. Wild child by Lynn Plourde and Greg Couch
15. Summer's Vacation by Lynn Plourde and Greg Couch
16. The clown of God by Tomie De Paola

Books read in 2024 (2nd quarter)

April
17. 5-Minute Core Exercises for Seniors: daily routines to build balance and boost confidence by Cindy Brehse and Tami Brehse Dzenitis ROOT
18. A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle CBC; ROOT; reread
19. The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See ASCBC; RTTM (Feb); HF
20. The Wars of the Roses by Alison Weir 75WR (Mar); HCAT
21. Forecast : the consequences of climate change, from the Amazon to the Arctic, from Darfur to Napa Valley by Stephan Faris 75NF; ROOT

May
22. The Silver Branch by Rosemary Sutcliff - RTTQ; HF; 75WR (Jan)
23. Mr. Midshipman Hornblower by C.S. Forester - 75WR (May); RTTM (Feb); HF; ROOT
24. The Kitchen God's Wife by Amy Tan - ASCBC; HF; ROOT
25. The three-cornered war : the Union, the Confederacy, and Native peoples in the fight for the West by Megan Kate Nelson - 75NF

June
26. The Black Arrow: a Tale of the Two Roses by Robert Louis Stevenson - HCAT (May); HF; 75WR (March); ROOT
27. Founding Brothers: the Revolutionary Generation by Joseph J. Ellis - HCAT (June); ROOT
28. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: and Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty - ASCBC; RTTM (May)
29. Alexander the Great by Frank Lipsius - RTTQ; 75WR (Jan); ROOT

Books read in 2024 (3rd quarter)

July
30. The Black Count : glory, revolution, betrayal, and the real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss - RTTM; 75WR (May)
31. The lion, the witch, and the wardrobe by C.S. Lewis - RKIT; ROOT; reread
32. Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby - ASCBC
33. The Spy Who Came in From the Cold by John le Carré - HCAT; ROOT
34. What the Bees See photographs by Craig P. Burrows - 75NF; ROOT
35. Leonard : my fifty-year friendship with a remarkable man by William Shatner - RKIT

August
36. 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff - RTTM; ROOT
37. Caste: the Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson - ROOT; ASCBC
38. Band of brothers : E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest by Stephen E. Ambrose - 75WR; ROOT

September
39. The Once and Future King by T.H. White - RTTQ; RTTM (Sept & Oct); MFA; HF; ROOT
40. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver - 4.25* - ASCBC
41. Between two kingdoms : a memoir of a life interrupted by Suleika Jaouad - - ASCBC
42. Run Silent, Run Deep by Edward L. Beach - HCAT; 75WR (Aug); HF; ROOT

Books read in 2024 (4th quarter)

October
43. Looking for Alaska by John Green - CBC
44. A Christian Case Against Donald Trump by Patrick Kahnke - ROOT
45. Intimations : six essays by Zadie Smith - 75NF (Sept)
46. North Carolina's Hurricane History by Jay Barnes - RKIT (Sept); HCAT (Oct); ROOT
47. Mr. Lincoln's Army by Bruce Catton - 75WR (Sept); ROOT

November
48. Goodbye Russia: Rachmaninoff in Exile by Fiona Maddocks - 75NF (Oct); RTTM
49. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews - 3.75* - CBC; RKIT
50. The Lantern Bearers by Rosemary Sutcliff - HCAT; HF; MFA
51. The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride - ASCBC; HF; RTTM (April); ROOT
52. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway - 75WR; HF; RKIT

December
53. Dinner in One by Melissa Clark
54. Crusaders : the epic history of the wars for the holy lands by Dan Jones - RTTQ; 75WR (April); 75NF
55. The Last White Man by Mohsin Hamid - CBC

Coding for stars, for my reference.























Instructions at https://www.librarything.com/topic/129158#6620607

My ratings
= Outstanding; exceptional; I loved it
= Excellent; absolutely worth reading
= Very Good; for nonfiction: has an interesting viewpoint, or I learned something
= Good
= Average; for nonfiction: there are some issues with it
= Written well or a classic but I didn't enjoy it
= Writing is hard. I appreciate the work the author did. (borrowed from humouress)
= Bad
= Very Bad
= Terrible; for nonfiction: lots of problems

I decided to try the BingoDog card this year, and I was surprised how many squares I was able to complete quickly. My biggest problem has been that so many of my reads fit more than one square, so I have had to figure out which one fit which topic best. I have two left that aren't completed, and I am not sure if I will get to them.



2024 BingoDog card:
1. Something themed around food or cooking - Dinner in One
2. A book with an ugly cover - Brave New World
3. A book with nothing on the cover but the title and author - A Christian Case Against Donald Trump; Burning the books: a history of the deliberate destruction of knowledge
4. A book featuring twins - The Vanishing Half
5. A book about a topic about which you have specific knowledge or expertise - Burning the books: a history of the deliberate destruction of knowledge
6. First published in a year ending in 24 - What the Bees See; A Christian Case Against Donald Trump; Goodbye Russia: Rachmaninoff in Exile
7. Epistolary or diary format - 84, Charing Cross Road
8. The words "Big" or "Little" in the title - The little bookstore of Big Stone Gap : a memoir of friendship, community, and the uncommon pleasure of a good book
9. A book from one of the libraries listed under the "Similar libraries" featured on your LT profile page - 1776 (weird_O); Neanderthal: Neanderthal man and the story of human origins (weird_O)
10. A book about Friendship - Looking for Alaska; Me and Earl and the Dying Girl; Are you There God? It's Me, Margaret; The Island of Sea Women; The little bookstore of Big Stone Gap : a memoir of friendship, community, and the uncommon pleasure of a good book
11. A three-word title - Mr. Midshipman Hornblower; The Silver Branch; Brave New World; Looking for Alaska; Alexander the Great; Mr. Lincoln's Army
12. Features a paper based item in the plot - The Book of Lost Names
13. Read a CAT - Year of Wonders (March HistoryCAT); Founding Brothers: the Revolutionary Generation (June HistoryCAT)
14. A short story collection / Anthology (Def)
15. Title contains a person's name - Are you There God? It's Me, Margaret; Alexander the Great; Mr. Midshipman Hornblower; Looking for Alaska; Mr. Lincoln's Army; Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
16. Set in the city - The Catcher in the Rye; 84, Charing Cross Road; Intimations : six essays
17. A book with fewer than 100 copies on LT - 5-Minute Core Exercises for Seniors: daily routines to build balance and boost confidence; What the Bees See; A Christian Case Against Donald Trump; Neanderthal: Neanderthal man and the story of human origins; Forecast : the consequences of climate change, from the Amazon to the Arctic, from Darfur to Napa Valley; Alexander the Great; North Carolina's Hurricane History by Jay Barnes
18. Something written by a person of colour - I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings; The Vanishing Half; The Kitchen God's Wife; Caste: the Origins of Our Discontents; The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store; Intimations : six essays
19. Written by an author 65 or older - Leonard : my fifty-year friendship with a remarkable man
20. A book featuring water - Run Silent, Run Deep; Mr. Midshipman Hornblower; The Island of Sea Women
21. Involves warriors or mercenaries - The Silver Branch; The Eagle of the Ninth; Alexander the Great; 1776
22. Reread a favorite book - The lion, the witch, and the wardrobe
23. A book written in another cultural tradition - The Island of Sea Women; The Kitchen God's Wife; I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
24. Something that takes place in multiple countries - The Spy Who Came in From the Cold; Forecast : the consequences of climate change, from the Amazon to the Arctic, from Darfur to Napa Valley; The Kitchen God's Wife; Alexander the Great; Goodbye Russia: Rachmaninoff in Exile
25. Read a current/recent bestseller - Demon Copperhead; The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store

Wiki: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2024_BingoDOG

Now to go back and get touchstones to load.

My fourth thread for the year is now open. Welcome!

I'm first! I'm never first! YAY, Irene! I bow to your organization.

I also love that NC - or at least Parkway - topper. We do so much long for everything to be restored in western NC. I'm pretty sure that my dear friend's son's widow is still having to boil her water. At least she has water at last.

Happy New Thread! Happy Reading! Happy Commenting!

>14 atozgrl: Hello, Peggy! Thanks! Congratulations on being the first.

I am glad the person you know has water again. I imagine she probably does still have to boil her water. The immense damage to water systems in the mountains is going to take a lot of time and money to repair. That's the kind of thing that is probably even harder to repair than roads.

Happy new thread, Irene.
What a beautifully autumnal topper!

>1 atozgrl: Stunning!

Happy new thread!

For a while, the people in western NC were driving into Johnson City, Tennessee to do shopping (using back roads). The Kroger there was selling 40 packs of drinking water for $2 to try to help them out. I know our church's ministry and many other ministries were hauling water in--both in gallon jugs and in bottles--which people could pick up free at designated locations. Our church's ministry center was being used as a hub to get things into western NC and at times they were getting in almost more trucks than they could get the stuff out on. I know the need is still great, and while they are still hauling in water to some areas, they are working more toward getting clean-up/rebuilding supplies and things to help them through the winter months now. I'm looking forward to being able to help a little bit the week after the semester finishes.

Happy Friday, Irene. Happy New Thread! I love that stunning fall topper. Have a great weekend.

>19 thornton37814: Good luck with everything, Lori. Wishing your state the best, on your long recovery.

Hi Irene! Happy new thread.

From your last thread, sorry you and your DH have had colds, and hope you’re on the road to recovery.

>1 atozgrl: Such a gorgeous picture. I’m avoiding all news, not just politics, so I’m not even looking at news about the recovery from Helene. However, my friend Karen sent me a link to the reporting of a new nudibranch, deets on my thread.

>13 atozgrl: I love that one every time I see it. I twitch when I think of the work I still need to do with my cataloging.

>17 PaulCranswick: >18 figsfromthistle: >20 msf59: Thank you, Paul, Anita, and Mark! I'm still thinking of our mountains and all the damage they experienced from Helene, and I wanted to post a picture from the Blue Ridge Parkway, but all my pictures from last year are dull summer shots. I wanted to show it in the fall, so looked for a public domain picture and found that beauty. I'm glad you like it too. Parts of the Blue Ridge Parkway are back open now, but other sections are not, and the road was washed out in some places, so it will be awhile before everything is back.

>1 atozgrl: Love the photo. Hubby and I drove a big stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway several years ago but it was summer so no beautiful colors...although the green hills were beautiful anyway. I wish it a quick recovery

>13 atozgrl: lol

>19 thornton37814: Lori, I am so thankful to the people of western Tennessee who helped out so much for the North Carolinians who were cut off after the storm. It's wonderful to hear how your community pitched in! It's definitely going to take a long time and a lot of work to restore everything.

Several years ago my DH and I took a vacation in western Tennessee. We rafted the Nolichucky and we went to Johnson City one day to look around. We drove back into NC on one of those back roads. They are not easy roads to use; very winding and hilly. So I hate that these were the only roads people had access to for awhile. We were also hearing that big trucks were going through that way and hampering recovery in some places. It was great news when we heard that I-26 finally reopened.

>21 karenmarie: Thank you Karen! We're doing better with our colds, though neither one of us is completely rid of them yet. Now my DH's back is acting up, although he's better now than a couple of days ago.

I don't think I can give up the news as far as following the weather goes. But I'm going to try to avoid as much as I can of Trump. I'll be over shortly to check out your thread.

You and me both! I've still got lots of books that are not yet cataloged on LT. I hope to do more of that soon.

>23 RebaRelishesReading: Thank you Reba. The Parkway is usually beautiful, no matter the time of year. The bad thing about this storm was that it arrived just before the height of leaf-peeping tourist season, so it's a double blow to all the economies out there. They've already made a lot of progress, but there's still so far to go. Lots of damage to water systems, so it won't be a quick recovery for some things, unfortunately.

Happy new thread, Irene!

Thanks, Jim!

50. The Lantern Bearers by Rosemary Sutcliff

Look at that, I've finished my 50th book for the year! I won't get to 75, but I'm already 10 ahead of last year, and I've still got 6 weeks left.

I had read The Eagle of the Ninth and The Silver Branch earlier this year, and I was hoping to be able to complete the trilogy before too long. Anita (FAMeulstee) was a big fan of these books, and was so excited to see that I had started reading them. When we lost her, I wanted even more to get to The Lantern Bearers, to read it in her memory. But I wasn't sure I would have a chance to fit it in this year. I've also been trying to keep up (as much as possible) with the HistoryCat challenge this year, and it turned out that November's topic was Ancient History, so this was the perfect opportunity for me to read The Lantern Bearers.

The Lantern Bearers tells the story of England when the last of the Romans pulled out and the Saxons and other tribes were invading. Our hero, Aquila, was a Roman legionnaire, but is also a Briton and feels attached to his home, so he deserts and stays behind with his family. Unfortunately, his homestead is destroyed by Saxon raiders, his father killed, his sister taken, and he himself ends up as a slave to a separate group of raiding Jutes. We follow his story as he seeks revenge for what happened, and we see the changing alliances among the tribes of Britain and the invaders, as well as battles between the clashing groups. The book ends at a period of time where there was a lot of uncertainty about the future.

Overall, I enjoyed the story, although not quite as much as the previous two books. This one is spread out over a longer period of time, and not as tight a story. This is probably inevitable, given the period of history that Sutcliff is writing about. The hero of the book is also much more complicated than the heroes of the previous two books, since he is tortured over what he has lost, bent more on personal revenge, and has a gruff personality. I was interested to note the character Artorius, called Artos, who shows up in this book, and who I presume is meant to be Arthur of Arthurian legend.

Given the current situation in our own country, this quote at the end of the book seems strikingly appropriate:

"It may be that the night will close over us in the end, but I believe that morning will come again. Morning always grows again out of the darkness, though maybe not for the people who saw the sun go down. We are the Lantern Bearers, my friend; for us to keep something burning, to carry what light we can forward into the darkness and the wind."

>29 atozgrl: It was one of my first reads of the year and I enjoyed it too though The Eagle of the Ninth was better.
Well spotted with the apropos closing.

>30 PaulCranswick: I agree Paul, I liked The Eagle of the Ninth better as well. I'm glad you liked the quote!

I pulled the *Eagle* out last night and will try to read the trilogy before year's end. I am so close to 75 that I may concentrate on easier, shorter books just to get there. Of course, what I started at the beginning of November is mostly long or not easy or both. Meanwhile, Sword at Sunset remains my top Sutcliff, as I've said again and again.

Happy weekend, Irene! Hope both of you lose the rest of your colds!

Hi Irene!

>25 atozgrl: I only check the forecast on WRAL’s weather app, although today I did a bit of a dive to see whether Trumps a fascist or (just) a populist autocrat. I think he’s in the latter camp, still extremely dangerous, possibly more so because it is insidious. I'm sorry your DH's back is acting up.

>29 atozgrl: Congrats on book 50.

>32 LizzieD: Hi Peggy! The Roman Britain Trilogy is certainly one you can finish before the end of the year. It's nice that you are so close to 75! I added Sword at Sunset to my wishlist after you mentioned it earlier this year. I hadn't heard of it before.

I have pulled The kingdom, the power, and the glory and put it on my to-read pile in the bedroom. If I have time, I am going to try to start it before the end of the year.

We're getting better, and the colds are clearing up. We got out this morning to rake leaves and pine straw in the back yard. It was getting bad back there, so we needed to do something. My DH really likes to mow the leaves and let the mower mulch them into the bag. Unfortunately, our back yard is on the north side of the house, and after the rain this week everything was still too wet to mow. There were fewer leaves in the front, and it was dry enough he could run the mower there.

>33 karenmarie: Trump may be just a populist autocrat, but some of his advisors are more than that, I think. I don't trust Stephen Miller at all. At that CPAC conference earlier this year, some of those behind Project 2025 were openly stating that they wanted to get rid of democracy.

Our colds and my DH's back are all getting better. Thanks re book 50.

I hope you have a great weekend Karen!

>35 atozgrl: That's one of the big worries, isn't it, Irene: that Trump in his first term went through advisors who might actually work to moderate or avoid his missteps, and now only the crazies are left.

Stay warm and comfy and get well!!!

>36 LizzieD: Yes, that's what scares me this time, and why I want to avoid the news going forward.

We're getting better and will stay warm tonight. Wishing you a great Sunday!

Happy New Thread, Irene. I just finished my 50th book a couple of days ago, and like you, I won't get to 75, but another ? 8 books this year?

>35 atozgrl: And RFK for Health!!! Dear heavens!!

Happy new thread, what a great picture to start it!

>38 vancouverdeb: Thanks, Deborah. Eight might be a good goal for the rest of the year. I'm halfway through The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store for my RL book club. It may just depend on how much time I have to read in December. We're supposed to visit my DH's family in Mississippi, and I might not get as much reading time then.

>40 banjo123: Thanks, Rhonda! I'm glad you liked the picture. I wanted to find a really pretty one.

>39 RebaRelishesReading: No kidding! The day I went to vote I wound up behind a car with a bumper sticker saying that if Trump did not win the election, we were screwed. I think we're screwed because he won.

The news reports that Asheville has finally lifted the "boil water" advisory for the first time since Helene hit, so things are improving a bit. The Baxter plant that makes the majority of the country's IV fluid bags is also back in production. Not only was the plant flooded, but two bridges were washed out, preventing many workers from actually being able to reach the plant. But they've apparently put up temporary bridges, and the plant was cleaned, and everything is up and running again.

It sounds like there ought to be another plant somewhere else in the country so we aren't so reliant on one place for critical supplies like IV fluids. Seems like someone should look at all the critically needed things, whether medical or in other fields, and find some way to make sure that there's more than one source for these items in this country.

Hi Irene, and a belated Happy New Thread.

>44 ArlieS: Thank you, Arlie!

Happy Wednesday, Irene. Congrats on hitting #50! Glad to here that things are improving in western NC, albeit very slowly.

>46 msf59: Thanks, Mark! My feeders have been busy lately, and I'm having trouble keeping them filled. Lots of visitors: cardinals, chickadees, titmice, carolina wren, mourning doves, downy and red-bellied woodpeckers, etc. We saw a red-wing blackbird last week, and there was another with him that might have also been a red-wing blackbird. The second one was a little smaller, and we couldn't see the red patch, just a yellow stripe on his wing. So maybe another red-wing blackbird? But not entirely sure.

So it's supposed to drop down near freezing overnight. The last time we had temperatures at 32 or below was February 21! That's an insanely long time for this area. So far this fall, we've only had 2 days when it got into the 30's, which is also extremely abnormal. I am not a huge fan of cold weather, but I would actually like it to be cold in a normal sense, to kill off the bad bugs and keep some of those deep south critters out of this area. I do not care for this climate-change thing.

My DH saw a post with this in his Facebook feed:
"Unpacked our nativity scene yesterday. Removed all the Jews, Arabs, and foreigners. Ended up with a jackass and a handful of sheep."

Wouldn't old normal weather be a great thing, Irene!!!?!!!

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that fb meme! Thanks for passing it on.

Happy Weekend!

Checking in very late on your new thread, Irene!

Stay warm and have a fantastic Friday!

>48 atozgrl: LOL--ain't it the truth.

>49 LizzieD: Old normal weather would be wonderful! I guess we won't be seeing that again. And I'm glad you liked the Fb post--I got a kick out of that.

Last night the official weather recording station got down to 33F. We don't live far from there, and so I don't know if we got to the same temperature or possibly hit freezing at our house. But at least the temperatures are finally getting somewhat toward normal.

>50 alcottacre: Hello Stasia, glad to see you here! I hope you also have a fantastic Friday, and the weekend too!

>51 kac522: That was a good one, wasn't it?

I forgot to mention that my Challenged Books Club met on Tuesday, to discuss Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. There were fewer people than usual at the meeting, and our group leader had had a bike accident and broke his ankle, so he and his wife were absent this time.

Most of the people at the discussion really didn't like the book that much, which surprised me. The lady who filled in leading the discussion really didn't like the book, although thinking about it later, she revised her opinion somewhat. She realized that she wasn't part of the intended audience for the book. I think there were 3 of us who liked the book. One of them had listened to it on audio, and several of the people who didn't like the book much thought it probably would have been better on audio.

>48 atozgrl: lol

>56 RebaRelishesReading: Glad you liked it, Reba!

51. The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

OK, we're going to try this again. For the second time this month, what I was typing up about a book got wiped out in the middle of my typing it.

I read The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store for my RL book club this month. Many, if not most, of you have probably already read the book, so I'll just use the summary from Amazon:

In 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new development, the last thing they expected to find was a skeleton at the bottom of a well. Who the skeleton was and how it got there were two of the long-held secrets kept by the residents of Chicken Hill, the dilapidated neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side and shared ambitions and sorrows. Chicken Hill was where Moshe and Chona Ludlow lived when Moshe integrated his theater and where Chona ran the Heaven & Earth Grocery Store. When the state came looking for a deaf boy to institutionalize him, it was Chona and Nate Timblin, the Black janitor at Moshe’s theater and the unofficial leader of the Black community on Chicken Hill, who worked together to keep the boy safe.

I think this may be the best book I have read all year. The story was compelling and really drew me in. The characters were all well developed, and I came to care for most of them. McBride even takes us inside the head of one of the bad guys, and we see the world from his point of view, just as we do from the "good guys." We also see the relationships between the various social/racial groups: blacks, whites, and Jews. What was interesting to me was how he showed the differences between the various Jewish groups. There were German Jews, Polish Jews, Lithuanian Jews, Romanian Jews, etc. And they all had their different characteristics and did not get along with each other. That was an unexpected, but realistic, part of the story for me. There is also a little bit (very little) of commentary on our current society.

In all, I loved it. Highly recommended.

"Light is only possible through dialogue between cultures, not through rejection of one or the other."

Thanks for your info re the covers of books and pictures on LT disappearing. There is thread in Bugs, I think it was, and yes, LT has a problem with that right now. I hope all is restored soon. I have not yet read The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store , but your review is tempting me. I'm glad you loved it so much.

>59 vancouverdeb: I was thinking they would probably post something in the Bugs thread, but it was so late last night that I didn't go looking for it.

Yes, I definitely recommend The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store. I loved it. Of course, everyone is different, but I hope you would like it too.

Gorgeous topper! My husband and I escaped to western Virginia to catch the tail end of the leaves along the Skyline Drive.

>58 atozgrl: I loved The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store. Glad you did, too.

Mostly stopping by to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving! Grateful for my sometimes neglected LT family.

Hello, Karen, it's so nice to see you here! I'm glad you like the topper. It really caught my eye when I found it.

I did love The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store. We had a smaller group for our book club meeting this week, probably not a surprise with the holiday. But everyone liked it at least a little, and some of us really liked it a lot. Glad to know you liked it too.

You are welcome whenever you have the time to drop by. Wishing you a great Thanksgiving too!

In difficult times we have to be thankful for:
Friends and friendship
Books and readers.
This special group
Our loved ones near and far.

Thinking about you, Irene, this holiday period.

>63 PaulCranswick: Thank you very much Paul! That is well said, and I'm glad you left that thought for me.

>64 atozgrl: You have quickly become one of my absolute favourites in the group, but please don't tell anyone!!

We had a quiet Thanksgiving Day, just the two of us here at home. Since there were just the two of us, I cooked up a turkey breast, with the traditional green bean casserole and sweet potato casserole. This year I wasn't able to find the usual frozen rolls that I like. Food Lion didn't have them this time, so I wound up getting some Sister Schubert yeast rolls instead. They turned out pretty well. Our financial advisor has been sending us an apple pie from Grand Traverse Pie Company every Thanksgiving, and didn't disappoint this year, so all I had to do was warm that up for dessert. It was rainy here this morning, but no storms. The highs were in the 60's but we didn't go out. It's supposed to turn cold for the next week.

52. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

I read A Farewell to Arms for the November War Room Challenge. I don't have any unread books about WWI on my shelves at present, so I thought it was high time I finally read this book, which has been considered a classic.

It tells the story of an American serving as an ambulance driver in the Italian army during WWI. It is also largely about his love affair with a British nurse. I have to say that this tale didn't do a whole lot for me. The protagonist tells the story in first person, and it took me quite a while just to figure out what his name was. There was an awful lot of just talking, and not saying much that was of interest. I would have liked a bit more action. And there was also an awful lot of drinking, even early in the day. I didn't ever feel any real connection with any of the characters, and I didn't completely buy in to the romance either. For me, the most interesting parts were the ones that described some of the action in the war and the Italian army's retreat after their disastrous defeat at the battle of Caporetto.

However, I did learn some things by reading the book. I didn't know much of anything about WWI in Italy, and reading this story prompted me to read up on some of it online. Hemingway also mentions anti-war riots that had taken place in Italy, and I had no idea that kind of thing was happening then. It makes WWI more relatable, since it echoes things I experienced in my life.

I also have a complaint about this edition of the book. It's "The Hemingway Library Edition," published in 2012. It includes a brief foreword by Hemingway's son Patrick and an Introduction by his grandson Sean Hemingway. I read the foreword, and brief though it was, it managed to include a spoiler. I held off on reading the longer Introduction until after I finished the book, which was a good decision because it included more spoilers. Not having read the novel before or seen any of the movie adaptations, I did not know anything beyond the fact that it was about someone serving as an ambulance driver in WWI and that there was a romance. In fact, I had always assumed it was set in France, not Italy. I really did not need to get a spoiler before even starting the story. The Foreword and Introduction belonged at the back of the book, not at the beginning.

In all, I'd say the story was OK but the writing style didn't appeal much to me. But it's considered a classic, and I'm glad that I have finally read it.

>65 PaulCranswick: *Blush* That is very kind of you, Paul. I certainly enjoy reading your thoughts about books and other things, though I can hardly keep up with the fast pace of your thread. This really is a great group.

Happy Friday, Irene. I hope you had a lovely holiday with your husband. Hooray for Grocery Store! I loved that novel, as well. The red-wing blackbirds you saw- one of them could have been an immature red-wing or a female.
I saw a flicker at the suet feeder the other day and a robin on the front lawn.

Hi Irene! I hope you and your DH had a good Thanksgiving.

>58 atozgrl: I’ve seen this mentioned in the 75ers, but I’ve added it to my wish list because of your review.

>66 atozgrl: Funny you mention Sister Schubert yeast rolls – we always have them at Thanksgiving, mainly because a cousin would bring them when she was little and now she needs them. Our friend Diane brought 2 trays of them. Lucky you – apple pie from your financial advisor.

>69 msf59: Thanks, Mark, we had a nice day. I thought that you liked The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store too. It's definitely a good one.

Thanks for the information about the blackbirds. We don't think it was a female, so maybe an immature bird. Hurray for the flicker and the robin! I would have thought robins would have left your area by now.

>70 karenmarie: Hi Karen, yes we did have a good day. Oh, I got you with a BB! I hope you like it as much as I did whenever you get to it. It was a really good story for me.

The Sister Schubert rolls turned out pretty well. The ones I like to get are frozen, but you have to remember to get them out early to let them thaw, because they have to rise. I have liked those rolls because they have so much more flavor than the ready-to-eat rolls you can get at the store. Having looked online, I think I can still find them at Target and WalMart. But the Sister Schubert rolls are a decent replacement for them.

Happy day after, Irene. I am also a fan of Sister Schubert. I used to make yeast rolls years ago, but when I retired, I found that I had lost my touch. SS's are not as good, but they are so much easier than the real things!

I'm not a great Hemingway fan. I can appreciate what he does; I just don't especially like it. Put me down as a Scott Fitzgerald reader every time!

Hope y'all are enjoying leftovers and staying warm as winter is about to arrive in NC!

>73 LizzieD: I haven't ever been one to make bread and rolls from scratch. I have used boxed mixes for bread, which has turned out well, but doing it from scratch is not something I've tried. Not sure how it would turn out if I did. The Sister Schubert rolls were a good substitute for what I usually get.

I've read two Hemingways so far, and I haven't been a great fan of either one. I've got one more lined up for December (assuming my library hold comes in), but I don't think I'll go out of my way to read his writing. If there are any of his books included in the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list that I haven't read after this one, I will probably try to get to it eventually, but otherwise, I think I'll pass. But I haven't read much F. Scott Fitzgerald either. The only one I've read was The Great Gatsby back when I was in college, and I didn't care for it at the time.

We are enjoying leftovers! And staying warm too. We haven't left the house since Wednesday. Of course, now that my DH is mostly over his cold, we need to start walking again. I hope you are also enjoying leftovers and staying warm!

>24 atozgrl: I saw they expect to open 2 lanes of I-40 before too long, so I assume that means it will be one-way traffic and no wide loads.

>58 atozgrl: I think it's the only book I've given 5 stars this year. I was surprised I enjoyed it as much as I did.

>75 thornton37814: That's what we heard a few weeks ago, when they were discussing the plans for reopening. It would be one lane in each direction, no wide loads. I haven't heard a recent update, but I know they hoped to get it done by the end of the year.

>76 thornton37814: I'm glad to know you loved it too! I only have a few 5-star reads this year, and one of those was an exercise book, so very different. It really is the best fiction book I have read this year.

53. Dinner in One by Melissa Clark

I finally snagged a copy of this cookbook in Amazon's latest sale that I had been wanting to check out since I first heard about it. I won't call it a ROOT since it just came in. I love the idea of minimizing the number of dishes, pans, etc. needed to fix a meal. I've read the introduction and looked through all the recipes. There are quite a few that I hope to try. Some look very good. I don't really know how to rate a cookbook. For now I'm giving it 4-stars because the recipes look so good, but we'll see if I decide to adjust that rating later.

Wordle 1,274 3/6

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Connections
Puzzle #552
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More weirdness with Connections. I thought today's puzzle was easy, so I looked at their difficulty score. They rated it 3 out of 5. I would have given it a 1 (although I never would have figured out the purple line on my own; it was just everything that was left). I bombed out a few days ago, and they rated that puzzle a 1! There were 2 lines in that puzzle I could not get, even using their clues. If it was a 1, I wonder who their puzzle testers are. I think you had to be younger to get some of the references in that puzzle. Maybe they don't have any baby boomers among the testers?

54. Crusaders : the epic history of the wars for the holy lands by Dan Jones

I read Crusaders for the quarterly Reading Through Time challenge. It also belatedly fits the War Room Challenge from April. The book provides a very in-depth telling of the Crusades by following the stories of the various crusaders who took part. Jones takes a very broad view of the Crusades, including the Reconquista in Spain as well as attacks by Christians in northern Europe against pagan tribes living in the Baltic. In all of these cases, the Pope gave the crusaders promise of remission of their sins. There was so much information in this book that it was not a quick read, but I learned a lot that I did not know about the Crusades.

I actually had a fairly bare-bones knowledge of the Crusades before now. Some of the new things I learned: passions raised in Europeans heading out on crusade in the Middle East for several of the crusades led to bloody attacks and slaughter of Jews in European cities en route; a large number of noncombatants accompanied the first Crusade; Muslims were not united (already split between Sunni and Shi'ite); Saladin was a Kurd; later Crusades turned inward, to attack "heretical" groups within Europe; and the Mongols made it all the way to the Middle East and were involved in the fighting in the 13th Century. I was also completely unfamiliar with the appalling, misguided, and disastrous Fourth Crusade that diverted from its original intention of attacking Muslims at Alexandria to attacking Constantinople in a dispute over who should be emperor, resulting in the destruction of much of the city. In general, the crusades were an extremely bloody affair on both sides and the whole thing seems like insanity.

Jones presents the stories of what happened from both sides of view, Christian and Muslim, with each side regarding the other as infidels. He clearly did a lot of research for this book, and includes quotes from many primary sources writing about the battles. It's a very good book, with helpful maps and a long list of the various crusaders, in case you have trouble keeping them all straight. There are lots of notes and a bibliography. Parts of the book were a little slow for me, and maybe there was more detail than I wanted, but it is very complete. He ends with an epilogue, describing the attack in Christchurch, NZ on a mosque and an Islamic center by a white Christian nationalist, followed shortly thereafter by bombings of churches and hotels in Sri Lanka by extremist Islamic groups. This goes to show that while most of us think of the Crusades as something in the long past, there are still people on both sides who see themselves as modern day crusaders, still fighting these ancient battles.

Weirdly, the day I was reading about one Islamic group taking Damascus from another was the same day that the Syrian rebels took Damascus in the present day, and Bashar al-Assad fled.

Stopping by to say hi, Irene. Glad you had an enjoyable Thanksgiving.

55. The Last White Man by Mohsin Hamid

I read The Last White Man for my RL Challenged Books Club. After the heavy and slow read on the Crusades, this book was a big change--thank goodness. It is short and made for a quick read, on very different subject matter.

This is the story of a white man who wakes up one day to discover that he has become black. At first he hides and only tells the woman who was an old friend and recently his lover. But then the same transformation starts to happen to more people. The story covers the social reaction but is mostly about the relationship of the two protagonists and their parents.

This was an interesting concept and an interesting read. It is written in a kind of stream-of-consciousness style, with whole paragraphs being run-on sentences. That's not my favorite style of writing, but it flowed and was actually easy to read. I kind of wanted more from that premise, however.

>81 vancouverdeb: Hello, Deborah, it's nice to see you! I almost missed you, since you snuck in between two reviews.

My DH was talking to his sister in Mississippi today. They were driving home from Jackson after visiting with their son and going to his church's holiday celebration. They've got bluetooth in their car, so they were able to talk, but they were struck by another car while my husband was talking to them! They were knocked down a hill and have a lot of damage to the car. They are OK but shaken up. The tow truck driver told them that the police told him the driver of the other car was drunk. It was only late afternoon, but a drunk driver was already out on the roads.

Wordle 1,275 4/6

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Connections
Puzzle #553
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I thought today's Connections was even easier than yesterday's (I might have even been able to figure out the purple line if I had needed to), but this time they rated the difficulty as 3.4 out of 5. Who the heck is deciding the difficulty?

>84 atozgrl: Oh my, how terrible! Can they drive the car home?

I've given up on Connections--it's clearly full of references to stuff that an old person like me has absolutely no clue. I do Wordle and the Mini Crossword, although sometimes the crossword is weird, too. But I can usually get most of the letters around it & figure it out.

>85 kac522: They had to get a rental car. The plan was to stay at their son's place and then drive back home today, and turn in the rental car. They have a second car at their house. I'm not entirely sure if they did that, but I think they're back home. My DH tried to call and didn't get an answer. He later texted and his sister said she may have slept through his call. She didn't sleep last night, and was sleeping today.

Sometimes Connections is definitely oriented toward younger folks, and I have sometimes been able to solve by Googling one of the words, when I have a group of three and think one of the other words might go with the group. But sometimes I think the puzzle works better for older folks. I was on the verge of giving up on it at one point, but I stuck with it. There are occasionally days when I don't do the puzzle, and other days I bomb out, but it gives me an interesting challenge that's different from Wordle. I have not tried the Mini Crossword.

>86 atozgrl: I agree with your thoughts on Connections. I do it every day, and am usually able to eke out a solve, most of the time, very easily. It is a very subjective puzzle! It all depends on context.

Oh, do try the Mini Crossword! It’s fun, and not too much of a time sink.

Karen O

Sounds like your sister-in-law and family are doing OK -- hope so anyway!!

My morning computer time includes mini-crossword, Connections, Wordle and Strands plus the full crossword on Mondays. I'm hoping it helps to keep my brain alive :>

>87 klobrien2: Connections is definitely subjective! I never know how it's going to go.

I hadn't tried the Mini Crossword. I wasn't sure if I could play since I don't subscribe. But I just went over and it let me play, so maybe I can after all.

>88 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks Reba. Yes they seem to be doing as well as can be expected, after such an experience.

I agree, I've been sticking with the games partly because I think it's good exercise for my brain. We've all got to do what we can! :-)

------
Today's Wordle went well.

Wordle 1,279 2/6

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>90 atozgrl: VERY good!! It took me 4 today.

>91 RebaRelishesReading: My first word was very helpful yesterday, and then I wanted to try an R in the second word, so it turned out to be a good guess. I was in a hurry late last night, and didn't add my words. I guess I should go back and edit that.

It was back to Wordle in 3 today.

Wordle 1,280 3/6

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I saw on msf59's thread recently that LT's Top Five Books of the year list is posted. I had added my top 5 there, but didn't list them here. Belatedly, here they are:

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
Caste: the Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
The Black Count : glory, revolution, betrayal, and the real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss

Honorable mention goes to:
Band of brothers : E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest by Stephen E. Ambrose
The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See

>93 atozgrl: Ooh that is a tough one for me too this year. I have had somereally good reads this year even though my number is slightly down.

Solstice cheer, Irene!

>94 PaulCranswick: I had a lot of good reads this year! Better than last year. And I've read a lot of classic books, even if I did not care for all of them. So it has been a very good reading year for me. I'm glad it has been for you as well, Paul!

>95 richardderus: Thank you so much, Richard! Those are lovely tree toppers. I have one similar to a couple of the ones in the picture. And I'm glad to see you finally here, on my not-so-new-anymore thread. I was afraid I'd scared you off.

Heavens, Irene! I'm sorry that your SiL and her husband had that happen to them. It sounds really scary!

You are tearing up Wordle, and good for you!

I looked at those top 5 lists too but didn't add mine. *Heaven & Earth GS* would certainly be among them though.

>98 LizzieD: It *was* scary! They seem to be recovering OK though. I'm not sure how everything they have to deal with is going, but I guess we'll find out when we head down to visit them next week.

I'm glad you loved "Heaven & Earth Grocery Store" too! It really was the best fiction I read this year.

I've been fortunate with Wordle lately. I'm having a better stretch now. A couple of months ago, it was a lot of 5's.

>93 atozgrl: I'll need to go over top five books of 2024. It will be difficult since there were so many good ones! I send all good wishes for a wonderful holiday to you and your loved ones.

>93 atozgrl: Well I managed to whittle it down to a list, Irene, but I only managed it by choosing per category.

I think my book of the year is surprisingly Loot by Tania James which I thought was tremendous.

Hi Irene!

>84 atozgrl: How awful for SiL/BiL, and scary that your DH had to hear the whole thing. I hope they are okay and that the drunk driver had insurance.

>93 atozgrl: Nice list. I’m going to wait ‘til the end of the year just in case I get James read by then for January’s RL book club discussion.

>100 Whisper1: Thank you, Linda, and I very much wish the same for you!

>101 PaulCranswick: I have somehow missed hearing of Loot, Paul. It looks interesting. I do love historical fiction. Onto the massive TBR list it goes!

>102 karenmarie: Thanks, Karen. I've been behind on LT this week, occasionally lurking on your thread, but not commenting. I'll get over there in a bit to say hi.

Yes, it was scary. i don't know if the other driver had insurance, I haven't heard many details since it happened. We'll find out a lot more next week when we visit them.

I don't think I'm going to manage to get much more read this year, with travel to Mississippi and visiting a lot of people. So I'm pretty certain there's no chance anything else will come up to replace what I have on my best of 2024 list.

I am currently in the middle of reading For Whom the Bell Tolls, which I am enjoying much more than I did A Farewell to Arms. Given how busy we are going to be the next few days, it is very unlikely that I will finish the book before we leave, but I should finish it while we are in Mississippi. I am hoping that I can also squeeze in one of Dickens' Christmas books before the end of the year. I doubt I will be able to finish anything else.

My DH has a very busy day scheduled for tomorrow. He has been asked to play for both services Sunday morning, and the church is having its annual Christmas music celebration early in the evening. He has to be there by 4:30 to get ready for that. Which means that we are trying to get as much travel packing done as we can today. Though my DH also has a rehearsal this afternoon.

Unfortunately, the annual Christmas music celebration at the church is later in the month than usual, which means we can't leave for Mississippi until Monday morning. The plan is to get up very early Monday (which is supposed to be 20F, very cold for here) and drive all the way through. We usually take two days for the trip, and if we could leave Sunday afternoon, it would work well. But not this time. We won't get back until early January, and I probably will be off LT the entire time, so I will have to finish up my threads and books read lists for 2024 after I get home. And then set up everything for the new year.

I will probably be on and off here for a little bit the next couple of days, and then not until the new year. So I want to wish you all a wonderful holiday season!

>97 atozgrl: Oh gosh, I didn't realize it was my first post! I've apparently only lurked. *tsk* remiss of me, sorry Irene!

>107 richardderus: I was afraid all the religious discussion at the end of my last thread (even though it was by anti-Trump Christians) might have chased you away. I'm very glad that it did not!

I will probably be mostly absent from here for the rest of the year, so I hope you have a wonderful holiday season, and that the food isn't awful! *smooch*

>108 atozgrl: The food will be awful, so I planned ahead, saved some cash, and am ordering orange chicken and fried dumplings on the day! No lunchmeat turkey for me! Nary a yam to be seen! I'm getting pork dumplings so I'll forego dessert lest I gain ten pounds instead of five.

I tune out god talk unless someone says something directly at me. It's so much nicer that way. Holiday hugs!

>109 richardderus: Your meal sounds excellent! Enjoy it!

And I'm glad to know that you will safely ignore any god talk if it ever reappears here. It's not something I normally spend a lot of time discussing here, but I was so relieved to find other Christians speaking out against that ungodly horror that I had to share it.

Many holiday hugs in return!

>110 atozgrl: Honestly, Irene, and I pinky-swear I'll never talk about it again, I'm stunned that anyone professing faith in the religion could see that scum and think "god's chosen messenger". It contravenes every tenet I've heard attributed to y'all's guy. Literally every one. My sister Valerie, your co-religionist, is equally horrified.

Thanks for the greetings. I hope your holidays are wonderful and your trip safe and happy. See you next year :)

Safe travels and have a lovely holiday! See you in January....

Whew! You are going to be a busy woman this weekend, Irene. I hope that you both are able to get a little rest tomorrow although it sounds more likely for you than for your DH. Prayers for traveling mercies!

Have the Merriest of Merry Christmases and enjoy the visiting! We'll miss you and be glad when you're back in 2025!!!!!!

>111 richardderus: Agree completely. I am truly horrified.

>112 RebaRelishesReading: Thank you very much, Reba! See you next year!

>113 kac522: And thank you too, Kathy. See you then!

>114 LizzieD: My DH tends to get stressed out about packing. Fortunately, he was able to get done most of what he needed to do today, and is feeling better about things. He will have a very busy day at church tomorrow, with all the music activity. He has to get to church so early tomorrow morning that we will be driving separately. I will be able to come home after the early service, and I will have an easier day. But I've got more packing still to do.

I covet your prayers for travelling mercies! I am not looking forward to that long drive. I get stiff nowadays from sitting for long periods of time. Thank you for the good wishes, and I wish the same for you!

>93 atozgrl: Strong list. Thanks for sharing. I also enjoyed The Vanishing Half.

Have a wonderful Christmas with the family, Irene. Good luck with the travel packing and safe travels. We will await your return. 🎄🎅

>118 msf59: Thank you, Mark! I wish you the same!

>119 karenmarie: Thanks, Karen! That's a pretty tree! ETA: And after visiting your thread, I see that it's your tree. Very nice!

After a long day, especially for my DH, who had to get up at 5:30 this morning to get breakfast and a shower before he had to get to church, we've decided to break up the drive to Mississippi into two days. That's our preferred method. We would have much preferred to arrive before the 24th, but it looks like we're better off getting there on the 24th than pushing when we're tired. This may finally be my last post before we leave, so I'll see you all in the New Year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Irene!

Nadolig Llawen, Happy Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Thinking of you at this time, Irene.

>58 atozgrl: I am so glad to see that you loved that one! It is a very good read, isn't it?

>80 atozgrl: Adding that one to the BlackHole. Thanks for the recommendation, Irene!

>117 atozgrl: Praying for traveling mercies for you, especially after the recent scare your DH had.