richardderus's twenty-second 2024 thread

This is a continuation of the topic richardderus's twenty-first 2024 thread.

Talk75 Books Challenge for 2024

Join LibraryThing to post.

1richardderus
Edited: Dec 6, 11:57 am

Al Pacino, 1979
photo by my late client and friend, Jack Mitchell.

2richardderus
Edited: Dec 21, 11:59 am

3richardderus
Edited: Dec 27, 5:28 pm

4richardderus
Edited: Dec 27, 7:26 pm

All previous Pearl Rule reviews linked here.

THIS THREAD'S PEARL RULE REVIEWS:
#028 Wallace Stegner's Unsettled Country: Ruin, Realism, and Possibility in the American West (31%) here: https://www.librarything.com/work/31084640/reviews/277343925
#029 Undead souths : the gothic and beyond in southern literature and culture (27%) here: https://www.librarything.com/work/17608756/reviews/277362368

5richardderus
Edited: Dec 6, 12:04 pm

Seriously...not a great venue for normies here.
My 2023 goals are here, for reference.

End of Q3 thoughts on goals
My Q3 reads started out ~meh~ in July but ramped up to excellence during #WITMonth...Of Saints and Miracles was terrfic, several others were notably good...but my favorite read was Helen Phillips's excellent near-future story of AI-enshittened late-stage surveillance capitalism, Hum. What a chilling story. Very probably predictive. Very, very provocative. One all y'all should read because it's propulsive and thought-provoking in equal measure.

The quarter was very productive in review-writing terms. Counting all three of my categories, Burgoines, Pearl-Rules, and regular reviews, I wrote NINETY-TWO REVIEWS. That makes 254 written of a 2024 goal set of 250! Very, very pleased with myself. My #Booksgiving reviews already written would take me to 125% of my 2024 goal. That doesn't count the #Deathtober ones written, the numerous reads already read and notes made (no count on those because counting them now makes me feel superstitious, like I'll die in the middle of posting them or something), or the books I'm still reading! Amazing what one can accomplish with no other commitments like work or IRL socializing.

2024 GOALS
If I reviewed 222 books in 2023, why not go for at least 250 in 2024?

So I will.

All but 36 of 2023's reviews were from NetGalley and Edelweiss+, the DRC aggregators I use to get my biblioholism fixes. That's 16% of the total actually read and reviewed. In 2024, I think that percentage is just fine to maintain, so I'll settle on 41 reads not from those two sources as my soft goal...I don't much care if I hit it exactly, but I do need to leave room to read and review books I've been gifted over the years!

2023's #Booksgiving review blast resulted in my blog views for the month being 177% of November's total. So that worked. I only used Twitter for all of November, then for #Booksgiving, added Bluesky and Tumblr. That worked, too. The sadness of my #PrideMonth limp, flaccid performanceless unblast made me realize that, if I'm going to get a big project done, I need to break it down into steps. This is new for me, and a result of the actual limitations that the strokes have imposed on me. Like no longer being able to read handwriting or decode graphics like Wordle, this acquired dyslexia is a limitation I need to acknowledge. Not to say I won't keep pushing against it...but it's real, and planning needs to be based in reality.
***
End of Q1 thoughts on goals
I've had to drop Tumblr from my review-posting because the owner/president/head jerkoff posted transphobic maunderings, then the trans employees said "y'all CTFD he didn't mean it" which well totally relate to needing the gig, but no. THEN announced Tumblr would sell to AI scrapers everything users have posted there...so that, plus their porn ban, means they get axed from me creating anything there, posting or boosting things there. And they don't care, or notice, but I get to keep my own moral high ground.

I don't see, or feel, any reason to adjust any of my annual goals. I've posted 51 blog posts in 2024, or on track for 200 annual posts; but that does not account for the heavy months of June and #Booksgiving to come, and there are already eleven reviews banked for those two.

End of Q2 thoughts on goals
#PrideMonth ended the quarter better than I'd feared, an average of 287 page views a day on the blog. Twitter did me proud all quarter long representing 68% of referred traffic. My annual goal of 250 blogged reviews is still well within reach. The current 117 is down to June's big push of 27 posts, 26 of them single-title reviews. I've learned that the way to get more eyeballs on a review is to post one at a time even if they're short, and save the gang reviews for the end of the month. Adding up unique views on separate posts on the same day of the week versus ganged reviews showed me 151% more views were made than for the individuals. Message received.

There were a lot of surprises this quarter. I just loved Jonathan Corcoran's memoir, No Son of Mine: A Memoir, which was a relief since I really loved The Rope Swing: Stories and would've hated to say lukewarm things about this one. A disappointing surprise was The Ministry of Time, which sold me on one idea and delivered another that I didn't like nearly so well. A happy surprise was Saint Elspeth, new to me author, found via my BookTuber bud Bryce. Its minor flaws in copyediting did not ruin it for me compare to its reasonably hopeful take on postapocalypse US society.

A book of poems that I decline to name and a free Atwood story were, as expected, unloved. I'm more than ever aware that I have fewer and fewer eyeblinks ahead, so I need to get better at putting down thoughts on Pearl-Ruled books to give myself a sense of completion. I get niggly little guiltfish in my brain if I just drop a book with no resolution by review. I'm reinforced in my certainty that posting reviews is a lot easier if I make a few notes after I finish a read, then come back to make that a review when its day comes to be posted. Since I average five or six books on the go at one time, waiting until I finish a book then writing its review THAT MINUTE is daunting, so often doesn't get done. My blog's "scheduled" page is scary, full of bits and snips and stuff I really, really hope I don't die before I can clean up or delete. Otherwise there'll be months of nasty mean ugly-spirited whinges popping up at seemingly random moments into 2025.

On to Q3 in good spirits, eagerly awaiting #WITMonth in August! (Women In Translation Month, an annual event dreamed up by a woman (!) who was fed up with translators not getting any luuuv.)

6richardderus
Edited: Dec 6, 12:04 pm

See >5 richardderus: for 2023 achievements & 2024 goals.
My January 2024 summary is here.
My February 2024 summary is here.
My March 2024 summary is here.
My April 2024 summary is here.
My mid-May 2024 #PrideMonth launch notice is here.
My May 2024 summary is here.
My June 2024 summary is here.
My July 2024 summary is here.
My #August is #WITMonth launch post is here.
My August is #WITMonth in Review post is here.
My September in review post is here.
My October 2024 in review post is here.
My November 2024 in Review post is here.

7richardderus
Edited: Dec 6, 12:05 pm

I've decided to put links to my GBBO thoughts posts here.

10: FINAL: Dylan utterly cratered; Christiaan's flavors shot him in the foot; dull, middlin' Georgie won. I'm too pissed to say more.
9: PATISSERIE
8: The 70s
7: Desserts
6: Autumn
5: Pastry
4: Caramel
3: Bread
2: Biscuits
1: Cake

8richardderus
Edited: Dec 6, 12:06 pm

Reserved for the Q4 thoughts

9richardderus
Dec 6, 11:55 am

You are welcome to come and comment at will.

10ronincats
Dec 6, 12:15 pm

Happy New Thread, Richard dear!

11richardderus
Dec 6, 12:21 pm

223 Listen to the Music: The Instruments by Mary Richards (illus. Khoa Le)

Rating: 4.5* of five

The Publisher Says: Listen to the Music: The Instruments is a narrative non-fiction trip through the history of music, complete with 10, 10-second sound clips of the world's best-loved orchestral instruments.

Press the buttons to hear the music in this time-traveling journey around the world, as young readers embark on a magical adventure through classical music!

Covering 10 different, beloved orchestral instruments, from different pieces from around the world, readers hear music composed and can press them to hear clips of musical masterpieces!

From Elgar's Cello Concerto, to a violin sonata by Beethoven, this book will teach children about cultural history, famous musicians, and musical genres, all while wanting to press the buttons and hear the music again and again.
Each of the ten composers throughout the story tells children about their favorite instrument, how it makes them feel, and what animals or moods they thought of as they were writing the piece of music.

This is a beautiful first introduction to the history of music, as told to the tune of the key instruments in the orchestra. Perfectly pitched to inspire and instill a love of music from a young age, this book will strike a chord with curious children who might be thinking about choosing a first instrument to learn.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: Not meant for the youngest readers,it's a very pretty package ideal for gifting. Niblings and grands, I assume, since no sane parent would give a kid a noise-making anything for a gift. Obviously I did not get a physical copy of it...a book that retails for a dollar a page isn't going out on wide review submission...so I can't speak to the quality of the sound it makes. I can say it has lovely art:

...and the text, while simple and condensed, is informative and amusing for someone interested in music but still at a very beginning stage of their interest's development.

Might best be given to those no older than ten or eleven. Junior high/middle school-aged readers might feel...slighted...by its tone. It does have the selling point, to older kids, of the music-making...but honestly I'm encouraging you to leave it to the eight-to-ten giftee.

Still and all, it's a very nice package to present as a present.

12richardderus
Dec 6, 12:27 pm

>10 ronincats: Roni my dear lady! So happy to see you! Have a crown:

Specifically the crown of Louis XV of France...an extreme rarity for my infrequent but delightedly welcomed visitor. *smooch*

13atozgrl
Dec 6, 12:39 pm

Happy new thread, Richard!

14richardderus
Dec 6, 12:43 pm

>13 atozgrl: Thanks, Irene!

15richardderus
Dec 6, 12:53 pm

224 Orchard of the Tame by Marlo Meekins (illus. Nick Cross)

Rating: 4.5*of five

The Publisher Says: A 2024 NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY SELECTION FOR BEST NEW COMICS OF 2024

Truth may set you free, but that knowledge can be a terrible burden.

River Siren is a young mermaid who has been manipulated and held prisoner by the evil, twisted Ainsprid. When she is accidentally discovered by two forest birds, Crowver and Birdt, River Siren is presented with an opportunity to escape her cage, leaving behind the only home she knows to journey out into a world of wild, wonderful, and sometimes dangerous things.

This beautiful coming-of-age tale, visually inspired by the golden era of animation, is an absolute feast of imagination. Equal parts whimsical and eerie, it harkens back to the warm nostalgia of classic fairy tales while then also pushing into the cold, uncanny landscapes of science fiction classics.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: Such a beautiful book. I myownself am seldom that interested in the art in sequential-art storytelling. This year I've run across multiple comics that have art I'm actually interested in for itself.

promo pages, all handsomely done

There's a flavor of 1940s cartoons in this artwork that makes me smile. I'm always in favor of stories that show young women that they *can* make major changes for themselves, ones that better their lives and allow them freedom to act on their own behalf.

Make no mistake, the New York Public Library offered this story its imprimatur because its message of personal empowerment and overcoming of anxiety and fear is both loud and clear, and done with the honesty that allows it to transcend "message fiction"'s dread solemnity and tedium.

I don't quite get to five stars because it is quite a long read for a comic book. It isn't my preferred medium, as all who read my reviews know; and it's aimed squarely at an audience I am not. But it wins my approving recommendation over my minor cavils.

16katiekrug
Dec 6, 1:36 pm

Happy new thread, RD!

17richardderus
Dec 6, 2:17 pm

>16 katiekrug: Thanks Katie! I liked your gifting guide today, though I am Studiously Ignoring the books therein (apart from the O'Nan, which is safely beKindled already).

18Storeetllr
Edited: Dec 6, 2:32 pm

Happy new thread!

19richardderus
Dec 6, 3:02 pm

>18 Storeetllr: Thanks, Mary! *smooch*

20richardderus
Dec 6, 3:08 pm

225 The Complete Language of Birds: A Definitive and Illustrated History by Randi Minetor

Rating: 5* of five

The Publisher Says: The Complete Language of Birds offers stunningly illustrated profiles of nearly 400 bird species, covering both their physical and mystical qualities.

Expand your bird knowledge with this gorgeous encyclopedia of nearly 400 bird species around the world, unique for its inclusion of both their physical and mythological characteristics.

If you’re a nature lover who thrives on bird videos and photography, go beyond the scope of standard field guides with this comprehensive reference. Each entry of The Complete Language of Birds provides not only the bird’s name and physical qualities, but also its history, symbolic meanings, and hidden properties from mythology, legends, and folklore.

Within the pages of this colorful volume, you’ll find:

Beautiful illustrations and descriptions of common and unusual birds

Notes on the surprising properties and powers of birds

Discussions of the symbolism and mythological significance of each bird species

Dive into an unusual dimension of historical and arcane knowledge with the study of birds.

A collection of fun and interesting facts about birds gathered from science and culture, the stunning illustrations and lively descriptions make this an engaging guide you’ll return to again and again.

Elegantly designed and beautifully illustrated, the Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia series offers comprehensive, display-worthy references on a range of intriguing topics, including dream interpretation, techniques for harnessing the power of dreams, flower meanings, and the stories behind signs and symbols.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: Wow. Just...wow.

Even the explanatory notes we begin with are stunning as well as legible and useful.

The "A"s are placed in an impossible composition, but one that very clearly exemplifies the quality of art and design we'll be seeing throughout the book.

The informative "A"s are less elaborate, as one would expect, but no less beautifully illustrated, and clearly legible with the descriptive text being very logically placed and broken into discrete entries.

More opening spreads to drool over. I was especially delighted by the "R"s...that toucan!

My favorite bird: the hoopoe! I hope one day to see one in the plumage. (Don't like to say "flesh" about les birbs, it tends to be misinterpreted by those as do not know me.)

This section is just for fun, of course, and fun it certainly delivered to me. I'm fascinated by the fantasies humans have stitched together out of reality. Some details:

Honest to Gussie! The "Chickharney" had to be dreamt up by someone who ate a bushel of ergot-tainted rye. I don't *think* the synthesis of LSD had been discovered back then....

I left this read feeling genuinely delighted and refreshed. I'm so happy that it's available for a very reasonable price for all y'all's gifting needs this Yuletide...and beyond of course, but the world's economy might necessitate some price hikes next year, so do it now and get the gorgeous for the right price.

Your birding-lover giftee will very likely appreciate and enjoy it. Your coffee table will positively revel in it as an ornament. It's a lovely object with good information in it.

21weird_O
Dec 6, 4:01 pm

Cheers to you, Richard. I'm glad I caught you with a mere 20 posts. Tomorrow you'll have attracted a hundred more. Wish I knew a birder who would appreciate that book (>20 richardderus:). Was out shopping yesterday and today and feel quite good. Hope you feel good as well. Have a fulfilling weekend.

22figsfromthistle
Dec 6, 4:59 pm

>20 richardderus: Oh that looks like a wonderful book!

Happy new one, Richard

23jessibud2
Dec 6, 5:07 pm

Happy new one, Richard. >20 richardderus: is a book bullet!

24klobrien2
Dec 6, 6:12 pm

>20 richardderus: You got me with that lovely bird book.

Happy new thread!

Karen O

25msf59
Dec 6, 6:53 pm

Happy Friday, Richard. Happy New Thread. Great review and illustrations from The Complete Language of Birds: A Definitive and Illustrated History. Sounds perfect. On the list it goes.

26richardderus
Dec 6, 6:57 pm

>21 weird_O: Happy to see you, Bill! I've got a couple art books to tempt you coming tomorrow. heh

I'm hoping you're remaining in the Yule spirit!

27richardderus
Dec 6, 6:58 pm

>22 figsfromthistle: It's amazing, Anita, and really startling good value for money. Thanks awfully!

28richardderus
Dec 6, 6:59 pm

>23 jessibud2: Thanks, Shelley! I'm glad I landed one on you for this gorgeous book.

29richardderus
Dec 6, 6:59 pm

>24 klobrien2: Wow! I got you, too! I'm sure it'll please you, Karen O.! *smooch*

30richardderus
Dec 6, 7:01 pm

>25 msf59: Oh frabjous day callooh callay! I was aiming for you with that one, Birddude.

Thanks most kindly.

31SilverWolf28
Dec 6, 8:51 pm

Happy New Thread!

32bell7
Dec 6, 9:28 pm

Happy new thread, Richard!

33atozgrl
Dec 6, 10:36 pm

>20 richardderus: Uh oh, you got me with that one too. Onto Mt. TBR it goes!

34richardderus
Dec 6, 11:08 pm

>31 SilverWolf28: Thanks, Silver!

35richardderus
Dec 6, 11:09 pm

>32 bell7: Thank you, Mary, and I've got some book-bullets coming up aimed right at you....

36richardderus
Dec 6, 11:10 pm

>33 atozgrl: Excellent news, Irene, since it's a beautiful one that you'll really enjoy having around.

37richardderus
Dec 7, 8:10 am

226 The American Art-Union: Utopia and Skepticism in the Antebellum Era by Kimberly A. Orcutt

Rating: 4.5* of five

The Publisher Says: The first comprehensive treatment in seventy years of the American Art-Union's remarkable rise and fall

For over a decade, the New York-based American Art-Union shaped art creation, display, and patronage nationwide. Boasting as many as 19,000 members from almost every state, its meteoric rise and its sudden and spectacular collapse still raise a crucial Why did such a successful and influential institution fail? The American Art-Union reveals a sprawling and fascinating account of the country's first nationwide artistic phenomenon, creating a shared experience of visual culture, art news and criticism, and a direct experience with original works.

For an annual fee of five dollars, members of the American Art-Union received an engraving after a painting by a notable U.S. artist and the annual publication Transactions (1839–49) and later the monthly Bulletin (1848–53). Most importantly, members' names were entered in a drawing for hundreds of original paintings and sculptures by most of the era's best-known artists. Those artworks were displayed in its immensely popular Free Gallery. Unfortunately, the experiment was short-lived. Opposition grew, and a cascade of events led to an 1852 court case that proved to be the Art-Union's downfall. Illuminating the workings of the American art market, this study fills a gaping lacuna in the history of nineteenth-century U.S. art. Dr. Kimberly A. Orcutt draws from the American Art-Union's records as well as in-depth contextual research to track the organization's decisive impact that set the direction of the country's paintings, sculpture, and engravings for well over a decade.

Forged in cultural crosscurrents of utopianism and skepticism, the American Art-Union's demise can be traced to its nature as an attempt to create and control the complex system that the early nineteenth-century art world represented. This study breaks the organization's activities into their major components to offer a structural rather than chronological narrative that follows mounting tensions to their inevitable end. The institution was undone not by dramatic outward events or the character of its leadership but by the character of its utopianist plan.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: I've mentioned before my upbringing was very heavy on the art-world access, and a lot of art history came into my knowledge base as part of that. I was drawn to this book in part because it dealt with a topic I'd heard about, but had never gotten too much information regarding, so...well, curiosity got the better of me.

Thomas Hicks, Calculating, 1844. Oil on canvas, 13 5/8 x 17 in. (34.61 x 43.18 cm). Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Gift of Maxim Karolik for the M. and M. Karolik Collection of American Paintings, 62.273. Photograph © 2024 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

George Inness, View in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, Clearing off After a September Storm, 1849. Oil on canvas, 48 x 72 1/4 in. (121.92 x 183.52 cm). Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Cody, Wyoming; Whitney Western Art Museum; Gift in Memory of L.G. Phelps and Frances Phelps Belden, 21.00.

Asher B. Durand, Progress (The Advance of Civilization), 1853. Oil on canvas, 48 × 72 in. (121.92 × 182.88 cm). Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond. Gift of an anonymous donor, 2018.547. Photo: Travis Fullerton © Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

Nagel and Weingärtner, Humbug’s American Museum, 1851. The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Print Collection, The New York Public Library.

Jacques Louis David, Coronation of Emperor Napoleon and Josephine at Notre-Dame in Paris, December 2, 1804, 1808–22. Oil on canvas, 240 1/8 x 382 1/4 in. (610 x 971 cm). Chateaux de Versailles et de Trianon. © RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, NY

George Cooke, Raft of the Medusa, ca. 1830. Oil on linen, 51 3/8 × 77 1/4 in. (130.5 × 196.2 cm). New-York Historical Society, Bequest of Uriah Phillips Levy, 1862.4. Photography © New-York Historical Society.

Thomas Cole, North Mountain and Catskill Creek (Sunset on the Catskill), 1838. Oil on canvas, 26 7/16 × 36 7/16 in. (67.2 × 92.6 cm). Yale University Art Gallery, Gift of Anne Osborn Prentice, 1981.56.

Washington Allston, Sketch of a Polish Jew, 1817. Oil on canvas, 30 1/4 × 25 1/4 in. (76.8 × 64.1 cm). National Gallery of Art, Corcoran Collection (Museum Purchase, William A. Clark Fund).

Alfred Jones after William Sidney Mount, Farmers Nooning, 1843. Engraving. National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.
☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀
I've selected these images from the ones made available for reviewers to draw from in their reviews. (There are eighty-seven illustrative images in the entire text.) I think these choices offer the gifter of the book, to self or others, a pretty solid overview of the aesthetic on display in the book. If you like nineteenth-century art, more or less academic in its emphasis, this book is a great choice to ornament your coffee table.

The idea of the American Art-Union, its aim to bring visual culture to the entire borning nation, resonated with me like I was a bell and it was a clapper. Its aims, its choices, and the idea of a drawing to win original art...well, take my money, y'all.

Sadly the times were just not in sync with this lofty aim. The inevitable problems with Authority, among the membership, and all the usual nonsense that attends doing something large and ambitious that exceeds the practical and the cultural infrastructure, concatenated in a spectacular flame-out.

Unusually, the author chose to follow the internal threads of the story. I felt a bit at sea for a while, as I'd expected the bog-standard chronological structure. No indeed...and to be honest, it serves the story being told better than a chronolgy would have done. I can see that this technique will make enemies, though, so I don't want you to go in to a $40 book only to be blindsided with a synthetic approach where one expects an analytical one.

I'm eager for fellow appreciators of nineteenth-century utopianism, of the urgent need to create a visual culture in this world of philistines, and those who just flat love to look at art, to get one of these beauties for themselves, or a like-minded friend.

The Table of Contents, with its relative page counts, will show you better than I can what the author does with this story. The amount of text dedicated to the events chronicled is proportional to the importance of the events themselves, much more directly than I find is usual in art-history works:

Introduction: The Dream of Art for the People | 1
1 Engravings: To Lead Taste or to Follow? | 29
2 Selecting Artworks for Distribution: From Democracy to Oligarchy | 6
3 The Free Gallery: Art, Anxiety, and Revolution | 99
4 Distributions and Membership: “Messengers and Missionaries of Art”? | 122
5 The Bulletin: From Education to Provocation | 155
6 Slowly, Then All at Once: The Demise of the American Art-Union | 180
Acknowledgments | 209
Appendix A: American Art-Union Resources | 211
Appendix B: American Art-Union Officers and Committee of Management, 1839–51 | 213
Appendix C: American Art-Union Engravings Distributed to All Members | 216
Notes | 219
Sources Cited | 253
Index | 271

This is a fine work of scholarly thought, meeting beautiful art images, and coming together to produce a book that your budding historian, your culture vulture, and your very artsy giftee will eat up with a terribly refined runcible spoon.

I did.

38richardderus
Dec 7, 8:33 am

227 Mountains of the Pharaohs: The Untold Story of the Pyramid Builders by Zahi Hawass

Rating: 4.5* of five

The Publisher Says: World-renowned archaeologist Zahi Hawass weaves a spellbinding narrative about how the pyramids were built and why, new in paperback

Nearly five thousand years ago, the fourth dynasty of Egypt’s Old Kingdom reigned over a highly advanced civilization. Believed to be gods, the royal family lived amid colossal palaces and temples built to honor them and their deified ancestors.

In Mountains of the Pharaohs, Zahi Hawass brings these extraordinary historical figures to life, detailing a soap opera-like saga complete with murder, incest, and the triumphant ascension to the throne of one of only four queens ever to rule Egypt. It was during this dynasty that the magnificent pyramids of Giza were built. These monuments attest not only to the dynasty’s supreme power, but also to the engineering expertise and architectural sophistication that flourished under its rule.

Hawass tells the complete story of the pyramids, weaving archaeological data with a history of Egypt’s powerful pharaohs, and argues that the pyramids—including the Great Pyramid of Khufu, the only one of the Seven Wonders of the World still standing—were built by skilled craftsmen who took great pride in their work.

Illustrated with black-and-white photographs and drawings, Mountains of the Pharaohs is a compelling account of one of civilization’s greatest achievements.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: If you've watched a single documentary about Egypt in the last thirty years, you've seen and heard the inimitable Zahi Hawass addressing us in those unique cadences as he expounds on his passion. His life has been dedicated to spreading factual knowledge about the history of one of Earth's earliest superpowers. He's risen to the august heights of the secretary general of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities. This narrative history is about the Fourth Dynasty pharoahs who created by their incredible command of Egypt's entire resources the pyramids at Giza.

There are nineteen black & white images to bring the text to life.

I offer these six to show you what you are in for. The American University in Cairo Press made this trade paper edition to their usual quality standard. You'll be treated to a story that is astonishing in its timelessness, amazing in how very old it is, and unnerving in how familiar the personalities are.

Personalities are all we have left when history gets through with us. Hawass has one of the Egyptian personalities that will shape the pharoahs' journey into a very long future, one even greater than they could've imagined. Read his spirited advocacy of the culture and people who...by their own mental and physical labor...created the pyramids that we're gawkin' at five thousand years on.

39PaulCranswick
Dec 7, 9:12 am

Salutations on your new thread, RD.

>1 richardderus: What an actor Pacino is!

40richardderus
Dec 7, 9:16 am

>39 PaulCranswick: Thank you most kindly, PC...and yes indeed, he is an excellent actor. Decades and decades of wide-ranging parts, taking on ideas that can and have gone horribly wrong, generally never Settling the way many do.

41karenmarie
Dec 7, 10:03 am

‘Morning, RDear. Happy new thread!

>1 richardderus: Fantastic pic, thanks for sharing. I would never have guessed that was Al Pacino, but what do I know?

>20 richardderus: I have a non-LT friend that this may be the perfect Christmas gift for.

>37 richardderus: Not going to lie, I won’t get this book, but I do love the pics you’ve posted. It inspired me to figure out what I want Jenna and Hwan to get me for my birthday next summer: A visit to the Ackland Museum in Chapel Hill and lunch or dinner. Not stuff! Not books! Fun times for mother/daughters.

>38 richardderus: I have this book, quite possibly a BB from you. It is, unfortunately, currently in a box in the Media Room. If I can easily get to the box, I just might bring the book downstairs.

Otherwise, BBs successfully dodged, although the time you’re spending on sharing illustrations/pics/etc. is greatly appreciated.

*smooch* from your own Horrible

42richardderus
Dec 7, 10:17 am

228 Milk Without Honey by Hanna Harms (tr. Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp)

Rating: 4.5* of five

The Publisher Says: What would the future of the world look like without bees?

MILK WITHOUT HONEY chosen for NPR’s BOOKS WE LOVE!

Bees are vital to securing our food supply. We could live in a paradise where insects, especially bees pollinate fragrant seas of flowers whose fruits we harvest. Instead, vast lawns are now replacing flower gardens, and agriculture is characterized by monocultures. Pesticides and climate change are also causing insect mortality, with dramatic consequences for the global ecosystem. As we destroy the insect populations, honey is just one of many foods that will no longer be available to us, unless we learn to honor our innate connection with nature before it's too late.

In gorgeous, limited palette artwork, using contemplative images as well as informative charts, Hanna Harms brings us into the world of bees: their hives, their colonies, and their interactions with the global ecosystem. This is the perfect gift book for anyone concerned about climate change and the environment.

About the Author
Hanna Harms is an illustrator and comic author. She graduated from the Münster School of Design in Germany. She is currently studying for an MA in illustration at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences. Hanna is co-editor and author of the comic zine Sander. The German edition of this debut graphic novel Milch ohne Honig, won the Ginco Award in 2020 in the Best Nonfiction Comic category.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: A book receiving wide notice, a lot of praise, and all of it well-deserved. The author is German, and translator Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp did a seamless job of rendering the text into equally elegant English. Look at these spare, graceful pages:

Remember when I praised BIOGRAPHY OF A FLY by Jaap Robben? The style here is very similar, so of course I'm inclined to enjoy it.

The choice of yellow and black for the presentation is logical...what color is a bee, after all...but I wish they'd gone just a bit more bee-and-honey with the shade. As it is, the book is more pee-and-yellowjacket. It got a touch wearing. That's why the book only got 4.5 stars instead of five, which it otherwise fully merits.

That did not stop me from devouring the book, pardon my wordplay, eager to possess the images that Author Harms has created to explicate the nature of the problem that bees face. The depths of our species' dependence on the bee for its labors to feed itself, which thereby feeds us, makes this a very urgently needed book.

I hope you'll add it to your young ecowarrior's pile of gifts this Yule.

43richardderus
Dec 7, 10:42 am

229 Midnight Rambles: H. P. Lovecraft in Gotham by David J. Goodwin

Rating: 4.25* of five

The Publisher Says: A micro-biography of horror fiction’s most influential author and his love–hate relationship with New York City.

By the end of his life and near financial ruin, pulp horror writer Howard Phillips Lovecraft resigned himself to the likelihood that his writing would be forgotten. Today, Lovecraft stands alongside J. R. R. Tolkien as the most influential genre writer of the twentieth century. His reputation as an unreformed racist and bigot, however, leaves readers to grapple with his legacy. Midnight Rambles explores Lovecraft’s time in New York City, a crucial yet often overlooked chapter in his life that shaped his literary career and the inextricable racism in his work.

Initially, New York stood as a place of liberation for Lovecraft. During the brief period between 1924 and 1926 when he lived there, Lovecraft joined a creative community and experimented with bohemian living in the publishing and cultural capital of the United States. He also married fellow writer Sonia H. Greene, a Ukrainian-Jewish émigré in the fashion industry. However, cascading personal setbacks and his own professional ineptitude soured him on New York. As Lovecraft became more frustrated, his xenophobia and racism became more pronounced. New York’s large immigrant population and minority communities disgusted him, and this mindset soon became evident in his writing. Many of his stories from this era are infused with racial and ethnic stereotypes and nativist themes, most notably his overtly racist short story, “The Horror at Red Hook,” set in Red Hook, Brooklyn. His personal letters reveal an even darker bigotry.

Author David J. Goodwin presents a chronological micro-biography of Lovecraft’s New York years, emphasizing Lovecraft’s exploration of the city environment, the greater metropolitan region, and other locales and how they molded him as a writer and as an individual. Drawing from primary sources (letters, memoirs, and published personal reflections) and secondary sources (biographies and scholarship), Midnight Rambles develops a portrait of a talented and troubled author and offers insights into his unsettling beliefs on race, ethnicity, and immigration.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: S.T. Joshi's two-volume I Am Providence is the go-to biography of this awful human being whose fiction output changed what we know as horror fiction. It's a much more...worshipful isn't too strong a term, but let's use the slightly less judgmental term "positively inclined"...take on his entire life.

We don't get that tone here. The author focuses on Lovecraft's New York years. It's pretty much impossible to make the time he spent in the place that inspired the utterly despicably racist story "The Horror at Red Hook" anything but dark and negative.

Rheinhart Kleiner introduced his mutual friends H. P. Lovecraft and Sonia H. Greene during a boat tour of Boston Harbor in July 1921. The three were attending an amateur journalism convention in the city.

That is both true, and misleading. This narrowly focused life of Lovecraft isn't a hatchet-job. It is, instead, a careful look at the whos, whats, and whys of Lovecraft coming into himself as a person and a writer.

That he wasn't a very nice person, well, you know what? Facing up to the real person who typed the words that formed the stories you love or loved is not something we can avoid in the twenty-first century. The fascinating part to me was that there needn't have been this curdling of his heart. There was a window for someone to reach into his heart and pull out a kinder human being. Sonia Greene certainly tried this feat.

Greene grew more intrigued by Lovecraft throughout the Boston convention. This marked the beginning of their relationship.

A brief moment of happiness. It beggars belief to me that this smiling boy is H.P. Lovecraft, whose sour unsmiling visage is reproduced on so many book covers.

While Lovecraft strolled through Brooklyn Heights one evening, a neglected garden captured his attention. This might have been the grounds of the James S. Rockwell House.

His environs always influenced his creative process, naturally. Seeing such sights in Brooklyn, an urban space, would've charged up his future use of the surprising, hidden facet of his stories' settings. As a matter of fact he seems to have found the experience more formative than most others he would have while living in New York.

Lovecraft regularly wandered New York City’s nighttime streets to discover buildings reflecting the architectural styles of colonial and early America. He described Greenwich Village’s Gay Street as a “quaint, curving little alley.”

That it is! Still looks like this, too. It doesn't seem to have sweetened his world-view....

When exploring New York City, Lovecraft sought pockets of nature largely unblemished by urban development. Today’s Inwood Hill Park in Manhattan stood as such a space.

Holy carp! That's INWOOD?! My goodness, a hundred years makes a big difference.

I think my point's made. This is a terrific book about the nasty guy who refined and codified the tropes and topics that now make up "cosmic horror." He is seen here on the cusp of all the floods of words that would make this enduring contribution to our culture. I was drawn into this story by the details I did not know, despite the trajectory and ending being already familiar.

I'm convinced your young Lovecraft/horror reader will be as taken with this read as I was. I can't get all the way over the hump to five stars because I dislike Lovecraft that much. That's probably a testimonial to how well Author Goodwin did his job.

44richardderus
Dec 7, 10:51 am

>41 karenmarie: Morning, sweetiedarling. I'm still searching for my data stick so I'm relying on the most recent reads, and the illustrated ones that take me no time to finish, as my gifting ideas. I don't think many of them will be book-bullets for you. I'm very glad you are enjoying the illos! I love a beautiful book, so am always pleased to bring 'em here for y'all to enjoy.

Time is the most precious gift one can get in this stage of life. It matters more to be with the ones you love than ever, as the years bulge under us. *smooch*

45LizzieD
Dec 7, 12:09 pm

Hi, Richard! This new thread is an eye feast for sure, and an easy one for me to dodge. I'm sorry that the data stick is still hidden. That's a loss for all of us that you're making easier to bear. Happy Saturday and Good Hunting!
Also, Happy Thread!
*smooch*

46RebaRelishesReading
Dec 7, 12:31 pm

Wow1. At post 46 I'm finally here to say "happy new one" -- looks like it's doing just fine but I'll wish it anyway

47richardderus
Dec 7, 1:01 pm

>46 RebaRelishesReading: Hiya Reba! Happy to see you here. It's #Booksgiving, so a LOT of stuff gets reviewed that I read throughout the year, as recommendations for (self-)gifts. It's why I am still hunting my *&$^#$% DATA STICK that I knocked off its perch or something and now cannot find! It has all my notes on it! I'm down to the illustrated books that're so quick to read...though there are still lots of those I very definitely won't recommend for a lot of reasons.

Thanks for the well-wishes!

48richardderus
Dec 7, 1:05 pm

230 Utter, Earth: Advice on Living in a More-than-Human World by Isaac Yuen

Rating: 4.5* of five

The Publisher Says: A light, literary take on an animal book for grown-ups, a tongue-in-cheek self-help column with lessons drawn from nature, a sort of hitchhiker’s guide to the more-than-human world—Isaac Yuen’s Utter, Earth is a celebration, through wordplay and earthplay, of our planet’s riotous wonders.

In a time of dirges and elegies for the natural world, Utter, Earth features odes to sloths, tributes to trilobites, and ringing endorsements for lichen. For animal lovers and readers of Brian Doyle, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, and Amy Leach, each essay of this one-of-a-kind collection combines joyous language, whimsical tangents, and scientific findings to remind us of and reconnect us with those to whom we are inextricably bound. Highlighting life that once was, still is, and all that we stand to lose, this living and lively mini encyclopedia (complete with glossary) shines the spotlight on the motley, fantastical, and astonishing denizens with whom we share this planet.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: Wry, amusing essays on life, the Universe, and everything. I'm not sure I'd've picked this book up if it hadn't been for David Naimon (podcast Between the Covers host) delivering this encomium:

“To shoal is to be social, to sense together, we learn in one of Yuen’s more-than-human essays. But to school is to sweep together in unison, to dazzle with coherence. It’s this spirit of schooling that animates Utter, Earth, essays that—in their curiosity, play, and care—aim to weave us back into a world of which we are but one small part. How would our language change if we invited nonhuman others alongside us again in fellowship, if our lives not only allowed for but celebrated everything swimming just beyond the limits of what we know? It’s not time for school, it’s time to school, to school with the creatures of Utter, Earth, the lemurs, leopards, and leafcutter ants, the wombats, waterbuck, and wildebeest, to school with others to find ourselves again.”

Like any collection of essays, some work better for individual reader than others. My own favorites were:

I was charmed and amused and educated by these pieces of Author Yuen's brain. I'm pretty sure I could summarize the contents of the essays, but I'm also sure that constitutes a spoiler. And having run afoul of the shrill shrieks of the Spoiler Stasi before, I ain't a-doin' that. Read 'em your damnself.

I'll give you these, because if you want to yell at someone, you can yell at the press's marketing folk for including them:

There. I've done what I can to entice you into getting and enhoying this condensed, enriched, fortified collection of an intelligent man's musings on words, ideas, and the way they interact to form the world. Even the odd, off-kilter title of the collection makes perfect sense after reading the entire book. (I suspect that, like me, a lot of y'all might be put off by it...please ignore that urge and try this one out!)

Get two. You'll want one, and it's Yuletide so gifting one to someone who loves nature, language, and humor, is only decent.

49richardderus
Dec 7, 1:10 pm

>45 LizzieD: Peggy me lurve! I'm glad you're at the least amuse and entertained, since I'm still racking whatever gooey mess lives in my skull while my brain's off on vacation for the whereabouts of the mother...the data stick. You wouldn't be up for a consultation with your old high-school buddy Mnemosyne, would you?

heh

*smooch*

50vancouverdeb
Edited: Dec 8, 12:53 am

Great topper and Happy New Thread, Richard! Sunday *smooch*

51richardderus
Edited: Dec 8, 7:07 am

231 Bestiarium Greenlandica: A compendium of the mythical creatures, spirits, and strange beings of Greenland by Maria Bach Kreutzmann (ed.) et alii

Rating: 5* of five

The Publisher Says: Meet the motley crew of dangerous, cheeky, and fantastical beings of Greenland!

The world of Greenlandic mythology is inhabited by creatures that have played a vital role in Inuit beliefs and stories throughout the ages. The Bestiarium is a collection of what is generally known about these diverse beings, spirits, and animals. Their stories are gritty, cruel, and reflect from the harsh landscape and lifestyle of ancient Greenland.

Descriptions are paired with illustrations by contemporary Greenlandic illustrators that transport these mythological beings into the 21st Century. A brief history of Greenland and the shaman tradition launches the reader into the ancient world of Greenland and how myth and legend told generation after generation can mould and depict a place that was dark and grim as mischievous and lively and full of natural wonders.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: A world of mythology I was utterly unaware that I was unaware of has gripped my imagination.

where we're going

what we're speaking

how we know what we're talking about is legit

some explanations of how this all goes down

She seems nice. Not. Also, aren't you cold, ma'am?

NIGHTMARE!

Poochie's got some 'tude.

They're creepy, and they're gorgeous.

An amazing tale; an artwork that's stare-able.

Who on your gifting list loves mythology? Loves to poke into cultural corners not already familiar? Is there a budding Greta Thunberg who would like to know what it is we're protecting when we shout at the PTB to stop playacting at solutions to the emissions debacle?

A book like this one will fill that slot under the Yule tree with only a minimum of tutting about its technological origins. I think you'll get big points for reaching outside the easy, ordinary ideas, too.

52richardderus
Dec 8, 7:23 am

232 Mythical Monsters of Greenland: A Survival Guide by Maria Bach Kreutzmann (illus. Coco Apunnguaq Lynge

Rating: 5* of five

The Publisher Says: This book introduces kids to all the creepy, spooky, and downright scary creatures told about in traditional Greenlandic mythology.

What should you do if you encounter a Qivittoq? Can you outrun the fabled Ikusik? And what is a Tupilak made of?

About 4500 years ago, the first Inuit landed in Greenland via North America, bringing with them stories about the mythical beings that lived alongside them. These creatures and monsters have survived the ravages of time and tide, although they have sometimes had to re-invent themselves to fit the modern world.

This handy pocket guide will help guide you through the do’s and don'ts should you encounter any of these creatures in the Arctic wilderness.

Happy hunting!

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: Back to Greenland we go, thence to learn more about the cultural fear and coping with the unknown traditions.

What an excellent personification of vengeance! Really looks the part, and goodness knows we're in for a spell of that entity's ascendance.

The Northern lights are the road of the dead in Inuit tradition. I'd like to travel that road when I die.

This dude, OTOH, can stay right the hell away!

I think this is one of the world's great unmined storyverses. The scope to being these down to the rich, film-hungry Global South could do this small, Indigenous-run press pretty darn well financially.

The scope of Inuit culture is steadily changing. Climate change means we're at risk of not knowing what it is we're putting in danger of disappearance. Spending some pleasantly scary time learning what makes the Inuit kids have nightmares isn't remotely painful with this beautiful object as a guide.

A good way to get some coolness credibility with your grand or nibling whose environmental consciousness hasn't made them lose interest in getting Yule gifts.

53richardderus
Dec 8, 7:26 am

>50 vancouverdeb: Thank you, Deborah, and a *smooch* back!

54richardderus
Dec 8, 8:00 am

233 Amazing Octopus: Creature from an unknown world by Michael Stavaric (illus. Michèle Ganser, tr. Oliver Latsch)

Rating: 5* of five

The Publisher Says: Dive beneath the waves and explore the amazing world of the octopus with this fact-filled book for middle grade readers who can’t get enough about marine animals!

What do ocean and space have in common? How did octopuses and humans evolve? What exactly are cephalopods - and why do they have such a funny name?

Octopuses are the oldest and most intelligent creatures on our planet, true aliens whose abilities amaze us. Michael Stavarič and Michèle Ganser have created a non-fiction book full of surprising twists and turns that offer much more than just imparting knowledge.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: I appear to be a middle-grade reader "who can’t get enough about marine animals". I loved reading this book, as ably translated by Oliver Latsch, and I reveled in the illustrations. They're done in an approachable, informative way:

These three were provided by Pushkin Children's Books to show just how astonishingly rich and fascinating all the illustrations are; Michèle Ganser is a major talent. Many more from this pen, please.

Since I'm a firm believer that the Tentacled Americans of all species are as close to alien inteligences as we're going to get for the moment, I was very happy with the choice to link them to outer space in this book.

Octopuses, as we know by now, are cephalopods—their legs, or rather their tentacles, are directly connected to their heads. This may give them a somewhat sack-like appearance to our eyes. Basically, they only consist of a huge head, two big eyes and eight arms, which are equipped with suckers on the underside. So it is not surprising that octopuses are also often called “aliens”.

It's all like this, told as though your science teacher is a fun, funny storyteller with a lot of knowledge to make your learning painless.

The best part of this approach is that the astounding intelligence and real-life coolness of the cephalopd tribe gets hold of you quickly and, if I read this right, permanently. Your budding marine scientist will love the experience of reading this. It's not like most science books for this age group are...brightly colored and written down...so it'll appeal to the serious about science while not repelling the casually interested.

Parents will enjoy it, too, in large part because they'll recognize the Socratic teaching style of asking questions, of probing for the reader's existing knowledge. It's the best way I know of to get new facts to stick: Locate them in the child's existing nexus of information.

The physical book must be a delight to hold. The DRC is a delight to look at, a real visual feast. It marries the beautiful art with an effective, elegant page design. You generally won't go wrong with Pushkin Press's output. This book is no exception.

55karenmarie
Dec 8, 8:49 am

'Morning, RDear. Happy Sunday to you.

Marvelous reviews, all dodgeable for me.

Off to watch Arsenal!

*smooch*

56richardderus
Dec 8, 8:50 am

Remember that removable data stick I lost, and have been looking for this past week or so? Okay, see, it's like this: My toes don't point all the same direction the way y'all's do (gout, ow), so in spite of the fact that I have the extremely good fortune to have access to a podiatrist who comes here to see me for toenail-clipping purposes, occasionally a nail needs intermediate nipping or socks unravel as they go on or come off. Because the nails are perfectly capable of holding up steel girders in a pinch, I needed some *serious* nippers to accomplish this task. Because gout is also in my fingers, the nippers needed to be multidirectional, since there's no bending any part of my anatomy.

Well, that kind of expenditure (they're $20!) on something frivolous like nail nippers ain't gonna happen on my disability payments. Rob very kindly stepped in and sent me a set of nippers of medical-grade flexibility. These came in a tin fitted with dark stuff to keep them all securely in place. This tin sits open in my catchall crate that's on my nightstand.

So. Well. There it sits. I needed an intermediate nip this morning because it's cold, I put on a sock and unraveled it in the process. Swore sulphrously, grabbed the nippers...
...
...and they were the data stick. The black data stick. On the black foam security holders of my open-for-convenience nipper tin.

The *good* part is I found the *&$^# thing. The bad part is I really need my cataracts done.

57karenmarie
Dec 8, 8:52 am

Congrats on finding the data stick. The black data stick rolled up in a sock.

*smooch* again

58richardderus
Edited: Dec 8, 8:58 am

234 A Natural History of Dragons by Emily Hawkins (illus. Jessica Roux)

Rating: 5* of five

The Publisher Says: Dragons have been the misunderstood subject of folklore for generations . . . but are these stories just legends or is there any truth to these majestic creatures’ fiery reputations?

Presented as a handbook from the late 1800s written for the students of the Academie Solomonar: the only school for dragon-riders, this beautiful volume sets out to reveal the hidden world of dragons. Within these pages you will meet mysterious and majestic dragons from around the globe, read about ancient lore and superstitions, learn about their life cycle, anatomy, habits and habitats, and discover the secrets behind dragon flight.

This exquisitely illustrated album, that delves deep into the world of dragons, will delight all true-believers and fantasy enthusiasts.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: First in a series from this author and artist duo, all offering a middle-grade reader an independent reading experience similar to the narrative non-fiction they'll be accustomed to. A younger reader, say seven or eight, might struggle a bit as the vocabulary and the ideas are possibly just out of reach...but the object is gorgeous and could inspire them to make the needed cognitive leap if dragons are already of interest to them.

The framing device, letters and notes of a student dragon rider, is bang on the trend for dark academia in the YA fiction world. The artwork is so beautiful that the reader's older sibling, if any, might purloin the book for a good look...possibly an appropriation if the sibling in question's already reading dark-academia books. Look at these beautiful pages, and tell me you can't see that fight brewing:

I'd say the right giftee for this, and its series sibling books, is curious about the story universe, is smart in the academic ways but not very interested in "uncreative" subjects like science, and could use a nudge to see that it's all stories...just some aren't fiction.

This read could give the giver a chance to show the giftee how to find the story in reality. Strong recommendation from me.

59richardderus
Dec 8, 8:57 am

>57 karenmarie: Not the sock, sweetiedarling. It was on the nipper-holding tin's black lining. MUCH more embarrassing than rolled up in a sock...that would just be the random weirdness of the Universe.

60richardderus
Dec 8, 9:05 am

235 A Natural History of Magical Beasts by Emily Hawkins (illus. Jessica Roux)

Rating: 5* of five

The Publisher Says: Tales of magical creatures have been told across the world for generations... but are these stories merely flights of fancy, or is there any truth to the legends of unicorns and dragons, centaurs and griffins?

A Natural History of Magical Beasts is a complete guide to magical creatures from around the world, from their lifecycles and behaviour to how they have hidden themselves from human discovery for centuries.

Featuring a gold-foil-embossed cloth cover, a ribbon marker and sprayed gold edges, this gorgeous volume is filled with beautiful illustrations and precise notes detailing the secret lives of magical beasts.

Presented as the notebook of a 1920s zoologist, this lavish volume sets out to answer this question, revealing the hidden world of the magical beasts that live among us. Within these pages you will meet bizarre and beautiful creatures from around the globe, discovering their habits, habitats and the legends surrounding them. Learn about the anatomy of a unicorn, the life cycle of a phoenix, incredible dragon courtship dances and much more in this ultimate guide to magical creatures.

This exquisitely illustrated album will entrance all true-believers and fantasy enthusiasts.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: Another entry in this beautiful series of narratives emulating the dark-academia vibe so very popular at the moment. Sweetening the academia part, and encouraging the habits of mind characteristic of a scientist, is the magical-creature focus. It can't be learning if it's this pretty and this much fun to read, right?

Take advantage of this creative duo's gift of an opening to you, gift-giver:

The kid won't know what hit 'em. They'll be totally suckered in by the gorgeous illustrations and won't notice they're learning valuable observation and classification skills. They won't see how easy it is to transfer these habits of mind to real-world learning, or to use this storytelling framework to parse and quantify even newly exposed information, until you or the parent make it plain.

Sneaking education into their story books is genius. The duo responsible for this series is to be supported, preferably with your purchase of this item for the middle-grade story-lover on your gifting list who isn't very interested in the more concrete forms of school-learning. Got to sneak past the gates somehow, and this is a terrific trojan horse.

61MickyFine
Dec 8, 9:38 am

Goodness, I'm away from LT for a bit and I miss a whole thread from you. Looks like you've had some beautifully illustrated reads lately and I'm glad to see your data stick resurfaced. Happy Sunday smooches!

62richardderus
Dec 8, 9:51 am

236 Through Fences by Frederick Luis Aldama (illus. Oscar Garza)

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: Through Fences follows the ups and downs of Latino kids and young adults in the US–Mexico borderlands:

San Ysidro, Calexico, McAllen, and back and forth across the border. A young girl’s journey north goes wrong, and now she is in a forbidding new place, away from her parents and brother, where she doesn’t understand what the adults in green are saying even as she tries to obey their rules.

Rocky, one of the few white kids in town, stands by and watches as Miguel is jumped by two of his friends. Maggie and her parents are separated at the border in a tragic accident.

Alberto’s son doesn’t understand his Mexican father’s hatred for “illegals” or his work as a border patrol agent. Alicia is a TikTok influencer who doesn’t want to grow up to be a hospital cleaning lady like her mother, but COVID complicates things. Whatever their challenges, the kids, teens, tweens, and adults in these pages are just trying to survive their everyday lives.

Vibrantly illustrated by Oscar Garza, each of these short stories brings a different perspective on the perils of living on the border while brown.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: The stories told here are tough. They're honest, they're emotionally charged, and they do not pander to or play out for the gaze of oh-so-sensitive/delicate fleur wypipo who whine every time anyone tells them the unvarnished truth about what the system their privilege enables them to ignore actually does in their collective name and to their collective benefit.

I don't recommend this for under-fifteens. I do think it's a good idea to give the book to your comic-loving teen nibling/grand boy.

These are indicative of the visual idiom of the entire book. It's intense and kinetic art, it's intense storytelling, and it can't be lightly glossed over or cynically dismissed easily. Young white men in particular could use a dose of this reality. Apart from urging you to get the work in front of all the teenaged white lads you can find, I'm out of polite words to say.

63jessibud2
Dec 8, 9:58 am

>56 richardderus:- Well, congratulations, no matter which way it came from!

64richardderus
Dec 8, 10:30 am

>61 MickyFine: Hiya Micky! I'm glad to see you here. I've been blogging for #Booksgiving, so I'm still focusing on gift-giving books...illustrated ones for kids being perfect for gifting, that's what's comin' out. Next week's the more expensive illustrated books for adults. THEN the self-gifting novels and suchlike, for which I *badly* needed the now-discovered data stick.

*smooch* and welcome back!

65richardderus
Edited: Dec 8, 10:52 am

237 Monsters at Christmas by Laura Baker (illus. Nina Dzyvulska)

Rating: 5* of five

The Publisher Says: Monsters at Christmas is a zany picture book, packed with festive, mischievous monsters preparing for Christmas!

Merry monsters, hairy monsters, monsters trailing slime. Shiny monsters, tiny monsters, all at Christmas time!

Children will love this super-fun title packed with hilarious monsters preparing for Christmas! Follow the monsters as they play in the snow and slide on the ice, decorate the house, and go shopping for presents...and watch out for Santa monster hiding in every scene!

There is plenty to spot on every page, with playful, bright artwork, and lots of festive, amusing mishaps.

Energetic, wacky, and characterful monsters are drawn in a vibrant, contemporary style by Ukranian illustrator Nina Dzyvulska—spot Sprinkle monster baking up a storm, Teeth monster decking all the halls, and Roar monster trying out Santa’s sleigh!

The simple narrative with fun wordplay and a gentle rhyme is perfect for reading aloud, ideal for preschoolers and early readers as they build up their vocabulary and reading confidence.

This bold, bright, and playful book is sure to be enjoyed time and time again by young readers as they are thrilled by the merry escapades of the Christmas monsters!

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: Apparently I am a "children" as desribed in the synopsis for the book because I loved "this super-fun title packed with hilarious monsters" so much I spent the whole time I was reading it giggling.

Is that not something that makes you wish for a lap-reading aged child?!

I wish baking was actually like this. It would be even more fun.

Glorious, daffy fun for you and the kidlet on your lap...all too seldom can one say that about a kids' book, usually the experience is pretty much the same-ol' same-ol'...not here!

If you can think of a better way to spend an evening of play with a kid than laughing along with this inspired daffiness, good on ya, but try this one out anyway. I'll wager every kid you read it to (or even better, who reads it to you!) enjoys it...and finds Santa every time, too.

66richardderus
Edited: Dec 8, 10:55 am

>63 jessibud2: Heh! Thanks, Shelley! I think you might enjoy this artwork I found on Tumblr:

ETA it's by Leah Gardner...no further information provided.

67LizzieD
Dec 8, 12:22 pm

Well, YIPPEE! YEE-HAAAA and also Hallelujah!!!!

I am delighted for your peace of mind and our information that you found the stick!!!! I was going to tell you that I'd send you my old pal Mnemosyne's email, but I've forgotten it - with a heh back to you. No need now. *SMOOCH*

68klobrien2
Edited: Dec 8, 12:32 pm

>58 richardderus: I think I know someone who would appreciate this dragon book (grandson #2). Thanks for the wonderful review!

So glad you found your memory stick!

Karen O

69richardderus
Dec 8, 2:11 pm

>67 LizzieD: I'm both relieved and embarrassed, Peggy. MUST get the cataracts done in January! Mnemosyne clearly heard me, and delivered the needed item as a favor...what she'll want as a sacrifice, I shudder to think.

*smooch*

70richardderus
Dec 8, 2:12 pm

>68 klobrien2: Oh good, Karen O.! I'm really happy that it triggered a good idea for a gift. I am really happy that it showed up, but it was a bit embarrassing.

71Familyhistorian
Dec 9, 1:03 am

Happy newish thread, Richard. I'm gobsmacked at all the book pictures on your latest threads. You did get me with Mountains of the Pharoahs though.

>56 richardderus: Commiserations from a fellow sufferer with bionic toenails - part of the reason I hate having to wear socks.

72msf59
Dec 9, 7:35 am

Morning, Richard. You got me with Milk Without Honey & Through Fences. Both look like a good fit for me. Did you request The Way: A Novel from Netgalley? You are usually ahead of the curve with those requests.

73richardderus
Dec 9, 7:36 am

238 Horror Unmasked: A History of Terror from Nosferatu to Nope by Brad Weismann

Rating: 4.5* of five

The Publisher Says: Horror Unmasked offers a general introduction to the popular film genre, serves as a guidebook to its film highlights, and celebrates its practitioners, trends, and stories.

From the silent-film era to the blockbusters of today, Horror Unmasked is a fun-filled, highly illustrated dive into the past influences and present popularity of the horror film genre.

The horror film’s pop-culture importance is undeniable, from its early influences to today’s most significant and exciting developments in the genre. Since 1990, the production of horror films has risen exponentially worldwide, resulting in impressive ticket sales in the modern day, not to mention how the genre has expanded into books, fashion, music, and other media throughout the world.

Horror has long been the most popular film genre, and more horror movies have been made than any other kind. We need them. We need to be scared, to test ourselves, laugh inappropriately, scream, and flinch. We need to get through them and come out, blinking, still in one piece. This comprehensive guide features:

A thorough discussion on monster movies and B-movies (The Thing; It Came from Outer Space; The Blob)

The destruction of the American censorship system (Blood Feast; The Night of the Living Dead; The Texas Chainsaw Massacre)

International horror, zombies, horror comedies, and horror in the new millennium (Matango; Suspiria; Ghostbusters)

A dissection of the critical reception of modern horror (Neon Demon; Pan’s Labyrinth; Funny Games)

Stunning movie posters and film stills, plus fan-made tributes to some of the most lauded horror franchises in the world (Aliens; The Evil Dead; The Hills Have Eyes; Scream)

A perfect reference and informational book for horror fans and those interested in its cultural influence worldwide, Horror Unmasked provides a general introduction to the genre, serves as a guidebook to its film highlights, and celebrates its practitioners, trends, and stories.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: It is astonishing how important the horror-movie industry has grown to be. It began with a bang...pardon the wordplay...and pretty much reliably made money for the film industry for decades. Its reach into pop culture has never stopped making the puckerhole set very, very, very anxious and uncomfortable. The trends in horror-film making have huge impacts on things from politics to design aesthetics. It's all in here, though of course not in great, or academically sourced, depth. This is an exciting gift book, not a film studies text.

That is a feature, not a bug. My enjoyment of the read was thorough while we were in the past; in the modern day, I felt...impatient...this is current events! Do we really need to go into the stuff from day-before-yesterday? Yes, of course, said my old-man common sense. Not everyone sees the same information I do. Still, I'm docking a half-star for it because I'm giving *my* impression, and it might match up with your possible giftee's. Forewarned is still forearmed.

The Table of Contents, and the Introduction, are typical excitement-building spreads:

The Chapter One opening spread, and first text spread, gives us the basic format's development into the informative delivery medium for the deep-enough dive into the development and trends in horror film from the initial efforts through our present era of splatters in place of scares.

Gross oversimplification on my part, and not universally true; like all generalizations, exceptions abound. Go look into Bollywood horror...go learn about the reason we've seen such an explosion of horror franchises...find out who directed a horror film that you'd swear an oath would never have done such a thing.

Here's your chance to thrill the horror aficionado in your life with a hardcover book that will teach about the genre while pleasing the eyes and teasing the memory. Believe me, you'll never lose at trivia if you read this one.

A really really great graphic representation of the interconnectedness of the global horror industry.

74richardderus
Dec 9, 7:59 am

239 Unruly Figures: Twenty Tales of Rebels, Rulebreakers, and Revolutionaries You've (Probably) Never Heard Of by Valorie Castellanos Clark

Rating: 4.5* of five

The Publisher Says: A fascinating look at the lives of twenty rebels and rule-breakers throughout history and what made their contributions to society—in science, politics, art, and more—transformative. By the author and host of the popular Unruly Figures Substack newsletter and podcast.

Unruly Figures gives you access to the lives and often untold stories of twenty of history's most fascinating individuals. Of all the rebels and revolutionaries who have acted around the world, these are often overlooked. Whether they are a bit familiar or entirely new to you, each of these historical figures provides a vivid example of what it means to live life on one's own terms and have a lasting influence on society.

In the first collection of its kind, spotlighting a young historian's fresh view on unheralded rebels, these characters' true stories are brought to life through enthralling narratives of their feats and an original illustration of each. Even those whose names are recognizable—like Jonas Salk—have moments of rebellion that are largely left out of their histories. The diverse cast of unruly figures profiled includes:

Kandake Amanirenas, queen of the Kingdom of Kush (modern-day Sudan), who led an army against the invading Romans

Manuela Sáenz, revolutionary from Ecuador and collaborator and lover of Simón Bolívar

Henry Dunant, Swiss humanitarian and founder of the Red Cross

Elaine Sturtevant, known as Sturtevant, a misunderstood American artist who took appropriation and pop art to new heights

Dive into this collection of hidden history tales—those of scientists, artists, revolutionaries, activists, heirs to thrones, and so many more—and you are guaranteed to be inspired by how they lived on their own unconventional terms.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: This is my idea of a gift to give the young giftee of any description! This is how you do it, and don't wait to start. The world needs troublemakers now more than ever.

Here's a sample few pages, all about someone who did something I definitely never learned about in History class:

Excuse me, what?! Defeated AUGUSTUS?! This was not mentioned in any book I've read about Rome!

The entire collection does not, of course, have quite the same impact on me as the unsettling realization of History I've consumed for *mumble*ty-five years being upended. That is, however, not the source of the missing half-star. I'm afraid I'm being really petty and first-world spoiled here: I hate, with a violent passion, whatever Pantone™-pink shade that is they've used throughout the book. It looks like thrown-up shrimp cocktail.

The information, the design, all the rest...the portraits on the chapter opens, the typeface, the bloody dingbats are all peachy-keen by me. That urpsome shade of my least-favorite color cost this excellent book replete with role models I hope you'll shove at every young person you can find a half-star.

I accept your opprobrium in advance, but decline to reconsider my stance.

Don't let this in any way dissuade, or even delay, you from ordering one to arrive in time to go under the Yule tree.

75richardderus
Dec 9, 8:31 am

>71 Familyhistorian: Hi Meg! It's a pain, no? Snags and runs and ripped bits of nail...just, well, proof the xian gawd does run things and hates us humans.

All the illustrated books are really because I lost my data stick. I do some every #Booksgiving, but bore down heavy this year. They're fun because even the grown-up ones aren't all that hard to get through.

76richardderus
Dec 9, 8:35 am

>72 msf59: Morning, Birddude! I'm glad you liked those. Honestly, I think you and Joe are the perfect audience for >62 richardderus: because of the format and genre. (Where is Joe anyway? Haven't seen him or his thread in æons.)

I saw it on your thread, but hadn't seen it before. I might be too late to request it...I'll go look.

77karenmarie
Dec 9, 9:53 am

Morning, RDear.

>59 richardderus:. I stand corrected.

BBs safely dodged, great reviews as always.

*smooch*

78richardderus
Dec 9, 10:31 am

>77 karenmarie: Morning, sweetiedarling. I'm glad you're at least *reading* them, he grumbled, even if your core is getting a hellacious workout from the book-bullet dodging.

*smooch* anyway

79richardderus
Dec 9, 10:35 am

240 Art Rules: How great artists think, create and work by Cassie Packard

Rating: 4.5* of five (the "Pink Ding" taken off from five)

The Publisher Says: The best thing about rules is that you can break them: here are over 100 mantras for anyone interested in creating great art.

What can we learn from great artists? When we hold their practices up to the light, what do we see – and how might those encounters reshape our own thinking about art?

Delving into the attitudes, working practices and mantras of artists hailing from the eighteenth century to the present day, Art Rules distills over 100 insights into the lives of artists inside the studio and out. This book is animated by questions: How do artists think about creativity? What forms can process take? How might artists craft a personal definition of success?

Drawing upon art historical research and artist interviews, the accessible takeaways on these virtuosos’ varied practices pack a punch. This lively compendium offers up a wealth of perspectives from an international, intergenerational group of artists working across media. Art historical heavyweights including Louise Bourgeois, Marcel Duchamp, Frida Kahlo and Henri Matisse appear alongside relatively newer names such as Kerry James Marshall, Ana Mendieta and Mika Rottenberg, as well as exciting artists on the rise like Emilie Louise Gossiaux and Madeline Hollander.

Some of the insights may seem more practical, while others trend conceptual; some may unearth existing knowledge, while others may come as a surprise; some will stay with you forever, while others you’ll only need to try once. Art Rules allows readers to either dip in at random or read from cover to cover for lessons in how great artists think, make and work.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: There is a lot to be said for listening to the thoughts of experts in their field. In this case, artists talk about the nature and the process of creating art...more broadly applicable to creativity as well. The artworks shown are so beautiful it's easy to see a case for giving it (to self or others) as a browser's book of gorgeous stuff to look at!

My favorite thing about this beauty as a gift is that it doesn't have the "are you blocked? let me help you" vibe that lots of creativity-focued books do. It can sneak in under a resistant recipient's radar. That is no small feat. Author Packard has a deft touch, honed in many of the art world's best wordy venues. A partial list of her credits: Art in America, Artforum, BOMB, frieze, and the Los Angeles Review of Books. Quality venues, one and all, and her prose shows it. Here are some sample spreads to show the æsthetic of the object you're gifting:

The Contents page...a clear statement of clarity and quality.

Introduction's part-title. What's the deal with pink this year? Me no likee.

Is there ever a bad time to include a Cézanne image of Mont Sainte-Victoire? I do no think so. The advice to seek inspiration in your surroundings, in nature, in the physical place you live, is timeless and always correct.

Never underestimate the generative power of showing off. You might not have a vernissage...yet, but you can gather some folks and show 'em what you got. Florine Stettheimer's painting is both lovely and inspiring.

The shorter pieces are mostly like this, simple and designed to be absorbed without deep contemplation of the art. They're still both pithy and useful, as the whole book is, while being very clearly designed with the visual person in mind. Absorbing advice is always easier when it comes packaged in your preferred wrappings.

Terrific way to support a fearful or blocked aspiring visual artist or visually-oriented creative soul. Booksgiving never had a clearer winner.

80LizzieD
Edited: Dec 9, 11:57 am

I've enjoyed looking at all these fantastic books that I'll never buy, Richard. I will also never look at that particular shade of shrimp the same way again. I never particularly cared for it, but I'm not sure I thank you for the description.

I see on Karen's thread that your recovered stick has a vast amount of material and work for you. You might want to lose it again?

*smooch* for the day!

Hmmmm. Kendake? Was she (like?) the Candace but farther north and east than I have always placed her in my mind?

81RebaRelishesReading
Dec 9, 12:07 pm

Glad you found your data stick. Isn't it funny how inanimate objects can have such dark senses of humor.

82richardderus
Dec 9, 12:32 pm

>80 LizzieD: I think it's the digestive nature of the color, Peggy, it's just utterly unpleasant and evokes some deeply awful memories. *ew* I might keep the work I've done and just refuse to do more...but probably not.

Yep...only she's as far SOUTH as possible. Kush is what is now Sudan. Stay well and warn, dear lady. *smooch*

83richardderus
Dec 9, 12:34 pm

>81 RebaRelishesReading: It's "funny" indeed, Reba. I suspect there is nothing on the planet above a fluidly-defined level of complexity that is truly inanimate. Shinto gets it right: There is a spirit in all things. I add "malevolent and tricksterly" to that.

84jessibud2
Edited: Dec 9, 2:29 pm

I love books like >74 richardderus: and >79 richardderus:. I just like being inspired by people far braver, more daring, committed and talented than I am or will ever be, and knowing about those whose names need to be known and heard! I actually own several such books, myself (but not these. Maybe my library will have them?) Thanks!

85richardderus
Dec 9, 12:58 pm

>84 jessibud2: They're both from UK-based Quarto Publishing, Shelley, so you're in with a shot...though I can't remember trying the Toronto library catalog for either of them when adding them here, I wouldn't be surprised to see them there. I think we can all use that level of inspiration.

86jessibud2
Dec 9, 2:35 pm

>85 richardderus: - Well, just damn. The Toronto Public library has >74 richardderus: online in ebook and eaudiobook formats. ???!. But, I was able to just request >79 richardderus: so that's good news!

87richardderus
Dec 9, 2:59 pm

>86 jessibud2: Audiobook? I'd probably like that, because barfed shrimp cocktail would (I sure as hell hope) be invisible. Hooray on >79 richardderus: being requestable.

May the reads work as well for you as me.

88msf59
Dec 9, 6:44 pm

>76 richardderus: Joe generally keeps up over on his own thread but only drops in from time to time on other threads. I tease him about it.

89drneutron
Dec 9, 9:26 pm

I’m late, but happy new thread, Richard!

90atozgrl
Dec 9, 11:26 pm

>56 richardderus: I am delighted to see that your data stick finally turned up. Hooray!

91ocgreg34
Dec 10, 12:22 am

>1 richardderus: Happy new thread!

92richardderus
Dec 10, 7:21 am

>89 drneutron: Thank you, Jim!

93richardderus
Dec 10, 7:23 am

>90 atozgrl: Me too. I'm still amazed at how bad my cataracts are. January hieing myself to OCLI.

94richardderus
Dec 10, 7:23 am

>91 ocgreg34: Thank you, Greg!

95karenmarie
Dec 10, 8:06 am

‘Morning, RD!

>78 richardderus: I’m getting more exercise from visiting your thread than anywhere else, so thank you.

>79 richardderus: Core! And, this review makes me realize that I have any one of a number of art and photography books on my shelves that need attention.

*smooch*

96richardderus
Dec 10, 8:34 am

>95 karenmarie: Ha! I'm delighted to be the reason you get your exercise in. And >79 richardderus: is a wonderful project indeed...long as you can endure the shrimp-puke color. *shudder*

97richardderus
Dec 10, 9:38 am

241 Soul Beat, Volume 1: The Payback by Morganne Walker (illus. Saturday AM)

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: Soul Beat, Volume 1 tells the story of a promising boxer who takes on the challenge of destroying the Devil by finding a series of ancient artifacts.

In Soul Beat, Volume 1, after a fateful encounter to save his friend, pro-boxer and 70s-loving soul brother Dante Alfonse will pursue his toughest challenge yet: defeat the Devil himself—or die trying!

Dante Alfonse is a promising boxer who’s more than capable of taking on any opponent, inside or outside of the ring. Whether it’s a bully in his neighborhood or even stopping a robbery, he’s quick to step in and hold down his city. Of course, when your name means “to endure," being an unstoppable force for good comes naturally! But sometimes, good deeds attract unwanted attention…

Such is the case when Dante tries to defend his friend and mentor, Ben, from being killed by the worst person imaginable: the Devil himself! Now targeted by the forces of evil for his interference, Dante must use the knowledge his mentor left him and hone his newfound spiritual powers, not only to save his own life but to destroy the Devil before more lives are ruined.

To his surprise, he’s not alone. A centuries-long feud between Heaven and Hell begins to surface in the Mortal World, and both sides have their reasons for wanting Dante on their side of the fight. Caught in the crossfire, he’ll have to figure out which side he’s on, uncover the truth surrounding his mentor’s mysterious past, and ultimately show the afterlife what it really means to have soul!

Soul Beat is rated T for Teen, recommended for ages 13 and up.

Saturday AM, the world’s most diverse manga-inspired comics, are now presented in a new format! Introducing Saturday AM TANKS, the new graphic novel format similar to Japanese Tankobons where we collect the global heroes and artists of Saturday AM. These handsome volumes have select color pages, revised artwork, and innovative post-credit scenes that help bring new life to our popular BIPOC, LGBTQ, and/or culturally diverse characters.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: I grew up in the 70s. I don't believe in the Devil, or the christian theology it springs from. I don't like reading comics.

What the ever-lovin' hell is a four-star rating doing up there?! A black man fighting evil in the 70s is a message I'd like to amplify; a struggle against the whole world towards self-belief, ditto; stareable, emotionally charged artwork completes my trifecta of reasons. I also realize when I'm not the target audience, and judge things by a more accepting standard. No, I won't but one for myself; I *would* buy one for my (age-appropriate, thirteen up) grand.

I think these three spreads will tell you what you want to know in advance of ordering a gift for the teen boy (I don't know any girls likely to enjoy this, of any age; it's violent and male-centered, so not really something I myownself would give to a girl). The message of self-belief and not listening to the naysayers is probably most well-suited to the teen boy in a social environment of deep negativity and racial prejudice.

98richardderus
Dec 10, 12:19 pm

Fellow cooking-show lovers! The Roku Channel (close spaces and add "Dot com" to get there in your browser) has a show called Clash of the Cookbooks pitting chefs against each other as they cook the fanciest and most extreme stuff from the fanciest and most $$$ cookbooks around...and the oldest...and in foreign languages....

Hosted by Phoebe Robinson and judged by her and YouTuber/foodie Max Miller of Tasting History I've watched the first two and am delighted to say it's a lot of fun. They also have the first eight series of GBBO on their channel. At the ongoing risk of being narked on, watch it in your browser because your ad blocker keeps the ads at bay.

99richardderus
Dec 10, 1:12 pm

242 The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding by Holly Ringland

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: A haunting, magical novel about joy, grief, courage and transformation from the international bestselling author of The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart.

‘On the afternoon that Esther Wilding drove homeward along the coast, a year after her sister had walked into the sea and disappeared, the light was painfully golden.’

The last time Esther Wilding’s beloved older sister Aura was seen, she was walking along the shore towards the sea. In the wake of Aura’s disappearance, Esther’s family struggles to live with their loss. To seek the truth about her sister’s death, Esther reluctantly travels from Lutruwita/Tasmania, to Copenhagen, and then to the Faroe Islands, following the trail of the stories Aura left behind: seven fairy tales about selkies, swans and women, alongside cryptic verses Aura wrote and had secretly tattooed on her body. The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding is a sweeping, deeply beautiful and profoundly moving novel about the far reaches of sisterly love, the power of wearing your heart on your skin and the ways life can transform when we find the courage to feel the fullness of both grief and joy.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: Pretty, pretty chapter-opens and lovely sentences to console and condole the woman in a time of loss, particularly effective if the loss is a much loved sister.

Doesn't sound like me, does it? It's not me, I'm not the target audience. It's not me, my sisters aren't close this way, either to me or to each other. It's not like I'm someone particularly sentimental...but many, many are, and I think the fact that I read many, many, many pages of this book speaks loudly of its merits.

Has one of your giftees lost a sister, or (worse) a friend as close as a sister? Is there a abig grieving hole in your life for someone you shared a big part of your life with? These "skins" or fables (re)enacted in search of an involuntarily severed connaction with a fellow woman might offer some balm for the wound.

Not incidentally, the tales offer some very useful and constuctive perspective on loss. See below.

This is a terrific book, since it kept me reading. I recommend it happily.

100richardderus
Dec 11, 7:47 am

243 Colorful Palate: A Flavorful Journey Through a Mixed American Experience by Raj Tawney

Rating: 4.5*of five

The Publisher Says: WINNER, 2024 BEST INDIE BOOK AWARD, CULINARY MEMOIR

WINNER, 2024 LIVING NOW BOOK AWARD, INSPIRATIONAL MEMOIR – MALE (BRONZE)

A NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY & FOREWORD REVIEWS BOOK OF THE DAY • NAMED A BEST BOOK OF 2023 BY ZED BOOK CLUB & INDIA CURRENTS • LA WEEKLY BOOK PICK • RECOMMENDED BY BOOK RIOT & ELECTRIC LITERATURE

A timely self-examination of the “mixed” American experience featuring exclusive recipes and photographs from the author’s multicultural family.

As citizens continue to evolve and diversify within the United States, the ingredients that make up each flavorful household are waiting to be discovered and devoured. In Colorful Palate, author Raj Tawney shares his coming-of-age memoir as a young man born into an Indian, Puerto Rican, and Italian-American family, his struggles with understanding his own identity, and the mouthwatering flavors of the melting pot from within his own childhood kitchen.

While the world outside can be cruel and unforgiving, it’s even more complicated for a mixed-race kid, unsure of his place in the world. Turning to his mother and grandmother for guidance, Tawney assists in the kitchen, providing intimate moments and candor as he listened to the tales behind each culinary delicacy and the women who perfected it. Each lovingly prepared meal offered another opportunity to learn more about his extraordinary heritage. The ability to create delicious fare with his family wasn’t just a duty for the grand ladies who raised him; it was a survival tactic for navigating new and unknown cultures, not always willing to accept them at first or even a hundredth glance. As Tawney examines both himself and his loved ones through the formative stages of his life, from boyhood through adulthood, he begins to realize, through all of the chaos and confusion, just how “American” he actually was.

In this contemporary coming-of-age tale, Tawney tackles personal hot-button issues about race and identity through poignant, heartfelt moments centered on delicious meals. From succulent tandoori chicken to delectable arroz con habichuelas to scrumptious spaghetti and meatballs, Tawney shares his family recipes along with the intimate stories he overheard in the kitchen as he played sous chef to hundreds of recipes that not only span continents but also come with their own personal histories attached. Colorful Palate is a tale of the mixed experience, one of the millions that rarely get told, undefined by a single group or birthright and unapologetic about its lack of classification.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: A Desi dad, a Puerto Rican/Italian mom...Raj is a bog-standard modern New Yorker. His family's families of origin are, well, not really compatible. His early life was spent with parents who were not effective at engagement with each other. This makes for a vacuum in a child's emotional growth. It did not, luckily, result in a food vacuum. His mother was a cook, and came from cultures with powerful culinary traditions.

Enter his grandmother and auntie. And, not coincidentally, delicious Desi food, Italian food, and Puerto Rican food as all points on his cultural compass were contributing to his maturing tastes. Not to mention he and his older brother were fully involved in the dominant US culture. Here's someone who came of age amid a lot of very, very powerful cultures, and has told us how this has molded him as a cook, and a person.

There are recipes in each chapter for dishes relevant to that chapter's substance, always at the end so easy to access. There are sixteen halftone illustrations to give you some extra flavor (!) of the author's life. I don't want you to thik it's a cookbook. I'd happily keep it in my cooking collection but I wouldn't suggest it for the cookbook collector.

You can definitely use the recipes, though, don't think they're pointless, ornamental ones. Just...more for a culture maven, one interested in society and the propagation of traditions in today's world, and anyone you know who is very interested in New York City, AND likes to adventure in the kitchen (but doably in the ingredients hunt!) will batten on this book.

Sample illustrations offered for your assessment:

Mom's parents being glam, 1957 at the Copacabana

Mom's Puerto Rican Mom and Italian Dad, 1957 wedding

Author and Mom, 1988

The author's immediate family, 1990

Author and maternal grandmother, 2018

Author and wife, Michelle, wedding day 2019

An American life, joined in progress, shared for our pleasure and our cultural broadening.

101richardderus
Edited: Dec 11, 8:32 am

244 MG century : 100 years - safety fast! by David A. Knowles

Rating: 5* of five

The Publisher Says: Celebrate and explore 100 years of MG cars with this impressive volume featuring expert commentary, historical images, period ads, and contemporary photography. MG Century, authored by marque expert David Knowles, offers a complete and richly illustrated history covering the evolution of this storied British car company.

For many car enthusiasts, MG is synonymous with “sports car.” It is often credited with igniting a passion for European cars in postwar America at a time when roads were otherwise filled with the lumbering output of Detroit. In MG’s native England, the company’s cars filled roles from family transport to competition driving.

MG, as we think of it today, began in the 1920s, but its roots go back even further with a young William Morris. Initially working in the booming bicycle trade, he eventually branched into motorcycle and car repair with the fledgling Morris Garage (hence, MG) in 1907. By the mid 1920s, the successful Morris Garages was in a position to begin manufacture of its own cars under the MG name.

MG grew significantly in the years before World War II, building and racing its classic Midgets and Magnettes. World War II provided challenging times for the company as it did for the UK and much of the world. In the postwar period, a focus on sales outside England, and particularly in the United States, both defined MG’s product line and ensured its success. Legendary cars followed, including MG TC, TD, and TF followed by thoroughly modern MGA, MGB, MGB GT, and Midget. Magnettes and the 1100 offered options for those wanting sedans and more practical cars.

MG ownership moved through a number of UK companies in the postwar period as well as ownership by BMW and today’s SAIC, a Chinese-based company through which it operates as MG Motor. Highlights along the way included the MGB GT V8, MG Metro Group B rally car, and MGF. Based on its latest state-of-the-art EV platform, MG will soon launch an all-new roadster coming full circle over its century in business.

Authored by marque expert David Knowles, MG Century: 100 Years of Safety Fast! is a fitting celebration of one of the automotive world’s oldest and most beloved brands—and a must-have for every car enthusiast.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: Who's your gear/petrolhead giftee? Who loves to drool over Hagerty's Barn Finds on YouTube while hatin' on everyone with a barn to find stuff like an MGB-GT in? Here's us all a book. My father's older brother collected cars. I got to go ride in his 1932 Dual-Cowl Deusenberg! His 1933 Pierce-Arrow, too! He lived in Southern California, was born during World War I, and so had the basic obscene good luck to be in the right place at the right time to get in on those marvies. These cars, especially the MGB (an older friend had one and gave me rides in it...bliss) were around in my childhood, so were available when I was the age at which my uncle began collecting cars...and I never bothered. ::headdesk::

The Table of Contents will show you the gorgeous machines I missed out on, as well as the organizing principle of the entire read. The spreads are a plan view, so to speak, for the design of the text and the images in juxtaposition.

The following images are the presentation view...the way the book will look to your giftee sitting there in a happily absorbed reader/viewer's lap:

I don't show you every beautiful book I'm offered because, sometimes, they have poorly written, or factually incorrect to my own knowledge, text, or boring design, or I just can't think of anyone I'd buy one for. Not the case here...I learned new things from Author Knowles' involving storytelling, and not a fact was out of place to my knowledge.

If I didn't already have one, I'd put this as my big ask to Santa. You might know someone who'd love it too. Great gift to give.

102karenmarie
Dec 11, 8:41 am

‘Morning, RDear! Happy mid-work-week day to you.

>96 richardderus: I was curious about Pantone’s official color of the year, thinking it might be a pink of some sort. Nope. Checked out 2025, too.

2024
PANTONE 13-1023 Peach Fuzz captures our desire to nurture ourselves and others. It's a velvety gentle peach tone whose all-embracing spirit enriches mind, body, and soul.

In seeking a hue that echoes our innate yearning for closeness and connection, we chose a color radiant with warmth and modern elegance. A shade that resonates with compassion, offers a tactile embrace, and effortlessly bridges the youthful with the timeless.

2025

... the Pantone Color Institute selects PANTONE 17-1230 Mocha Mousse, a warming, brown hue imbued with richness. It nurtures us with its suggestion of the delectable qualities of chocolate and coffee, answering our desire for comfort.

Yes, we’re going to need lots of comfort.

>98 richardderus: I don’t have anything against a book being violent and male-centered, but I rarely read a GN. I have 2 on my shelves as yet unread.

BBs dodged.

*smooch*

103richardderus
Dec 11, 9:35 am

>102 karenmarie: Horrible dear! Your research shows one of Pantone's rare misfires. Peach never took over 2024. "Brat green" did, a bilious noxious swampy color for the year that deserved it. As to the baby-diaper brown, I'd say they got MY 2025 (the year of ENSHITTIFICATION) mood exactly right.

*sigh* If I were not deliberately doing books for giving to others, I'd be in deepest despair over your preternatural super-Olympic athleticism in book-bullet-evasion. *heavier sigh*

104figsfromthistle
Dec 11, 10:00 am

Happy mid week, Richard!

So many wonderful reviews here. You are a reviewing machine this month!

105richardderus
Dec 11, 10:27 am

>104 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Anita! They're all illustrated books so they have no real reading time...the two from today are more text-books with illustrations, so they actually got read while I was still looking for my reading notes that live, now, on a data stick. Starting next Monday I'm done with reviews of books I'm recommending for gifting, so I really needed those notes to remind me of what I thought of stuff I read over the months and even years gone by.

106LizzieD
Dec 11, 11:52 am

I do wish I had unlimited $ to pick up those books except the GN , Richard. Alas, I'll just have to enjoy your sample of illustrations. That colorful palate one is especially appealing, both to give and receive.

As to the Pantone colors, I'd welcome the brown except that I'd prefer a more saturated version of the same shade.

*smooch* for the day. I'm looking forward to being here Monday, to tell the truth!

107richardderus
Dec 11, 12:03 pm

>106 LizzieD: Ha! I literally just posted the same sentiment on your thread. They're wonderful, and really pretty, but it's time for dinner after the appetizers and desserts.

108vancouverdeb
Dec 12, 1:17 am

Stopping by to say Happy Thursday, Richard. *smooch*

109msf59
Dec 12, 7:40 am

Sweet Thursday, Richard. Only 3F out there at the moment. I sure wish I didn't have to work. Why did I ever agree to this?? I will be home around 930, from the first shift and will cuddle up with Juno and the books until I leave for the afternoon shift. Sue will be bringing Jack back here too. That will at least warm my heart.

110richardderus
Dec 12, 8:06 am

245 And Mankind Created the Gods: A Graphic Novel Adaptation of Pascal Boyer’s Religion Explained by Joseph Béhé (tr. Edward Gauvin)

Rating: 5* of five

The Publisher Says: These are some of the most fundamental and enduring questions we have about the mysteries of religion, and they may well hold the key to humankind’s future on this earth.

In this adaptation of Pascal Boyer’s classic work exploring these concepts, Religion Explained, artist Joseph Béhé harnesses the power of comics to provide clear answers to the basic questions about why religion exists and why people believe.

A distinguished scholar, Boyer drew from research in cognitive science, anthropology, psychology, and evolutionary biology to explore why religion exists and why the strength of human beliefs can drive us to be selfless sometimes and, at other times, to be fanatical and intolerant. His erudite book is rich with insight into the endless jumble of ideas that inform religious beliefs and practices across cultures. With detailed, illustrative drawings and carefully adapted prose, Béhé’s graphic novel brings a new perspective to Boyer’s work.

An eminently accessible approach to the notoriously thorny topics of belief, cognition, humanity, and religion, And Mankind Created the Gods is a thoughtful, inspiring graphic novel that will further and broaden the conversation with which Boyer’s book engages.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: I feel very sad about this book. It needs explaining all the way from the subtitle, on to the purpose of the project. Plus this is a disaster of time to present something that is not a rah-rah Rasputin-style cheerleadin' on the subject of religion. Even if you've never heard of Religion Explained, you who are not first-timers to my reviews know that there is no way at all (no way in Hell!) I'd review something pro-religion even to dunk on it. Then we come to its length...over 350 pages...and its price...forty dollars. I do not foresee this wonderful, trenchant, tendentious read burning up the sales charts.

Damned shame, that. Look at this stareable art:

I'll happily do my bit here, trying for some interested sympathetic eyeblinks from among my smarter-than-average readers. Y'all give me hope, the numbers who come here to read about worthy, important books about subjects most polite people bury in order not to risk offending some ignorant little twidgee with a keyboard and a grudge against smart people.

So, Religion Explained: its subtitle is "The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Thought", and that is what it explores. Unlike the idea you'd get from my fondness for the book, it is not a screed against religion. It is a scholarly examination of Belief, as a phenomenon, not as a disorder. (I'm sure someone religious has used its facts to argue that it proves y'all's gawd designed Belief into humanity.) Like all things touching the cultural third rail that is Belief, this book has attracted both support and anger, as its surprisingly unpolemical Wikipedia page shows. It has existed this entire century. It is still in print via Basic Books. I myownself recommend you read it.

Why you should read *this* book, this sequential-art story about its concepts, comes down to the reasons anyone should read a story when seeking knowledge: A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down, to quote the Sherman Brothers. I'm so old that I remember hearing Julie Andrews sing it to me in a dark, enormous theater.

So please take this in. Despite swimming against the prevailing social current, despite having one of the most unpleasantly good-for-you subtitles in all of history, despite being in a medium I am not fond of, this story about a book I read almost a quarter-century ago told me something new about Belief. It did it without taking my side. It is a very clear-eyed evocation in story form of the source material's information.

And I still gave it five stars.

111richardderus
Dec 12, 8:07 am

>108 vancouverdeb: Thursday orisons, Deborah! *smooch back*

112richardderus
Dec 12, 8:09 am

>109 msf59: Brrr! I'm really sure it's not worse than going out in your mail truck, but 3° is *ob*scene* to leave the warmth of the cave. You and Juno and Jack should all huddle up as soon as you get back!

113richardderus
Dec 12, 8:21 am

246 Addams' Apple: The New York Cartoons of Charles Addams by Charles Addams (foreword by Sarah Henry; preface by Lucy Sante)

Rating: 5* of five

The Publisher Says: AMUSINGLY STRANGE and curiously compelling, Charles Addams' cartoons give a sly wink and a nod to scenes of everyday life in New York, Addams-style. His dark wit and deft hand lend themselves to subterranean themes of love and relationships, secrets and obsessions, subway stations and Lady Liberty. In Addams' Apple: The New York Cartoons of Charles Addams, we witness an artist inspired by the quirks of his fellow New Yorkers and the singular nature of their city-itself one of Addams' characters.

In her foreword, Sarah M. Henry (Museum of the City of New York) highlights Addams' offbeat insights into the institutions and mindsets that define the city's culture. Lucy Sante's preface explores Addams' unique place in American culture.

Addams' Apple presents more than 150 cartoons created by "Chas" Addams (American, 1912-1988) throughout his prolific career; some have never been published before. More of the artist's work can be seen in The Addams Family: An Evilution (Pomegranate, 2010).

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: Do you need anything other than "one hundred fifty Charles Addams cartoons for thirty bucks" to send you to the buy link above? Maybe "hardcover edition" will light the fire. Lucy Sante wrote a bangin' preface? What more do you need to know? There is so much anyone from NYC will nod along to; some more timeless than others, but if you're my age absolutely every one of these glimpses into the soul/abyss of New York's biggest city is evocative, wryly amusing, and/or laugh-out-loud hilarious.

The gifting season is a great time to offer this aide-memoire to the fled, the settled, or the aspiring New Yorker. Anyone interested in Charles Addams and his art chops would love it, too. Aspiring artist? Ideal! Tyro comedian? Maybe a bit advanced, but I firmly believe aspirational gifts of perfect mastery in the chosen artform are genuinely helpful to the beginner. Enjoy these three images provided by Pomegranate:

If these stir no mirth in you, check for a pulse.

114karenmarie
Dec 12, 10:53 am

‘Morning, RDear! Happy Thursday.

>103 richardderus: Hmm. Rather than warm and comforting, we’ve got Enshittification Brown.

I’ve graduated to preternatural and super. I’m happy to be at such august levels of BB evasion.

>110 richardderus: Not a BB for the GN, but a BB for Religion Explained using Amazon credit. 5* review.

>113 richardderus: Tempting for sure, but successfully dodged. Got mirth, got pulse, added to my wish list.

*smooch*

115LizzieD
Dec 12, 11:37 am

>110 richardderus: Like Karen, I have just ordered a used copy of Religion Explained. I'm not sure why I've never heard of this one - something about living where I live, I guess.
I have an Addams somewhere, I'm pretty sure. Always glad to see him around!

*smooch*

116ArlieS
Dec 12, 11:52 am

A very belated happy new thread, Richard.

>38 richardderus: Untold story? Plenty of books have been written about the pyramids and the Egyptians who built them. I find it hard to believe this is truly an untold story, and wonder what other statements in the book are equally (but less obviously) metaphorical (sic), not to mention puffery. Also just plain sloppy writing.

>97 richardderus: The teen girl I once was might have gone for this. I wasn't very good at identifying with only one gender ;-) And most of the stories that interested me featured primarily boys and men.

117weird_O
Dec 12, 12:38 pm

Yoiks! A two BB (maybe three) visit to your place, Richard. >110 richardderus: and >113 richardderus:. The third is that Wiki page and may encompass Boyer's Religion Explained.

118swynn
Edited: Dec 12, 2:35 pm

>110 richardderus: Well you got me at least. I'm not familiar with the source, but I think I should be ...

119richardderus
Dec 12, 4:08 pm

>114 karenmarie: Sweetiedarling! I think you'll really enjoy the Boyer book. I don't think you'd get more out of >110 richardderus: than the source. May the Addams book show up chez vous this Yule. I keep hoping to hit a chink in your goddess-given armor, after Monday anyway...

120richardderus
Dec 12, 4:11 pm

>115 LizzieD: Excellent! It's a worthy, challenging idea...WHY is there belief? And it gets little enough attention that a 25-year-old book on the subject is still relevant.

Addams is one of my own favorite humorists...bleakly funny, deadpan, often sneaking in real thoughts on the world....

121richardderus
Dec 12, 4:15 pm

>116 ArlieS: Hawass is possessed of good information not generally known because he's the head of the Egyptian government office of antiquities, so he gets to decide who publishes what and when. (AKA "powermad plagiarist" very quietly while he's still alive but wait and see what's said a decade after he's gone)

I bet 15-year-old Arlie's hoppin' up and down for sure...it's all the years piled on top that weigh a body down.

122richardderus
Dec 12, 4:17 pm

>117 weird_O: I hope the Wiki sends you out on the hunt, Bill. It's a fine piece. The ideas are very much still with me 25 years on. Happy to see you!

123richardderus
Dec 12, 4:18 pm

>118 swynn: I definitely think you should be, Steve. It's a terrific book. The GN might want to make its way into the library's collection, too....

124klobrien2
Dec 12, 8:32 pm

>58 richardderus: I got A Natural History of Dragons for my younger grandson, who has a strong liking for the critters,

And >60 richardderus: I procured A Natural History of Magical Beasts for my older grandson.

I think they will both be very happy. Thank you for the recommendations!

Karen O

125richardderus
Dec 13, 7:37 am

>124 klobrien2: Howdy do, Karen O.! I'm so pleased those two made it under the tree, and of course I hope they'll make the kids happy...please let me know, I'm curious.

Stay well and as warm as you can this week.

126richardderus
Dec 13, 7:46 am

247 Atlas of Vanishing Places: The Lost Worlds as They Were and as They Are Today (Unexpected Atlases series) by Travis Elborough

Rating: 4.5* of five

The Publisher Says: Maps offer us a chance to see not just how our world looks today, and how it once looked. But what about the places that have vanished from modern atlases? With beautiful maps and stunning photography, Travis Elborough takes you on a voyage to all corners of the world in search of the lost, disappearing and vanished.

2020 WINNER OF THE EDWARD STANFORD TRAVEL ILLUSTRATED BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD

Discover unusual and secret places that have disappeared from modern atlases, and revel in imagining what the world once looked like. Award-winning author Travis Elborough takes you on a fascinating voyage to all corners of the world in search of the lost, disappearing and vanished.

Unearth ancient seats of power and long-forgotten civilizations through the Mayan city of Palenque; delve into the mystery of a disappeared Japanese islet; and uncover incredible hidden sites like the submerged Old Adaminaby, once abandoned but slowly remerging.

With beautiful maps and stunning colour photography, Atlas of Vanishing Places shows these sites as they once were, together with how they look today—it’s a travel guide, a modern atlas and a passage through geography like no other: travel writing has rarely been so inspiring.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: I love the idea of travel more than the reality of it. My disabilities aren't forgiving of the physical exertion of my body that travel requires. A book like this one is a grace note in a more restricted life than most are required to lead. I'm glad that I could go on these historic-site voyages with the eloquent guidance of Author Elborough.

The Table of Contents is the clear road map of where we'll be going. It's always worth a close look, to gauge your giftee's interest in the book's direction.

Vanished Port-Royal, Jamaica:

A modern city submerged by an earthquake? Cool beans, four hundred years later. The tragedy no longer stings but the place is a fascinating reminder of what can happen to human places when the planet shrugs its shoulders.

The ruins of Mohenjo-Daro in modern-day Pakistan, on the dried-up course of the ancient Indus River:

The Indus Valley civilization is deeply fascinating if very underknown in the US, and the global north generally. Comparatively little attention gets paid to it, partly because it had the misfortune to be uncovered at the same time King Tut's tomb was dominating world archaeological news. Lacking gold "treasures" and charismatic stone statuary, it simply failed to gain traction. It's never recovered in the world's attention. It is so much older than other urban centers, and well-preserved because the Indus River dried up millennia ago, so no one ever came along to reuse the land on which it stands.

Examples of Author Elborough's agenda...places vanished from our collective memory and yet still present, more or less, to be visitable. Armchair travel is, for me, the best kind. The fact that these are all places with really intriguing history attached to them is a huge plus to elderly me as a reader.

Who in your gifting circle needs this? Who needs an escape from where they are, but can't do it in body?

Here's a great value-for-dollar way to help them.

127karenmarie
Edited: Dec 13, 8:50 am

‘Morning, RDear. Happiest of Fridays to you.

>126 richardderus: It’s on Kindle Unlimited, so I borrowed it. If it doesn’t look good on my Kindle, I can look at it on my oversized Dell monitor/laptop. I'm also debating on the hardcover version for friend Karen in Montana - just have to find out if she already has it.

*smooch*

128richardderus
Dec 13, 10:55 am

>127 karenmarie: Well! Who knew *I*, insignificant li'l ol' me, could still book-bullet an Olympian in evasion?! *happy dance*

I think you'll really enjoy it, sweetiedarling. It's fascinating and nice to look at.

129richardderus
Dec 13, 1:51 pm

248 Robinson Crusoe: 300th Anniversary Edition (Restless Classics) by Daniel Defoe (illus. Eko; intro. Jamaica Kincaid)

Rating: 5* of five

The Publisher Says: Restless Classics presents the Three-Hundredth Anniversary Edition of Robinson Crusoe, the classic Caribbean adventure story and foundational English novel, with new illustrations by Eko and an introduction by Jamaica Kincaid that contextualizes the book for our globalized, postcolonial era.

Three centuries after Daniel Defoe published Robinson Crusoe, this gripping tale of a castaway who spends thirty years on a remote tropical island near Trinidad, encountering cannibals, captives, and mutineers before being ultimately rescued, remains a classic of the adventure genre and is widely considered the first great English novel.

But the book also has much to teach us, in retrospect, about entrenched attitudes of colonizers toward the colonized that still resound today. As celebrated Caribbean writer Jamaica Kincaid writes in her bold new introduction, “The vivid, vibrant, subtle, important role of the tale of Robinson Crusoe, with his triumph of individual resilience and ingenuity wrapped up in his European, which is to say white, identity, has played in the long, uninterrupted literature of European conquest of the rest of the world must not be dismissed or ignored or silenced.”

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: You really don't need me to mention anything about Defoe or his writing. Or, if you do, go to gutenberg dot org and download a free ebook of the text. You need to read it. Go on! Scoot! Come back when you've downloaded the ugly version. Or, if you're really lazy, go read the Wikipedia article to find out what it's about, so you can look at these illos with a properly appreciative eye.

This gorgeously illustrated tricentennial edition is entirely meant to be celebratory not introductory. I mean, look!

What stunning artwork, no? Any of them, but most especially #2 and #4 above, would work as wall art for me.

This is an elegant, easily-shelvable edition that will give you an æsthetic thrill every time you look at it. Anyone who already loves this fantastical story would enjoy the look and feel of it. Anyone who enjoys pretty editions of books as shelf decor would like it too, though I admit I frown on buying books that sit in one spot their whole lives by design. SOMEONE ought to read it. That's what a book is for!

Still and all I do not run the world (terrible oversight on the goddesses' part) so you enjoy things your own way. O.o

As Yule comes screaming in blazing hot like the ball of destruction it is on one's budget, reasonably priced beautiful things like this are welcome gifts. Especially to yourself.

130swynn
Dec 13, 2:00 pm

>129 richardderus: Thrilling art indeed. I'm also very interested in what Jamaica Kincaid has to say about RC. By which I mean, you got me.

131SandDune
Dec 13, 5:45 pm

>126 richardderus: That looks a fascinating book for at least one person I know Richard!

132richardderus
Dec 13, 7:17 pm

>130 swynn: ...
...
...
...I did?!

Oh my...loosen my stays, I am woozy with delight!

133richardderus
Dec 13, 7:17 pm

>131 SandDune: I hope they enjoy it, Rhian, it's really very well-done!

134msf59
Dec 14, 9:03 am

Morning, Richard. You are on a roll with these illustrated novels and you seem to have really enjoyed most of them. I plan on having a lazy day. Other than walking Juno, I plan on hanging out in my favorite reading spot. Enjoy your day.

135karenmarie
Dec 14, 9:53 am

‘Morning, RD! Happy Saturday to you.

128 I can take BBs sparingly. Otherwise, I’d be broke and Bill would start paying attention to how many books come into the house. As it is, he’s always happy that I feed my book cravings.

>129 richardderus: Ah, never read this one, but it’s on my shelves in a lovely Easton Press edition. Might go to Gutenberg to get the ebook, so I guess you just gave me BB. I hear gloating…

*smooch*

136richardderus
Dec 14, 10:57 am

>134 msf59: Morning, Birddude. I'm astonished at how many GNs I have actually liked. The others I'll lump into my EOM post. I'm not a fan but I am more willing to see what others love in the form. It really pays to be flexible, if only to get the high ground from which to fire book-bullets with greater accuracy.

137richardderus
Dec 14, 10:59 am

>135 karenmarie: Horrible! You stood still a minute, though hardly for a surprising hit. I takes me victories where they comes.

Spend some quality time on gutenberg's hallowed halls...there's likely to be a vast increase in your Kindlebook inventory....

*smooch*

138richardderus
Edited: Dec 14, 11:59 am

249 Vincent van Gogh by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara (illus. Alette Straathof)

Rating: 5* of five

The Publisher Says: Learn about the life of Vincent van Gogh, one of the world's most influential and best-loved artists.

Little Vincent was a quiet child. He loved spending time in nature and playing with his brother Theo. After leaving school, he began working as an art dealer. Vincent showed promise, but he found it more and more difficult to control his emotions and eventually had to leave. He had a go at many different jobs, including a teacher and a bookseller, but nothing felt right.

When he wasn’t working, he wrote Theo long letters that included beautiful drawings. Theo loved his work and suggested that he try being an artist. Vincent dedicated himself to painting and never looked back! He developed his own style and expressed his emotions through his art: from sorrow to joy, and everything in between.

During his life, Vincent had little success, but today, his paintings are admired and celebrated in galleries across the world.

This powerful book features stylish and quirky illustrations and extra facts at the back, including a biographical timeline with historical photos and a detailed profile of the artist's life.

Little People, BIG DREAMS is a bestselling biography series for kids that explores the lives of outstanding people, from designers and artists to scientists and activists. All of them achieved incredible things, yet each began life as a child with a dream.

This empowering series of books offers inspiring messages to children of all ages, in a range of formats. The board books are told in simple sentences, perfect for reading aloud to babies and toddlers. The hardcover and paperback versions present expanded stories for beginning readers. With rewritten text for older children, the treasuries each bring together a multitude of dreamers in a single volume. You can also collect a selection of the books by theme in boxed gift sets. Activity books and a journal provide even more ways to make the lives of these role models accessible to children.

Inspire the next generation of outstanding people who will change the world with Little People, BIG DREAMS!

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: You don't need to be told who van Gogh is. (I hope.) A kid who's got the world to learn does, and here's a way for you to help that happen. A series like this has so many good layers: facts about the world, facts about life as others lead it, examples of what we as a culture value.

The value here is obvious, I trust:

Gorgeous as artworks, pitch perfect as illustrations of van Gogh's life...which is ably recounted by Sánchez Vegara's simple but effective text...this small person's excellent introduction to the life of one of the present day's most venerated artists adds luster to a terrific series.

Worth reading yourself. An absolute must for your grand/nibling's education in art, biography, and the value of being Different in a conformist world.

139LizzieD
Dec 14, 11:35 am

It really pays to be flexible. You, my friend, are a thoroughly baked pretzel. I, however, can't pay for all my current addictions. Flexibility would broaden my outlook and improve my character, I'm sure, but it wouldn't pay. *sigh*

I'd love to be able to give that Van Gogh book to a child. *smooch*

140richardderus
Edited: Dec 14, 12:02 pm

250 Roald Dahl (Little People, BIG DREAMS) by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara (illus. Francis Martin)

Rating: 5* of five

The Publisher Says: Discover the life of Roald Dahl, the groundbreaking author whose work is beloved by children all over the world.

Little Roald grew up in the city of Cardiff in Wales. He loved to spend time reading with his family and visiting the local candy store for yummy chocolatey treats. But he found school difficult. No one believed in Roald’s potential.

When Roald finished school, he was ready to make his life an adventure! He traveled the world and saw some amazing sights. When World War II started, he was ready to serve his country and joined the air force. During his service, his plane crashed over a desert, leaving him blind for a period of time. Roald wrote about his experience of the crash, and enjoyed doing it so much that from then on, he knew he wanted to be an author.

Roald began crafting books for children, working away in the shed at the bottom of his garden. From Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to James and the Giant Peach, his wonderful stories have captivated generations of readers. The magical worlds he created have been brought to the stage and screen, with hit musicals and films, like Matilda and The Witches.

The story also boldly addresses the antisemitic remarks that Roald Dahl made during his lifetime, highlighting the power and impact that our words can have: both to delight or cause lasting harm.

This thoughtful book features quirky illustrations and extra facts at the back, including a biographical timeline with historical photos and a detailed profile of Roald’s life. His story shows that extraordinary talent lies within each and every one of us.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: From the beginning, we're in possession of the facts of Dahl's troubling life. He was very much not a nice man, even by the lax standards of the day; he was hateful, and cruel to his wives, he wrote truly awful stereotypes into his books for children, and let's not discuss his adult fiction at all. Given the delight his children's books have brought on page and screen, it feels only right to introduce the children who will be in his audience to the real man.

To do it honestly and without tendentious vilification, and in conjunction with æsthetically pleasing artwork, shows me how much thought and effort Quarto's children's imprint has put into this series of essential cultural figures' biographies.

Such a great match between illustrations and subject! Tey look like they could be from Dahl's heyday in the 1950s and 1960s. They're fresh, original, and in great keeping with the ethos Dahl worked within.

Perfect for introducing those too young to get his work delivered directly to the ideas of it. Even better for those who have had some of his work read to them already to him as a person, as they can read it themselves. I remain troubled by Dahl and his unpleasant personality, and I'd recommend to you the giver of the book to check with the recipient's parents to be positive this body of work is acceptable for their child before committing even this minimal amount to procuring it.

141richardderus
Dec 14, 11:58 am

>139 LizzieD: I, madam, am as flexible as an octopus's arm! *hmmf* Implying I'm a brittle, salty, starchy ptooptoo PRETZEL! Why it borders on lèse majesté!

Saturday orisons anyway, me lurve. *hmmf*

142LizzieD
Dec 14, 11:59 am

Hmm. I somehow missed the last few posts on your last thread and am back just to say that I have a copy of the *BeeSee* book for my DH's Christmas. I hope that it will make this former bee-keeper happy. (I did check to see that you had read it before I ordered it, so you get credit for the bullet along with Irene.)

143richardderus
Dec 14, 12:07 pm

>142 LizzieD: Oh yay! That's one I really loved. So unique to see the world as a bee sees it even for such a limited time. I hope it gives him a good memory or two.

144richardderus
Dec 14, 1:20 pm

251 The Botanists’ Library: The Most Important Botanical Books in History by Carolyn Fry & Emma Wayland

Rating: 4.5* of five

The Publisher Says: Discover a vast treasure trove of botanical knowledge in The Botanist’s Library, a superbly illustrated collection of 300+ seminal books and illustrations from throughout history.

From the earliest manuscripts penned by visionary naturalists, to the modern tomes that continue to shape our understanding of the plant kingdom, this book is a testament to the tireless dedication of the world's greatest botanists. Its compelling narrative and visual journey make it a must-have addition to the library of anyone fascinated by the beauty and complexity of the plant kingdom.

This complete guide traces the development of botanical science through era-defining publications, covering:

Historia Plantarum, the first history of botany, written between c. 350 BC and c. 287 BC, in which Theophrastus described plants by their uses, and attempted a biological classification, based on how plants reproduced, to the authors of the herbals of the 16th century

Brunfels, Fuchs, Bock and Mattioli, who regarded plants as the vehicles of medicinal virtues

The golden age of the 18th- and 19th-century flower hunters, who travelled to every corner of the world in search of new and exotic plants

Today’s most significant works of botanical reference

Each chapter delves into the pages of a seminal work, unveiling the insights, controversies, and stories behind the books that have shaped our understanding of the plant world. Whether you are a seasoned botanist, a budding enthusiast, or simply someone with an insatiable curiosity about the natural world, The Botanist's Library offers a comprehensive reference that will enrich your understanding of botany and its evolution.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: Looking at beautiful books is only made more satisfying when they are books about books. Here we have a book about the reasons for, the history and contributions of, and the need to preserve, ancient books of botany. The topics of botany's history, its centrality to the development of science and the scientific method, and...surprisingly to me...the art of printing get a pretty thorough overview here. Centuries of work by many talented people including women (at a time when that was not normal) are laid before what I expect will be your admiring gaze.

These sample spreads will show you just how well the authors and the publishers understood what the assignment was:

Why did I, after saying only laudatory things, knock a half-star off this beautifully illustrated, well-written book's score? I have a quibble with a thorough book promised and a truncated one delivered. The subject is huge, this book shouldn't be called a "comprehensive reference." An entire physical library can be, and has been more than once, dedicated to even just the scientific edges of the topic. It's not possible to do a comprehensive anything on a subject of this age and magnitude.

That doesn't mean this utterly gorgeous object should not find its way to your coffee table for Yule. It should. I viewed it on my Galaxy tablet and it looked spectacular, so assuming you're not looking at it on an ereader, a digital version for yourself if you're gifting a hardcover to someone you love like sixty will give you value for dollar spent.

145richardderus
Dec 14, 2:33 pm

Mark reminded me of the top-five list of 2024, the list being over here:
https://www.librarything.com/list/46058/Top-Five-Books-of-2024
My choices are here:
https://www.librarything.com/list/46058/richardderus/Top-Five-Books-of-2024
1

Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon
Explanation: Creative use of Dublin vernacular to tell the tragic tale of Athens' version of Ireland: Sicily. My 2024 6* of five read.
2

Supremacy: AI, ChatGPT, and the Race that Will Change the World by Parmy Olson
Explanation: THE important tech issue of 2024 explicated urgently.
3

The Devil at His Elbow: Alex Murdaugh and the Fall of a Southern Dynasty by Valerie Bauerlein
Explanation: Anything that can cause me such outrage and nausea while compelling me to keep reading needs to be acknowledged for it.
4

The Mars House by Natasha Pulley
Explanation: Natasha Pulley writes my thoughts, only better and more articulate.
5

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
Explanation: Gorgeous prose telling a chilling story.

146SandDune
Dec 14, 2:35 pm

>145 richardderus: You have two of my all time favourites in your top five Richard, although I didn't read Piranesi this year.

147atozgrl
Dec 14, 3:21 pm

>129 richardderus: Those illustrations look fabulous! They might make it worth getting the book, although I for one did not care for the story. I've read it a couple of times. I didn't remember much after my first reading--I was probably too young when I read it. My second reading, I had a pretty strong negative reaction. Another classic that I didn't care for. So if I did pick up a copy of this one, it would probably remain on my shelves as one of those unread books serving as shelf decor.

Of course, it has been many years, so who knows... maybe I might like it better if I read it again.

148richardderus
Dec 14, 5:11 pm

>146 SandDune: It's a story of enduring beauty, Rhian, belonging on its devotees' lists no matter when they cover.

I bet the other is Glorious Exploits....

149SandDune
Dec 14, 5:11 pm

>148 richardderus: It is!

150richardderus
Dec 14, 5:13 pm

>147 atozgrl: I don't think the story is still fresh enough to win many peoples' new allegiance. I think the artwork is, OTOH, excellent value for the dollar. If a sale happens along, do it!

Saturday orisons, Irene.

151richardderus
Dec 14, 5:15 pm

>149 SandDune: I was sure...it's such a *you* book, fizzing with ideas and replete with rejiggering of moral compasses.

152MickyFine
Dec 14, 5:39 pm

An excellent top five list. I haven't pondered mine at all yet.

Weekend *smooches*

153richardderus
Dec 15, 8:04 am

>152 MickyFine: I think it's harder to think it through than it is just to go there and do it. You're unlikely to find a book you loved wasn't also loved by lots of others in this place than, say, Goodreads.

I hope you'll get excited for it soon. *smooch*

154karenmarie
Dec 15, 9:25 am

‘Morning, RichardDear! Happy Sunday.

>137 richardderus: I've got Project Gutenberg on an open tab on one of my browsers.

I need to start thinking about my top 5 books of 2024.

*smooch*

155richardderus
Dec 15, 10:14 am

>154 karenmarie: I would expect no less from you. Gutenberg's amazing, and underutilized.

Your top five should be very interesting...especially among the terminally pursey-lipped judgmentals that run rife on bookish social media.

156richardderus
Dec 15, 1:03 pm

252 The Complete Book of AMC Cars: American Motors Corporation 1954-1988 by Patrick R. Foster &Tom Glatch

Rating: 5* of five

The Publisher Says: The Complete Book of AMC Cars is a thorough reference covering all of the production cars offered by American Motors Corporation from its founding in 1954 to its demise in 1988.

Get an inside look at the American automaker that rose from the decline of a once-thriving independent auto industry to put up a valiant fight against Detroit’s Big Three automakers.

In The Complete Book of AMC Cars: American Motors Corporation 1954-1988, authors Patrick Foster and Tom Glatch provide a thorough and fully illustrated review of all the production cars offered by AMC from its founding in 1954 to its demise in 1988, including:

Rambler

Metropolitan

Ambassador

Rebel

Marlin

Gremlin

Hornet

Matador

AMX/Javelin

Pacer

Eagle

Jeep

Born from the ashes of Hudson and Nash, AMC represented a last attempt at survival for an independent automobile company. Thanks to the capable leadership of CEO George Romney, the company not only survived but thrived, riding on the success of the firm’s small, economical cars like the Rambler. As the market began to shift more toward performance and luxury cars in the 1960s, AMC found itself challenged to compete with the output from Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors.

The fuel crisis of the 1970s positioned AMC’s smaller cars to refill corporate coffers. The firm’s purchase of the Jeep brand also generated profits, but ultimately it was too little, too late. Even a partnership with French automaker Renault and the introduction of the all-wheel-drive Eagle couldn’t save AMC. In 1987, Chrysler Corporation purchased AMC and the story of the last independent automaker came to an end.

Foster and Glatch’s engaging book covers all of the AMC models, as well as racing exploits, from its inception to its ultimate demise. Whether you are an AMC enthusiast or are simply intrigued by cars and the stories behind them, this volume is a must-have for your bookshelf.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: The first brand-new car I ever bought for myself was a 1977 Gremlin.

Yuk it up. I'll wait. It was small outside and big inside because it was the front two-thirds of the family sedan, the Hornet, with a teeny little shelf of a seat in back...and a big cargo area. It was fine for one person who took the occasional passenger, which after years of wagging huge loads of kids in my 1968 Bonneville felt *marvelous*. So, of course, being a typical male in at least a few regards, I developed a slightly proprietorial interest in the history of the idea of AMC. I expect there are a few car guys scattered among my acquaintance, so here's a handsomely designed, factually informative resource and pleasure-read for them.

The table of contents, as always, starts us as we are meant to go on:

The remaining sample spreads will tell the giver little enough; but if he's said the words "Nash" or "Hornet" in your hearing, and likes looking at Collectible Automobile magazine, this will not be a high-risk gift.

Organized chronologically, this is an overview of an era-defining also-ran in the car market, that I'll wager a lot of us would prefer to have back instead of mourning another industry lost to the appalling greed of the banksters.

As a gift book, it's going to delight the well-targeted recipient. As a radicalization tool, I'm guessing its dreadful story of betrayal and extinguishment might work on some more resistant male minds.

157vancouverdeb
Dec 15, 6:26 pm

>145 richardderus: Nice top reads for 2024, Richard. I have read none of them, shameful indeed. Piranesi and The Devil at His Elbow: Alex Murdaugh and the Fall of a Southern Dynasty sound interesting, so I keep an eye on for them.

*smooch*

158richardderus
Dec 15, 6:34 pm

>157 vancouverdeb: Thank you most kindly! I felt it was a solid reading year with some real standouts, so I picked one of the most surprising...my re-read of Piranesi...to represent the surprising richness of my reading year.

*smooch*

159richardderus
Edited: Dec 15, 7:08 pm

160atozgrl
Dec 15, 9:16 pm

>156 richardderus: One of my childhood memories is that my grandmother had a mint green Rambler. That's not quite enough to get me to buy this book, as I'm not a car person, but it did prompt a fun memory.

161klobrien2
Dec 15, 10:52 pm

>159 richardderus: Food “panties”? Oops…

Karen O

162richardderus
Dec 16, 7:29 am

>161 klobrien2: Oops and hahaha, Karen O. It made me laugh as hard as I can remember laughing since That Day. I'm glad you spotted it and got a chuckle, too.

163richardderus
Dec 16, 7:35 am

253 Women in the Valley of the Kings: The Untold Story of Women Egyptologists in the Gilded Age by Kathleen Sheppard

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: The never-before-told story of the women Egyptologists who paved the way who paved the way for exploration in Egypt and laid the groundwork for Egyptology

The history of Egyptology is often told as yet one more grand narrative of powerful men striving to seize the day and the precious artifacts for their competing homelands. But that is only half of the story. During the so-called Golden Age of Exploration, there were women working and exploring before Howard Carter discovered the tomb of King Tut. Before men even conceived of claiming the story for themselves, women were working in Egypt to lay the groundwork for all future exploration.

In Women in the Valley of the Kings: The Untold Story of Women Egyptologists in the Gilded Age, Kathleen Sheppard brings the untold stories of these women back into this narrative. Sheppard begins with some of the earliest European women who ventured to Egypt as travelers: Amelia Edwards, Jenny Lane, and Marianne Brocklehurst. Their travelogues, diaries and maps chronicled a new world for the curious. In the vast desert, Maggie Benson, the first woman granted permission to excavate in Egypt, met Nettie Gourlay, the woman who became her lifelong companion. They battled issues of oppression and exclusion and, ultimately, are credited with excavating the Temple of Mut.

As each woman scored a success in the desert, she set up the women who came later for their own struggles and successes. Emma Andrews’ success as a patron and archaeologist helped to pave the way for Margaret Murray to teach. Margaret’s work in the university led to the artists Amice Calverley’s and Myrtle Broome’s ability to work on site at Abydos, creating brilliant reproductions of tomb art, and to Kate Bradbury’s and Caroline Ransom’s leadership in critical Egyptological institutions. Women in the Valley of the Kings upends the grand male narrative of Egyptian exploration and shows how a group of courageous women charted unknown territory and changed the field of Egyptology forever.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: There's a reason workers are called that. They do the many practical tasks that make discoveries whose credit is assigned to some colonial "master" for the purpose of making "history"; never have I typed his story with more bilious growling.

Kathleen Sheppard does a lot for my mood by not focusing on the colonial "mistresses" shall we say without some acknowledgment of the role of the normally so unacknowledged as to be invisible workers. There is a kind of grim humor in these men and women vanishing into the role of shabtis. I don't know that this term, or even this concept, had made it into Egyptology by the time Author Sheppard writes about (c.1880–1930). I found it...ironic.

Now, to be clear, none of the women under discussion were free of colonial mentality, some more than others. As people experiencing a pretty dramatic regime of prejudice themselves, with belittlement, credit-grabbing, and harassment their daily lot, one would like to imagine they would be sensitized to the issue of discounting another's labor based on irrelevant externalities. Alas, real life seldom shows a smooth face to the future.

One thing I was surprised to learn was that not all the men working in Egyptology were abusive in the various ways it was possible for them to be. Few of them hurdled even that low bar, but it was positive that a few did. I myownself wonder if the utter novelty of learning about the ancient culture and its rules, its people, and its existence in relation to its peers for the very first time in thousands of years didn't have some damping effect on them...can't lord it over others when you yourself know so very little. I know it will surprise no one that many tried the tack anyway.

Author Sheppard took time to delve into lives of some women more than others, which is down to survival of records...look at the notes. I'm also unsurprised at the presence of many of my lesbian siblings in these ranks. If there's a place people can be found doing hard, intellectually rigorous work, my siblings will be there and in the forefront as often as not. In dealing with these women's personal lives Author Sheppard is without period-appropriate coyness or reticence, thank goodness. The world has changed for the better in so many ways since the time we're discussing. This is a huge one: Being queer is fairly unremarkable now. It's this reality that makes the hate-filled control freaks so damn mad.

What that leads me to is, in fact, the source of my missing star on the book's rating. It's a terrific breeze of openness and transparency to have the lives, not just the work, of figures from the past openly discussed. It's inevitable that some deeply uncomfortable details emerge, like one woman's husband getting physical with her when she was twelve and he twenty-three, tolerated by her mother in full knowledge of it because she fancied the man herself. *ew* But these are all presented in a way that I found more than a bit irksome. Nothing like an internal chronology of a woman's life is followed, only the general structure of chapters being about one woman in the main, and other women's entries and exits from her story are handled as they arise not placed aside as references to that other woman's chapter (eg, "See chapter 77, page 666"). The narrative thrust of following one story is thus squandered in Wikipedia searches and/or note-taking. It does leave me a bit bumfuzzled as to who in the publishing house signed off on such an organizational idea.

It's a genuine complaint, but the truth is most of these women were unknown to me at all, even as names, so honestly I'd've been doing that searching anyway. In a few hundred pages about one of the most explosive developmental regimes in the entire course of historiography and archaeology as disciplines, and the birth and exponential growth of Egyptology, this was going to be the case.

So don't take this as code for "avoid this read" but as an urging to do the opposite. Get this book and start appreciating that, when our parents, grands, and greats were kids, Humanity was first learning about the people of the distant past in their own fragmentary words, and from their own uncovered material possessions. Author Sheppard has brought the palpable excitement of the women who were there, whose presence and guidance made much of the progress we now stand in top of to look still deeper into the past from the mountains their work made.

It was a flawed, slightly disorganized book, but so was the story its subjects were busy living. A strong recommendation for a self-gift to enjoy on #Booksgiving.

164karenmarie
Dec 16, 8:51 am

‘Morning, RDear. Happy Monday to you. I hope OS is staying at the MW’s a lot.

>155 richardderus: I did a preliminary sweep of books read in 2024 so far. I only have 4 nonfiction of 389 read. Gads. Oh well. I am going to allow 2 of the fiction slots to smut. I am not sure if I’ll post to the Best of 2024 thingie or not. *shrug*

>156 richardderus: Thank you for giving me permission to pass on this one on my thread yesterday. Wow. First new car was a Gremlin. My first new car was a Honda Civic, with a loan cosigned by my dad.

>159 richardderus: Food panties… cackle. Richest country doesn’t conflate with being a first-world country any more. I’m changing a small monthly donation away from a veterans group to my local food pantry by the end of the year.

>163 richardderus: You must be smiling/gloating because you let me pass on the car book but absolutely had to have known I’d bite, and bite hard on this one. I just bought a hardcover copy, new, using Amazon Rewards Points. So $22.82 became $0. It arrives tomorrow.

So, 1-1 on reviews.

*smooch*

165richardderus
Dec 16, 9:39 am

>160 atozgrl: I missed you earlier, Irene, sorry! A mint-green Rambler, eh? AMC loved them some weird colors. It helped the cars stand out. My Gremlin was a shade of blue-jeans blue that I was right fond of.

I'd be *stunned* if any of my regular visitors spent $50 on a book about Ramblers!

166richardderus
Dec 16, 9:49 am

>164 karenmarie: Luckily, they're still hangin' out together, sweetiedarling. I'm unsure how long it will last but am savoring it for as long as I have it.

I was entirely sure this would be a book-bullet, as you surmised, and even gave it pride of place so as to smack you in the wallet early. *eville chortle* It really is worth every penny of the $0 you spent, and the $23 you chose to forego on other purchases. Plus I think it's a mitzvah for me to beef up your 2025 non-fiction numbers over the anemic 0.01% of 2024.

I'd hope you'll post to the 2024 thingie because it improves the overall site stats' accuracy. You do you, of course, but there's bait I think you'll lunge for...I've done my possible as literally translated from French.

167LizzieD
Dec 16, 12:16 pm

>163 richardderus: A direct hit in more ways than one. It is going from me to one of our friends right now (by which I mean that it's already ordered, and I have forbidden her twice now to check your thread until the two books you've recommended arrive). (If Karen were not so quick on the click, she'd have had a copy from me too.) I've read with varying degrees of pleasure several of the writings of 19th century women explorers. I'll be happy to advance my chronology a bit. Thank you.

Curiously enough, I do have a Nash Rambler memory. My parents gave me the down payment on my first car upon college graduation. Daddy said, "I wouldn't deprive you of the pleasure of paying for your first car yourself." He was right; it was a pleasure. He went with me to pick it out, and the first thing I saw was a cute little Rambler, green - my favorite color and straight drive. Daddy shook his head and said, "You don't want that. You want this," pointing to a Plymouth Valiant. He was right. I loved that car and drove it until it died. I probably would have done the same with the Rambler, but I would have had to learn to drive stick shift sooner than I actually did.

>159 richardderus: Oh yeah! Funny, but I've seen so many spelling errors in memes like this one that I wonder whether it's not some ultra-righter making subtle fun of the ignorance of their radical left. ................nah. It was just a thought.

168richardderus
Dec 16, 12:59 pm

>167 LizzieD: Learning to shift is a rite of passage no longer available, Peggy me lurve. Modern cars operate on such fine tolerances to keep emissions down that a manual is genuinely, not just for greed reasons, an impossibility. I feel sad for all those seasick dads who will never know the anxiety of watching Smoochling stall and figure out how to fix it.

The Valiant was a very good car, but so fugly I, a Gremlin owner, felt embarrassed to ride in 'em. (I'm assuming you mean the 1961-1963 Valiants.)

I've never met the kind of right-winger who makes memes who was not unironically bad at spelling. Lefties too. Orthography...a casualty of autocorrect which *ptooptoo* on the grave of its enshittifying creator.

Monday *smooch*

169katiekrug
Dec 16, 1:08 pm

>159 richardderus: - More than the "panties," it's the incorrect "it's" that bothers me :) And the factual incorrectness of it. Food insecurity is a major issue, but 50+% of the population does not rely on food pantRies.

Are you having the same miserable weather we are? Poor Nuala keeps asking to go out and taking a few steps before turning around to come back in.

170msf59
Dec 16, 1:42 pm

"It really pays to be flexible, if only to get the high ground from which to fire book-bullets with greater accuracy."

^ I sure like the way you think, RD.

Happy Monday! Mild and foggy here at the moment- about 50F which ain't bad. I tended to the "kids", played PB and now trying to squeeze in some reading before heading back to school.

171richardderus
Dec 16, 3:38 pm

>169 katiekrug: I am indeed mired up to the ankles in the leftovers of pervasive cold drizzle, which is the Devil's Own in weather terms. Misery means I'm even foregoing the use of some CVS coupons that expire today because I don't plan to touch a trotter out from under my roof.

I'm inured to "its" misuses. I thought the food panties was too hilarious to miss reposting, and ignoring the rest.

172richardderus
Dec 16, 3:40 pm

>170 msf59: *chuckle* I'm pretty clear about my aims, if not always in my aim. 50ish and drizzly is just vile! That nasty not one thing or the other stage that irks me.

Glad pickle ball delivered on the fun! Travel safe in the gloom.

173SandDune
Dec 16, 3:53 pm

>168 richardderus: I feel sad for all those seasick dads who will never know the anxiety of watching Smoochling stall and figure out how to fix it. Well this Mum has just gone through exactly that. Only about 20% of driving tests in the U.K. are done in an automatic, so Jacob’s just done his in a manual.

174benitastrnad
Dec 16, 4:16 pm

Today was a record setting day! I have used my hardcopy dictionary 5 times today - to look up real live words! The dictionary is the Complete Random House Dictionary that my parents got for a housewarming gift in 1975. I don't use it every day, but have been surprised how often I do use it now that I have it on a real live dictionary stand at the entrance to the hallway. It just goes to show that if you have this kind of a book in a prominent place, it will get used.

175richardderus
Dec 16, 5:39 pm

>173 SandDune: I'm amazed you're not visibly twitching, Rhian. It's...stressful. Very soon now, it won't matter...the computer control systems aren't getting less complicated.

176alcottacre
Dec 16, 5:47 pm

I have been told by a certain person in this group that I am not allowed to read anything on your thread - which is probably just as well considering how behind I am here - so I am ignoring all of the text on your thread up until this point.

((Hugs)) and **smooches** for today, RD!

177richardderus
Dec 16, 6:24 pm

>174 benitastrnad: Five! That's astounding. It's true that a thing in an obvious place will be used, though. No matter what that will happen.

178richardderus
Dec 16, 6:26 pm

>176 alcottacre: Stuff and nonsense, Stasia! Each and every post in >2 richardderus: requires your immediate attention. Immediate! There are book-bullets galore awaiting you. Quick sticks!

179karenmarie
Dec 17, 8:08 am

‘Morning, RDear!

May OldWidow/Merry Stuff canoodle in her place indefinitely.

>166 richardderus: I’ll have you know that I’ve read 1.27% nonfiction this year!!! 5 books of 393. Yup, you got me. It’s arriving today. I’ll consider posting to the 2024 thingie.

>167 LizzieD: Oooh, Peggy, had I only waited a bit! However, my itsy-bitsy wish list on the PM should help. I learned to drive a stick shift car when I got my first Datsun Roadster. Friend Marie’s then-husband Joe taught me.

*smooch*

180richardderus
Dec 17, 9:50 am

>179 karenmarie: Those little Datsun 1600s were so cute, weren't they?

...but you won't read it in 2024, so it don't count....

OldWidow/MerryStuff will doubtless rock on until I get used to having my space then it will collapse and he'll try to get me to sympathize, and I'll end up smothering him to shut his whining up. That's how the xian gawd works...she gives you a little glimpse of happiness then *smash* down comes her hammer of misery. She's been at it for millennia and it still works.

181RebaRelishesReading
Dec 17, 2:23 pm

>174 benitastrnad: I keep the Webster's New World College Dictionary on my desk, just a foot or so from my shoulder, and I find I reach for it fairly often.

>180 richardderus: I had a yellow Datsun 1600. It was fun...but then one day I was stopped behind another car at a stop light and the engine started racing. I sat staring at the tachometer, watching it circle around and stick at the top, unable to release the clutch because of the cars on all sides of me. panicking and not thinking to just turn off the engine. The mechanic said the rod in one cylinder had fused itself to the head...He raced cars and so bought the carcass from me to put a racing engine in. Poor sweet little yellow 1600.

182richardderus
Dec 17, 3:24 pm

>181 RebaRelishesReading: I've mostly moved to online lookings-up, Reba, because I'm so massively computer dependent these days. It's interesting because I get so many different sources, and the variations are as interesting as the definitions themselves.

The rod fused to the head...so you had the early version with three main bearings. I realize you don't care about that sort of data, but it takes me back to when the cars were new, different, and exciting, unlike today's electronic appliances. Which are, objectively, better at being cars only they're awfully dull.

183alcottacre
Dec 17, 3:39 pm

>178 richardderus: Unfortunately I have been informed by said member of the 75ers that if I do, I will break her heart - and I cannot be responsible for that!!

((Hugs)) and **smooches**

184richardderus
Dec 17, 4:16 pm

>183 alcottacre: Hearts heal. Offenses committed against the Goddesses, such as dodging book-bullets fated to find you sooner rather than later, risk hastening the World-Wide Book Famine. AND making it PERMANENT! Would you want *that* on you heavenly rap sheet?

I thought not.

185laytonwoman3rd
Dec 17, 10:11 pm

Ramblers! I took my driver's license exam in my mother's lemon yellow Rambler Ambassador, probably a 1968 or '69. Before that we had a 1960 black and white station wagon, and later a gold one. The yellow one didn't stick around long; it had transmission issues, and my Dad declared "they sure as hell painted that one the right color!"

186richardderus
Dec 18, 7:36 am

>185 laytonwoman3rd: The thing that amazes me is that cars ever worked at all, given the complexity of the engineering needed to explode gas clouds using the current from a lead-acid-filled box and turning the heat into rotary motion.

Another weird-colored Rambler story! I like the verve of their design people but suspect it's a big reason many like gray/beige/fog-colored cars in our generation.

187sirfurboy
Dec 18, 8:02 am

>163 richardderus: Oh, this would make a great Christmas gift for someone I know. I wonder if I can still get it in time. Thanks.

188richardderus
Dec 18, 8:07 am

254 Hot Moon (Apollo Rising #1) by Alan Smale

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: Imagine for a second what would have happened if the Soviets had gotten a cosmonaut to the moon first, if Neil Armstrong and Apollo 11 had been in a humiliating second place. Everything would have unfolded differently.

America would never have let the Soviets win the space race. That would have been unthinkable during the Cold War, political suicide for any president. We'd have gritted our teeth and doubled down, poured billions into the Apollo program.

HOT MOON is set in 1979 in this alternate world. The US and the Soviets both have permanent moon bases, orbiting space stations, and manned spy satellites supported by frequent rocket launches. Reagan is President and the Cold War is hotter than ever.

The crew of Apollo 32, commanded by Vivian Carter, career astronaut, docks at NASA's Columbia space station on their way to their main mission: exploring the volcanic Marius Hills region of the Moon. Vivian is caught in the crossfire as four Soviet Soyuz craft appear without warning to assault the orbiting station.

The fight for the Moon has begun!

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: Imagine The Martian set in the storyverse of For All Mankind.

So. You got it. You need more?

The author's a praciticing astronomer. A real, actual scientist writing SF is always a positive, from my PoV, because the details are clearly based in a scientist's understanding of what matters to an expedition to the moon. It's also refreshing when someone takes the constraints of the actual extant tech of a given time seriously. Author Smale does both.

Mixed in with the cool sciencey bits are a selection of genre-friendly bits of alternate history, in this case the survival of a Russian scientist whose death caused the end of the Soviet Moon program; a fun twist of gender-equality advancement; and a murder mystery. None of these violated the basic need of the SF reader for a clear path to believable results. It's as accurate to 1960s and 70s science as is possible.

Geopolitics as the source of alt-hist plots are, as you can imagine, the biggest vein in the story-mine ever worked. This one being especially interesting to me, of course I fell for it immediately (despite my absolute conviction that Nixon would never, ever, ever have pulled out of Vietnam...too many defense contractors would've been hurt). I'm one of those who saw "Earthrise" when there was one digit in my age:

...and was never the same again. So a story centered around a time when I was alive but positing a different outcome was meat and drink!

That doesn't stop me from seeing the execution's flaws. I don't see anything in Vivian's sketched-in background that makes her gender relevant, so it feels a bit like tokenism. Mentioning her inclusion for some overarching reason, or integrating some responses that point up the reason, might have helped.

The story's pace is not swift, which I mention for those wanting a real thrill ride. I found it more than swift enough to keep the pages turning. The pace is not representative of the perils. This is space after all, the merest slip of a tool can be lethal...and Vivian seems to be a disaster magnet. She's certainly hair-breadth escape expert par excellence. Permaybehaps a bit too much so.

So I'm not yodeling buy-now-or-else from atop the roof, I *am* saying it's a very enjoyable read for your Kindle as you do your best not to hear little Pookums extorting that second cousin's kid out of the latest game. It'll keep you immersed.

189richardderus
Edited: Dec 18, 8:18 am

255 Radiant Sky (Apollo Rising #2) by Alan Smale

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: Vivian Carter, the electrifying hero from Hot Moon, returns to lead a lunar geological survey team comprised of both Americans and Soviets. Their journey takes them across the harsh and barren lunar surface as they chart the moon and collect samples for this grueling mission. It is dangerous enough, but the stakes become much higher when an ambush threatens the entire mission.

The crew must navigate a treacherous path where survival requires ingenuity, courage, and an uneasy alliance with their Soviet counterparts. As the stakes grow higher, the mission becomes a test of skill, endurance, and trust in an era defined by suspicion and rivalry.

Dive into an electrifying alternate history where space rivalry takes center stage. Radiant Sky is a thrilling continuation of the highly acclaimed hard science fiction novel that will captivate fans of NASA fiction books, near-future adventures, and hard science fiction series. Set in a meticulously crafted world where the Cold War extends far beyond Earth's atmosphere, humanity's reach into space creates a new frontier of tension and exploration.

With breathtaking accuracy from a retired NASA director and an immersive look at the untold stories of space rivalry, Radiant Sky brings hard science fiction alive, capturing the imagination and the thrill of space exploration. Prepare for a pulse-pounding experience that redefines what it means to venture into the unknown.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: Sequels to alternate-history books are hoeing a hard row indeed. The setting's the star, and the star's done the lifting in the first one. Now, four years later, we know what happened to Vivian, a chunk of why, and how it made her act.

What's left to do? Make her world do a flip: Cooperate with the Soviets who tried multiple ways to kill you only a few years ago. The Moon makes strange bedfellows, after all. And there's weirdness enough that we need all hands on deck to survive.

So the stakes ratcheted up from personal, the character's still a deeply resourceful person, the setting's still the very hostile one of the Moon, and we're treated to more tense moments. This does seem to me to be Author Smale's favorite way of moving the plot: Add a threat and resolve it with averting death. I'm not totally down with that because those stakes really don't change much, just make the status quo continue. So the dopamine hit of fixing the problem wanes a bit every time it happens again.

That said, I don't for a second want you to think this is a sequel where we just do it all again. The worldbuilding is more sophisticated than that. Geopolitics are present in any alternate history. In this iteration, the geopolitics are dependent on events from the last book, so they're less directly mappable still from the 1983 of your and my memories. That is clear from the fact we're on the Moon, of course...but the story is much more than that.

If you're a fan of "what happens when I pull this?" stories, this series will do it for you. Author Smale understands the puzzle-solver's mind, feeds it puzzles to follow as they're solved, and makes points about conflict, its roots, and some of the ways it does, and doesn't, get resolved.

This book came out last month and I snarfed it down in two days. Possibly displacing Farthing as my favorite alternate-history crime book....

190karenmarie
Dec 18, 8:35 am

'Morning, Rdear. Happy Wednesday.

No BBs!

*smooch*

191sirfurboy
Dec 18, 9:46 am

>188 richardderus: Interesting idea. There is a grand tradition of alternative history works, of course. But this one feeds right into my childhood love of Space 1999 and moonbase Alpha.

192richardderus
Dec 18, 10:15 am

>190 karenmarie: Well, no...none aimed southwestward today. I'd fall over in a heap if you read anything vaguely SFnal voluntarily. Wednesday orisons, sweetiedarling.

193laytonwoman3rd
Dec 18, 10:17 am

>186 richardderus: " many like gray/beige/fog-colored cars in our generation" Me myself, I drive a flashy red one. I had to dig around in the "archives" and find pictures of those Ramblers. Still looking for the gold wagon, but I wasn't at home much when that was the family buggy, so I might not get lucky there.

194richardderus
Dec 18, 10:20 am

>191 sirfurboy: It is interesting to me for many similar reasons, and since it's written by an actual NASA scientist, I trust its science. Present day works of filmed SF include the very good For All Mankind behind Apple's greedwall. I mean paywall. It's unsettling to have my youth become alternate-HISTORY fodder. An unintended consequence of failing to die, I guess.

195richardderus
Dec 18, 10:23 am

>193 laytonwoman3rd: I had one gray car and frankly hated it. Other than that it was all bright colors...my yellow wagon was a 1983 Impala. It wasn't lemony, more extra-bright cream, but yellow.

Good luck getting the Ramblers out of the archive!

196humouress
Dec 19, 12:35 am

Happy ... er new? thread Richard. Too much to catch up on. I did notice lot of pretty pictures as I whizzed through.

197Familyhistorian
Dec 19, 1:36 am

>195 richardderus: I once had a grey car too and I think it blended into the background because more people cut me off in that car than in any other car I drove.

>163 richardderus: I found Women in the Valley of the Kings very interesting when I read it. Nice to have a different take on what happened there than the ones that have been available up to now.

198richardderus
Dec 19, 8:19 am

>196 humouress: Good Thursday, Nina, I'm glad to see you here. I'm sure the pretties were, well, pretty. I think you will want to bookmark >7 richardderus: above for your journey through GBBO. Bread week had so many surprises. Caramel week (#4) always makes my teeth hurt...flossing after watching is de rigueur.

199richardderus
Dec 19, 8:23 am

>197 Familyhistorian: Here in the Northern latitudes, it's a bad idea to drive a huge hunk of metal painted a blah color in our dimly lit, foggy winters (and summers, there) if one wishes to be safe. School buses, ambulances, and fire trucks aren't silver-grey, after all, and for a reason.

Agreed re: >163 richardderus: and its strengths. Too much of history is His Story. Slowly changing, and needs to speed up.

200richardderus
Dec 19, 8:26 am

256 Ruby Before The Rain by Sandy Robson

Rating: 3.5* of five

The Publisher Says: The Scandalous origin story of the last true sex symbol.

Hot on the heels of Bone Park and Snow Bird, Sandy dives deep into one of the fan favorites. The Grand Mafia's siren...RUBY!

From naughty to notorious...homeless to home wrecker, harlot to household name. Ruby Hewton (one half of the infamous Buffalo Girls from the Grand-Mafia Series) has a history even more risque than her retirement. The path to fortune and fame is a very crooked one.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: Raunchy, saucy origin story for some terribly fun old-people sleuths' senior sex kitten.

I like this series because I need some fun that requires very little beyond crude decoding skills that, heaven knows, I possess. You do, too, or you wouldn't be here. You should know that Ruby's struggles are bona fide struggles with unkind unpleasant consequences for her...and the gory details are not stinted by Author Robson.

You are warned. It's not all funny-funny chucklefest. I think you'd do well to read this one first, the move on to the two books I've reviewed below. All three are on KU so make great escape-the-family-togetherness reads.

201msf59
Dec 19, 9:25 am

Sweet Thursday, Richard. Looking forward to my 2 1/2 weeks of Christmas vacation. Back to lazy early mornings. Happy camper.

202karenmarie
Dec 19, 9:40 am

‘Morning, RD! Happy Pecan Puff-less Thursday to you. *smirk*

>192 richardderus: I rarely read SF any more, but I dip into fantasy. This year’s only nod in that direction is Remarkably Bright Creatures. Depending on one’s belief, it could actually be SF. Who knows what goes on in the mind of a Giant Pacific Octopus?

>195 richardderus: Car colors. Bronze, maroon, Toyota shit butterscotch/yellow, light blue, Ford pickup red/white, Volvo Redwood, pale silver/mauve (ugh), Volvo dark green, Volvo maroon, black. Fun stroll down memory lane.

>200 richardderus: Interesting, but I will pass.

*smooch*

203richardderus
Dec 19, 9:55 am

>201 msf59: I can imagine, Mark. No one really wants to get out in the icy mornings of December when there are books to be read and dog ears to be schmoozled.

Stay strong in those weeks of inactivity. You'll need it to make yourself go back!

204richardderus
Dec 19, 10:04 am

>202 karenmarie: Speculative fiction is a pretty flexible term, the old gutbuckets thankfully dying off aside. I have less and less room for policing boundaries the older I grow. I think >200 richardderus: and company would be okay reads for you if you're stuck somewhere and run out of your preferred reading matter...but really, how likely is that to happen?

Smirk duly noted. Commence eville plot machinations in 3...2...1....

205thornton37814
Dec 19, 6:23 pm

Life has been busy for me, and I got way behind on threads. Just popping in and not even trying to completely catch up--just glanced through everything.

206richardderus
Dec 19, 7:59 pm

>205 thornton37814: Hi Lori! Welcome. I hope the busyness subsides soon, though 'tisn't the season for that, is it. Well, a very merry one in any case.

207bell7
Dec 19, 9:48 pm

Happy almost-Friday to you, Richard. I'm not caught up on most threads, but trying with yours while dodging the book bullets (whichever ones you want to especially call out for me, though, I will duly add to the TBR list under your recommendations). *smooch*

208quondame
Dec 19, 11:34 pm

>205 thornton37814: I know what getting behind feels like more now than in most past times - but I'm almost caught up now at least for LT threads. My reading is lagging though.

209vancouverdeb
Dec 20, 12:10 am

Well, the last car I purchased , a Toyota Corolla , about 4 or 6 years ago, I wanted red. But my husband insisted I get a light colour because a dark colour would " show the dirt" and the " the police would be after a red car" . Stuff and nonsense and I've never let him forget it. Friday *smooch* Richard.

210karenmarie
Dec 20, 7:28 am

Hiya, RDear. Happy Friday to you.

Book sort today instead of next Tuesday, although I'm not sure how many donations we'll have for 3 days.

*smooch*

211richardderus
Dec 20, 7:52 am

>207 bell7: Happy actual Friday, Mary. I'm not sure if anything upcoming will be of much more than passing interest to you, though of course I could be wrong. We shall, I suppose, see in due course.

212richardderus
Dec 20, 7:56 am

>209 vancouverdeb: True when we were young, Deborah, but that's quite some time back. The shows-the-dirt problem's simple: go to the automatic carwash once a week, or month, or whenever Puttersby looks a bit sad. Problem solved.

213richardderus
Dec 20, 7:58 am

>210 karenmarie: I'm amazed you're bothering TBH instead of waiting until the 31st and dealing with the New Year's declutter tsunami at the same time.

Friday orisons, sweetiedarling.

214richardderus
Dec 20, 8:02 am

257 Earth Retrograde: Book II of the First Planets by R.W.W. Greene

Rating: 4.5* of five

The Publisher Says: Becoming the planet's most (in)famous human has not changed Brooklyn Lamontagne one bit, but the time has come for him to choose where his allegiances really lie.

The United Nations is working to get everyone off Earth by the deadline—set by the planet’s true owners, the aliens known as the First. It’s a task made somewhat easier by a mysterious virus that rendered at least fifty percent of humanity unable to have children. Meanwhile, the USA and the USSR have set their sights on Mars, claiming half a planet each.

Brooklyn Lamontagne doesn’t remember saving the world eight years ago, but he’s been paying for it ever since. The conquered Earth governments don’t trust him, the Average Joe can’t make up their mind, but they all agree that Brooklyn should stay in space. Now, he’s just about covering his bills with junk-food runs to Venus and transporting horny honeymooners to Tycho aboard his aging spaceship, the Victory.

When a pal asks for a ride to Mars, Brooklyn lands in a solar system’s worth of espionage, backroom alliances, ancient treasures and secret plots while encountering a navigation system that just wants to be loved…

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER. THANK YOU.

My Review: "The mice will see you now" said Slartibartfast to Dentarthurdent.

The First and their prior claim to the Earth Humanity thinks it owns, and definitely dominates, left me uneasily aware that the religious nuts' worldview of a creator god who is the real owner of the place and the people is a very, very short step from most SF...at least the kind with superpowered aliens. I'm not a believer in either things (aliens or gods), so I was a bit more distanced from this book's essential worldview than the first one.

As soon as we get into alien territory I lose steam. I like the idea here more than it sounds like I do; alert readers will notice a 4.5* rating, which is no one's idea of a dissatisfied reader's opinion. I'm mostly responding to Brooklyn's kindness and unwillingness to leave anyone who needs help unhelped. I'm also deeply satisfied by the story's ending.

But I'll admit, I wanted to know more about the First than I learned; the book needed to be longer, or there needed to be another one. Read together, in quick sequence, the story moves quickly to its satisfying conclusion...which is why I re-read the first one. It's a long afternoon and evening taken at one stretch, but it worked well for me. Think of it aas one read and submerge into Brooklyn's forty-two degrees antisolar worldview.

Make this two-part story your escape-from-togetherness read this Yuletide if you batten on alternate history and/or space operas without pew-pew battles. Think Flash Gordon with sex clubs, or the Star Wars cantina with booze reviewer's notes sound like fun? Welcome, Soul Sibling, to your dream's fulfillment.

215LizzieD
Dec 20, 11:54 am

>214 richardderus: A direct hit for both the RWWGs. I could get double Kindle points too, doggone it, when I need not to be maxing out my credit card. Thanks, Richard. *smooch*

216richardderus
Dec 20, 12:09 pm

258 Exordia by Seth Dickinson

Rating: 4.5* of five

The Publisher Says: “Anna, I came to Earth tracking a very old story, a story that goes back to the dawn of time. it’s very unlikely that you’ll die right now. It wouldn’t be narratively complete.”

Anna Sinjari―refugee, survivor of genocide, disaffected office worker―has a close encounter that reveals universe-threatening stakes. While humanity reels from disaster, she must join a small team of civilians, soldiers, and scientists to investigate a mysterious broadcast and unknowable horror. If they can manage to face their own demons, they just might save the world.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: A species (!) of hard sci fi from a writer previously celebrated in the fantasy field for The Traitor Baru Cormorant, here blending queer representation with cosmic horror via military sci-fi in the paranoid Cold-War mode, heavily Cthulhu-ized.

That sounds like something I'd hate. Why didn't I?

Seth Dickinson. He has a deft touch with humor to lighten the darkness, irony to show the urgency of perspective, and unflinching realism to get the reader's investment in the stakes. Which are, I know this will surprise you, existential for Humanity.

On the nose, in our present political and environmental climate? I thought so going in. I think so now. However, there's a reason I recommend this story for your immersion and entertainment anyway. It is about the ways and means used to accomplish political goals while using people's fears and anxieties to motivate them into actions that are genuinely necessary. It takes us into the labyrinth of tech-dominated institutions of force apllication, and shows us the internal conflicts that impact everything done or not done in these institutions. The stakes are often secondary to the purposes of the instituion's inmates.

Yet...in the end, after much troubling back-and-forth...the people are clearly all working for something they see as Right and Good. No matter what outcome eventuates, someone's plans will fail, and someone else's will sorta-kinda work. Will anyone be fully happy? No. The way the book's structured, the changing PoVs are the way to keep this story from devolving into Us-v-Them predictability. Whose ideas and goals you empathize with really isn't the point. It's recognizing the goals and ideas matter TO THEM, and using that knowledge to get what *you* want.

A hard leap to make, as witness the fact that so few ever make it. Author Seth shows the reader the idea of it with startling clarity and not a little dark humor. The results...you'll discover the specifics...are exactly and precisely what the actions of all the characters add up to. There is no deus ex machina here. There is, in the second half, a lot of science to go with your fiction, mostly physics.

I typed that sentence with a sinking heart. I know some significant fraction of my readers just went *click* into the off position. It is, of course, entirely y'all's privilege...but please hear me out. Your prior knowledge of physics would enrich the uses of it. Your entire ignorance of it will not in any way diminish the force of its uses in the story. You read about magic without understanding how it works, this is essentially the same thing. The scientists are casting spells on ushabtis, not writing code to make drones work in concert...it's all a matter of looking at the technology talk in the proper storytelling spirit.

Appeal made. You decide. What you'll miss, if you ignore my recommendation of this read, is a cracking good story about how people, real people with needs and wants and ideals, get together to accomplish goals in the real world. That story will, I wager, appeal to readers of technothrillers, geopolitical spy stories, and SF gulpers as we head into the season where a big, immersive read will keep you from needing to pay attention to Aunt Lurlene's stories about her neighbors you've never met and couldn't care less about, or your nephew's reprehensible politics.

217richardderus
Dec 20, 4:06 pm

259 The Wages of Sin by Harry Turtledove

Rating: 2* of five

The Publisher Says: A terrifying tale about HIV spreading in the early sixteenth century by an author, Publisher Weekly calls “The Master of Alternate History.”

What if HIV started spreading in the early 1500s rather than the late 1900s? Without modern medicine, anybody who catches HIV is going to die. A patriarchal society reacts to this devastating disease in the only way it knows it sequesters women as much as possible, limiting contacts between the sexes except for married couples. While imperfect, such drastic actions do limit the spread of the disease.

The ‘Wasting’ (HIV) has caused devasting destruction throughout the known world and severely limited the development of technology as well, creating a mid-nineteenth century England and London almost unrecognizable to us. This is the world Viola is born into. Extremely intelligent and growing up in a house full of medical books which she reads, she dreams of travelling to far-off places, something she can only do via books since her actions and movements are severely restricted by both law and custom.

Meticulously researched and exquisitely detailed in a way only a master like Harry Turtledove can do, this book is a tour-de-force from one of the best historical and alternate history writers ever to write in the genre.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: Big ideas chopped to bits, tossed around some, then left to collapse where they collided. Are we in the 1509 Congolese-disease plot? The 1850s jerkoff's plot? (That is more literal than figurative here.) What made me read the book was Turtledove. Why I finished it was Turtledove. I disliked its underdeveloped alt-hist; I deeply disliked the crude and demeaning language, though both period and setting appropriate; I never felt as though, unlike a certain character, the story ever got near a climax as Viola and Peter, the straight people whose story I expected (not unreasonably) this to be, spend the entire story apart. Then, after a betrayal, a confession, and a shocking comeuppance(!), all conducted by letters between them, there's a wedding and...

...off you and I go. Contracts all fulfilled, we have a story that does the absolute bare-bones minimum. This can't be all, thought I, but indeed it was. Please note there is absolutely not more than one tiny whiff of gayness, of sodomy as an act, of the merest hint of the existence of queers at all. In three hundred pages about AIDS.

Now it's the poor straight women get all the fallout of the AIDS epidemic because, I guess, there weren't gay people in 1509 Congo (great, let's put the source of the STD plague in Africa...at least it's a change from South America's factual syphilis plague...then switch to straight people in whiter-than-white England! Ignoring Africa thereafter! It's the twenty-fucking-first century, colonialism is on the cross so let's drop it, k?)

So I think I'm being pretty magnanimous with two stars.

218richardderus
Edited: Dec 20, 8:00 pm

Happy 2024 Solstice wishes for everyone who visits! Pour a cup of your favorite cheer and raise it to renewal and repair for all.

219richardderus
Dec 21, 6:31 am

260 Daughters of the Nile by Zahra Barri

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: A bold multi-generational debut novel exploring themes of queerness, revolution and Islamic sisterhood.

Paris, 1940. The course of Fatiha Bin-Khalid’s life is changed forever when she befriends the Muslim feminist Doria Shafik. But after returning to Egypt and dedicating years to the fight for women’s rights, she struggles to reconcile her political ideals with the realities of motherhood.

Cairo, 1966. After being publicly shamed when her relationship with a bisexual boyfriend is revealed, Fatiha’s daughter is faced with an impossible decision. Should Yasminah accept a life she didn’t choose, or will she leave her home and country in pursuit of independence?

Bristol, 2011. British-born Nadia is battling with an identity crisis and a severe case of herpes. Feeling unfulfilled (and after a particularly disastrous one-night stand), she moves in with her old-fashioned Aunt Yasminah and realises that she must discover her purpose in the modern world before it’s too late.

Following the lives of three women from the Bin-Khalid family, Daughters of the Nile is an original and darkly funny novel that examines the enduring strength of female bonds. These women are no strangers to adversity, but they must learn from the past and relearn shame and shamelessness to radically change their futures.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: A powerfully imagined story of how very lucky we are to be alive at this moment in world history, when even sixty lousy years ago...within my lifetime!...options for women, for gay men, and for overall independence from patriarchy were as unimaginable as escape from the divine right of kings were three hundred years ago. While this story of a family's women moving from tradition to liberation is a carefully thought-out demonstration of hurdles failed, hurdles overcome, and hurdles only now hoving into view, it has a structural weakness. Most multiple-timeline stories have this same weakness: As we move from timeframe to timeframe, focusing a different woman in each, we lose forward momentum. It takes reading time to recover the investment made within each timeframe. Yasminah is indeed a constant, though not always foregrounded, presence; this helps with, but doesn't overcome my issue.

It mattered to me because the locations should have felt different in really evocative ways...Paris, Cairo, Bristol might as well be on different planets!...but I had to refocus my emotional temperature to a new main character. I'm not trying to be unkind or dissuasive; I really enjoyed this journey through the world's astonishingly rapid growth, and equally disheartening failure to learn lessons from past failures.

It's a very inexpensive Kindlebook. I'd tell any of my women readers, especially the sapphic ones, to get this all loaded up for solidarity's sake. Your family "Togetherness" will be that much easier to bear if you read about an earlier generation's struggles. We all need to know we're not alone, and part of that is knowing we're not the first either.

It is a fine piece of writing, and of story-telling; it *just* fails at greatness for this old man reader.

220richardderus
Dec 21, 7:09 am

Snow has reached the beach! I woke up to about a half-inch of it all over the parking lot and landscaping. Looks right nice, but my photo came out poor because the contrast is so low. Still, nice to see it.

221richardderus
Dec 21, 7:26 am

261 Wellness by Nathan Hill

Rating: 4.75* of five

The Publisher Says: A witty and poignant novel about marriage, middle age, tech-obsessed health culture and the bonds that keep people together

When Jack and Elizabeth meet as college students in the '90s, the two quickly join forces and hold on tight, each eager to claim a place in Chicago's thriving underground art scene with an appreciative kindred spirit.

Fast-forward twenty years to married life, and alongside the challenges of parenting, they encounter cults disguised as mindfulness support groups, polyamorous would-be suitors, Facebook wars, and something called Love Potion Number Nine. For the first time Jack and Elizabeth struggle to recognize one another, and the no-longer-youthful dreamers are forced to face their demons, from unfulfilled career ambitions to painful childhood memories of their own dysfunctional families. In the process Jack and Elizabeth must undertake separate, personal excavations, or risk losing the best thing in their lives: each other.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: The struggles that all who form, and sustain, the heavy bonds of matrimony are evergreen plots because most of us have some experience of them. It doesn't matter how much you love each other, it matters how committed you each are to the friendship you share with your chosen partner. Love ebbs and flows, common interests wax and wane, people grow and change, and what makes couple-stories so endlessly interesting is how they are shown managing...or not...these deeply familiar challenges.

It is absolutely clear to me that Author Hill, in his second novel after the startlingly assured The Nix, has honed his craft to a sharp edge. He doesn't shy away from the difficult or the painful parts of commitment. The hateful, hurtful things people say when they are in a deeply enmeshed relationship are both unique and common. There is a certain kind of dynamic in US couples of different socioeconomic backgrounds that's central to this book. We are taught that ours is a classless society, but it is not. The wealth of one family is always a weapon in the couplehood of one its members; a more effective one when the other partner is not from equal wealth.

That bludgeon goes both ways, of course. After a child is born, dynamics change, often for the worse, as incompatible parenting goals are a major cause of divorce. In this story, the couple...a daughter of wealth and privilege, a psychologist, and a deeply wounded soul who feels shackled and devalued by her working class artist husband...are twenty years into a commitment neither can remember why they made.

It absolutely does NOT help that they're living in a surveillance-capitalist society that valorizes getting and spending, when neither has a set of core values instilled from solid bases in love to resist these relentless pressures. It is obvious Author Hill has little use for facile patching-up life hacks or quick-fix lifestyle gurus. He dedicates a lot of space to social media's machiavellian algorithm driven effects. (Coulda been less for all of me, but hey...) The thesis is, however, what good is hacking or fixing stuff too fragile and hollow to last? Your old marriage is not delivering the same thrills...move on, get something new and better.

Right?

Not necessarily. Not even desirably. Open your mind to the possibility that just maybe your life doesn't need to be fixed. Maybe instead your relationship to your life needs to be recalibrated, reassessed, revalued. This being a message I resonate with, I found the read compelling and involving.

Does learning to make the best of it mean settling? Mean getting less out of life? Or is it instead the way to find deeper, more important ways of being who you are inside this long-term commitment to yourself, and your partner, to be well and truly together?

Wellness is that endlessly relatable journey, set in a time where even asking that kind of question isn't encouraged by anything around us. Anyone in a couple, past or presnt, ongoing or ending, will find a lot of deeply interesting details to muse over. A lot of richly textured background to admire, even envy. A lot of deep and scary emotions to batten on from the safe remove of fiction.

I'd rate this the full five of five were it not for what felt to me like the author's rather-too-evident need to overshare. A funny thing to say in a review of a novel about intimacy, I know, but I'm left a bit overfamiliar with his opinions of the self-help/new-age/quick-fixery. A couple times, okay; after a while, what is this really about, Author Hill?

I'm highly recommending this read for all partners in a long-term relationship to load onto the Kindle this #Booksgiving. It is manna from heaven to feel seen in stressful times; family "Togetherness" is rough any time, but now...? Bring some independent comfort with you this Yule.

222msf59
Dec 21, 8:12 am

Happy Saturday, Richard. I read very little SF these days but Exordia sounds like a good one. I like a genuine human story at the center of it.

Great review of Wellness. I loved this book to, thanks to Katie. I love this observation that you made- " the author's rather-too-evident need to overshare." I completely agree but the many positives won out in the end. I have still not read The Nix. You?

223richardderus
Dec 21, 8:39 am

>222 msf59: Saturday orisons, Mark...I'm glad you liked the review! I did read The Nix when it came out, but it was a bit too on-the-nose for me to review then and, like so many others, I forgot about it. Thank goodness for 'Nathan Burgoine and his three-sentence review post. It might never have occurred to me to start making notes so I could remember that I actually read the books I've read had I not seen that post.

I think Exordia would speak to you from its genre fastness. I hope it swims across your library holds one day soon, and does its absorbing work when it does.

224katiekrug
Dec 21, 9:34 am

>221 richardderus: - That's a terrific review, RD. I'm so glad it was a good read for you!

225karenmarie
Dec 21, 9:56 am

‘Morning, RDear. Happy Saturday.

>214 richardderus: Naw, but as always I appreciate your review.

>216 richardderus: The only reason I’m not getting this one right now for Hwan is that it won’t arrive ‘til after Christmas. Queer space opera along with cosmic horror is her jam.

>217 richardderus: Great concept, but your 2* completely put me off. Sadness.

>218 richardderus: Thank you. Beautiful pic. Makes me happy just looking at it.

>219 richardderus: Dodged another… but this shouldn’t surprise you.

>221 richardderus: Wishlisted but almost took the plunge. Way too close to the bone…

*smooch*

226richardderus
Dec 21, 10:28 am

>224 katiekrug: Thank you, Katie! It was indeed. I'm grateful to you for warbling about it.

227richardderus
Dec 21, 11:26 am

>225 karenmarie: Sweetiedarling! I'm utterly unsurprised you've dodged the book-bullets that you have, and that you liked my Limoges pitcher discovery. Isn't that lush? Hwan likes lesbian space opera? Has she heard of Stina Leicht? She certainly should, if not.

>221 richardderus: will haunt you...it will tickle the insides of your eyelids...it's going to lay its "I must be yours" eggs in your cerebellum...succumb, succumb, and end the torment....

*smooch*

228richardderus
Dec 21, 11:57 am

262 Ven.Co : a novel by Cherie Dimaline

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: Lucky St. James, a Métis millennial living with her cantankerous but loving grandmother Stella, is barely hanging on when she discovers she will be evicted from their tiny Toronto apartment. Then, one night, something strange and irresistible calls out to Lucky. Burrowing through a wall, she finds a silver spoon etched with a crooked-nosed witch and the word SALEM, humming with otherworldly energy.

Hundreds of miles away in Salem, Myrna Good has been looking for Lucky. Myrna works for VenCo, a front company fueled by vast resources of dark money.

Lucky is familiar with the magic of her indigenous ancestors, but she has no idea that the spoon links her to VenCo’s network of witches throughout North America. Generations of witches have been waiting for centuries for the seven spoons to come together, igniting a new era, and restoring women to their rightful power.

But as reckoning approaches, a very powerful adversary is stalking their every move. He’s Jay Christos, a roguish and deadly witch-hunter as old as witchcraft itself.

To find the last spoon, Lucky and Stella embark on a rollicking and dangerous road trip to the darkly magical city of New Orleans, where the final showdown will determine whether VenCo will usher in a new beginning…or remain underground forever.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review: VenCo, a front corporation for a CoVen (get it?) is a really fun gynergetic fantasy of what it would take to overwhelm the patriarchy and restore women to power.

Do you need something else to get one for this hijacked-by-jesus (who has a sly off-kilter cameo) sacred solstice holiday?

How about this: Lucky, our PoV character, is at a low ebb when we meet her...she's been struggling along, caring for her dementia-ridden paternal grandmother, scraping the money to survive, and now...the capitalist axe comes down, they're losing their home. Relatable, if in a grim way, to most all of us in or after middle age. Plot twist: It's now that Lucky discovers she's a witch, and the coven that's forming needs her...but not in Toronto, in New Orleans. The coven is forming to bring the world that Lucky's been angry with for most of her life, patriarchal racist exploitive horror that it is, to an end. She's got to assist the assembled women...including transfem Freya, explicitly accepted as a woman...in locating and assembling the spoons that'll generate the power they need to accomplish the task.

There are lots of names that don't always have solid characters attached, there is a notable holeyness to the plot, there is a powerful aura of wish fulfillment here. There is also an even-handed treatment of adversarial relationships. There is a demonization of Patriarchy, it's true, but not (to my surprise) of men.

The reason I gave it four stars is that this story was just plain fun to read. I wish it had been a wee tiny tidge tighter of plot. I'm not going to hold it up as a best of my reading year book. But I loved feeling so at home with Lucky, her deeply stressful life, and her middlescent discovery of her powers and her purpose. I thoroughly agree, in 2024, with the need to smash the Patriarchy and all its boosters and adherents. I was deeply gruntled by the transfem Freya simply...being...unremarkably one of the coven.

If you're going to be among the unenlightened, even the benighted, this coming Yule, bring this on your Kindle. You'll have an escape into a much nicer version of the world at hand, and a little spirit boost as the impending events of 2025 loom ever larger.

229Storeetllr
Dec 21, 3:01 pm

>218 richardderus: Happy Winter Solstice, Richard!

Congrats! You got me with a couple of BBs: Exordia and Ven.Co. Cheers!

230richardderus
Dec 21, 3:41 pm

>229 Storeetllr: Two of the best! *smooch*

231atozgrl
Dec 21, 4:45 pm

>218 richardderus: Lovely pitcher! Happy winter solstice and whatever else you celebrate this holiday season! I'm sending seasons greetings now, as we have a busy weekend and will be leaving town as early as possible on a very cold Monday morning. We're driving to Mississippi and won't get back until the new year. I also expect I won't be on LT while we're gone, so I have to send all my greetings now. I may be able to get on for a little bit tomorrow, but probably won't have time to write much.

In any case, have a very happy whatever you celebrate! *smooch*

232richardderus
Dec 21, 5:22 pm

>231 atozgrl: Thanks, Irene, and y'all travel safely, visit happily, and get home sanity intact!

233atozgrl
Dec 21, 5:51 pm

>232 richardderus: Thank you, RD!

234ronincats
Dec 21, 9:35 pm

Happy Solstice, Richard! I love that days will start getting longer now.

>110 richardderus: sounds very appealing but no access by library here and a bit too dear to buy. The SF duo also sounds intriguing. Overall, you've had some wonderful reads this year.

235LizzieD
Dec 21, 10:43 pm

>221 richardderus: YAY!!!! That's one I own, which is currently in the read-as-soon-as-I-can pile. I really enjoyed The Nix. Your good review is very encouraging!

*smooch*

236richardderus
Dec 22, 8:50 am

>234 ronincats: Hi Roni, thanks for the holiday merries. I'm not glad that we're on the slide down to the abyss of wretchedness and misery that is summer, but a little more daylight is a nice thing.

2024's reads were pretty darn good. Glorious Exploits is up there in the permanent pantheon with Piranesi and The Song of Achilles, unlike some years' best reads.

No library has >110 richardderus:? Not even for ILL? That's sad. I admit I'm not terribly surprised, GNs being ranked so low in collection-development terms, but NOwhere is...depressing.

237richardderus
Dec 22, 8:52 am

>235 LizzieD: Oh cool, Peggy, it's a really enjoyable read. I hope it means I get cosmic credit for a bookish flesh wound. *smooch*

238karenmarie
Dec 22, 10:17 am

‘Hiya RichardDear.

>227 richardderus: I love the Limoges pitcher. I have only one piece of my paternal grandmother’s Limoges china. I gave the other … 5? … pieces to my sister. I have Limoges The Princess Sugar Bowl with Lid. Thanks re the Stina Leicht for Hwan. I’ve put The Wellness on my wish list. That’s a start.

>228 richardderus: Pass. Cantankerous and rollicking are usually words I avoid in book descriptions. Sad, but true. And the last witch I really liked was Willow, and she wasn’t even in a book. Boy, do I sound cranky.

On a happier note...

*smooch*

239richardderus
Dec 22, 10:59 am

>238 karenmarie: Great list of holidays to celebrate. I'm so pleased it's cold here...holidays in the heat make me sad. Heat makes me sad in general.

I think Hwan will like the Leicht books, and maybe also Ocean's Godori if she hasn't read it already...maybe probe a bit before investing in that one since it's Korean themed.

Sunday orisons, sweetiedarling.

240ronincats
Dec 22, 11:04 am

>236 richardderus: I read Piranesi when it came out, and I've got The Mars House on my Kindle so will get to it eventually.

241weird_O
Dec 22, 11:22 am

I salute your holidays' busyness. I do believe I've enjoyed taking a few (more than one!) BBs, though I failed to document them vis a vis my WANT!! List™. Did you hear that I finished The Painted Veil? Remarkable, no? First completion since 12/3. I've got about four or five reads in progress. That makes me happy.

242richardderus
Dec 22, 12:52 pm

>240 ronincats: Oooo! I feel sure you'll have some thoughts about that one!

243richardderus
Dec 22, 12:57 pm

>241 weird_O: The Painted Veil is indeed remarkable. I'm probably alone in seeing it as a terrible story of spousal abuse albeit told in Maugham's trademark spectacular prose. Well, that wouldn't make it unusual for its day...anyway, I'm not sure how anyone reads one book at a time since I can't do it and never could.Note-taking is survival for me at this point since I can't rely on memory anymore.

Splendid holiday reads, Bill!

244richardderus
Edited: Dec 22, 6:09 pm

Okay...done reviewing until Friday, 27 December 2024. I'll wish all y'all happy holidays.

245RebaRelishesReading
Dec 22, 6:49 pm

Have yourself a merry little Christmas!!

246Berly
Dec 23, 1:22 am

Smooches Ricardo!!

247vancouverdeb
Dec 23, 1:52 am

Happy Solstice, and Merry Christmas, Richard! *Smooch*

248richardderus
Dec 23, 7:23 am

>245 RebaRelishesReading: Merry happy to you, too, Reba!

249richardderus
Dec 23, 7:24 am

>246 Berly: Berly-boo! Lovely to see you! *smooch*

250richardderus
Dec 23, 7:26 am

>247 vancouverdeb: Have yourself a merry little one, too, Deborah! *smooch*

251msf59
Dec 23, 8:39 am

Morning, Richard. I hope you had a nice pain-free weekend. Since, I am on Christmas break I was hoping to play PB whenever I can- well, my left hamstring has been bothering me for a few weeks so I will take a little break. Maybe I will get out on a couple of bird walks instead. Something I have been neglecting.

252richardderus
Dec 23, 9:15 am

>251 msf59: Happy week off, Birddude! Great opportunity to get some lovely outdoor time in. It's something I miss...the increasing troubles with my feet prevent most all of it for me. It was 17° when I arose and that means even the thought of going outside is banished.

I'll be trapped in here, reading and doing my note-taking. Oh woe, oh misery. How shall I endure.

253karenmarie
Dec 23, 9:47 am

‘Morning, RD! Happy Christmas Eve Eve.

>239 richardderus: I’ve always been sad when it’s not been seasonal at Thanksgiving and Christmas. This one should be seasonal and probably not rainy. 🤞

>244 richardderus: Nice images, glad you’re giving yourself a break from reviews ‘til Friday.

>252 richardderus: 17F here, too when I woke up. It’s all the way up to 26F now. Hope Old Widow and Merry Stuff are in her room.

I send bonus daughter (her term…) a message on Kakao Talk just now that included your Stina Leicht and Godori’s Ocean recommendations and she wrote back: Both the author and book recommendation look amazing! I’ve put Ocean’s Godori on hold at the Chapel Hill Public Library. Please pass on my thanks to Richard.

*smooch*

254richardderus
Dec 23, 11:02 am

>253 karenmarie: Yay me! I'm getting book-bullets to people I don't even know. I hope Hwan likes the books. I'll still write reviews but just not for publication here...lots of Burgoines, and a few Pearl-Rules for month-end. I'm working on a gift-card spending post for blogging, and posting here, on Friday.

The old folk are not presently canoodling, darn the luck. Matlock is not my idea of quality TV but it's better than sitcoms. And those are better than Westerns. And THOSE are better than copaganda.

255LizzieD
Dec 23, 11:15 am

Morning, Richard. As an old exposee to ME, I have to say that it depends on the sitcom when opposed to Matlock. ANYTHING is better than CBS Talk and Dr. Pill. Count yourself minimally blessed. (I just watched *White Christmas* last night.) Work away!

*smooch*

256richardderus
Dec 23, 11:23 am

>255 LizzieD: Oh myyy as Takei would say, that *is* worse. I'd be homicidal if Dr. Pill's bulbous squishy-looking melon appeared anywhere near me. And that sucking-of-swamp-mud plus droning-of-malarial-skeeters voice...!! Nay nay nay, it is not to be borne. *there there, patpat*

257jnwelch
Dec 23, 4:37 pm

Note to self: Man, getting off the RD rollercoaster for even a few days does not pay. Best return quicker, or you’ll be 250+ posts behind.

I’m about to read The Gift of Asher Lev by Chaim Potok, having loved The Name is Asher Lev. I hope your current reads are treatingbyou well.

258richardderus
Dec 23, 4:59 pm

>257 jnwelch: Potok! You and Stasia. I wasn't ever enamored. Have you looked at >245 RebaRelishesReading:? I know you like the GN format...that's an extraordinary one.

Happy slide into The Day.

259karenmarie
Dec 24, 7:17 am

‘Morning, RD! Happy Christmas Eve to you.

>254 richardderus: Ugh. I never, ever, liked Matlock. Bill's mama was in Wilmington with friends during the filming of one episode, and she got a walk on part, uncredited of course. I can't remember the episode, thank goodness, but we had to watch it when she visited. You're absolutely right about the pecking order of dislike. Sorry that OW/MS weren’t canoodling.

Have the psittacosauruses left the premises? Did they forage anywhere else? Did other holiday goodies get ravaged? Enquiring minds and all that.

I have things I can do today to prep for tomorrow, but nothing that can’t actually be done tomorrow. Yay. I can’t remember the last time I was this well prepared.

Christmas Eve *smooch*

260richardderus
Dec 24, 8:29 am

>259 karenmarie: I think it's odd of us, this not-liking for Matlock. If looked at dispassionately, the episodes follow all the rules of mystery stories. It's a short story an episode. And I can not stand it. It's visceral. U.G.H. ...??...

The herd was clearly guided by y'all's gawd...she ate my pecan puffs *piteous moan* and the poof vanished! The wormhole or whatever was just...gone...! Misery and deprivation delivered, she'd served her purpose and went on to, well, wherever. *snivel*

Enjoy being prepared! It has to feel good. *smooch*

261Ameise1
Dec 24, 9:42 am

I wish you and your loved ones a happy and blessed festive season.

262SandDune
Dec 24, 10:09 am

>260 richardderus: I agree with your dislike of Matlock! We lasted half way through episode one.

Anyway:

Nadolig Llawen, Happy Christmas and Happy Holidays!

263ArlieS
Dec 24, 10:58 am

>171 richardderus: And I totally missed the misspelling until it was pointed out later in the thread.

Hiya Richard. I'm declaring LT bankruptcy and skimming or outright skipping lots of threads. But I'm at least part of the way back.

264ArlieS
Dec 24, 11:06 am

>171 richardderus: And I totally missed the misspelling until it was pointed out later in the thread.

Hiya Richard. I'm declaring LT bankruptcy and starting back in with people's most recent thread only.

>180 richardderus: As a sexist assigned female at birth, I don't think you should refer to that excrescence using female pronouns. It's obviously a dick, prick, and whatever other insulting reference to male genitalia comes to mind, as well as a rapist. The more noxious the Christian sect, the more likely they are to insist that their gawd be referred to as male, presumably because they know it expresses every possible form of toxic masculinity. I'll take them up on that, when not referring to their deity as It. I reserve She (and They) for deity concepts that aren't male chauvinist pigs. (Some Christian concepts make that cut, to be honest, but not the loud and popular ones.)

265LizzieD
Dec 24, 11:18 am

Happy Christmas Eve, Richard!

Just to be clear for you and Arlie, the God that I worship is all-gendered. I believe that we are all made in God's image. Therefore, the Christians of my ilk have learned to refer to God only and always without gendered pronouns.

*smooch* for the day!

266richardderus
Dec 24, 1:24 pm

>261 Ameise1: Fröhliche Weihnachten, Barbara! Fröhliche Weihnachten indeed, dear lady.

267richardderus
Dec 24, 1:30 pm

>262 SandDune: Episode one? Are you thinking of the Kathy Bates version now out? I haven't seen it. I'm back in the 80s on the cultural horror film that is MeTV...stuff from the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s. *ugh*

Happy happy, dear Rhian!

268richardderus
Dec 24, 1:37 pm

>263 ArlieS: Wise of you. Zipping through is sometimes a recipe for disaster but more likely simply to save one's sanity.

269richardderus
Dec 24, 1:40 pm

>264 ArlieS: As one relentlessly and obnoxiously targeted by, abused by, and damaged by women...nope. No man has ever done even a fraction of the amount of emotional harm inflicted on me by women. That horrible gawd is a woman.

270richardderus
Dec 24, 1:41 pm

>265 LizzieD: Thank you, me lurve. *smooch* back

271ArlieS
Dec 24, 1:54 pm

>265 LizzieD: Yeah. There are many ideas of deity found among people who consider themselves Christian. I tend to refer to the more noxious of them as gawd, and the less noxious somewhat more politely. IMO, using non-gendered pronouns makes sense for any deity concept that's supposed to encompass all things, and thus all genders.

My apologies for ranting about "gawd". I know it's difficult to hear/read for people sharing similar beliefs and the same religion name. But I don't mean the deity you worship, or even the one my grandfather worshipped, for all his conventional blindspots.

272ArlieS
Dec 24, 1:55 pm

>269 richardderus: Ouch! I can't argue with that, even though I don't share the same experiences.

273johnsimpson
Dec 24, 4:31 pm

274AMQS
Dec 24, 8:28 pm

Merry Christmas to you, Richard. My normal greeting features my cat, which I know you would not appreciate, so just text from me. I hope you have a lovely holiday.

275Familyhistorian
Dec 25, 12:56 am

I was wondering where I got the nudge to read Oceans Godori until you mentioned it to Karen Marie. I read it and gifted a copy to a friend for Christmas. Your reach is long, Richard!

I thought you might appreciate this image from a local light display

276LovingLit
Dec 25, 3:05 am

Hey RD! Thanks for being a regular and entertaining part of my threads again in 2024. Merry Christmas to you, dear sir, all the way from the sunny Antipodes.

277richardderus
Dec 25, 8:29 am

>272 ArlieS: I'm glad you don't. I wish I didn't.

278richardderus
Dec 25, 8:44 am

>273 johnsimpson: Thank you, John!

279richardderus
Dec 25, 8:45 am

>274 AMQS: Thank you for that thoughtful elision, Anne, and I hope you do the same.

280richardderus
Dec 25, 8:49 am

>275 Familyhistorian: Oh yay! I'm so pleased. I'm a little amused by the sign in front of that sculpture! Someone had the right idea. Your township's organizers are to be praised.

281richardderus
Dec 25, 8:49 am

>276 LovingLit: Thanks, Megan, and soak up some sunshine for us who won't see much of it for a few more weeks.

282msf59
Dec 25, 9:05 am

Merry Christmas, Richard. We will have a lazy morning here and Matt and Hannah will join us after lunch. Maybe we will watch a movie, play a game- who knows!

283karenmarie
Dec 25, 9:06 am

‘Morning, RDear! Merry Christmas? Happy 25th of December? Oh well, happy Wednesday.

>260 richardderus: Glad the psittacosauruses left. I am very happy that I’m this well prepared, believe me.

>263 ArlieS: I'm declaring LT bankruptcy and skimming or outright skipping lots of threads. Good way to put what I’ve been doing most of the year, Arlie.

*smooch* from your own Madame TVT and Horrible

284richardderus
Dec 25, 9:23 am

>282 msf59: Enjoy it all, Mark! It's good not to have a rigid structure on a holiday, innit.

285richardderus
Dec 25, 9:37 am

>283 karenmarie: Thanks, Horrible! It's a very social environment, this, so not always what one needs or can invest in. This Wednesday is orange chicken, fried dumplings, and egg rolls delivery day. I know you'll enjoy the lovely meal and the daughters' visit.

286PaulCranswick
Dec 25, 10:37 am

Thinking of you at this time, dear fellow.

287Familyhistorian
Dec 25, 6:15 pm

>280 richardderus: Further pictures of that particular light display are on my thread, Richard. Enjoy your day!

288LizzieD
Dec 25, 9:24 pm

>285 richardderus: I'm glad that you could treat yourself to such a fine meal, Richard! I hope the rest of your day was equally good!

*smooch*

289richardderus
Dec 26, 8:03 am

>286 PaulCranswick: Thank you, PC, and I you and yours.

290richardderus
Dec 26, 8:04 am

>287 Familyhistorian: Oh, fun! I'll coddiwomple thitherward soon.

291richardderus
Dec 26, 8:05 am

>288 LizzieD: As an annual event, it's doable, and was urgently needed. Pork, pork, pork.

*smooch*

292msf59
Dec 26, 8:21 am

Sweet Thursday, Richard. We had a good time with Matt & Hannah yesterday. We have rain here and it will be around 50F the next few days. I like this kind of winter weather. Have you watched "Rivals" yet? If not, I think you would get a kick out of it. Great cast.

293richardderus
Dec 26, 11:53 am

>292 msf59: Thanks, Mark, and same back at'cha. I'm glad we're both in agreeable weather, thank goodness.

Where is Rivals streaming?

294alcottacre
Dec 26, 12:00 pm

>184 richardderus: My heavenly rap sheet already has so much to bear that I think one more offense will not matter in the long run. . .

((Hugs)) and **smooches**, RD!

295karenmarie
Dec 26, 12:47 pm

Good afternoon, RD! I hope your day is going well.

It took me three tries to NOT lose what I wrote for my thread, and am finally visiting other threads. We had a wonderful time yesterday, with lots of thoughtful gifts and good food.

>285 richardderus: Yum to orange chicken, fried dumplings, and egg rolls. I’ve only had pie and one piece of See’s today, so my mouth is watering.

Jammies, warm socks, nothing I have to do today, but I will work a bit on getting the kitchen back under control. Bill did quite a bit last night, including cleaning the huge cutting board we used for the Prime Rib. I always hate doing that and appreciated him for doing it and handwashing the dinner dishes/bowls.

*smooch*

296drneutron
Dec 26, 1:54 pm

I'm kinda lonely over here....

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

297richardderus
Dec 26, 5:35 pm

>296 drneutron: Joined!

298richardderus
Dec 26, 7:33 pm

>295 karenmarie: Hi sweetiedarling. I went with curried chicken but everything else stayed the same. I Needed not to have Their food one day. I'm glad it was tasty, too, but it wasn't bad kosher crap so it didn't matter.

I hope the day was as peaceful as you needed it to be. I got twenty mini-rebiews from the Ghosts of Hard Drives Past formatted for tomorrow. I suspect no one'll bother to read 'em, so I might just do link soup up on the Burgoines. Sunday will still be some new books, read in 2024, so I'll do the normals then.

299klobrien2
Dec 26, 8:09 pm

>293 richardderus: I will jump in here, to say that “Rivals” is streaming on Hulu. One of my favorite shows. I’m reading the book on which it is based, too.

It is pretty tawdry, but really funny, too.

Karen O

300richardderus
Dec 26, 9:20 pm

So to right now, this very moment, I have written seventy-seven reviews in December. That's more than the annual goal of the group! I'm so delighted I found my data stick. I'm always adding reads, but there's no chance I could ever read more than 70 books in a month.

It's a total that's going to go up. What a year. I'm glad I made the effort to take so many notes, even though a lot of them are...kabuki-like, a few vivid words, but enough to call back memories.

In most cases.

I'm thinking about using a symbol to indicate books I'm reviewing based on my notes. Would anyone else care about that information?

301richardderus
Dec 26, 9:21 pm

>299 klobrien2: Thank you most kindly! *smooch*

302karenmarie
Dec 27, 8:28 am

‘Morning, RDear. Happy Friday.

>298 richardderus: I’m glad you avoided the bad kosher crap. I don’t understand how institutional food can be so consistently bad, with very few exceptions. Cutting corners, of course, is the predominant reason, but still, it's rather shameful. Surprisingly, the hospital I was at in September was not bad at all.

Twenty? Impressive. I will read them of course, so that’s one person.

>301 richardderus: I’d care and like to see some kind of symbol or even “Note based.” It would tell me how you were thinking after reading a book and how you translated that into a review.

*smooch*

303richardderus
Dec 27, 10:33 am

>302 karenmarie: Morning, sweetiedarling. I've posted LT links to all the ones I blogged today in >3 richardderus:.

I don't like the kosher aesthetic of food. It tends to dry tastelessness. So I will not likely enjoy it even when I'm assured it's well-done, because it's inimical to my taste. The reason it's bad here is bland + dry + religion = nasty. I feel the same way about vegan food, though that's not bland as often as kosher stuff is, it makes up for it in being unpleasantly accusatorily religious.

I'm thinking I can kill two carrots with one rock if I use a symbol that says "notes/source" in one swell foop. Maybe "&Rarr;" and its kin...I'll see what-all I can find. Be well today! Recover from The Day and enjoy the prezzies!

304alcottacre
Dec 27, 10:55 am

>300 richardderus: So to right now, this very moment, I have written seventy-seven reviews in December.

Way to go, Richard! I know that you work hard on your reviews and I, for one, very much appreciate the time that you put into them.

Have a fantastic Friday!

305LizzieD
Dec 27, 11:31 am

>300 richardderus: Wowzer! That is a lot, and they are all well-done too. I also will welcome a signal for the note reviews for the reasons that Karen gives.

Meanwhile, you should be justified - if you need any external justification - to know that of the 4 books Stasia and I exchanged at Christmas, 3 were directly thanks to your reviews. I gave her the *Vanishing Places* and *Women Egypt Archaeologists*, and she gave me the first Birdverse. Yay!

*smooch*

306richardderus
Dec 27, 12:14 pm

>304 alcottacre: Thank you, Stasia! Happy new year!

307richardderus
Dec 27, 12:17 pm

>305 LizzieD: Oh good, Peggy, I'm glad to know the idea would be useful.

How cool! My gift to each of y'all is the knowledge of the books, so that's wonderful for my broke self. *smooch*

308alcottacre
Dec 27, 12:21 pm

>305 LizzieD: 3 were directly thanks to your reviews. Yay for all of us!!

>306 richardderus: Thanks, RD!

>307 richardderus: My gift to each of y'all is the knowledge of the books Priceless!!

309RebaRelishesReading
Dec 27, 1:02 pm

>300 richardderus: Glad you found that data-stick and that you reassured us that you actually could not read over 70 books in a month :). Happy last few days of 2024! May it go and never return.

310richardderus
Dec 27, 2:30 pm

>308 alcottacre: *smooch*

311richardderus
Dec 27, 2:34 pm

>309 RebaRelishesReading: Good heavens, Reba, I've written over 300 reviews this year. Most of them are new reads...about 219...the rest are from my notes. I'm a fast reader but not THAT fast. Maybe if they were all comics. Still and all, I'm waaay ahead of most folks.

312vancouverdeb
Yesterday, 1:24 am

Wow! Over 300 reviews written this year and 77 reviews this month! I've only finished one book so far this month, and it's not yet reviewed.

313Berly
Yesterday, 2:41 am

>300 richardderus: Nicely done!! I think that's a record! ; )

314msf59
Yesterday, 7:52 am

Happy Saturday, Richard. Congrats on the review triumphs! Very impressive. You asked about "Rivals"- it is streaming on Hulu.

We have a Jackson over-nighter to look forward to. 😀❤️

315karenmarie
Yesterday, 9:07 am

‘Morning, RDear! Happy Saturday to you.

>303 richardderus: I mostly agree with your nasty equation, but fondly remember latkes, bagels/cream cheese/lox, and blintzes. I'm sure your institutional kosher food won’t even include these treats, alas. And even if they did, I shudder to think what they'd do to them.

I like the notes/source symbol for reviews.

Prezzies enjoyed, recovering nicely.

*smooch*

316richardderus
Yesterday, 10:12 am

>312 vancouverdeb: It's a bit different for someone who has no family responsibilities or practical homekeeping stuff on his plate, Deborah. I can, and do, read something each and every day, for as long as I please. Your life-stuff makes that a practical impossibility. Comparisons are apples to hard-boiled eggs!

317richardderus
Yesterday, 10:25 am

>313 Berly: It sure is for me, Berly-boo. I've always been a note-taker. I'm glad I thought of using them to get Burgoines done! And this month's spate of picture-book reads bloated my totals, of course. They don't take long, or require much from me.

I'm pleased it happened, but honestly don't think it will again. *smooch*

318richardderus
Yesterday, 10:26 am

>314 msf59: Oh boy oh joy! A whole night of grandpaness will do you a power of good. Are you going back to work next week?

319richardderus
Yesterday, 10:33 am

>315 karenmarie: Morning, sweetiedarling. Bagels are beyond my teeth's capacities, and aren't all the much of a favorite; seafoods of all sorts are out due to digestive problems; we get latkes and blintzes every couple weeks, and honestly they're perfectly fine if not the best examples of the dish.

I have to think through the idea to figure out how to implement it best. Arrows seem to be easiest. On *every* kind of review, or just the shorter ones? I can see advantages to each. I'll start, I hope, with January's first reviews.

Stay warm and disfruit the delights heartily.

320LizzieD
Yesterday, 11:43 am

Hope the view out your window is more encouraging than mine. We will be warm and gray all day. That's better than cold and gray, but I can't tell that just by looking at it!

*smooch*

321ArlieS
Yesterday, 12:27 pm

>303 richardderus: >315 karenmarie: >319 richardderus: homen-tashen (sp???) are great. These are prune pastries people make for Purim; one of my coworkers used to bring some in each year to share with the non-Jews in the office.

322richardderus
Yesterday, 12:53 pm

>321 ArlieS: Hamantachen are dry and crumbly and unpleasant to me. They are part of a religious nuttery I find more than usually offensive to my sensibilities. Generally I oppose that religion's celebration of the blood of their enemies being spilled...eg, Passover where gawd kills other peoples' babies so that shows how much she luuuuvs us but not Them...and this all-powerful gawd battens on their groveling thanks.

Ugh. All of it, particularly the dry cookies.

323RebaRelishesReading
Yesterday, 1:37 pm

>311 richardderus: Indeed you are!!

324richardderus
Yesterday, 1:42 pm

>320 LizzieD: It's grey and 50°, aka "too damn hot for December", here. Sticky, too. Changeable weather is only tolerable because it can change for the agreeable, hopefully soon.

xo

325richardderus
Yesterday, 1:44 pm

>323 RebaRelishesReading: I am still mildly stunned most people don't read a book after high school! TV just isn't interesting enough to keep me involved for long.

326ArlieS
Yesterday, 4:18 pm

>322 richardderus: Dry? That absolutely did not describe the ones Alan brought to work. Maybe some cooks are better than others.

OTOH, I agree about the theology. "Our god, who defends us against others (and their gods), or even helps us attack them" works much better from a polytheist. Monotheistic god concepts tend to be incoherent, immoral, or both.

richardderus's twenty-second 2024 thread

Talk75 Books Challenge for 2024

1richardderusEdited: Dec 6, 11:57 am

2richardderusEdited: Dec 21, 11:59 am

3richardderusEdited: Dec 27, 5:28 pm

4richardderusEdited: Dec 27, 7:26 pm

5richardderusEdited: Dec 6, 12:04 pm

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13atozgrlDec 6, 12:39 pm

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16katiekrugDec 6, 1:36 pm

17richardderusDec 6, 2:17 pm

18StoreetllrEdited: Dec 6, 2:32 pm

19richardderusDec 6, 3:02 pm

20richardderusDec 6, 3:08 pm

21weird_ODec 6, 4:01 pm

22figsfromthistleDec 6, 4:59 pm

23jessibud2Dec 6, 5:07 pm

24klobrien2Dec 6, 6:12 pm

25msf59Dec 6, 6:53 pm

26richardderusDec 6, 6:57 pm

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30richardderusDec 6, 7:01 pm

31SilverWolf28Dec 6, 8:51 pm

32bell7Dec 6, 9:28 pm

33atozgrlDec 6, 10:36 pm

34richardderusDec 6, 11:08 pm

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37richardderusDec 7, 8:10 am

38richardderusDec 7, 8:33 am

39PaulCranswickDec 7, 9:12 am

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41karenmarieDec 7, 10:03 am

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44richardderusDec 7, 10:51 am

45LizzieDDec 7, 12:09 pm

46RebaRelishesReadingDec 7, 12:31 pm

47richardderusDec 7, 1:01 pm

48richardderusDec 7, 1:05 pm

49richardderusDec 7, 1:10 pm

50vancouverdebEdited: Dec 8, 12:53 am

51richardderusEdited: Dec 8, 7:07 am

52richardderusDec 8, 7:23 am

53richardderusDec 8, 7:26 am

54richardderusDec 8, 8:00 am

55karenmarieDec 8, 8:49 am

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57karenmarieDec 8, 8:52 am

58richardderusEdited: Dec 8, 8:58 am

59richardderusDec 8, 8:57 am

60richardderusDec 8, 9:05 am

61MickyFineDec 8, 9:38 am

62richardderusDec 8, 9:51 am

63jessibud2Dec 8, 9:58 am

64richardderusDec 8, 10:30 am

65richardderusEdited: Dec 8, 10:52 am

66richardderusEdited: Dec 8, 10:55 am

67LizzieDDec 8, 12:22 pm

68klobrien2Edited: Dec 8, 12:32 pm

69richardderusDec 8, 2:11 pm

70richardderusDec 8, 2:12 pm

71FamilyhistorianDec 9, 1:03 am

72msf59Dec 9, 7:35 am

73richardderusDec 9, 7:36 am

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75richardderusDec 9, 8:31 am

76richardderusDec 9, 8:35 am

77karenmarieDec 9, 9:53 am

78richardderusDec 9, 10:31 am

1richardderus
Edited: Dec 6, 11:57 am

2richardderus
Edited: Dec 21, 11:59 am

3richardderus
Edited: Dec 27, 5:28 pm

4richardderus
Edited: Dec 27, 7:26 pm

5richardderus
Edited: Dec 6, 12:04 pm

6richardderus
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7richardderus
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8richardderus
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9richardderus
Dec 6, 11:55 am

10ronincats
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11richardderus
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12richardderus
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13atozgrl
Dec 6, 12:39 pm

14richardderus
Dec 6, 12:43 pm

15richardderus
Dec 6, 12:53 pm

16katiekrug
Dec 6, 1:36 pm

17richardderus
Dec 6, 2:17 pm

18Storeetllr
Edited: Dec 6, 2:32 pm

19richardderus
Dec 6, 3:02 pm

20richardderus
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21weird_O
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22figsfromthistle
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23jessibud2
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24klobrien2
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25msf59
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26richardderus
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27richardderus
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28richardderus
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29richardderus
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30richardderus
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31SilverWolf28
Dec 6, 8:51 pm

32bell7
Dec 6, 9:28 pm

33atozgrl
Dec 6, 10:36 pm

34richardderus
Dec 6, 11:08 pm

35richardderus
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36richardderus
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37richardderus
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38richardderus
Dec 7, 8:33 am

39PaulCranswick
Dec 7, 9:12 am

40richardderus
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41karenmarie
Dec 7, 10:03 am

42richardderus
Dec 7, 10:17 am

43richardderus
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44richardderus
Dec 7, 10:51 am

45LizzieD
Dec 7, 12:09 pm

46RebaRelishesReading
Dec 7, 12:31 pm

47richardderus
Dec 7, 1:01 pm

48richardderus
Dec 7, 1:05 pm

49richardderus
Dec 7, 1:10 pm

50vancouverdeb
Edited: Dec 8, 12:53 am

51richardderus
Edited: Dec 8, 7:07 am

52richardderus
Dec 8, 7:23 am

53richardderus
Dec 8, 7:26 am

54richardderus
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55karenmarie
Dec 8, 8:49 am

56richardderus
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57karenmarie
Dec 8, 8:52 am

58richardderus
Edited: Dec 8, 8:58 am

59richardderus
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60richardderus
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61MickyFine
Dec 8, 9:38 am

62richardderus
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63jessibud2
Dec 8, 9:58 am

64richardderus
Dec 8, 10:30 am

65richardderus
Edited: Dec 8, 10:52 am

66richardderus
Edited: Dec 8, 10:55 am

67LizzieD
Dec 8, 12:22 pm

68klobrien2
Edited: Dec 8, 12:32 pm

69richardderus
Dec 8, 2:11 pm

70richardderus
Dec 8, 2:12 pm

71Familyhistorian
Dec 9, 1:03 am

72msf59
Dec 9, 7:35 am

73richardderus
Dec 9, 7:36 am

74richardderus
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75richardderus
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76richardderus
Dec 9, 8:35 am

77karenmarie
Dec 9, 9:53 am

78richardderus
Dec 9, 10:31 am

79richardderus
Dec 9, 10:35 am

80LizzieD
Edited: Dec 9, 11:57 am