Shelley Starts Again in 2024 - chapter five

This will be the final chapter (thread) of 2024 for me. I won't make the magic number of 75 this year, but if I'm lucky, I will hit 55. It's been a long rough year, fraught with stress but some of the things I turn to for solace are art, music and nature. Last week, I went to an exhibit at the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario), where I have an annual pass, allowing me free entry all year. This exhibit was a celebration of a Philippina textile artist, 20 years after her passing. Her name is Pacita Abad and her works are larger than life, full of life and colour and I have every intention of returning to see it again before it leaves the city. My photos can't really do justice to the sheer wonder of her works but I will try.

Stairs leading to the second floor exhibit:



Intro:

from the front:



and even from the back, it's beautiful:

From her *African Masks* series. Abad uses a technique called *trapunto* which is a quilt technique that gives dimension to her pieces. She also is not bound by one style. She embellishes her works with paint, tie-dye, buttons, shells, rickrack, sequins, gold threads and anything else that strikes her fancy to make the piece colourful, playful, surprising.



This was one of my favourites, with a closeup of details after it:

To give you a sense of how large the pieces are, they are all hung in rooms, either against walls or suspended from the ceiling. The *underwater* pieces were suspended from the ceiling and gently swayed, giving the feeling of truly being underwater.



And another closeup of the details of one piece. Remember, she did all of these BY HAND!!!

Every time you turned a corner or entered another room of the exhibit, it was a surprise. Her *Underwater* series was spectacular.



A piece of the details of this one:




(and, for Richard):


And the woman had a sense of humour! And fun!


She passed away from cancer when she was still in her 50s but she was so prolific. Imagine if she had lived a long life! I haven't even posted pics here of her *Immigrant* series. I am still buzzing from this exhibit and may go back next week. I personally have no talent in sewing or any textile arts (or any art, if I am honest) but I am always so moved by such talent. And Pacita Abad had it in abundance.

one more

Ok. I think I'll stop, before I break LT.

Welcome!

Happy New Thread, Shelley. I really like the Pacita Abad toppers. Impressive work. Thanks for sharing.

>2 jessibud2: wow! I had not heard of Abad until now.

Happy new thread!

Thanks, Mark and Anita. As I said, it's hard to really capture the grandeur in a photo, on a computer screen but I think you get the idea.

Beautiful work- I will make time to see the exhibition1

It will be well worth your time, Cyrel. It's really something!

I absolutely LOVE fabric art. If I could have a talent for any medium, (other than words) that would be it. I saw a much smaller exhibit at our local museum a few years ago, and I could hardly tear myself away.

>14 laytonwoman3rd: - Which is precisely why I NEED to go back. For this exhibit, you want to get as close as they will allow you, just to see and take in the exquisite details. But, you also want to step back and see the whole piece in its entirety. I felt like a yoyo, going back and forth like that, for nearly every single piece. I'm sure it must say somewhere but I wonder how many pieces are in this exhibit, total. It felt like a LOT! And this is only a sampling of her work.

As Anita said, I, too, had never heard of Pacita Abad until this exhibit. Her work is just so unique and beautiful.

Wow! What an opening. I am quite sorry that getting to the exhibition isn't possible for me. But it is dazzling. So congratulations for this launch of your last thread for 2024. Love it.

Happy new thread, Shelley. That exhibit looks fabulous.

Happy new thread! As a quilter, mrsdrneutron would really love that exhibit. Nice pics!

Thanks, Bill, Beth and Jim.

I am still reading Kantika for the November American Author challenge but since it is not a book in high demand at the library, I will likely set it aside for the moment and return to it later (and renew it if necessary) so I can begin James which I picked up today. This one is in high demand (there was a big line ahead of me when I reserved it) so I probably won't be able to renew it. Looking forward to diving in.

What beautiful fibre art, Shelley! Thanks for sharing it with us.

Happy new thread and thanks for posting that gorgeous art work, Shelley.

Strikingly beautiful, Shelley!

Happy new thread, dear lady.

Thank you, Deb, Kathy and Paul.

>20 jessibud2: I'm intrigued by Kantika, and will have to see if our library has it.

Wow! Thanks for introducing us (or least me) to Pacita Abad's stunning work. What a shame that she died at such a young age.

>25 laytonwoman3rd: - I had only just started Kantika, Linda, when James arrived and because of the demand for that book, I need to read that one first. But so far so good, on Kantika.

>26 kidzdoc: - Hi Darryl. Thanks for stopping by. I am going to try to go back to the AGO next week, and will try to add more pics here then.

Hi Shelley! Happy new thread.

Lovely works, Pacita Abad, a special and original artist. Loved the underwater series. They’re a joy to look at.

>28 EllaTim: - Thanks, Ella. They truly are a joy to look at. Even more so in person but I am happy that my photos came out as well as they did.

Way too many options for this one...but...the streak lives! (currently at 37 games)

meaty, slide, spike, spire, spice, spine

>27 jessibud2: I imagine the demand for James will even increase, now that it has won the National Book Award.

>31 laytonwoman3rd: - I'm sure it will!

Wordle 1,252 3/6 meaty, learn, pearl

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Hi Shelley!



>2 jessibud2: Seeing art on stair risers always makes me happy.

I love the underwater series best, love her showing up to an opening in scuba gear. She died young, so tragic.

>32 jessibud2: Congrats on your Wordle 3. I got it in 3 today, too.

Checking in on the new thread, Shelley! Thank you for sharing the pictures of the awesome fabric art!

Happy new thread, Shelley. Thanks for the photos giving a taste of the exhibit of fabric art. I love that stuff!

>33 karenmarie: - Hi Karen. I also love seeing art on stair risers. So creative!

>34 alcottacre:, >35 Familyhistorian: - Hi Stasia and Meg. Thanks for stopping by.

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>2 jessibud2: to >7 jessibud2: Amazing textile work Shelley, what a great exhibition.

>37 Caroline_McElwee: - Thanks, Caroline, it really was. This afternoon I went with a couple of friends to a small theatre here in Toronto to see a one-woman play, Shirley Valentine. It was excellent! Two acts, 2 simple sets and the actress was outstanding! I saw the film eons ago, when it first came out and remembered loving it but in truth, did not remember the actual story. Since seeing this play (apparently, it was originally written as a one-woman play; I hadn't known that), I have now requested the film (dvd) from my library so I can compare. I think a live show is going to be hard to beat, though.

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>39 jessibud2: Way to come back after a full miss on your first Wordle word!

Karen O

>38 jessibud2: I loved the film too Shelley, and can see it would make a great play, and written by Willy Russell, not to be beat.

>6 jessibud2: How gloriously gorgeous! I'm so glad you told me to come, though I was sure you'd posted some bloody giant sculpture of a c-a-t just to troll me. Grateful I now have another artist to get familiar with.

*smooch*

>42 richardderus: - Am I that evil? Well, maybe sometimes but not to you. I know how you feel about them and I wouldn't be so mean as to lure you over here for a c-a-t! ;-)

*smooch*

Wordle 1,257 4/6 meaty, chalk, plaid, slang

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Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends here on LT. Wishing you a safe and satisfying one!

>45 jessibud2: Thank you, Shelly.

>38 jessibud2: I can't imagine having the chutzpah to stage a one person play. They are fascinating to watch, though.

Wow, I love the Pacita Abad quilts, Shelley. Thanks for posting all the photos. It’s not the same as seeing them in person, but I hope someone collects her work in a book. At what museum in Toronto is this exhibited?

Well, whaddya know? Pricey, but I bet it’s wonderful: https://a.co/d/gS6xJDF

P.S. wow, against all odds our system had a copy. I requested it.

>46 SqueakyChu: - Hi and you're welcome, Madeline! :-)

>47 Familyhistorian: - The actress in this one, Meg, was soooo good. The stage sets were very simple, basic (one set per act, only 2 acts) and she was just so good, so able to evoke humour, emotion, sarcasm, empathy and just plain fun! We saw the last performance of the run but if she was tired of it all, we couldn't tell. I am home now from 4 days away and I have activated my hold at the library for the film. I'm truly not sure how the film would be better, only different. But if you ever get a chance to see this, do!

>48 jnwelch: - Hey, Joe! Welcome! The exhibit was at the AGO, The Art Gallery of Ontario, in downtown Toronto. A friend and I have an annual pass which allows us entry as many times as we want for the year. We are going to go back maybe the first week of January since the Abad exhibit is there until the 19th. Thanks for the link to the book. I am hoping my library has a copy! Also, I see on that link that there is a puzzle of her L.A Liberty! How fun would that be!
Edited to add that yes, my library system has 6 copies but there are 12 holds ahead of me! But I am now #13.

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My reading is still dragging. I am currently reading 3 books: James, which I will have to finish and return to the library by Dec. 10 because of the high demand. Also reading Kantika and Quiet. I will be happy if I finish all three by the end of the month. Maybe I can squeeze some small books in there but we shall see.

Wordle 1,263 3/6 meaty, shady, shaky

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I hope you have a terrific Tuesday, Shelley!

>52 alcottacre: - Sorry for the lag time, Stasia. Hope the rest of your week goes better than you expect it to!!

Sigh. Too much guessy-guessy but at least the 52 day streak lives:

Wordle 1,266 6/6 meaty, piece, house, shore, shone, shove

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Where did this week go? Too much juggling stuff this week and not much reading getting done. I will have to focus on James as it's due back at the library in 4 days and I am quite sure I won't be able to renew it.

We got some snow the other day, enough to stick but not enough to be concerned about. Temps will rise by the weekend so it will surely be gone then. When I look at the amounts recorded by other places outside my city, it confirms my theory that Toronto is in its own little weather bubble. Not complaining, understand....;-)

Wordle 1,267 5/6 meaty, pinky, biddy, silly, hilly

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>53 jessibud2: Some snow, but not too much. Sounds nice.
I haven’t even started James yet. Too intimidating.

I never heard of Abad! Many thanks for sharing all these images!!

>55 EllaTim: - I am stalled a bit with James, Ella. I won't read the parts that are violent or nasty at night as that sort of reading tends to affect my sleep. So I read other things at night. I am still reading the same 3 books as I was reading last week. Oh well. They will get read eventually, I suppose.

>56 Whisper1: - I hadn't either, Linda until I saw the exhibit. I hope to go back the first week of January and will post more photos then, of different parts of the exhibit. The show finishes on January 19 so there isn't a huge rush to get back now. I'd rather wait till school kids are back in school in January, ;-)

>54 jessibud2: Well, I got skunked on Wordle yesterday, Shelley. Oh well! I read James earlier this year. I did like it but I did not love it. Wise not to read it before bed if affects your sleep.

Hi Deb. I will persevere.

Back to my old inattention habits, apparently:

Wordle 1,268 3/6 meaty, yearn, hyena

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I'm reading James right now too, Shelley. I recently finished Adventures of Huckleberry Finn which adds a whole other layer to the read and I'm finding the newer rendition a lot faster read than the classic.

I read the original Huck Finn eons ago, in my childhood and decided not to reread it now. I remember enough of it that I don't think it detracts from reading James now.

Phew indeed:

Wordle 1,269 6/6 meaty, quick, round, plump, slung, flung

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I did something today I have not done in over 4 years: I started my first puzzle ever since bringing home the boys! They are both dead to the world on my bed at the moment so I had no interference. I got the entire border done and have put it safely away for now. I found a piece of particle board that is just slightly smaller than I need but it's good for the moment. I will go to Michaels and see if I can get a couple of pieces of foam core cut to a size that will accommodate all my puzzles, even the larger ones. I can't believe how much I have missed doing puzzles! It is only a 500 piece one but it took me under half an hour to do the border. I am itching to continue!

By the way, it's a Beatles collage puzzle!! :-)

Off to watch a movie now, the film version of the one-woman play I saw a few weeks ago, Shirley Valentine. I want to compare!

Not a lot of reading is getting done lately but that's ok. I should be able to finish at least 2 more books, maybe even 3, before year's end.

>63 jessibud2: Excellent, Shelley! I have 3 puzzles lined up--I just need to pull out the card-table and set it up (no animals here). I've got a Shakespeare one, a British book covers one, and a William Morris design from Pomegranate (which probably will be impossible, but oh well):
https://www.pomegranate.com/products/william-morris-500-piece-circular-jigsaw-pu...

I'm looking forward to seeing your puzzle in progress, Shelley! Enjoy! I have a puzzle on the go , but I've not have time to get to it. Maybe soon. Foam core is great for puzzles. I used to use it until I purchased a puzzle board.

I hope it continues to go well, Shelley, without any c-a-tly interference.

>64 kac522: - I have seen that series of puzzles, Kathy, the Shakespeare, and the book covers (of other authors, as well). They look fun. And yes, I can see how the Morris could be daunting - good luck! I am heading to Michael's this afternoon to get some foam core and once I have it, I might even be able to leave the puzzle on my table. I plan to get 2 pieces, one to use as a base and one to cover it. I will then use those butterfly clips to attach the top to the bottom and (hopefully!) the boys (ie, Theo) won't be able to undo it. Heh. Who am I fooling? Well, I will do that, then watch and wait to see how long it takes him. Still, even if I have to put it into another room on a daily basis, the foam core will make moving it much easier.

Deb, what exactly is a puzzle board? Is that what it's actually called or just something you made yourself?

Thank you, Richard. I am nothing if not a problem-solver, although problem-solving Theo often requires graduate-level thinking, as I've discovered.....I will be sure to keep you posted, ;-)

Another inattention mistake but the streak lives.
Wordle 1,273 5/6 meaty, drove, pores, roles, boxer

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Thanks for this thread, Shelley. First, Pacita Abad, then Shirley Valentine. Then Joe's discovery of the Abad book, which turned out to be a rabbit hole for me.

Shirley Valentine was one of my late wife Judi's favorite movies.

  Joe: Where's me steak?

  Shirley: I give it the dog.

  Joe: What dog?

  Shirley: Jillian's dog. [The neighbor was Jillian, right?]

I recall some disparaging chit-chat about how the movie was based on a stage play, but not that it was a one woman play. I'd like to see it.

Thanks to your posts at the top, I introduced a close friend who does a lot quilting, a lot. She'd never heard of Abad, but obviously was floored by her work. Then Joe ferrets out a book about her.

And Joe: >48 jnwelch: What a find!! The page on amazon was such a rabbit hole. Is the Abad book really 2023 pages? Does it come with it's own forklift? I'd bet it's a keyboarding error in which the pub date got plugged into the form where the number of pages should be. After looking at the shots of spreads from the book, I was captured by a Dorothea Lange book—clickbait, don't you know. And the page on that book had other clickbait, including a book about Hollywood that listed for $244. Oh Lord!

>68 weird_O: - I watched the Shirley Valentine film last night and LOVED it. The actress, Pauline Collins, was perfect and while the one-woman play was exceptionally well-done, with another excellent actress, I loved how the film took advantage of the playful bits, with Shirley sometimes talking to us, the audience, as well. I don't understand how I could have remembered so little of it before seeing the play a few weeks ago. The writing, the directing, the message of the story, were all SOOO good.

And thanks for spreading the word about Pacita Abad. More museums/galleries need to hear about her work so that more people can be exposed to it in person. I will go back to see it again before it leaves in mid-January so there will be more to see here in my first thread of 2025. Watch this space! And yes, the book is in my library. I just checked and there are 6 copies in the system, and I am number 10 of 11 requesting it.

Here is a link to the one I have. You can make them out of foam core, or wood, or purchase one. There are lots of different ones.

https://bitsandpiecescanada.ca/products/deluxe-swivel-puzzle-easel?variant=45315...

>70 vancouverdeb: - Wow, that is a beauty but rather pricey. I will first see what I can find and make with foam core and see if that will work for me. If it doesn't, I think I can get my handyman to maybe create something. He is pretty good that way. Thanks for the link, Deb.

Wordle 1,274 4/6 meaty, clock, broil, drool

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>63 jessibud2: Buy two pieces of foam board (instead of one). Tape them together at the seam. When you are not doing your puzzle, fold one board over the other and clip the edges. The kitties will then not be able to get to your puzzle when you're not there! I also use this contraption for moving our puzzle-in-progress off the dinig room table for our family dinners. Welcome back to the world of puzzling!

>67 jessibud2: I see you've already thought up my idea!

Our set-up is a bit more complicated, though. We use three foam boards. The bottom layer (#1 and #2) is taped together. Board #3 is used only if we want to do a larger puzzle by putting it onto board #2 and splitting the puzzle in half as we do it. To put the large puzzle away, we slip board #3 over board #1 and cover the whole thing by flipping board #2 over boards #1 and #3, clipping the dges together and carrying it away.

By the way puzzle folks, I've joined and enjoy a puzzling group on Reddit.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Jigsawpuzzles/
I enjoy sharing my puzzles on that platform as well as on Instagram.

>73 SqueakyChu: - Well, I found the foam core board I wanted but I also found another solution and that's the one I bought. It's one of those cardboard things we used to use for science fair (or such) displays, with the centre piece large, and 2 pieces on either side that fold over to cover the centre piece. Those 2 sides (attached) are exactly half the size of the centre one so it covers it completely when folded. And it was only $8.99 and only needed to buy the one! Anyhow, I might try it out tonight or wait till tomorrow when the boys are snoozing (better light during the day). I also bought those butterfly clips, just in case. Ridiculous how excited I was! (easily amused!)

In other news, I heard that the govt is going to force the postal workers back to work, possibly as soon as Monday. It has been 4 weeks already that this strike has been going on. While I will be happy about getting and being able to send mail again, without a negotiated agreement, no one is going to be happy and I have my doubts about how long it will last.

>74 jessibud2: That's a very cool solution. It's just what I do, but with an extra fold. Haha! What size is you board with the sides folded?

Meanwhile back here in the good old US of A, the trumpster has decided he wants to do away with the US postal service all together. Each day is now bringing a new horror to us here stateside. :`(

Another solution is a puzzle mat that you can roll up. I have one of those but I don't have to worry about animals anymore so I just use a straight board. The mats are available through Amazon and it looks like Walmart carries them too.

LOL!
Wordle 1,275 4/6 meaty, pinky, wonky, funky

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>75 SqueakyChu: - I will measure it later, Madeline, when I set it up on the dining room table (the only space I actually have to work on for a puzzle).

>76 Familyhistorian: - I actually have one of those roll up mats, Meg. In truth, I haven't yet taken it out of its box. My little brain just somehow cannot fathom how you can roll something that is flat and doesn't have rounded corners or edges, without wrecking it. Obviously, it works or people wouldn't be buying and using them but I just can't see it. Anyhow, I think my $8.99 cardboard solution will work. I will let you know later!

Too sad that Home Depot, Walmart, and now Amazon all support trump -
we are running out of stores even before January 20th...

>74 jessibud2: That rots about Postman Pat and Pals. Unfair and honestly unsurprising in today's world.

Hope they get everything they're demanding and more after the lawsuits.

Sunday orisons!

So, you know that I haven't done a jigsaw puzzle in the 4 years that the boys are with me. I feel like an addict who has been abstaining for 4 years and today, fell off the wagon. I did a the first of my 3 500-piece puzzles today, start to finish. My back is killing me and I know I will have to pace myself, but once I started, I couldn't stop, lol!

Here is the border (not quite connected because it was before I got the bigger cardboard yesterday):



Here it is, early this afternoon, almost done. Just that huge #1 in the centre that I knew would be a bitch because it's all one colour (when in fact, it wasn't, exactly. There were various shades of the yellow):



And, ta-da! Done! I initially thought it was missing one piece but in fact, I found it under the board I was working on. Whew!



The pic is a collage of The Beatles number 1 album covers. Lots of fun. I have been a HUGE Beatles fan from their first appearance on Ed Sullivan. I have already dismantled the puzzle and am ready to pass it along to another friend who is also a fan. I will start my next one tomorrow.

>81 jessibud2: Looking good, Shelley! Welcome back to the world of jigsaw puzzling (my zen)!

You'll never believe what happened today. Jose took apart our dishwasher to replace a faulty part, and inside of the mechanical part of the dishwasher...we found a puzzle piece. We have absolutely no idea how it ever got in there!! I have no idea to which puzzle it went either. I always save extra pieces, but now I no longer save all of our puzzles, and we have rented over 50 puzzles so it's impossible to match that piece to one specific puzzle. Crazy indeed!

We have our Bookcrossing annual party next weekend so I'm taking some puzzles to give away there. There are two people (bluemozaic...and her mom, Katekintail) in my group who are as addicted to puzzling as we are. :D

>82 SqueakyChu: - That is crazy!! LOL! I am giving my puzzle to Madeleine but other than her, I don't really have anyone to swap with. Well, my catsitter loves them too but she has tons of them already. Same with a cousin in Montreal but since I don't plan to go back there any time soon, she isn't a likely candidate.

The working board I bought the other day measures 36" by 48" when it's open. It's regular brown card on the outside and when closed but inside, on the part where you work the actual puzzle, it's white. I am very happy with it. Weighs nothing so easy enough to carry if I want to put it away. If the rest of my 500-piece puzzles go like this one did today, I won't be needing to carry it anywhere! But for sure I am unlikely to complete a 1000-piece puzzle in one day.

>83 jessibud2: Yeah. Our boards are each 24”x36”. That’s perfect for 1,000 piece puzzles and some smaller 1,500 piece puzzles. Glad yours is working so well for you!

Another gem in today's NYT by Margaret Renkl, on how we read. She might as well be speaking to me, how I read. Especially these days. I will put it behind a spoiler in case you don't want to bother; it's a tad long.

Pocket Novels for an Agitated Age
By Margaret Renkl

When the news is one report of human suffering — or environmental degradation, or violation of democratic norms — after another, people might be forgiven for averting their eyes from the headlines in favor of getting a better night’s sleep. The only problem: In a democracy, tuning out means giving the foxes full run of the henhouse.

In recent years, I’ve been looking for a solution to this conundrum. How is it possible to be a well-informed citizen and simultaneously a calm, mostly cheerful, more or less sane human being?
The closest thing I’ve found to a workaround is the right dosing. I follow the news during daylight hours. At night, I read a book.

Sometimes it’s a poetry collection I can finish in an evening. Sometimes it’s a memoir or a thick, juicy novel that will carry me through a week or two. Often it’s an essay collection, a genre which comes with those lovely, built-in stopping places that make it easier to close the book and avert a wrestling match with the clock.
But more and more I find myself picking up a novella or a short novel, something I can read in full on a rainy Sunday afternoon or in the lamplight hours between supper and bedtime. This has nothing to do with any kind of reading log or yearly numbers goal. I am not an ambitious reader. I am a slow reader, and that’s a serious liability for someone who loves books and is running out of years.

I attribute my plodding ways to having spent four years studying Latin, an inflected language that requires reading one word at a time, “not eyeful by eyeful,” as my Latin professor was fond of saying. I long ago lost my ability to read Latin, but I still read word by word, a habit I formed when time felt limitless. I can hardly imagine that feeling now.
A full-size novel is a shaggy beast, often wild and uncontained. In their spareness, novellas and short novels — I’m counting any story longer than about 80 pages and any novel shorter than about 200 — reward a word-by-word reading. This form combines the gift of poetry, with its often compressed, elliptical language; the short story, with its tight narrative propulsion; and the novel, with its expansive cast and wandering ways.

Short books offer something to read when you want to surrender to a story for longer than an hour, but not for days and days. They are hefty enough to immerse yourself in and often short enough to finish before midnight, even with a distracted, 21st-century attention span. Even with a headline-weary mind.

Last week, WBUR’s Deborah Becker asked the Irish novelist Claire Keegan if she had any theories about the success of “Small Things Like These,” her best-selling short novel from 2020 that has just been made into a film and is the Oprah’s Book Club pick for December. “I do think that people probably are inclined towards my works because they aren’t long-winded,” Ms. Keegan answered, “and they do seem to move people.”

Even within the limited scale of a novella or a short novel, that combination of concision and emotional heft can be deployed in an immense range of subjects and styles. Nicholson Baker’s “A Box of Matches” and Alan Bennett’s “The Uncommon Reader” and Lee Smith’s “Blue Marlin” will make you laugh out loud. Sandra Cisneros’s “The House on Mango Street” and Lorrie Moore’s “Who Will Run the Frog Hospital?” and Alexis M. Smith’s “Glaciers” and Crystal Wilkinson’s “The Birds of Opulence” will have you pondering the fallout from your own childhood. Reckoning with the human cost of war, or of what comes to a war zone after the war? Try “Peace” by Richard Bausch or “The Typist” by Michael Knight. Plus, the form is perfect for stories of passion. In classics like F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” and Graham Greene’s “The End of the Affair” and Jean Rhys’s “Wide Sargasso Sea,” wounding, confounding, ecstatic love is the ideal subject of the short novel. That kind of wrecking intensity is almost impossible to maintain in a longer work. Or in a life.

Where this genre can make its greatest impact, I think, is in stories that confront human evil. Someone who is too heartbroken by the world to take on “Sophie’s Choice” or “Schindler’s List” might be able to manage Lily Tuck’s new Holocaust novella, “The Rest Is Memory.” The book is exactly as harrowing as longer Auschwitz novels inevitably are, but its beautiful, spare, unflinching language and its insistence on the primacy and persistence of human dignity — and, yes, its brevity — make a brutal story more bearable.

In this time when neo-Nazis openly march on the streets of Nashville and demonstrate in Columbus, Ohio, confronting this history is nothing less than a moral responsibility. Ms. Tuck’s novella conveys a truth that is shaped by deep research, intense humanity and carefully plotted narration. If journalism is the rough draft of history, then fiction is the coherent version, the one that draws meaning from it. History without the ragged edges.

This is clearly an idiosyncratic, random and extremely incomplete list of great books. In truth, I simply wandered around my house, pulling some short novels I love from the shelves. My parameters: Is it possible to read this book in its entirety on a languorous weekend afternoon? Or in an evening or two? Increasingly, the short novel seems to me to be the ideal literary form for our tired, distracted but still story-hungry age.
Maybe the whole notion is foolish. Ours is a multifarious culture, peopled by many kinds of readers and many more kinds of non-readers, and that’s exactly as it should be in a big, loud, messy democracy. Some of y’all are out there taking heart from cozy mysteries or Victorian novels or Mary Oliver’s poems. Some of you are consoled by seed catalogs or travel brochures or Americana records or old Peanuts comic strips. Maybe you’re one who needs them all, in endless combinations, just to get through these dark nights.

So take my advice with a heaping helping of skepticism. But if you have not yet found a source of solace that makes the long winter nights feel shorter, or at least not quite so dark, then turn off the machines and set your chair next to a good lamp. If you like to underline beautiful passages, keep a pen nearby. In a small book with each perfect word in its perfect place, feel your own sorrows fade as you surrender to the spell of a story.

I do love Margaret Renkl. And, since I own all three of her books but have thus far only read the first, I think I will end my year reading one of the other 2.

Yoicks! Hold onto your hats, Americans (and of course, Canadians). A very crazy day here in my country. I am no politico, but it seems to me that our government is about to fall. Personally, I think Trudeau has long since gone beyond his best before date, and is in essence, useless. But today's surprise resignation of his next in line, doesn't bode well. But the conservative leader, who will most likely (unfortunately) win an election when it's called, is just ick. I seriously dislike this conservative leader, Pierre Polievre, and find him scary and creepy, but honestly, I have no idea who else there is to step up. I also think that in spite of all his bluster (and there's plenty of it), he would be a gift to trump and I think trump would chew him up and spit him out, easily. Ick.

Eek...

>86 jessibud2: Welcome to our world, Shelley.

I'm sorry to hear it--The Great North was one of my possible escape routes (Hey! My g-grandmother was born in Barrie, ON in the 1860s--but it's a bit cold up there, even for me).

At least down here we know (if the U.S. Constitution has anything to say about it) that Trump can only last 4 more years.

>86 jessibud2: I saw that! Oh, no!!

>87 kac522: Same! How can we escape to Canada if the same sort of political situation will exist up there?! The world is going nuts now!

I sincerely hope that we can still have elections here in four years and that the midterm elections in two years will not be impeded in any way. Only time will tell. I'm trying not to be terified (it's hard), but I need my mental health to be stable as we progress through the coming years.

>86 jessibud2: I just caught that news online, Shelley. We'll see what happens now. I feel the same way as you do about Poilievre. I have a feeling I'm not going to like how this turns out.

Yes, no one will want to be Liberal leader after Trudeau because the polls that predict a wipeout in the next election. Trudeau made a very dumb move by telling the Finance Minister that she would be out of her job just days before she was to read the Finance update.
The Conservatives? ugh!
I hate to say it but I think that the Ontario Premier will be the one to negotiate with the US on tariffs.And the state of affairs will mean that he will win his next provincial election.

>90 torontoc: - I think you are right, Cyrel. I have always considered Ford to be *Baby trump* but maybe it will take a bully like him to meet trump on his own level. Who knows, maybe Ford is suddenly seeing a new future for himself in federal politics. Ick. But compared to Polievre? Maybe the devil we know is preferred to the one we don't... Double ick... My head hurts already.

So behind, but did a whistlestop catchup Shelley. So long since I did a big puzzle, don't really have the room. Will come back and readthe Renkle piece, I enjoyed the volume I have.

Grrr re the political problems. It's an international disease me thinks.

Oh yuck to Pierre Polievre, Shelley. I also have a serious dislike of him, and I think unless Trudeau steps down like Biden did, Polievre is our next PM. I hope Trudeau decides to step down. I'm not sure who would replace him . Wow, 3 x 500 pieces puzzles in one day! Amazing , Shelley!

>92 Caroline_McElwee: - The Renkl piece is worth the read, Caroline. She gets me very well, and every time! And you are right, politics is like a disease everywhere. ;-p

>93 vancouverdeb: - I also had similar thoughts re Trudeau and Biden. Problem is, we will end up with Polievre, regardless of what Trudeau does. And Trudeau isn't inclined, in my opinion, to do *the right thing* for anyone except himself. What he doesn't seem to understand is that the longer he waits, the worse it makes him look. I also wondered if Freeland might not be considering jumping in and making a play for the party leadership. I think she is a strong leader, very intelligent, well spoken (you never hear a single *uh*... or *um*... come out of her mouth), calm, measured, etc. Under different circumstances, she might even have a chance. But I doubt she could save the Liberals at this point in time. I don't think anything or anyone, can.

And Deb! No! I did NOT do 3 five hundred piece puzzles in a day, lol! I did ONE. I own 3 five hundred piece puzzles (the rest are 1000 pieces) and am only working on the second one now. Last night, I had my annual holiday dinner with 2 friends from teaching days. We do this every year, pot luck, exchange gifts, just the 3 of us. One of them gave me a puzzle! I was stunned because she and I had never talked about puzzles before! It's 1000 pieces and looks very challenging. It's a picture of a bunch of Dalmatian puppies in a pile, and except for an occasional pink tongue, the whole thing is black and white! (this friend has a Dalmatian, Daisy). I told her I thought it should really be 1001 pieces! ;-)

Wordle 1,278 3/6 meaty, lefty, hefty

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>94 jessibud2: I did NOT do 3 five hundred piece puzzles in a day

Well, why not?!!!

>86 jessibud2: Ruh-roh, Raggy....

>87 kac522: It's the appropriately-used conditional tense that gives me great anxiety.

>96 SqueakyChu: - I may be crazy but I am not suicidal! Because I am short, I mostly stand and lean over the table when I do a puzzle. If I should attempt to do more than a few hours at a time, I would never be able to straighten up! (and then how short would I be?!)

>97 richardderus: - Yeah, it's gonna get a lot uglier before it gets better. trumpster is in his glory, doing what he loves and does best: taunting, mocking, spewing garbage, and baiting anyone he perceives as weak. I wish someone would just push him off his golden pedestal, preferably over a pit of fire...

Wordle 1,279 3/6 meaty, stagy, stray

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>98 jessibud2: Yep, same here, my back complains when I do puzzles because I'm mostly leaning over, too. I thought it was just me! Probably a good thing in a way, because if it didn't hurt I wouldn't stop until it was done.

>98 jessibud2: Agreed. Him and all the henchrats.

>100 kac522: - I finished another puzzle tonight. It was a hard one! I will post a pic tomorrow. Right now, I am going to finish another book so I can return it to the library tomorrow. I may take a break before starting the next puzzle (or not...we'll see;-)

>102 jessibud2: You've got me itching to set up my card-table--I usually wait until New Year's Eve or thereabouts....you're tempting me, Shelley....

>98 jessibud2: Jose and I mostly sit to do puzzles. We generally work on the area closest to where we can reach (and see!). In the end, I guess we do have to stand up to reach that far corner. Ha!

Sorry I misread about the number of puzzles, Shelley. That's is why I got the puzzle board with the tiltable table. It helps somewhat with the neck and back aches. I've learned to limit my puzzling time too. That Dalmatian puzzle sounds very challenging!

>103 kac522: - Go, Kathy! (I am a bad influence, ok) ;-)

>104 SqueakyChu: - I had yoga yesterday so I feel somewhat *recovered* today. I took apart the one I finished yesterday and will start a new one today. Stay tuned...

>105 vancouverdeb: - No worries, Deb. It sometimes feels that way, for sure. I don't think I am ready for the Dalmatians yet! The one I just finished was hard enough!! Will post a pic shortly.

Wordle 1,280 4/6 meaty, plank, clash, flash

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>81 jessibud2: Congratulations on finishing up the puzzle, Shelley! That is terrific.

>83 jessibud2: Thanks for posting yet another excellent article by Margaret Renkl. I very much enjoy reading them.

I hope you have a fantastic Friday!

In progress. The bottom greenery and the colourful buildings were a real bitch...!



Done!


Next up: a 1000 piece puzzle! That should carry me through the weekend, for sure, if not longer. Much longer!

>109 jessibud2: That looks like a tough one! I like it!

Hey! Does anyone think we need an LT jigsaw puzzlers group? :) After all, jigsaw puzzles *are* sold in book stores!

...or maybe just a 75ers group jigsaw puzzle thread?

>110 SqueakyChu: - Interesting idea! Too bad we all don't live closer so we could have a constant swap going on...

>11 jessibud2: There is a Toronto puzzle swap, but it's on Facebook.

>122 SqueakyChu: My library now has "bring a puzzle, take a puzzle." You don't even need to have a library card--you just take it off the shelf. I've taken one, and will bring it back when done, and probably donate a puzzle I've done in the past.

There's a dormant thread about puzzles here:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/304134

Percy Fandom and Paula Jonathan, good riddance. And when I saw I had 13 posts on my thread, I thought I was suddenly popular, lol!

You are right, Madeline. I don't do facebook. But I am going to check the library branches near me and see if they might have puzzle swaps. It never occurred to me to check.

Thanks for that link, Kathy. I think I will just use my own thread to post my progress and obsession...;-) My boys seem sufficiently settled in these days not to bother me. I did those 2 puzzles in the last few days and only caught Theo on the table once, and it was after I had folded the cardboard and clipped it shut. I am stupidly proud of my problem-solving solution! :-)

>125 jessibud2: Hey, whatever works! I'm lining up the audiobooks to listen to while I'm puzzling...

>83 jessibud2: Thanks for posting that Margaret Renkl article, Shelley. I really liked it!

Puzzle swapping sounds like a great idea. You’re not near enough to make it practical, but it sure would be nice.

Shelley, Talk to your BookCrossing club members. I'll bet you can find someone in your group who'd like to swap puzzle with you.

Solstice cheer, Shelley!

I thought you were suddenly popular too, Shelley! You are popular, but it doesn't hurt to get a little spam to up your posting numbers! :-)

>126 kac522: - Ooo, I almost forgot about audiobooks! I may just get back into those now that I can listen while puzzling! This week, I've just had the tv on because of the political drama going on here. I turn to CBCNN (cbc news network, all news, all the time) so I can just listen and not have to watch, while I concentrate on the puzzle.

>127 EllaTim: - I am happy that you read it, Ella. It's long, I know, but it felt just so timely for me right now. I am in exactly that space these days, where I can't read anything heavy at night or it affects my sleep. Well, if I am honest, it feels as if I have been in that space for a long time, not just *lately*. And yes, a puzzle exchange would sure be nice.

>128 SqueakyChu: - Our bookcrossing group is so small, Madeline, and we only meet every other month. Plus, I don't know if any of them do puzzles. If I remember, I will ask, next time.

>129 richardderus: - Thank you, Richard. Incrementally lighter now, each day!

>130 vancouverdeb: - LOL, Deb!

Whew!

Wordle 1,281 5/6 meaty, place, glare, slave, blade

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Happy Saturday, Shelley. Just checking in. Congrats on finishing the puzzle. Looks good. Do you listen to audiobooks while doing them? Dumb question?

>131 jessibud2: I need audiobooks to pull myself away from the news. Sometimes a book doesn't always do it. And I'm one step closer....pulled the card table out but didn't set it up yet. And took a sneak peek in one of the puzzle boxes...

>133 msf59: - Hi Mark. I haven't yet but I fully intend to get back to audiobooks this way!

>134 kac522: - I hear you, Kathy. For me, music does that trick, pulling me away from news, and pretty much anything else that intrudes on my well-being. I am currently working on a puzzle (again, 500 pcs) that I didn't think would be as difficult as the last one but is proving me wrong....

Another guessy-guessy wordle today:

Wordle 1,282 5/6 meaty, slack, piano, drawn, brawn

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Last night, I finally finished Kantika by Elizabeth Graver. It is a multi-generational story of a comfortable middle class Sephardic Jewish family in the early 20th century who is displaced from their home in Turkey, to destinations far and wide, due to the war and discrimination against the Jews. The story centres on one of the original 6 children, Rebecca, and how, despite the trails, tribulations and tragedies that befall her and her family over the years, she manages to make a life for herself and her children. We follow her to Spain, Cuba, and finally, to the USA. I was especially interested in her tenacity and intelligence in how she dealt with the disability (cerebral palsy) of her step-daughter, certainly unusual for the time and lack of real knowledge of such disabilities back then. I enjoy this style of story, though I admit, I found it somewhat unusual (and perhaps even odd) that the author chose to fictionalize her own story. The characters are based on her own family (including using their real names; Rebecca was her own grandmother and one of Rebecca's daughters was the author's mother, for example) and the events are based on their real stories. Yes, it lends true authenticity but why bother fictionalizing it? Why not just call it a biography? In the author's notes at the end of the book, she explains who she interviewed and some of her background research, which was interesting but I still find this a somewhat odd construct. I do own another of Graver's books, The Honey Thief a novel, which I hope to get to next year.

I started another book, probably my last of the year, Our Auntie Rosa, a memoir of sorts, written by the nieces and nephews of Rosa Parks. A very different and very *insider's* view of the woman whose name is synonymous with the Civil Rights Movement. An easy read to end the year.

>109 jessibud2: That looks like a tricky puzzle, Shelley. I can see that the greenery on the bottom would be difficult. What is it a picture of?

Wishing all my LT friends Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, and happy whatever else is celebrated at this time of year, the season of light, for many faiths and religions. Light, in the darkest time of the year, seems a good omen and wish for the new year.

Send all good wishes for a bright holiday!

Thinking of you at this time, Shelley.

Thank you, Linda and Paul.

I seem to be juggling too many balls at the moment. Case in point: I started my usual wordle as I ate my breakfast the other day, got stuck (and apparently, distracted) but - not usual for me - I totally forgot to get back to it! So, my 78-day streak was broken, thanks to that brain fart/senior's moment. I now have a 2-day *streak*, such as it is.

I will be happy to turn the page on this good-for-nothing year of 2024. It has to get better, right?

I am trying to finish up my 2 current books before the calendar turns. One, I will for sure. The other is an audiobook so that will depend on how much time I can devote to my current puzzle, as that's when I listen.

I am also trying to get my next thread organized and ready to post on Wed, New year's Day.

Stay tuned, and have a lovely new year, everyone!

Puzzles are great for listening to audio books , I think so too. Our new dog, Muffin is very energetic, so I'm not finding a lot of time to puzzle just yet. And my current book is not out in audio yet. I ordered it from the UK before the postal strike, I think , so it's not available in audio format for a few months yet.