Joe's Book Cafe 12 2021

Art by Jenny Cox

January 2021

1. The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist by Adrian Tomine*
2. The Dreaming by Simon Spurrier*
3. Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
4. The Time of Green Magic by Hilary McKay
5. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
6. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
7. Poems 1962-2012 by Louise Gluck
8. Lady Mechanika by Joe Benitez*
9. Catwoman Friend or Foe by Joelle Jones*
10. Jack by Marilynne Robinson
11. Bone Rattler by Eliot Pattison
12. The First Four Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder
13. Slam by Pamela Ribon*
14. Mezo by Tyler Chin-Tanner*
15. Be More Chill by Ned Vizzini*
16. The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
17. Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude by Ross Gay
18. Shadow of the Batgirl by Sarah Kuhn*
19. Prodigal Son by Greg Hurwitz
20. Bodega: Poems by Su Hwang

February 2021

21. Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore
22. Books of Magic by Neil Gaiman*
23. Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas
24. Human Voices by Penelope Fitzgerald
25. Mortal Instruments The Graphic Novel Vol. 4 by Cassandra Clare*
26. Wicked Enchantment by Wanda Coleman
27. The God of Nothingness by Mark Wunderlich
28. Charlotte Sometimes by Penelope Farmer
29. Blood Grove by Walter Mosley
30. Bookshop of the Broken-Hearted by Robert Hillman
31. Dear Emmie Blue by Lia Louis
32. The Dreaming Vol. 2 by Simon Spurrier*
33. Faithless in Death by J.D. Robb
34. Pride by Ibi Zoboi
35. The Sunflower Cast a Spell by Jackie Wang
36. The Dreaming Vol. 3 by Simon Spurrier*
37. House of Whispers by Nalo Hopkinson*
38. The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles
39. Mrs. Caliban by Rachel Ingalls
40. Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor
41. Punisher Max Omnibus Vol. 1 by Garth Ennis
42. Becoming by Michelle Obama
43. Heaven, My Home by Attica Locke
44. Stay Safe by Emma Hine

March 2021

45. Monstress Vol. 5 by Marjorie Liu*
46. The Way of the Househusband by Kousuke Oono*
47. The Lefthanded Booksellers of London by Garth Nix
48. Slam! The Next Jam by Pamela Ribon*
49. The Postscript Murders by Elly Griffiths
50. A Portable Paradise by Roger Robinson
51. Mary’s Monster by Lita Judge*
52. Trader’s Leap by Sharon Lee
53. Soft Science by Franny Choi
54. Alex Rider Ark Angel by Anthony Horowitz*
55. A Wealth of Pigeons by Harry Bliss*
56. Injection Vol. 1 by Warren Ellis*
57. inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
58. New Lone Wolf and Cub Vol. 5 by Kazuo Koike*
59. The Sheriff of Babylon by Tom King*
60. Dr. Strange/The Punisher Magic Bullets by John Barber
61. Butch Geography by Stacey Waite
62. New Lone Wolf and Cub Vol. 6 by Kazuo Koike*
63. The Undertaking of Lily Chen by Danica Novgorodoff*
64. Manazuru by Hiromi Kawakami
65. The Code Breaker by Walter Isaacson
66. Dark Sky by C. J. Box
67. Murderi in an un-sound Mind by Anne Cleland
68.

April

68. Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
69. First person Singular by Haruki Murakami
70. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah Maas
71. Cluny Brown by Mathery Sharp

May
72. Fugitive Telemetry by Nartha wells
73. Home, Habitat by Martha Wells
74. New Lone Wolf and Cub vol. 6
75. New Lone Wolf and Cub Vol. 7 by Kazuo Koike
76. New Lone Wolf and Cub. Vol. 8 by Kazuo Koike
77. The Galaxy and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers
78. Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse
79. The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin
80. And Shall Machines Surrender by Benjanun Sriduangkaew
81, Chaos on Catnet by Naomi Kritzer

June

82. Incense and Sensibility by Sonali Dev
83. Dear Mrs. Bird by AJ Pearce
84. Reckless by Ed Brubaker
85. Friend of the Devil by Ed Brubaker
86. I’ll Fly Away by Rudy Francisco
87. Men Explain THings to Me by Rebecca Solnit
88. Sandman Universe Lucifer by Neil Gaiman*y
89. Catwoman Soul Stealer by Sarah J. Maas*
90. Americanah by CHimanda Ngozi Adichie
91. Habitat Threshold by Craig Santos Perez
92. Patience and Esther by SW Searle
93. The Devil in the Dark Water by Stuart Turton
99. The Spill Zone by Scott Westerfield*
100. The Girl from the Other Side Vol. 8 by Nagabe*

July

101. Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell
102. Night Hawks by Elly Griffiths
103. Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger
104. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas*
105. M by Jon J Muth*
106.. Personal by Lee Child
107. The Hard Way by Lee Child
108. Ghettobirds by Bryant O’Hara
109. Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
110. To the Bright Edge of the World! by Eowyn Ivey
111. The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar
112. A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
113. Long Bright River by Liz Moore
114. The Girl from the Other Side by Bilal*
115, The Secret Garden A Graphic Novel by Mariah Marsden*
116. Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert
117. World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil
118. The Body Factory by Heloise Chochois*

August

119. The Bookseller of Florence by Ross King
120. Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert
121. Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
122. Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Tallia Hibbert
123. The Authority by Ed Brubaker*
124. You can only yell at me for one thing at a Time by Roz Chast
125. Yours, Cheerfully by AJ Pearce
126. Eric by Shaun Tan*
127. Hench by Natalie Walschots
128. Jane Eyre by Charlotte bronte*
129. the Secret to Superhuman Stength by AlisonBechdel*
130. Frank:Sonnets by Diane Seuss
131. TheGolden Age by Cyri Pedrosa*
132. Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo okparanta

September

133. Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale
134. Mozart’s Starling by Lyanda Lynn Haupt
135. Monstress Vol. 5 by Marjorie Liu*
136. Any Other World Will Do by Alex Lubertozzi
137. In by Will McPhail
138. Goldenrod by Maggie Smith
139. The Inheritance of Orchidea Divina by Zoraida Cordova
140. Pax, Journey Home by Sara Pennypacker
141. Forgotten in Death by JD Robb
142. Don’t Know Jack by Diane Capri

October

143. Captain Marvel Re-entry by Kelly Thompson*
144. Shang-Chi by gene Luen Yang
145. Bewilderment by Richard Powers
146. The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki
147.Matrix by Lauren Goff
148. Monstress vol. 6 by Marjorie Liu*
149. Good Bones by Maggie Smith
150. Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy
151. Better Off Dead by Lee and Andrew Child
152. Brzrkr by Keanu Reeves and Matt Kindt*
153. Catwoman Far from Gotham by Joelle Jones*

November

154. Harlem Shuffle by Colson whitehead
155. Little Victories by Yvon Roy*
156. The Last Thing by Patrick Rosal
157. The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
158. Bubble by Jordan Morris*
159. Black Lightning Year one by Jen Meter*
160. Swann’s Way by Marcel Proust
161. The Book Tour by Andi Watson*
162. The Book Charmer by Karen Hawkins
163. When a Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare
>164 richardderus:. Jessica Jones Blind Spot by Mattia Lulis*
165. The Book Charmer by Karen Hawkins
166. The Man who Died Twice by Richard Osman
167. The Last Chance Library by Freya Sampson

December

168. Autism in Heels by Jennifer O’Toole
169. You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories About Racism by Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamarr
170. The Ballad of Sophie by Felipe Melo*
171. Himawari House by Harmony Becker*
172. Ghosted in LA Vol. 2 by sina Grace*
173.
173. You Better Be Lightning by Andrea Gibson
174. Perks of Loving a Wallflower by Erica Ridley
175. People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
176. Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Mallinda Lo
177. The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams
178. Unguarded by Scottie Pippen
179. The Golden Hour by Niki Smith*
180. The Hippopotamus by Stephen Fry
181. A Line to Kill by Anthony Horowitz
182. Spellbound: A Graphic Memoir by Bishack Som*
183. Still Life by Sarah Winman

* illustrated or graphic book

Favorites of the Year So Far

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

You Better Be Lightning by Andrea Gibson

Bewilderment by Richard Powers

Matrix by Lauren Goff

The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozecki

Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghey

Pax, Journey Home by Sara Pennypacker

House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil

Cluny Brown by Margery Sharp

Mrs. Caliban by Rachel Ingalls

The Code Breaker by Walter Isaacson

The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin

The Galaxy and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers

Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Long Bright River by Liz Moore

Dear Mrs. Bird by AJ Pearce

Cheerfully, Yours by AJ Pearce

Good Bones by Maggie Smith

Rafa and Fina at Halloween

This is from The Last Thing, a poetry collection by Patrick Rosal, that's very good.

Guitar
by Patrick Rosal
For Sheila who wants to learn to play

The bottom end’s a little shallow
and you might need to shim the bridge
to hush the fifth-fret buzz. The action’s low
and the neck, a tad warped, but I swear,
this thing sings. For ten years,
I’ve accompanied lovers, convicts, and children
with this guitar, bought it with my last
hundred bucks, fifty more perhaps
than it was worth that day.
I just wanted to touch nylon again,
to play the way my Uncle Eli used to,
‘til cancer mugged him for his lungs. He sang, Sheila,
and the guitar did too. And that kind of singing
was like eleven acres of sky to a nine-year-old kid
terrified of a 50 mile-per-hour hard ball.
The summer my father came back
from burying his mother in the Philippines,
he told my brother and me, the two oblong
boxes he pulled off the luggage conveyor
were ours. Once home, we pried the cardboard
apart, tearing the packing tape
and snapping the industrial staples
loose with our bare hands. I ran my fingers
slow around the slick soundhole edge.
I stuck my nose into the strings to smell
the jackfruit wood stewing inside
and when I pulled my face away,
the instrument made its first silken hum.
I don’t know if you believe in time
the way I do, but when history touches us
it’s like hearing a skinny uncle sing
with a cigarette dangling from his lips
without one note of misery in his dying,
and the guitar he’s holding is yours.
You might not understand the words sailing
past you, but one day, years later, on a drive back
to Rockland maybe, where an old woman
scolded you as a child or kissed the small bones
of your shoulders, you may find yourself
singing, out of nowhere, that tune. I mean to say,
I never thanked my father for that first guitar.
I smashed it in a tantrum against my heel
and didn’t own another until this one.
I should warn you, every guitar has its ghosts,
and they’ll ask you whom you love and how much.
As for learning. your hands are going to ache
a little while, but one day, when the chords come easy,
the guitar will whisper to you some old secret.
Whisper back. The most beautiful intervals are ancient
and imperfect. They will teach you to love
something so deep, you will want
nothing better than to give it all away

Harlem Shuffle was a solid crime-caper-in-Harlem story. I'm sure author Colson Whitehead is no stranger to reading Walter Mosley (Easy Rawlins and Leonid McGill) and Chester Himes (Cotton Comes to Harlem). Ray Carney has one foot in the legit world (his furniture store) and one in the criminal world (fencing stolen goods -usually brought to him by his habitual criminal cousin Freddie). Carney is trying to build a middle class life for his wife and kids, and stay unknown to the police, so that he is only "slightly bent". But Freddie gets him involved in a major heist at a high-end Harlem hotel frequented by celebrities, and Carney has trouble maintaining his slightly bent status. Part of the pleasure is watching Ray walk the tightrope between two worlds. and part is Whitehead's rich description of Harlem 60 years ago. The underworld characters are a feast of storytelling, especially WWII veteran Pepper, who helps Ray.

I was not surprised that this creative, adventurous author was trying another genre, nor that he so thoroughly succeeds. I was a little surprised that there was no unconventional twist or angle, as we've seen in his other novels. That may be all to the good, as readers who haven't tried him find easy access with this one.

This is what Jenny Cox is also known for:

Happy new thread!

>1 jnwelch: Lovely. >7 jnwelch: Lovely.

>4 jnwelch: OMG! Too cute to believe!

^^^what she said

Happy new thread! And don't miss Susan Orlean's new column in The New Yorker, Afterword: https://www.newyorker.com/news/afterword/the-john-smiths-of-america

She's a stitch, that one.

>8 quondame:. Thanks, Susan! Phew! We had distractions going on here (sick friend on Face Time, wooden clock arrived) so this was a tough one.

>9 richardderus:. Thanks, Richard. I’m glad the new place is sufficiently spic n’ span.

Thanks for the link. I shall peruse when time permits. I’m pretty caught up on New Yorkers, but haven’t seen that one.

Happy 12th thread, Joe!
My oh my, Fina and Rafa are getting so big and sooooo cute!
I'm glad you liked Harlem Shuffle. I did too and I enjoy the history lessons his novels offer.

Happy new thread, Joe. Those kids are growing up so quickly!

Happy new thread, Joe!

>3 jnwelch: I just finished House in the Cerulean Sea and loved it. Glad to see you did as well, Joe.

>4 jnwelch: Oh, my, how big they are getting!

>6 jnwelch: I already have that one in the BlackHole, but my next Whitehead book is slated to be Underground Railroad, which I still have not read!

>7 jnwelch: Lovely!

Happy Friday, Joe! Happy New Thread. Love the grandkids photo, along with the "Guitar" poem. Glad to hear that you saw Dune on the big screen and loved it. Yah!

Are you still working your way through the Proust? I am at the 330 page mark.

>12 Carmenere:. Thanks, Lynda. Were you as surprised as I was that there wasn’t something more weird or unusual in Harlem Shuffle? Maybe I have misguided expectations with this author.

>13 jessibud2:. Thanks, Shelley. Those little sproutlets are growing fast, all right. Today Fina was quite proud of her sandals and her “clippies” (hair clips - purple).

>14 alcottacre:. Thanks, Stasia!

Yes, House in the Cerulean Sea was a big hit in our house. Our dsughter read it first and convinced (thank goodness) Debbi and me to read it. I’m seeing lots of people liking his new one, too.

You’ll have a memorable time with Underground Railroad, I’m sure.

Isn’t >7 jnwelch: lovely? I think it would make a good quilt, too.

>15 msf59:. Hiya, Mark. Thanks re the thread, and Happ Friday. We’re about to take off for that production of As You Like it at Chicago Shakespeare. It’s been quite a pandemic while!

Yes, Dune was great on the big screen. I’m glad Debbi humored me. The visuals and sound - wow. And this film so far (part one) is faithful to the book and is beautifully cast.

I’ve had little time to read the last couple of days, but I’m 300 pages into Swann’s Way, and with some luck will finish this weekend.

The Harlem Shuffle and The Lincoln Highway are in my near future Joe.

>4 jnwelch: Such cuties.

Happy new one!

Happy new thread! >6 jnwelch: I have Harlem Shuffle in my TBR soon pile. : )

>14 alcottacre: The House in the Cerulean Sea is actually next one up for me! Glad you both liked it.

Happy new one, Joe.

>4 jnwelch: Those two cuties are growing up so fast!

Bought a couple of National Book Award shortlisted books yesterday, including the winner.

>19 Berly: I think you will like The House in the Cerulean Sea, Kim. At least I hope you do!

Happy weekend, Joe!

Happy new thread, Joe!

>1 jnwelch: Lovely, especially the lobster.

>4 jnwelch: Your grandkids look lovely in their Halloween costumes.

>4 jnwelch: Cuties patootie! And that look on Fina's face - she's got mischief on her mind...

Happy new thread, Joe!

>17 Caroline_McElwee:. Good on you for both of those, Caroline. I need to do a review for The Lincoln Highway; I think you’ll enjoy the road trip.

>18 drneutron:. Thanks, Dr. Jim!

>19 Berly:. Thanks, Kim. You’re a perfect reader for House in the Cerulean Sea. I think you’ll have a grand time.

>20 PaulCranswick:. Thanks, Paul. Those cuties are loving going to pre-school now.

Good for you- I don’t know anyone who has read the NBA winner! I can recommend a couple of the finalists.

>21 alcottacre:. Agreed, Stasia. If I were a bettor, I’d bet a lot of money that Kim will love Cerulean Sea

>22 FAMeulstee:. Thanks, Anita! That lobster gets me, too. Thanks re the grandkids, too. They were so excited about Halloween!

>23 scaifea:. Hi, Amber. Thanks! Fina does love her some mischief. I hope you saw Jesse’s FB post (that I re-posted) about her carting around the wine bottle in the grocery bag.😀

Top o' the morning, Joe. Fina and Rafa look fine to this Gramps. I'm happy to report that My Grand Lia got her first COVID shot. Her sister Olivia gets her first Monday. Only Annie is too young.

Happy, snappy Saturday, Joe! Katie is off to a book sale, and thence to a bakery that makes kouign amann...the gloire of les patisseries bretons...and so I was inspired to bring some for your visual delectation:

>16 jnwelch: Yup, Joe, I felt the same. The book was great though I was looking for a little bit more Shuffle at the end.

Morning, Joe!

>24 jnwelch: I *did* see your FB post - too funny!

I tried to bake my first Gingerbread Bundt cake of the season yesterday and it was a flop. It stuck to the pan! Good thing there are two days in a weekend so I can try again today. I will have plenty of gingerbread crumbled cake to eat with my own tea this week - so that is another upside to the disaster.

AND HORRORS! Publix has been out of molasses for two weeks! I wonder if there is a shortage of that as well?

>25 weird_O:. Top o’ the morning, Bill! I’m glad your grands can get vaccinated now. And that will help protect little Annie. Rafa and Fina will get theirs, too.

>26 richardderus:. Oh man, I love these ( to me) unusual pastries you know/find, Richard. Thanks. Kouign amann look delicious, and I bet they have an interesting Brittany history.

>27 Carmenere:. Thanks, Lynda. Great book, coulda used a little more shuffle. Sounds right to me. An author’s doing all right when his new book is “merely” great. We should all be so lucky. I suspect he challenged himself to write a winner in this genre, and he did.

>28 scaifea:. Oh good, Amber. Wasn’t that hilarious? He’s so good with those kids.

>29 benitastrnad:. Mmm. Gingerbread Bundt cake. That sounds delish, Benita. If I were there I’d help you with the crumbles. Good luck with the re-do.

Molasses is an important part of life. Publix needs to get with it. There are delivery problems with just about everything, from what I read.

Ta-da!!: *trumpet flourish*. I finished Swann’s Way! There’s a book I was resigned to never reading. But withe inspiration of fellow group readers Mark, Mamie and Marianne, (and anyone rlse who joined in) I finished reading the last page this morning. Woo. So if you want to talk about Swann, or Marcelle, or Odette, or my favorite, Oriane, the Princesse des Laumes, I’m game. Lots of idealized love and obsession going on in those pages.

>32 jnwelch: Hi Joe - I thoroughly read Combray (see mentions on Mark's thread), then skimmed
(a second reading) Swann in Love because I couldn't stand either Swann or Odette,
and came back in with Proust's ending.

I wonder what we will come up with for our own personal Madeleine memory - mine starts with Lime Sherbet.
and Peoria, Illinois.

>33 m.belljackson:. Hmm. Good question, Marianne. Mine would probably involve cheese enchiladas at Chicago’s La Canasta (now gone). I was so enthralled (aka hungry) the first time around that I had it again immediately after.

Woo, I can now say that I read Proust's Swann's Way, the first in his collection Remembrance of Things Past. Am I glad I read it? Sure. Now that I'm done. But it wins the prize for Book That Made Me Yawn The Most. It's like sitting in a museum in front of a beautiful painting. (There are a lot of analogies made to paintings and museums in Swann's Way). Your sophisticated French friend next to you could sit there for hours admiring it. But you find yourself yawning, and wanting to move on and see what else the museum has to offer. In this instance, the friend successfully encouraged me to stay and admire. Well, truly, there is a lot to admire. Proust often writes like a painter, with plenty of lovely details.

"But at the very instant when the mouthful of tea mixed with cake crumbs touched my palate, I quivered, attentive to the extraordinary thing that was happening inside me. A delicious pleasure had invaded me, isolated me, without my having any notion as to its cause. It had immediately rendered the vicissitudes of life unimportant to me, its disasters innocuous, its brevity illusory, acting in the same way that love acts, by filling me with a precious essence: or rather, this essence was not merely inside me, it was me. I ceased to feel mediocre, contingent, mortal."

So you have an author and character who "quivers' and refers to the "vicissitudes of life" and says remarkable things. And gives us extraordinarily long sentences. With paragraphs that can go on for pages. While you're rolling your eyes (really?! tea and cake crumbs?!) you're envious. Oh my, to experience life like that. Marcel also loves to take walks among the flowering hawthorns, and loves their pink flowers so much that he must embrace them.

What to make of his obsession with his mother kissing him goodnight? He's intrigued by seemingly suave, well-connected Swann, who visits his parents. In the next section we find out (at length) about Swann's obsession with gal-about-town Odette, and the progress of their relationship. I'll avoid spoilers, and say only that in the last section (presaged in the first) Marcel develops a similar obsessive and idealized love.

If someone told me it's a beautifully written book, I'd be hard-pressed to disagree. So many lovely passages! Maybe I'm too ignorant a bloke, but for me this feast had too many dishes with too many ingredients. I was constantly in danger of dozing off.

My French friend appreciated my hanging in there in front of the painting in the museum. But afterwards he no doubt was thinking, "Poor fellow. Another example of impoverished American appreciation."

>35 jnwelch: Likely such thoughts as those the French friend has are fleeting as he moves on to reward himself the next subtle gem in the gallery. On the F&FS FB groups I follow, I am constantly aware of how few fellow members share much common ground with me. There may be 2-3 authors' books we both devour avidly, but then they are submerged grim-darking or wallowing in fanty-porn. I don't think my range is narrow, Stross to Lee-Miller in extent, but while there are lots of shared spots, there hasn't been a wide commons.

>35 jnwelch: Happy Sunday, Joe. Congrats on finishing Swann's Way. No easy task. I loved your review and I am definitely more on your side of the ballpark. I am still gathering my thoughts on this one.

"...but for me this feast had too many dishes with too many ingredients." You sure nailed it here, my friend.

>32 jnwelch: Congratulations on finishing Swann's Way, Joe!

Happy Sunday!

I am late to your newest thread, Joe. Apologies. Love the photo of the grands dressed up - wow are they cute!

Congrats on finishing Swann's Way - the Princesse des Laumes was also my favorite character. "Am I glad I read it? Sure. Now that I'm done." This made me laugh!

Happy new one!

>35 jnwelch: Excellent review- It made me laugh. Merci :)

>35 jnwelch: ...but you have done it and no reading snob can ever put you down by mentioning the Baron de Charlus or Oriane with a smug smirk.

Yay you!

Morning, Joe!

I slogged through the whole Remembrance and yeah, I'm glad I did, but also yeah, I'm glad I'm done. Yeesh. You're very correct about the beautiful language, though.

>37 msf59:. Thanks, Mark. I’m glad you enjoyed the Swann’s Way review. I’ll look for your thoughts. Thanks again for leading the charge.

>38 alcottacre:. Thanks, Stasia. I hope you had a good Sunday.

>39 Crazymamie:. Ha! Swann’s Way is one I never thought I’d read, and it was a great experience to now have behind me. Congrats to you for polishing it off and planning to read the next one.😀

And thanks re the cute grandkids. I wish I could post videos here so you could see them in action - even cuter.

>40 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Anita! I’m glad the review gave you a laugh.😀

>41 richardderus:. Right! Thanks, Richard. Now I’m going to happily crash highbrow literary elite cocktail parties and provide my valuable two cents.

Congratulations on finishing Swann's Way, Joe!

>42 scaifea: What Amber said. I finished the last book this month, and completely agree.

Today’s Bargain: The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis. For $1.99 on Kindle. An excellent, if somewhat overstuffed, sci-fi time travel story.

>42 scaifea:. I thought I responded to your post, Amber, but I don’t see it. That’s a mighty slog you accomplished. As I say to Anita, you should be enshrined in the Readers’ Hall of Fame.

>45 FAMeulstee:. Thanks, Anita. You’ve finished all seven of in Search of Lost Time, if I recall correctly. You both deserve a place in the Readers’ Hall of Fame.😀

>47 jnwelch: Ha! Reading Proust (in English for me) is like reading Thucydides in Greek: painful at times (I remember crying real tears of frustration in grad school over him), but with moments of absolute gorgeous language.

Kudos on your reading accomplishment. It is still ahead of me. Yes, it is. Waiting for me. I see a plethora of naps in my future.

:-)

>44 jnwelch: Heh. Have a good week's reads!

>48 scaifea:. Painful, but with moments of absolutely gorgeous language. That does sound familiar, Amber. Additional kudos to you for getting through Thucydides. I hope you get to read Dr. Seuss in Greek some day. He has more of a spare writing style.

>49 weird_O:. Thanks, Bill. Good luck when the time comes, my friend. If you’re like me, you’ll want to have toothpicks on hand to help keep your eyelids pried open.

>51 jnwelch: *SNORK!!* Maybe not in Greek, but I *do* have both The Cat in the Hat and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas in Latin, and yes, I've read them both.

>50 richardderus:😀

>52 scaifea:😂😂. Of course you have.

>46 jnwelch: Thank you!

Thanks for the Swann’s Way review Joe. I’m afraid that’s as far as I’ll go with M. Proust … too many good books on my list to be read.

>46 jnwelch: I think I’d rather re-read The Doomsday Book. That one is a corker!

>54 quondame:. You’re welcome, Susan. I hope you have a good time with the Dooms Day book.
E
>55 NarratorLady:. Ha! The Doomsday Book is a corker, isn’t it, Anne. I’m sorry we didn’t rope you into the informal group read of Swann’s Way. That’s what got me to finally read it.

>35 jnwelch: Excellent review of Swan's Way, and I'm thinking not for me, at least not right now, maybe never. : )

>49 weird_O: LOL

>52 scaifea: You would!!

>57 Berly:. Thanks, Kim. I’m glad you liked the book review. I’m hard put to figure out why you wouldn’t want to dive right into Swann’s Way after my rave.

Looking from the dark side of the moon to us

photo from the Chinese Space Agency

>59 jnwelch: Glorious.

As glorious as "Earthrise" was in 1968.

>60 richardderus:. Yes! Thanks, RD.

Have a Grand Thanksgiving Joe and Family!

And, for those of us fans of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek,

an online Search for Biblioburro is rewarding.

Happy Wednesday, Joe. I got out on my Trail Watch duties today. First time in 3 weeks. We walked the trails for about two hours. Breezy and cool but it got better later on. I haven't cracked a book yet today but that is my plan for the rest of the afternoon. I also just picked up the Matrix from the library. It was a long waiting list. I will get to it by early December.

>59 jnwelch: This is very cool.

>63 msf59:
You should add the literary psychological thriller The Maidens to your library list. It was a very good mystery about Greek Goddesses and Greek tragedy.

>46 jnwelch: Oo, I love that one!

Happy Thanksgiving, Joe!

A Thanksgiving to Friends (Lighting the Way)

In difficult times
a friend is there to light the way
to lighten the load,
to show the path,
to smooth the road

At the darkest hour
a friend, with a word of truth
points to light
and the encroaching dawn
is in the plainest sight.

Joe, to a friend in books and more this Thanksgiving

>66 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

Happy thanksgiving!

>59 jnwelch: Wow! Love that photo!



Joe, I am so very grateful for you, my wonderful friend here on LT.

I wish you (and yours) happiness and health on this day of Thanksgiving. And cookies. : )

Hi Joe, mate, Happy New Thread and we wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving Day from both of us dear friend.

Happy Thanksgiving, Joe

I hope you and yours had a wonderful Thanksgiving day, Joe! Happy Friday!

Happy Friday, Joe! I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving with the family. We went over to my cousins and had a lovely time. Bree and Matt were spending the holiday with their significant others, so we missed them. Hey, the Bears won! Even though it was far from pretty.

>62 m.belljackson:. Thanks, Marianne! We did have a grand Thansgiving, and I hope you did, too.

>63 msf59:. Isn’t that a cool photo of Earth from the other side if the moon, Mark?

Go Matrix! I suspect those pages will be flying. That one is a doozy.

>64 benitastrnad:. Thanks, Benita. I’ll keep an eye out for The Maidens.

>65 alcottacre:. Isn’t The Doomsday book a good one, Stasia? I hope you had a most excellent Thanksgiving.

>66 PaulCranswick:. Appreciated, Paul. I hope you’re headed for a relaxing weekend. We’re still digesting over here.😀

>68 figsfromthistle:. Thanks, Anita!

Morning, Joe! Hoping your Thanksgiving was full of the happy. Ours was loud and fun and slightly exhausting. But leftovers!

>69 Berly:. Loverly, Kim. What a nice thing to say. I’m very grateful to have you as my wonderful friend, too. Aren’t we lucky? I hope you and yours had a great Thanksgiving, and are heading into a relaxing weekend.

>70 johnsimpson:. There’s my buddy! I hope the Simpson clan is doing well in your lovely part of the world. I haven’t heard about any scientific progress on teleportation, but I wish we could teleport to that York cafe(Betty’s? I forget) and see you and Karen.

That’s very nice of you to remember our Yankee holiday. Have a great weekend!

>71 jessibud2:. Thanks, Shelley. I hope you’re heading into a relaxing weekend.

>72 alcottacre:. Happy Friday, Stasia! Our daughter gave me The Man Who Died Twice from the library, the new Thursday Murder Club book, so it will be a good weekend. I hope yours is, too.

>73 msf59:. Happy Friday, Mark! I loved that “Grateful for my Family” Jackson photo on FB. I’ m glad you had a lovely time at your cousins’. Ours was groovy at our place. Yes, the Bears won! We can usually count on Detroit being worse than we are. Enjoy the weekend.

Well. Leftovers Day has begun. Spend it well!

Today’s Bargain: Legends of the Fall by Jim Harrison for $1.99 on Kindle. A stellar collection of 3 novellas by this under-read author.

To Be Taught, if Fortunate by Becky Chambers for $1.99 on e-readers. A heart-warming one from her about different species learning to help each other.

>75 Crazymamie:. Hi, Mamie! I’ll bet it was quite a Thanksgiving fiesta at the always lively Pecan Paradiso! Ours was undoubtedly more sedate, but delicious. Yay for leftovers!

>77 richardderus: Happy Leftovers Day, Richard! We're about to have brunch leftovers (avocado and egg on leftover garlic bread) with more to come as the day goes on. Hope you have a good one.

Hi Joe! I hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful, filled with family and friends.

>80 ffortsa:. Hi Judy! Thanksgiving was wonderful, and i hope yours with Jim and whomever was, too.

Today’s Bargain: Autism in Heels by Jennifer Cook O’Toole for $1.99 on e-readers. Autism is less common in women, and this is supposed to be a really good memoir. I snapped it up.

>82 jnwelch: I wonder about that...knowing so many women with Asperger's, I suspect it's less commonly *diagnosed* than in men.

Happy Saturday's reads, Joe!

>83 richardderus: I suspect my niece grew up "on the Spectrum" at a time when the diagnosis was rarely applied to boys and never applied to girls.

>84 magicians_nephew: For all its drawbacks socially, the power of a diagnosis is immense in emotional terms. You aren't broken, you're different.

>83 richardderus:. “Diagnosed less commonly in women” would be a better way of saying it. Thanks, Richard.

>84 magicians_nephew:. I didn’t know any girls where you could tell, Jim, but I can believe it.

>85 richardderus:. I find that different perspective really interesting, RD. And our need to change our thinking to accommodate it. I just read an article in which people on the spectrum tried, in an interview, to decribe what the experience was like. There was a lot of discussion of how difficult it made socializing, or finding a job, and, if they learned how to behave “normally”, how tiring it was to have to wear that “mask” so much. These were high-functioning people, and one said it was very different for low- functioning people, and that each of them differed from the others in significant ways.

Happy Sunday, Joe. I hope you are enjoying the weekend with family and books.

>87 Familyhistorian:. Happy Sunday, Meg. Thank you for stopping by. It’s been a great weekend for family and books, thanks. Our daughter stayed over with us for the Thanksgiving break, and our son and his group safely traveled to Colombia, where they’ll be for two weeks vacation - the first vacation he’s taken since I can’t remember when. 94 F where they are; it’s a long ways from that here in Chicago. I’m returning to Elizabeth and her long-in-the-tooth gang in The Man Who Died Twice after a delightful detour to The Singles Table, an Indian rom-com.

I hope you’ve had a good wekend in your lovely area.

I am leaving it up to you to keep the troups in line while I am in Joplin and Longview this next week, Joe. I am sure you are up to the task. Maybe. Perhaps. . .Off to look for another commander. . .

>89 alcottacre:. It’s a troop of cats here, as you know, Stasia, so wish me luck!

Have fun in Joplin, and bring back some meetup photos.

Painting by Evgeny Lushpin
Born in Moscow 1966
Montmartre Paris

>91 jnwelch: *brrr*

Beautiful...but cold!

Have a great week-ahead's reads, Joe.

Hi Joe, after Proust, I've moved another Classic off my unread shelves, Metamorphoses by Ovid
and am re-reading Ernest Gaines' memorable and haunting A GATHERING OF OLD MEN.

Thank you for all the Grandkids and Paris photos.

Hi, Joe! I am sure you are beginning your workout. Good luck with that. I also hope you had a good weekend and are enjoying those current reads. I am LOVING Still Life. If it is not on your radar, please put it on there. I think this has all ready landed on my Best of the Year list.

>91 jnwelch: I remember it well. And once even with snow on the ground, quite a rarity for Paris, but magical.

Hey, Joe!

>91 jnwelch: Well that is full of gorgeous!

>92 richardderus:. Bundle up, my friend. The chill is upon us. Thanks re the book-reading wishes and back atcha. I’m going light and flaky after Monsieur Proust.

>93 m.belljackson:. Good for you, Marianne. I’ve read some Metamorphose, but never got caught in its grip. I’m going to look for a Stanley Lombardo translation, as I’ve enjoyed others by him.

>94 msf59:. Good weekend, great workout, thanks, Mark. Today should be an easier go than yesterday. I’m glad you’re enjoying Still Life; I’ll take a look.

>95 Caroline_McElwee:. I’ll bet that was magical, Caroline. We loved Montmartre. Last time we took a walking tour about the artists and writers who lived in the area.

>96 Crazymamie:. Hey, Mamie! Isn’t it? 😀

>91 jnwelch: Gorgeous! I could jump right into that painting - and probably freeze to death.

Happy Tuesday from Joplin, Joe!

>98 alcottacre:. Hiya, Stasia. I hope you’re having a grand meetup in Joplin. I’m sure you are. Books and fellow book enthusiasts; it doesn’t get any better than that. Hey, I just had a good time with The Book Charmer, which I read after seeing your positive response.

>76 jnwelch: Hi Joe mate, it would be lovely to see you both again and this time with Karen, sadly the cafe we met in is no longer open. I think it is still a cafe but under a different name, i went online to check but the name i thought it was didn't appear.

We will meet up again i am sure, it is just the timing when things are a bit more clear over here after this new Covid variant has been sorted out.

Sending love and hugs to both of you and your family from both of us dear friend.

Morning, Joe!

You *know* I'm going to chime in on Lombardo and Ovid - ha! YES! Do track down his translation, because it's the absolute best. I'll be diving into it again next semester for my Myth class.

>100 johnsimpson:. Hi, buddy. Oh, what a shame about the cafe. We loved that place. Such nice people, too. Debbi reminds me that we went twice while we were there.

You’re right, we will reunite one day when covid is less dominant. Man, this is one determined virus.

Thanks for the love and hugs. I told Debbi, and we send the same to you and Karen.

>101 scaifea:. Morning, Amber!

Oh good. Based on the experience with his others, I figured Lombardo would give us a great translation of Ovid, but it helps to have confirmation from an expert.

>102 jnwelch: Okay. my never read from the Classics shelf Ovid translation is by Rolfe Humphries - not recommended?

Morning, Joe. I've gotten the call. Books need to be rescued. I have to go...leaving shortly...and see if any can be saved. I do hope so.

I very much like the painting of Paris. (>91 jnwelch:) It's very familiar somehow, but I don't know why.

>103 m.belljackson:. Maybe Amber can answer that, Marianne. I haven’t read that translation. What I can tell you is I haven’t read one that grabs me, and I expect, especially after Amber’s endorsement, that Stanley Lombardo’s will.

>104 weird_O:. Morning, Bill. Good luck with the book rescuing. Thank goodness we have people like you on constant alert. They can’t rescue themselves, can they.

There’s a similar famous photo of that Montmartre stairway. It also seems dreamlike to me, so you may have encountered it there.

Brassai?

Today’s Bargain: Einstein’s Dreams by Alan Lightman for $1.99 on Kindle. If you haven’t read this stellar collection, here’s your bargain chance.

>103 m.belljackson: >105 jnwelch: Humphries isn't bad. Just not my favorite. A little on the flowery side sometimes, but certainly readable.

>109 scaifea:😀. I just ordered his Aeneid.

>109 scaifea: Only 10 pages in and some phrases have felt awkward and some words too contemporary.

>110 jnwelch: Ha! It's not as good as Lombardo's. (You knew that was coming...)

>111 m.belljackson: Welp, if you don't like contemporary language, you'd hate Lombardo, then.

>112 scaifea:. I confused the issue; my bad. I ordered Lombardo’s Aeneid (by Virgil). The discussion inspired me, and I’ve been even more frustrated by translations of Virgil. I assume this is a good one, too? I know his style, and he’s my last hope for now.

>111 m.belljackson:. Yes, Lombardo’s plain-speaking and contemporary, as Amber says, with a lot of narrative drive and understanding of today’s reader.

>113 jnwelch: Ha! Excellent! I hope you love the Lombardo translation as much as I do. If you want to do a shared read of that one - or just pepper me with any questions, I'm here for it. I want everyone to love Vergil as much as I do because he 100% deserves it. There's so much going on in that poem that's beyond impressive and fascinating.

>103 m.belljackson:. Amber’s not confused; just me. I’d go with what she said about Humphries. My answer would be a repeat of what I’ve said before: No Ovid translation has worked for me; I’m going to try Lombardo’s, especially after Amber’s endorsement.

>114 scaifea:. A shared, tutored read is a great idea, and thank you for offering. Organizing one, however, is not my forte. If someone wants to take that on, great. Otherwise I’ll just pepper you with questions. Alternatively, I’d be happy to do an informal group read of Lombardo’s translation of Aeneid by Virgil with anyone who’s interested. Like the one we just did with Swann’s Way.

>116 jnwelch: I don't know that we need any organizing, unless other people want to join in. You're welcome just to ask me questions, either on my thread or via PMs, as you go along. If others want to read along with you, we could start a separate thread for the discussion, but again, I don't know that we need much more set-up than that...

>108 jnwelch: BB for me! Looks to be a great read.

>118 figsfromthistle:. Oh good, Anita. It is! It’s a lasting favorite in our house.

Today’s Bargain: The Jane Austen Book Club for $1.99 on e-readers. I thought it was good; many others would rate it higher.

Miss Fina hanging out with her music and her books. Upside down reading is fun.

Glad to hear you enjoyed The Book Charmer, Joe. I gave the BB to Stasia and she shared it with you. :)

>121 jnwelch: Hi Joe - did Fina ever get the Grandma Fina book sent via Mark...?

>122 MickyFine:. Ha! I did, Micky, thanks. So the wheel of LT turns. Maybe someone ele will see it mentioned here and continue its journey.😀

I’ve got some books ahead of it, but I’m going to try The Bromance Club soon based on your recommendation.

>123 m.belljackson: Oh my, Marianne. Totally my fault. I should’ve pm’d you before now . Mark did give me the books you sent, and even asked me to be sure to let you know I received them. I flubbed it. I’ll pm you. Thanks for thinking of me/us.

I wanted to start and finish To Serve Them All of My Days over the Thanksgiving break and I did. It was a great read and will surely make my end of the year Best of ... list. It was perfect vacation reading. I think that reading this book would help all those Harry Potter fans understand the English school system much better, but it was just a really good story. One of those quiet books where nothing happens and yet everything happens.

>121 jnwelch: Reading upside down will stand Miss Fina in good stead for jobs in the work day world. She's just getting ahead of the game.

>125 benitastrnad:. Oh good, Benita, I loved To
Serve Them All My Days, too. What a beautiful book.

>126 Familyhistorian:. Ha! That sounds like our Fina, Meg. Chilling with music and books is ahead of the game, too. Our little teenager.

>128 jnwelch: I LOVE that, Joe, said the old bore with 6 granddaughters. Here's Helen on her first gig as an usher at the Metropolitan Opera. Her phone obscures half her bowtie.

>124 jnwelch: Yes, Joe. that would have been really strange if Everyone's Favorite Postman hadn't delivered!

>129 weird_O:. Ha! Perfect photo of Helen, Bill. And good for her for ushing at the opera. I have a tin ear and a tin heart when it comes to opera. Too bad.

This old bore has heard so many arrgh-worthy stories from my wife and even my daughter. Thank goodness a lot has changed. Fina seems undauntable; I already can see her making short work of the old nonsense.

>130 m.belljackson:. 😂. So true, Marianne. He was as good as ever about it. I left you a pm. Thanks again.

>121 jnwelch: Aw...what a beauty!! Beautiful shot.

Happy Friday, Joe. Another beautiful day in Chicagoland. I watched Jackson for a few hours this AM, while Bree worked and she is bringing him back here later this afternoon, so she can tend to her horse. Grandma will be happy too.

I am just finishing up Still Life. It sure seems like a perfect fit for you. I'd wager a couple of pints on it. I will then move onto Matrix which I know you had a good time with.

Go Bulls! And have a great weekend, my friend.

>107 jnwelch: Forgot to mention that Google confirms this photo was taken by Brassai.

>121 jnwelch: Is Fina ticklish? I just think it would be uproarious fun to squeeze her knees and flubber her tummy and just tickle her all over. Great laughter and commotion.

>132 msf59:. Hi, Mark. We got a video today of her and her brother “dancing”. They crack me up. I’m sure you and Sue had a grand time with Jackson.

I’m sure you’re right about Still Life. It looks that way to me,too. Great tip.

I envy you reading Matrix for the first time. So good. Part of me wishes I could read it for the first time all over again.

We’re having a great weekend, thanks, and I wish the same for you.

>133 weird_O:. Thanks, Bill. The one I found didn’t say, but I thought it was Brassai. I’ve got a book of his photos somewhere. He’s excellent.

Can you believe we’ve never tried tickling Fina? Debbi’s answer to whether Fina’s ticklish is: probably. She’s certainly a good hugger.

Thanks for the FB post about the lacrosse team.

>135 ffortsa:. You’re welcome, Judy. Wasn’t that cool. Bless Ireland. To pull out of that international lacrosse tournament so that the Native American team ( which should have been part of it in the first place) could participate was a mighty fine thing to do.

Jesse and Adriana in Medellin, Colombia

>132 msf59: Agreeing with Mark on Still Life, I'm half through and loving it.

>137 jnwelch: Lovely photo of happy holiday makers, especially on a day when it's piddling with rain here Joe. Of course that means it's a reading day :-) .

>138 Caroline_McElwee:. Oh, good to hear re Still Life, Caroline. Yeah, it’s a moderate 68 F in Medellin. They’re having a grand time.

That’s the silver lining for dank, dismal days, all right. I’m reading You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey, a horrifying and funny (i know, how unlikely) collection of racist incidents that happened to the author Amber Ruffin and her sister.

This is an excerpt from“Every Time I Want to Die” in Andrea Gibson’s excellent new collection, You Better Be Lightning:

I understand being wooed by the finish line
of sadness. Infinity still sends me nudes
every day. I won’t deny she looks amazing,

but I’m taken. My hand now promised to writing every page of my story
except its end. Friend, you are

who taught me that a difficult life is not less
worth living than a gentle one. Joy is just easier
to carry than sorrow, and you could lift a city

From how long you’ve spent holding
what’s been impossible to hold.
This world needs those who know

how to do that. Those who can find
a tunnel with no light at the end
Of it and hold it up like a telescope

to show that darkness contains
many truths that can bring the light
To its knees. Grief astronomer,

adjust the lens, look close. Tell us
what you see.

>140 jnwelch: Yup, that volume is awaiting my click finger Joe.

>141 Caroline_McElwee:. Good! You’ll love it. She’s knocking me out.

Started reading a collection of Rebecca Solnit essays called Men Explain Things to Me. Then whilst clearing the clutter of rescued books and needed lamp repair parts from the library table (used to be our dining table *snicker* ), I came across Women Who Read Are Dangerous. Written by a guy. Hmmm. It is a collection of images of women reading; most are paintings, but photographs are scattered in the gallery. A squib on the facing page tells something pertinent about the artist.

By the bye, next opportunity you have, try tickling Fina. :-)

>143 weird_O:. Great, Bill. I read and upthumbed Men Explain Things to Me, and Madame MBH is reading it right now. We were just talking about the wonderful anecdote where the man hosting a party explains, at length, Solnit’s own book to her, without ever acknowledging that she wrote it. Wow!

There are a lot of great images of women reading, and that collection sounds interesting.

We will carefully approach tickling Fina; she is not slow to express aggravation. Her favorite word right now is “No”.😀

Today’s Bargain: Case Histories by Kate Atkinson at 0.99 cents on e-readers. The first Jackson Brodie mystery by a top author (Life After Life).

>144 jnwelch: Some children feel "tickling" as pain...

>99 jnwelch: I had a great time in Joplin, Joe, I always do. Glad to be back home though after a week away.

I am glad to hear that you had a good time with The Book Charmer. Happy Tuesday!

>128 jnwelch: I love, love, love this.

I am, as you're aware, back among the internetted. I'm also not going to pretend I read every one of the fifty-five posts above...but yay for you and Amber's Aeneid by Lombardo read!

>146 m.belljackson: I believe it, Marianne. Some adults aren't fond of it either.

>147 alcottacre: I'll bet you had a great time in Joplin, Stasia. What a fun tradition.

Yes, The Book Charmer suited me well after the not-so-light-and-airy Swann's Way.

>148 richardderus: I get a kick out of >128 jnwelch:, too, RD. I've started Lombardo's Aeneid, so that was a fruitful back and forth with Amber. When it's the right time for Metamorphoses, I'll read Lombardo for that, too. I wondered where you were, I missed seeing on your thread that you had internet troubles. Maybe they happened after I posted.

>149 jnwelch: It's no fun to live in 1995 when it's 2021...I'll tell you that for nothin'...but whatever failure happened has been rectified so it's all moot now.

Awomen!

You gave me his brilliant, gorgeous translation of The Odyssey a while ago, when I was busily reading Emily Watson's major one and got all fired up to read Fagles, Fitzgerald, and Lombardo. I am so not trained in how to write an analytical review! I wanted to compare and contrast the translations, and by about 4,000 words, I'd gone into analysis paralysis.

I'll stick to reader-response reviewing. I know where I stand with that!

>150 richardderus: If you have any global, off the cuff comparisons (e.g. this one tastes like licorice, that one like chocolate truffles) I’d love to hear them.

Lombardo’s style sure suits me. His Aeneid starts at a fast pace. I’m glad you liked his Odyssey. Emily Watson is working on her translation of The Iliad, but she estimated that it would take 7 years.

Today’s Bargains: a bunch of Agatha Christie mysteries are available on Kindle for $1.99 each, including her very first one, Murder at the Vicarage.

>144 jnwelch: I live that Solnit anecdote Joe, as much because it doesn't surprise me at all.

I'm not sure if she mentions the more common story, experienced a few times myself, is making a suggestion at a team meeting, which doesn't get commented on, then a male colleague making the same suggestion in almost the same words and it is immediately snatched up. This was more in days when there were fewer women in the room than now, but it did happen again a few years back, the other women in the room were so shocked, it went unchallenged. I did pipe up that I had just said that.

Babies hear "no" so often they learn it as their first Word of Power and use it back - sometimes to great effect.

Perhaps we should not say "no" to babies quite so often

>150 richardderus: "and by about 4,000 words, I'd gone into analysis paralysis"

only 4,000?!! I'd bail after page 2.

Getting semi-caught up here, Joe, and hope you're having a good day!

>155 kac522: Ha! I meant 4,000 words I'd written not read!

>151 jnwelch: Lombardo is a damn fine translator, makes the most readable sentences, and should be better known than he is amongst the hoi polloi.

Fagles rots.

Fitzgerald blows.

Watson makes the most...emotionally resonant...choices. Seven years! That seems ambitious. I hope it works out to show up that soon.

Morning, Joe. Happy Wednesday. I hope the week is going well. I had some quality Jackson time yesterday and Trail Watch duties to perform this AM. I haven't been getting out as much, so the exercise is welcome. I will finish up Matrix. A good, solid read. I should also finish up Monsters. It is not a perfect GN, a bit long in the tooth but still plenty to recommend. Definitely a dark one. I had never heard of this author.

>140 jnwelch: I love the Gibson excerpt. I can't wait to read this collection.

>153 Caroline_McElwee:. I’ve read about that problem in meetings, Caroline (after a woman says something with no effect, a man says the same thing and it gets acclaim). What a mindset; how aggravating to have to fight against that. I hope and believe that’s changing, as more and more women move into leadership.

Mutual respect doesn’t seem like a lit to ask for, does it.

>154 magicians_nephew:. Maybe so, Jim. “No” also is a way for a kid to assert independence. Fina often uses it to tell her bro, that’s not happening. Jesse and Adri becoming adept at being referees, as all parents must.

>155 kac522:. Comparing translations - what a tough project, Kathy.

>156 bell7:. Hi, Mary! Good to see you here. I hope you have a most excellent day.

>157 richardderus:. You probably have the more realistic reaction to Watson’s time estimate for completing the Iliad. I, of course, thought - I have to wait 7 years?! It adds to the appreciation of her wonderful Odyssey.

I agree that Stanley Lombardo deserves much more recognition for his most readable translations.

I’m with you on Fitzgerald, but I thought Fagles’ translations at the time were so much better than what came before. It didn’t hurt to have Ian McKellen doing the audio cds!

Yes, Watson’s grabbed me the most emotionally, too. Can’t wait to try her Iliad.

>158 msf59:. Morning, Mark. If I’m still standing, it’s a good week.😀. Happy Wednesday, buddy.

Glad you got some quality time with Mr. Jackson, and the trail watch to get you out and about. That bone chilling weather yesterday kept us inside, but today we have to-dos to check off the list. Yay for Matrix! It sounds like I rate it higher than you do. I’m glad monster turned out to be a good GN. I’m reading a well-done one called Ballad for Sophie that would be worth your perusal.

I’m reading a bio you can no doubt skip -Scottie Pippen’s Unguarded. What a player he was, and it’s fun to revisit the Bulls’ glory days.

Yay for The Aeneid!! I hope you're loving it so far.

>161 scaifea:. I am, Amber! He wins my people’s choice award. I’m noting my questions for you. One is, I’m noticing similarities to and overlap with the Odyssey. Are the two related?

Also, why does a Trojan “loser” get to found the Roman race? And why is Juno so mad at Aeneas?

>162 jnwelch: Ooof, you're starting off with some great questions, Joe!

I’m noticing similarities to and overlap with the Odyssey. Are the two related?

Oh absolutely! You can't write epic poetry (dactylic hexameter) without always already making nods to and being completely indebted to Homer, and the Roman poets who used that meter knew it. But Vergil in particular dives into the deep end of the Homer Homage pool: the first half of his work is, in essence, a mini-Odyssey (the hero's journey, here, to find a *new* home after the Trojan War; a journey, like Odysseus', that's filled with misadventures and misdirections), and the second half is his answer to the Iliad, in which Aeneas moves from Odysseus-like, to Achilles-like.

And your second question ties in nicely to the first: Vergil uses Homer as a template, and then goes beyond that rubric to give us the OG Reluctant Hero. Aeneas is Vergil's Roman answer to the heroic Greek forebears - he takes the Greek tradition and makes it his own, makes it Roman. Aeneas is, all the way through the poem, an unwilling and very often unwitting hero, and there are several points where Vergil puts him in a very Homer-heavy scene and uses those scenes to point out where Aeneas is different. Pay close attention to the bit where Aeneas meets up with his mother - it's a *very* different hero/patron goddess scene than the one we get between Odysseus and Athene or Achilles and Thetis. And also watch out for places where Aeneas is in a position to read and interpret art - he always misunderstands it in a crucial way. Achilles (and maybe to a lesser extent Odysseus, although O is clever enough to fake it till he makes it) knows his fate, knows how his story will play out, knows his role in the epic. Aeneas doesn't, nor does he really want to.

He's a "loser" in the basic sense that the Trojans lost the war, but again, he's also very much not the typical epic hero. All this reflects the unease underneath the Roman bravado - they were pretty darned powerful and important by Vergil's time, but they were also, relatively, a really young country, and there were identity insecurities under that all over the place. (Sound familiar? Rome is us in a scary amount of ways.) Vergil's very good at weaving that into his poem in the form of Aeneas' own insecurities and bunglings. Vergil very likely wrote this poem at the request of Maecenas, who was, among other things, Augustus' PR guy and had gathered round him a nice little literary group to whom he was a prime patron. But Vergil had a complex relationship with Augustus and Augustus' policies, and lots of scholars (and I lump myself in with that group) believe that there's all sorts of hints of that unease, again, in Aeneas' character.

Juno is mad for a handful of reasons. She was one of the three goddesses wanting that For the Fairest golden apple; Paris - a Trojan prince - gave it to Venus instead of her. So, she hates all Trojans forever, because the gods are super-petty all the time. Also, in one of Vergil's brilliant mixings of myth and actual Roman history in a very back-to-the-future kind of way, Carthage is Juno's pet city and she knows about the prophecy that Rome will rise up and eventually destroy Carthage (Carthago delenda est, and all), so she doesn't want Aeneas to succeed in making it to Italy, because if he does, then Rome will eventually come out of that success.

I read poetry. YA coming-of-age poetry.

I am *so*embarrassed* that I liked it.

The Black Flamingo.

>153 Caroline_McElwee: Fortunately Joe, my current colleagues are more inclusive and very good at attributing suggestions that were taken up.

>164 richardderus: Smelling salts, did I read that right, RD read some poetry, and liked it?

>163 scaifea:
"Rome is us in a scary amount of ways."
Many years ago when BookTV was young, much younger than today, I happened to be watching when a conference from the University of Oklahoma was broadcast. Among the people speaking at the conference was Colleen McCullough, the Australian author of The First Man in Rome series. She compared Rome to the U.S. and the parallels were amazingly on target.

>163 scaifea:. Oh, that’s excellent. Very helpful, Amber, thanks. I feel lucky to get your thoughts.

>164 richardderus:. LOL! You poor guy. I’ll have to take a look at the Black Flamingo.

>165 Caroline_McElwee:. Glad to hear it, Caroline. The other way is bad news all round.

I know, RD seems to be loosening up a bit. Go figure.

Happy Wednesday, Joe. Could you spare a cuppa?

>163 scaifea: Wow, Amber. Thanks for that long comment on the Aeneid. I will copy and share that with the group reading it out loud.

Last night, we saw the Met Opera production of 'Euridice' and at one point Orpheus is told he has to speak to her in the Underworld in a dead language, and Orpheus promptly sings in Latin! Thought of you immediately. It is a great production, too.

For anyone near where the Met Operas are shown in movie houses, I recommend it highly. It played here (NYC) live on the weekend and repeated on Wednesday, but it might be available at different times elsewhere. I wonder if it can be streamed?

>168 alcottacre: Here you go, Stasia:

>167 jnwelch:, >165 Caroline_McElwee: I...I did. I confess, I read YA-coming-out-poetry and did not mime gagging myself more than two or three...maybe four...times.

It *did* help that the MC was discovering the joys of drag.

Here it is Thursday again, Joe. I'm not entirely sure of my facts, mind, but I think somewhere along the line several days were elided from the week because surely it was Thursday day before yesterday...or was that Sunday...

>166 benitastrnad: Government corruption and political instability are among the reasons ancient Rome fell, and that certainly sounds familiar, doesn't it.

>169 ffortsa: There's a group reading the Aeneid out loud, Judy?

I'm not an opera buff, unfortunately.

>171 richardderus: Right, I saw the drag element, Richard, and thought that might have helped you create an exception. :-)

I share your mystification about how the heck we got to Thursday. And my "to-dos" piled up on me, too. After this I'm off to be responsible. Eesh. I can only avoid it for so long.

>172 jnwelch: Years ago, I joined a group initially held at the AAUW house in NYC, where the women there read epic poetry out loud. That's where I found the Fagles translation of the Odyssey. I joined about half-way through. Each month we would read one book of the epic, or as much as we could fit in, each taking a number of lines as we sat around the table. Our leader is an emeritus poetry professor, and she does a great job of presenting tidbits of info as we go.

Since that first book, we've left the AAUW house (or it left us), added a man or two, and read the Inferno, the Canterbury Tales, a year of lyric poetry, the Iliad (also Fagles), and now the Aeneid. We are on hiatus for the winter, as our fearless leader is spending a few months in California to avoid the winter and cabin fever and visit her daughter, who is a librarian.

I find it very useful to have to speak the words out loud, because you can't zone out, you have to pay attention. Some readers are good, some not so good, but everyone gets a shot. Very accepting and democratic.

>167 jnwelch: >169 ffortsa: You're most welcome!

>107 jnwelch: Wow! Incredible. You read an amazing number of books this year! You are an inspiration!

>172 jnwelch: Even for those who aren't opera "buffs,"
The Triumphal March is worth pacing through Aida.

>174 ffortsa:. How great is that, Judy? On top of everything else, these originally were meant for hearing out loud. I envy you. Kudos to all of you. I hope you start each session patting each other on the back. You deserve it.

>175 scaifea:😀

>176 Whisper1:. Oh, thanks, Linda. I was just talking to someone about my luck/blessing in the stroke missing anything cognitive. Debbi and the nurse couldn’t believe i was reading right after it. Well, that and March Madness basketball were all I had to help me get through the rehab!

Needless to say, I’m grateful to have read so many good ones this year. LT has really upped my game. Thanks for noticing.

I’m going to review some new ones. I loved Autism in Heels and You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey (for the life of me, I can’t get that touchstone to work!). It’s by Amber Ruffin and her sister Lacey.

You’d love one Debbi gave me: Nina by Christopher Robinson. Great illustrations, and well-told bio.

>177 m.belljackson: Thanks, Marianne. I feel most of the good stuff, like the Triumphal March, makes its way to me without my needing to go to the opera. That type of singing normally is like nails on a blackboard for my poor ears. It makes this peaceful guy want to do something un-peaceful, with velocity.

>170 jnwelch: Perfect, thanks!

Happy Thursday, Joe!

>179 jnwelch: What Happened to Lacey seems to do it. Weird. Maybe the apostrophe in You'll bungs the current algorithm. Those sound like interesting reads, from here on my slice of the spectrum.

>182 quondame:. Thanks, Susan. I’ll use that from now on. The same thought crossed my mind- I bet “You’ll” is bunging it up. What Happened to Lacey.- yay! Goofy, but serviceable.

>181 alcottacre:😀. Have a Sweet Thursday, Stasia.

Friday orisons, Good Sir. May the weekend's reads be among the wonders of your world.

Happy weekend, Joe!

>184 richardderus:. Weekend orisons, mon frere. Some wondrous reads await me, and I hope you have the same.

>185 alcottacre:. Happy Weekend, Stasia!

Have a pleasant weekend, Mr. Welch.

>187 weird_O: Thanks, Mr. Bill. I hope you do, too.

>188 jnwelch: *snerk*

>188 jnwelch: I have; he was compensation enough all in himself, being possessed of a *scurrilous* sense of humor. *happy memory*

My latest thread's first review got noticed and praised by the book's author, which (as you know) I really enjoy.

>188 jnwelch: Funny!

>188 jnwelch: Where do I file my claim??? It's been ongoing for 40+ years--hope the statute of limitations hasn't run out.

>188 jnwelch: Ha!

Have a great Sunday!

Today’s Bargain: Tales from the Cafe by Toshikazu Kawaguchi for $2.99. For fans of Before the Coffee Gets Cold, the follow-up. What would you do if you could time travel-but only briefly? I snapped it up.

>195 jnwelch: I do so wish that the bargains were not all e-books. *sigh*

>196 alcottacre:. Right - me,too, Stasia. That one’s predecessor would have been well worth picking up in hard copy ( that’s what I did) and if this one’s as good, I may get a hard copy anyway.

Sorry I’ve been on a Zoom call with college classmates all morning., and now we’re going out. I’ll catch up later.

And what are you studying Joe?

>199 Caroline_McElwee: Hi, Caroline. We weren't studying, although one guy wants us to check out Timothy Morton, if I got that right. This was a Zoom reunion of roommates and friends from college. It was a blast. I was bemoaning never having ever met classmate Yo-Yo Ma. It turns out, one of the guys had played bassoon regularly with him in the college music department, and one of them lived in his dormitory and got to know him pretty well. Both said (phew! but what I would've expected) what a nice guy he was. We covered a lot of ground, and it was delightful.

>190 drneutron: :-) Hi, Dr. Jim.

>191 richardderus: Oh good, Richard. I was afraid you might tell us that he's the reason you don't like poetry. this is much better. Wish I'd had a chance to hear his sense of humor.

Congrats on the author loving your review. I can imagine how good that must feel, and I can imagine few things that would feel better.

>192 banjo123: :-) Hi, Rhonda.

>193 kac522: 40+ years is a long time, Kathy. Your patience and endurance must be fantastic. After that much time you may have to make do with the commiseration of fellow LTers, although I do think the poet owes you a dinner, if they can scrape enough coins together.

>194 figsfromthistle: Hi, Anita. Hee-hee! Thanks. This has been a great Sunday already, and I hope yours is, too.

Happy Sunday, Joe!

If you or Mark know any people who live near The Chicago Public Library, 4024 N. Elston,
the author of IF TREES COULD TALK, (not yet listed on Touchstones)
a really promising WWII Early Reviewers book,
will speak December 21st at 6:30 pm.

A Search for Margot McMahon is really rewarding - she is also a well known sculptor
involved with the Gwendolyn Brooks presentation and she lives in Oak Park!

>200 jnwelch: Sounds wonderful Joe.

Love Yo-Yo Ma. A favourite is his Japanese Melodies. But also his Bach albums, his Ennio Morricone album, and his tango one.

Agreed - also Bluegrass with Edgar Masters, Silk Road. He’s obviously had a blast playing different types of music with different musicians (and dancers and i don’t know what-all). His Bach bowls me over. He’s my pick for Best Human Alive. People Magazine should consider running an issue on that some day, instead of “Sexiest Man Alive”.

>202 m.belljackson:. Thanks, Marianne. I appreciate the heads-up.

Happy Sunday!

Hi Joe! Your thread is a lot of fun to read. Kudos to you for finishing the Proust. But from your review and citations I think I’ll skip it, not my cup of tea. Not even with a madeleine to go.

I’ve added Yo-YoMa’s channel to my favorites on YouTube.

Have fun reading the Aeneid! I have only watched Purcell’s opera from it (Dido and Aeneas) Despicable fellow, starting a love affair and then leaving her again. But beautiful music.

>206 EllaTim:. Ha! Not even tea with a madeleine will get you to read Proust. I understand. I’m glad catching up on the thread has been fun.

Lombardo’s Aeneid is excellent so far, thanks. You’re tempting me to try the Purcell opera.

Hi, Joe. Hope the workout went smoothly. I just got back from helping with Jackson. How can I ever say no to that? We had a great beery adventure in Grand Rapids this weekend. I would sure love to show you a few of these locations. I am finishing up The Town Called Solace and then I will start Hench. If you and Debbi are looking for an audiobook, please give Miracle and Wonder a spin, especially if you are a Paul Simon fan. It is a short but oh so good.

How about those Bears? They just cannot seem to put a complete game together. Sighs...Maybe, they can win a couple of the remaining games.

Close to evening here, Joe. Thinking about some mac 'n' cheese for supper. An evening of reading to ensue. I hope to get to the conclusion of 47, Walter Mosley's first (and perhaps only) YA novel. It is pretty good.

>208 msf59:. Crap. Lost a post. Part of it was a rant about the Bears. How do we have that defensive personnel and give up 45 points?! If we score 30, that should be a W. Grt rid of this coaching staff. Get rid of this GM, too. Cripes.

The workout went well, thanks. My rehabbed shoulder is getting stronger. I envy you a bit having Jackson so close by. We may at some point have a more extended stay in Pittsburgh to spend time with the grandees.

Sounds like you’ve been doing some good reading. I finished You Better Be Lightning and, no surprise, heartily recommend it. She has such an easy, graceful way of taking us on deep journeys.

>209 weird_O:. Hiya, Bill. Mac n cheese is a fave of mine. Bon appetit. I’ve read some very good Walter Mosley non-mysteries, but not that one. I’ll look for you final thoughts on it. Enjoy the evening’s reading.

By Alexander Bolotov.
Born 1981 Ukrainian painter.
Unforgettable Paris

“What’s it like to be us? Too much. We feel too much. React too much. Say too much. Need too much. So says the world. I say: the world is wrong. There is an exquisite trade-off for a life so differently led: complex imagination, limitless curiosity, profound compassion, and restless independent thought. They are the core of everything I am. They will be responsible for whatever legacy I leave behind.”

"The most common hit I get is the cringeworthy “You’re autistic? Well, you must be very high-functioning.” Sigh. I understand what they’re trying to say. Really, I do. They mean to be kind. The implication is “I don’t see many—if any—of the clearly debilitating characteristics I associate with autism when I talk to you. So, good on you. You’re not bad off!” Only that’s not a compliment at all. It’s a comparison based on the premise that “autistic” is an insult. A stigma. Or at least a bad thing. Because the only reason someone thinks of me as “high-functioning” is by holding me up to someone who is no more or less autistic—just more obviously challenged—and deciding that they are “lower-functioning.” Really, it’s no different than saying, “Oh! Well, good for you. You’re not too ugly. That gal over there? She’s royally ugly.” Lack of understanding tied up with a bow of condescension.”

“Over the years, they’ve all felt, believed, or said that I was too smart to be so … irresponsible, clueless, inept. And when you hear something often enough from enough people in enough places, you believe it. I certainly did. No matter how hard I’ve tried to dot each i and cross each t, I’ve so often managed to screw up the simple stuff with no better idea of how to prevent another disaster. Humiliated, hurt, and lonely, I felt caught in a hamster wheel, futilely running as hard as I could without actually making progress. Defending my heart again. My character again. Hopelessly explaining myself, again, until even I became sick of my voice.”



I enjoyed the heck out of Autism in Heels by Jennifer O'Toole. She wasn't diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum until she was 34. It was a revelation - an explanation for not understanding the social rules, being an outsider, having to learn to "camouflage'. She believes that women are extensively underdiagnosed as autistic because the effects are different than those of men, and male doctors have been looking for the male characteristics. One of the most fascinating differences is that women on the spectrum are three times as likely to experience synesthesia - the condition of senses overlapping, so that the number 7 is the color green, or the sound of a flute has a tactile effect, like rubbing fingers on fur. Unfortunately, as she points out, those with synesthesia normally learn to hide it early on, as no one believes them, including parents.

She has a smart, breezy writing style, and manages to overcome a significant credibility obstacle - she is pretty (once a model), outgoing, and successful. So why listen to her about this? She has lived it and had her own struggles (her mother had no idea why she behaved so strangely, and her blindness to social mores and nuances got her into trouble time and again), and has done her research. she gives talks all over the world; I hope to hear her some day. Imagine playing a game where everyone else knows the rules and you don't. But the other players assume you must know the rules, everyone does, and they can't understand why you're so stupid. And it's hard to find anyone else like you. Sounds similar to nightmares I've had.

>210 jnwelch: >208 msf59:

Joe and Mark - The newspaper lead in up here was something like:

"Bears offered Christmas Gift but do not have the tools to open it."

All yours!

>200 jnwelch: Sounds like a great time!

>212 jnwelch: Adding that one to the BlackHole. Thanks for the review and recommendation, Joe.

Happy Tuesday!

>213 m.belljackson:. LOL! Thanks, Marianne. Sounds accurate. But the Bears do seem to have an endless supply of ways to frustrate their fans.

>214 alcottacre:. That Zoom call with college roommates and friends was a great time, Stasia, thanks.

I’m glad the review and excerpts convinced you regarding Autism in Heels. You’re welcome.

Happy Tuesday!

>212 jnwelch: - Sounds fascinating. Thanks, Joe. I will look for it at the library...

>225 richardderus: it is fascinating, Shelley. You’re welcome. Good idea to check the library.

>211 jnwelch: I really like his work too Joe.

>212 jnwelch: This sounds interesting, adding to the list.

What Christmas plans do you have Joe. Rules remaining the same as now, I'll be with my sibs at my brothers for Christmas and Boxing days (last year I was at home as households weren't allowed to mix, I was happy enough, only the third xmas in 61 years that has been permitted!). I have two weeks off in all, yay. Lots of hibernation time with books, and hopefully still the odd movie at the cinema.

>212 jnwelch: I am shocked by the underdiagnosis of autism/spectrum disorders in women. The days of "he/she is just weird" are gone, blessedly, and it's time to make the world aware of being inclusive as a rule not an exception or a carve-out.

>218 Caroline_McElwee:. You and I are simpatico, Caroline, when it comes to art and poetry and many other things. I love this painting of his; i need to find more of his work.

For years we all gathered for the holidays at my parents’ house in Ann Arbor, MI where I grew up. Since mynparents died, it’s unfortunately been catch as catch can. The siblings live in different parts of the country, as do their children. For Hannukah, which cane early this yesr, we did Facetime with iur Pittsburgh group. Our daughter will join us here for Christmas and we may do some Facetime with family, too. We haven’t really sorted out the holidays as an extended family since my dad died three years ago.

Great to hear you get two weeks off and some time with your sibs. Enjoy!

>219 richardderus:. Thank the gods and goddesses that women are speaking out about it and we’re getting more and more female doctors, Richard. Male doctors looking for male characteristics in girls and women is absurd.

>219 richardderus: Weird isn't so bad. I certainly have spectral behaviors, but there are other possible suspects for the causes. I believe I'd be diagnosed these days, but at this point, well, what would be the point?

>222 quondame: I don't know, but is it so bad to find out?

>221 jnwelch: No wonder the nutballs of the radical right are so angry about the world, Joe. Wimminfolk as doctors! Why they're goin' against gawd's teachins bein' smarter'n a man! Must be very threatening to know that others know so very, very, very much more than you do, when you've bought the lie that you're the Measure of the Universe.

*disgusted snort*

>223 richardderus: I've just got that itchy shoulder blade discomfort with labels that make people think they know something about me without the effort of learning anything.

>224 quondame: You don't *have* to tell anyone, so it doesn't need to occur! But it's not my diagnosis, so it's not for me to judge how the information would impact another's life.

>223 richardderus:, >224 quondame:, >225 richardderus:. Weird actually is one of my favorite qualities in a person. Weird adds some flavor. If it were me, I’d want to be diagnosed for what I might learn from it. But it’s not me.

>223 richardderus:. Yeah, they’ll fight every inch of the way. And look pathetic, and lose.

“We want to use this book to make sure people understand that when something racist happens to you, you can say it. You can feel however it makes you feel and you can talk to people about it. You have the right. It can hit you however it hits you at that exact moment. You can express your feelings about it or not, or just tell the story and leave your feelings out, or just say your feelings and leave the story out - it's your world. There's a billion studies about why you should speak positively, mediate, how to handle loss, and stuff like that, but when it comes to how to live in a country made to abuse you, who the fuck knows. So do what you feel.”

"It's kind of my duty to have fun if you think about it, because at any time I could get murdered by the police.”

“We are not into trying to educate white America, but may we accidentally did. Maybe white readers learned that just because your Black friends aren't sitting you down, going over all their trauma with you, doesn't mean it doesn't exist!”



If you'd like to get some anecdotal insight into black people's experience of racism in their daily lives, with a lot of sardonic humor, What Happened to Lacey, by Amber Ruffin and her sister Lacey, is the book you want. Ruffin writes for Seth Meyer's late night show, so she knows how to tell a good story. Being horrified by what's happening while getting a spirit-saving dose of laughter turns out to be an excellent way to get your eyes opened. The black people who experience this kind of thing on a regular basis and keep their heads up and hearts open must be among the strongest people on this planet. Intolerable doesn't begin to say it. Ruffin and Lacey have given us a quick-reading, lively gift that brings it home for people of all colors.

Hi, Joe!

>227 jnwelch: I've got this one already on my list - Amber Ruffin is so hilarious and smart.

Happy Wednesday, Joe. I did my Trail Watch duties today. The strong winds took some of the joy out of the mild temps but the exercise felt good. I am over 100 pages into Hench and continuing to enjoy this clever novel.

>213 m.belljackson: That perfectly sums up the Bears, Marianne.

We got some sad news this morning. Our friend, the cartoonist and all around wonderful guy Keith Taylor, died early today from health complications. He’d been battling a variety of health issues for a long time.

>230 jnwelch: That is sad news Joe, I've loved the wit and humour in the cartoons of his you and Mark have posted.

Oh, I'm so sorry, Joe. I'll be keeping you in my thoughts.

Very sorry to hear of the loss of your friend, Joe. I've enjoyed the cartoons of his you've posted here and on Facebook.

Saddened to learn of your loss, Joe. He was a funny guy and will leave a hole in the world.

^RIP- Keith Taylor, who passed away today. Joe introduced me to his talented friend a few years ago so I was blessed to have made his acquaintance. A really special man. I wish I could have known him better. He will be sorely missed.

This drawing is from our Super Bowl get-together, at Joe's house. I forgot which one I was in the cartoon but we can all spot Joe.

>230 jnwelch: I am so sorry for the loss of your pal, Joe. I know you guys go way back.

It's sad to loose a friend. My condolences.

Joe - Sure was hoping Keith and his incredible talent would be with us for many long years...

>227 jnwelch: Adding What Happened to Lacey to the BlackHole, Joe. Thanks for the recommendation of that one.

>230 jnwelch: I am so sorry for the loss of your friend.

>230 jnwelch: So sorry you lost a friend, Joe.

I'm so sorry for your loss, Joe.

Sorry to hear this, Joe. He left quite a legacy, didn't he? How did you know him? I thank you for posting his work here or I would not have known about him.

So sorry for your loss. That cartoon's a treasure.

Thanks, everyone. He was a special guy. As witty in person as his cartoons. Generous and kind-hearted. We’re still reeling, even though we suspected it was coming. His wife had planned on our talking to him today , with her holding the phone up to his ear. Given his physical state at the end, after oral cancer and a marrow transplant, with a host of other issues, including covid, it’s helpful to think of him at peace, no longer having to fight all that, as he did for more than two years. He’s missed by a whole lot of folks who loved him. There’s a remarkable response going on on Facebook.

>228 scaifea:. Oh good, Amber. I look forward to hearing what you think of What Happened to Lacey. I’ll look for other books by Amber Ruffin - is there one you recommend?

>229 msf59:. Hey, buddy. You’ve inspired us - we’re going to take a bag with us on trail hikes, to pick up any trash we see. Good for you for doing that Trail Watch.

Those strong winds were something else, weren’t they. A friend was driving us on Lake Shore Drive after the symphony and was getting dangerously buffeted by the wind off the lake.

Isn’t Hench a blast?! I’m so glad you’re reading it. It deserves readers, doesn’t it.

>244 jnwelch: I haven't read any books by Ruffin (yet) but I love her writing on Seth Meyers, and she occasionally shows up on screen on that show and it's always a delight.

*adding more hugs to the pile*

>231 Caroline_McElwee:. Thanks, Caroline. He was as thoughtful and funny in person as he was in those cartoons.

>232 scaifea:. Thanks, Amber. This is a tough one for our entire family.

>233 katiekrug:. Thanks, Katie. Yes, he was quite a presence on Facebook, and if you find his wife Rhona’s tribute to him there, you’ll see in the responses how highly regarded he was.

>234 richardderus:. Exactly right, Richard, thanks.

>235 msf59:. Thanks for the great post with his Super Bowl cartoon, Mark. I’m so glad you got to know the guy.

>236 quondame:. Thanks, Susan. It is. I immediately got in touch with other friends and asked them to please stick around.

>237 m.belljackson:. Me, too, Marianne. He sure tried.

>238 alcottacre:. Oh good, Stasia. You’re welcome. Please let me know what you think of iWhat Happened to Lacey when you get to it.

And thanks re Keith.

>239 FAMeulstee:. Thanks, Anita.

>240 lauralkeet:. Thanks, Laura.

>241 jessibud2:. Thanks, Shelley. Keith did leave quite a legacy. We were just talking about all his sketchbooks, besides the troves of published cartoons.

I screwed up this post, and the answer to your question is at the end of the next one. Oops!

>242 drneutron:. Thanks, Jim. Congratulations on the Parker probe entering the sun’s corona! How amazing. And thanks re Keith. He used to join us every Super Bowl in our basement and dida cartoon of it. We’re going to frame all of them, and others he did for us over the years. That’s Becca’s dog Sherlock going up the stairs.

He and I met 40 (!) or so years ago through a mutual friend who unfortunately died while we were all still young. I worked in a bookstore, and he was a bartender. Keith and I hit it off, and stuck together through starting families and sending kids off to school and all of life’s events. Debbi misses him as much as I do, and our kids loved him, too.

>245 scaifea:. Thanks for the *extra hugs*

Gotcha re Amber Ruffin. I don’t watch Seth Meyers ( or any of the late night guys) but I’ve seen funny replays. I’d love to see her in person; i’m glad to hear (and not surprised) that she’s a delight. Her personality shines out from the book pages.

Keith would've gotten a kick out of this.

Glad to see you liked the Amber Ruffin book - I thought it was really well done, and mostly maddening to read the stories of what Lacey (and Amber) experienced on a regular basis.

So sorry for the loss of your friend :( Even when it's expected it can hit hard.

>250 jnwelch: *snort* my dad would appreciate that

Hi Joe, Autism in Heels made it onto my library holds list after your post.

So sorry to read about your friend Keith.

>250 jnwelch: *snerk* I love that.

>251 bell7:. Oh good, Mary. It’s nice to have a fellow appreciator of What Happened to Lacey. I know. Some of the stories were just infuriating.

Thanks re Keith. Woo.

Isn’t >250 jnwelch: a hoot?

>252 Familyhistorian:. Great, Meg. I look forward to your thoughts on Autism in Heels.

>253 richardderus:😂

. Today’s Bargain: what sounds like a very funny novel from Stephen Fry, The Hippopotamus at $1.99 on Kindle. Unknown to me; I’m snapping it up. It’s also a sendup of the classic British mystery.

>250 jnwelch: Ha!

>255 jnwelch: It's a very, very funny read, so enjoy!

>255 jnwelch: Oooh, you'll *love* that one, Joe!! It's fabulous.

>212 jnwelch: Definably want to read Autism in Heels. I suspect many women are "on the spectrum" and are mis-diagnosed or not diagnosed at all just told to suck it up and move on.

Maybe we can do better

>256 quondame:. 😀

>257 richardderus:, >258 scaifea: Great to hear, Richard and Amber! I’m on it.

>259 magicians_nephew:. Oh good, Jim. Please let me know your thoughts after reading Autism in Heels. The author certainly is doing all she can to improve the failure to diagnose women on the spectrum.

>230 jnwelch: I am very sorry for the loss of your friend.

>261 figsfromthistle:. Thanks, Anita. He and I had a mutual close friend who died many years ago. I’m hoping maybe somehow the two of them see each other in the afterlife. That will be quite a reunion.

From Our Planet Daily

>263 jnwelch: Oh, my. Is that not...spectacular, splendid, supernal.

Happy week-ahead's reads!

Joe: I send all good wishes for a wonderful holiday filled with all that you hold dear!

>264 richardderus:. Supernal! Another great word, Richard. I’n reading that Stephen Fry book that you and Amber enthused about, and my vocabulary grows with rvery page. Also, it’s not audio, but I feel like I’m hearing voice throughout.

>265 Whisper1:. What a beautiful “card”, Linda - illustration and sentiment. Thank you. Here’s to making music in our hearts.

>263 jnwelch: That's a stunner Joe.

Happy Sunday, Joe. I hope you are enjoying the weekend, despite the loss of your good friend. I got some birding in yesterday, despite the damp chill and I have been kicking back this PM, nearly finishing Hench. I am on the final confrontation with Supercollider. This one has been so much fun. We should pick a shared read or two, for early next year.

>263 jnwelch: Oh that's simply gorgeous.

Hope you had a good weekend, Joe!

>267 Caroline_McElwee:. Isn’t that a stunner, Caroline?

>268 msf59:. Happy Start to the Week, Mark. Hope you had a good weekend. Yeah, we’re still feeling the loss. Guess we will be for a long time to come. What a guy.

Kudos for getting some birding in; they’re mighty quiet around our place. Ha! I’m glad you’re enjoying Hench. Among other things, what an impressive imagination the author has.

I’m all for the shared read idea. I think the Sarah Winman will be up soon for me.

>269 bell7:. Agreed, Mary. We did, and I hope you had a good weekend, too.

Today’s Bargain: Nakano Thrift Shop by Hiromi Kawakami on Kindle for $1.99. This “gentle, humorous” novel is not everyone’s cuppa, but it was mine. By the author of Strange Weather in Tokyo.

Also: The Dispossessed by Ursula LeGuin, one of her best, for $1.99 on e-readers.

^I shared this Harry Bliss cartoon with RD. I thought he would get a kick out of it.

>270 jnwelch: I am really looking forward to your thoughts on Still Life.

>272 msf59:. LOL! I’m sure RD got an extra kick out of it - a cat poet may be his worst nightmare!

I’ve got my Scottie Pippen book and The Hippopotamus to finish, and then it’ll be time for Still Life.

Today’s Bargain: Hell’s Angels by Hunter Thompson, a remarkably good piece of non-gonzo journalism from this author in his early days. For $1.99 on e-readers.

>273 jnwelch:, >272 msf59: The only way it gets worse is if the pome is about 45 being gawd's chosen messiah.

Happy Yule, Joe!

>275 richardderus: Happy Yule, Richard! Oh my, I could comfortably sit there for a long while, reading Stephen Fry.

Luka Esenko Photography
Martuljek waterfall, Julian Alps

A different kind of Christmas tree?

I hope 2022 is a year with special moments Joe.

>277 jnwelch: Looks lovely (and cold), Joe.
Looking again, I see resemblance with a christmas tree.

Just spreading the news on some of the more active threads...

There's this new thing I made... https://www.librarything.com/ngroups/23588/75-Books-Challenge-for-2022

Happy holidays!

>263 jnwelch: >277 jnwelch: I usually come here for the book talk, but today it's the photography!! Wow. Stunning.

Or in other words: Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!

May you and yours have a joyous Christmas and a spectacular New Year!

https://pics.cdn.librarything.com//picsizes/d5/a2/d5a2ada47f63cf66369376c7a674368422f7345_v5.jpg 3x">

Hi Joe!

Line in the sand. Apologies. I'll get back into the swing of things next year.

In the meantime,

May all your surprises be good ones this Holiday season.

Happy Holidays, everyone! I’ve been a bit under the weather the last couple of days. But I’ll catch up today.

>288 jnwelch: Oh no! I hope you feel better soonest, Joe!

Have a great holiday, Joe! And I hope you feel better soon. We miss you.

Have a lovely holiday, Joe.

Happy Holidays Joe!

>278 Caroline_McElwee:. Thanks, Caroline. Happy Holidays!

>279 FAMeulstee:. Hi, Anita. Right? The photographer doesn’t mention it, but I feel like there’s the shape of a Christmas tree in there.

>280 drneutron:. Thanks, Jim! I’m kinda shaking my head over LT 2021- is it really almost over? Another strange year, primarily due to the pandemic.

>281 figsfromthistle:. Thanks, Anita. That’s a lovely sentiment. Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year!

>282 Berly:. Hi, Kim. We’ll bring in some book talk. (My Christmas presents were Gilded by Marissa Meyer, This is Happiness by Niall williams, and The Thirty Names of Night by Zeyn Joukhadar) but in the meantime I’m glad the photos are stunners.

>283 SandDune:. Oh, I love that, Rhian! Wish I had some clue as to how the heck to pronounce it. I sense that Welsh is a musical language. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

>284 Carmenere:. Thanks, Lynda! Merry Christmas, and I hope you have a great 2022!

>285 johnsimpson:. Love it, John. Merry Christmas to you and the family, buddy!

>286 karenmarie:. Hi, Karen. No worries. Happy Holidays!

>287 richardderus:. Thanks, RD. That’s a beaut. Happy Holidays (pagan and otherwise), buddy.

>289 scaifea:. Thanks, Amber. I do feel better already. Becca made us eggnog pancakes and cinnamon rolls. Just what the doctor ordered.😀

>290 msf59:. Great-looking owl, Mark. Thanks. I’m enjoying Still Life- Ulysses and Peg - hmm. Happy Holidays!

>291 ronincats:. Thanks, Roni! Gosh, we’ve been less in touch this year than usual - I’ll try to stop by more often in 2022. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

>292 PaulCranswick:. Mmm, i like the looks of that, Paul. Happy Holidays, buddy!

>293 quondame:. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, Susan!

>297 jnwelch: Oh wow, eggnog pancakes sound amazing!

>298 scaifea:. 😅. They were!

I hope the cafe is open for the day :)

>300 alcottacre:. Merry Christmas, Stasia! The cafe is open, but the proprietor is such a slowpoke sometimes.. .

Joe - Good you recovered to have a Happy Holiday!

I got 5 books for Christmas from three different people:

1. A non-fiction Heavy (in so many ways) The 1619 Project

2. A title few can resist = The Paris Library

3. Perfect late Christmas Eve reading = The Christmas Bookshop

4. One I've wanted for a long time = Diary of a Young Naturalist

5. And, the one where I skip the darker parts, Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone

>301 jnwelch: Well, I am in no rush, so that is OK :)

Have a lovely Sunday, Joe!

>302 m.belljackson:. Thanks, Marianne. I hope you a good holiday season yourself. Nice haul. I thoroughly enjoyed The Paris Library.

From wife and sister my Christmas gifts were:

Gilded by Marissa Meyer,
This is Happiness by Niall Williams,
and The Thirty Names of Night by Zeyn Joukhadar.

Happy day after, Joe! The pancakes sound lovely.

Happy day after, Joe! The pancakes sound lovely.

These were our family ornaments this year and, despite COVID, a merry time was had by all. I hope the same is true for your holiday and here's to next year!!

>305 banjo123:, >306 banjo123:. You accomplished the rare and coveted double post, Rhonda! It’s hard to do these days. One year I managed to post two new threads at the same time.

Happy subsequent time period! The pancakes were delish. I’m to egg nog what so many people are to pumpkin spice. I could have egg nog everything this time of year, no need for booze added.

>307 Berly:. Great ornaments, Kim! My sisters always threaten to give me coal, but it’s worth it to annoy them that much the rest of the year.

Grey Crowned Cranes

>309 jnwelch: They are *magnificent* creatures. Simply magnificent.

Happy new year! (I've started 2022 now. Calendars are arbitrary so I'm making this one work for me.)

I'm late to the game for holiday wishes but I will say an early Happy New Year, Joe. Hope you are back to being *over* the weather by now!

>309 jnwelch: - Wow!

>308 jnwelch: Why am I not surprised that you would relate to the coal ornament?! ; )

>309 jnwelch: WOW!

>310 richardderus:. Magnificent- agreed, Richard.

Happy 2022! Why are calendars arbitrary? “Because time isn’t divided into little square numbered chunks - humans made it up.”

>311 jessibud2:. Happy Early New Year, Shelley!

I’m still feeling schva (yiddish word) unfortunately, and now Debbi does, too. Weak and lightheaded. It’s weird, and I’d be happy if its scheduled departure was soonest.

I’ve got two good reads going though: Lombardo’s Aeneid and Still Life, recommended by Mark and someone else - Caroline?

>313 jnwelch: Sorry to hear that you and Debbi are feeling under the weather, Joe. I hope you both feel better soon!

>313 jnwelch: - Have you and Debbi been tested, Joe? Maybe you have omicron and don't know it. Certainly hope not but given what's going on, even fully vaxxed and boosted, it is possible. Better to just lay low and stay home, until it passes, if you can't get tested. I've heard doctors say if people feel any symptoms at all and can't get a test, to just assume it is and stay home.

Feel better soon!

>313 jnwelch: Sorry to hear you and Debbi are feeling out of sorts Joe, wishing you both a speedy recovery.

Yes, I was one blowing the trumpet for Sarah Winman's Still Life.

>314 alcottacre:. Thanks, Stasia. We’re taking care of each other and hoping for that.

>315 jessibud2:. Thanks for your concern, Shelley. We’ve got the home tests, and mine was negative. We’re aware of the breakthrough infections and will keep a close eye on that possibility. We’re also staying home and away from others.

>316 Caroline_McElwee:. Thanks, Caroline. We’re hanging in there. I thought that was your book trumpet I heard! Evelyn and Ulysses are just missing each other in Florence right now.

Morning, Joe. Happy Tuesday. I hope you and Debbi are feeling better. What a cruddy way to feel for the holidays. I am so glad you are enjoying Still Life, although I am really not surprised. It is such a treat. I was hoping to kick off the New Year with The Lincoln Highway but now there is long waiting list. Sighs...

>309 jnwelch: Wow! Love these cranes.

I'm sorry that you're both not feeling well, Joe, and I hope it's over soon for you.

>313 jnwelch: I picked up a new book called The Week all about how we humans arbitrarily divided time into seven day chunks - looking forward to digging into it

>312 Berly:. Ha! Threatening coal in my stocking is a long-standing family tradition, Kim. Why? I haven’t the faintest. :-)

Aren’t they beautiful?

>318 msf59:. Happy Tuesday, Mark. You’ll like The Lincoln Highway when you get to it. I noticed it’s sticking around on the bestseller lists - it’s got “legs” as they say for long-running thester shows.

Yes, Still Life continues to be good, and I’m back to enjoying the Aeneid, as well as Gilded.

Aren’t thos cranes great? The snow’s finally coming, so we have our shovel at the ready.

>319 scaifea:. Hi, Amber. Thanks. It’s reasonably mild, whatever it is. Some virus that decided to stop by and not cause too much bother. Weakness and light-headedness is a heckuva lot better than headaches and sore throats and the like.

I’ve been saving some Aeneid questions and thoughts for you. Really enjoying it - and some offhand literary references in other books have been clarified.

>321 jnwelch: I'm very glad it's a mild virus, whatever it is! And bring on the Aeneid questions when you're ready!!

>320 magicians_nephew:. Wow, that’s timely, Jim. (Groan). Tidbits from The Week are welcome if you have time.

Joe - Hope today brings renewed health to you both.

Awhile back, I mentioned Metamorphoses and have had it at my kitchen table for morning Poetry reading.

I do not recommend this unless one has a strong stomach.

>322 scaifea:. Thanks, Amber. You’re very nice to answer my questions. Here you go:

- why doesn’t Aeneas at first recognize his mother? Why doesn’t she address him as her son? Why dies he later wish they could’ve spoken to each other in their “true voices”? What is the significance of their not having done so?

- why did Pygmalion kill Dido’s husband Sychaeus? The text says “a feud”. What feud?

-Does this Pygmalion have anything to do with George Bernard Shaw’s play or My Fair Lady?

-After Dido commandeered ships to carry Pygmalion’s gold the narrator says, “A woman did this”. How unusual was that?

-Why does Venus want to send Cupid, masquerading as Aeneas’s son, to meet Dido?

“Myrmidon” now means unscrupulous, moral-less follower. Do you know how that came about?

Why did the two serpents go after Laoocoon’s sons? Was it really to punish Laoocoon for spearing the Trojan horse?

- What are the stanzas in italics? They have a different voice, almost like a song, comparing the narrative events to Something else, e.g a tree being felled.

-comment: it was fun to read about how the Trojans at least suspected the horse was a Greek trick. How could they not? I didn’t know how important Simon’s lying was to the success of the deception. And that made me think more generally that this is one reason these older works still appeal to the modern reader. They recognize that lying and dishonesty are normal human traits that can have critical impact on the course of events. They’re “realistic” and interesting to the modern reader in that sense.

Happy Tuesday, Joe! I hope that you and Debbi are on the mend.

It is almost 80 degrees here today. Could you spare a glass of unsweetened ice tea, please?

>325 jnwelch: Okay then. *cracks knuckles*

why doesn’t Aeneas at first recognize his mother? Why doesn’t she address him as her son? Why dies he later wish they could’ve spoken to each other in their “true voices”? What is the significance of their not having done so?

In Greek & Roman epic, the gods very easily can disguise themselves and make humans not recognize them as gods, and that's what Venus does here at the beginning of their meetup. This whole scene mirrors one in Homer's Odyssey where Odysseus, newly landed on Ithaca, meets with Athene-in-disguise. He recognizes her but never lets on that he does, she knows that he knows, and they do this fabulous dance of deception. Vergil deliberately mirrors that scene to point out that Aeneas isn't an Odysseus - he dislikes deception and mental games (some would argue that he doesn't have the required equipment). It also is another place where Vergil points up the idea that Aeneas is a reluctant and generally unwitting hero, only ever halfway understanding the bigger picture going on around him.

why did Pygmalion kill Dido’s husband Sychaeus? The text says “a feud”. What feud?
Pygmalion was Dido's brother and wanted the throne and the treasure that went with it (Sychaeus was the Tyrian king). Dido (she was called Elissa in the original) then dug up the hidden treasure (Sychaeus told her where it was) and fled to where she founded Carthage. Vergil appropriates her existing myth for his own purposes: in the original, the local ruler, Iarbas, demanded her hand in marriage (so that he could absorb her city into his lands) and she build the pyre and killed herself to escape him. Vergil makes Aeneas the source of her suicide and the target of her curse to match Roman history - Rome's long-lasting feud with Carthage (think Hannibal et al.). Her curse is one of those great moments in the poem where Vergil crafts a back-to-the-future feel - it's a curse for Aeneas' descendants but it plays into the history/ancestors of his readers.

Does this Pygmalion have anything to do with George Bernard Shaw’s play or My Fair Lady?

Nope, I don't think so. If so, then the myth changes so much that they seem like very different people and that's generally not the case. But that other Pygmalion's story is one of my very favorite myths as Ovid tells it in the Metamorphoses (Book 10).

How unusual was that?

Classical myth is not kind to powerful women. They tend to be monsters, or treated as such. So yeah, this is unusual. (But it should be noted that she doesn't exactly have a happy ending, so it pretty much never works out for powerful women.)

Why does Venus want to send Cupid, masquerading as Aeneas’s son, to meet Dido?
Ah, yeah, this part. So, Venus and Hera craft a deal between them, wherein they manipulate Dido and Aeneas into being a (married? - that's up for debate) couple. Hera thinks she's won because if he marries her beloved Dido, Aeneas won't ever leave Carthage and therefore never found the race that will found Rome. But Venus knows better, lets Dido fall in love (hence swapping Ascanius out for Cupid), and lets Aeneas enjoy himself for a bit, because she knows she'll be able to get him to move on later. Dido, then, is the collateral damage here and that's the reason Book 4 is the absolute most heartbreaking tragedy.

“Myrmidon” now means unscrupulous, moral-less follower. Do you know how that came about?
The Myrmidons are Achilles' soldiers in the Trojan War. There are several origin stories for their name, but the one I like best is that Hera got angry at the inhabitants of Aegina (because Zeus slept with the princess of the island because of course he did - there would be no Greek mythology at all if Zeus knew how to keep it in his pants) and she wiped out the entire population except the king. Zeus felt bad about it and turned the ants (myrmex = ant) on the island into humans to repopulate. I don't really know exactly how it came to mean unscrupulous follower, but my guess would be that it's because they were famously good soldiers and were incredibly loyal to Achilles.

Why did the two serpents go after Laoocoon’s sons? Was it really to punish Laoocoon for spearing the Trojan horse?

So, remember that the gods split themselves between supporters of the Greeks and supporters of the Trojans during the war and fought on their chosen sides. Laocoon was warning the Trojans not to take the big horse into the walls like a bunch of idiots, so Poseidon (I think? I have trouble remembering which god did what in that war, to be honest) sent the serpents to kill him and his sons both to shut him up (P was pro-Greek) and to make it look like an omen that the Trojans should definitely take the horse into the city or clearly the gods would be angry.

What are the stanzas in italics? They have a different voice, almost like a song, comparing the narrative events to Something else, e.g a tree being felled.

I love that Lombardo does this for us: he puts all the similes in italics, which are frequent and fairly famous and very beautiful.

And oh, Sinon! I LOVE him! He's a Vergil invention, too (and remember that the story of the Trojan horse isn't actually anywhere in the Iliad, which ends before the war does). His lies are such a great addition to the story, and his name creates a long and so clever play on words: si non = "if not" or "if only" in Latin. So if you add "si non" to the front of his lies, his name itself is a warning over and over to the Trojans not to trust him: if only they didn't believe him, if only they hadn't taken the horse into the city... Just a gorgeous piece of poetic wordplay, that.

>327 scaifea:. Thanks, Amber! You’re the best.

Not recognizing each other: This did remind me of the wonderful Athena-in-disguise section of The Odyssey. This pas de deux seemed more gratuitous, especially since they recognize each other later and it seems to make little difference. But I take your point about Vergil having some fun with it, and it helping to show once again that Aeneas is no Odysseus. Is this why Aeneas is less well-known and celebrated than Odysseus - he is not really a “hero”?

Dido: thanks for providing context for all that.

Powerful women: Boo to not being kind to them.

Venus and Hera manipulating Dido and Aeneas: Great explanation, thanks.

Myrmidon: i may research this one some more. Such an interesting word. Can’t wait to work it into the next cocktail party.

. Two serpents: That makes sense . The Battle of the Gods.

Stanzas in italics: As you say, these are beautiful, and as a reader I enjoy having them separated and italicized. I’m trying to imagine a poet performing the Aeneid; these would be performed differently, I’m imagining, maybe in a more song- like way?

Sinon (not Simon, foolish student): great fillip! I’m a liar, but I’m so good at it you’ll believe me. I’m sure audiences got a kick out of that.

P.S. My favorite line: “there would be no Greek mythology at all if Zeus knew how to keep it in his pants.”😂. Had to read that one out loud to Madame MBH.

>324 m.belljackson:. Thanks, Marianne. I know you’re right about Metamorphoses. I read enough of a non-Lombardo edition to understand the strong stomach part.

We have a now infamous family story about my listening to Ian Mackellen’s Odyssey on a car trip when the kids were young. Our daughter piped up from the back seat that her brother was turning green. He’d been listening to Ian McKellen, too, and apparently a graphic scene of sacrificing oxen had turned his stomach. I turned the audio tape off!

>326 alcottacre:. Thanks, Stasia. I think we are on the mend. We plan to return to working out tomorrow.

Man, i hope you’re doing okay with near-80 F weather. Our hearts go out to you. You’re good at catching me away from the kitchen and on my phone, so I’ll have to get you that iced tea a bit later.

I love reading the end of year lists of people’s favorite books but ... every year I have trouble finding them. Can someone direct me to a listing?

>328 jnwelch: Yep, it could very well be that the similes were performed slightly differently, but we just don't know. The meter is the same across the board, though.

Not what you were asking for, but here's a video of Lombardo giving a public reading of a bit of his Iliad translation. I've seen him do this in person a couple of times and he's brilliant at it. The quality of the video could be better, but I think you can get the idea:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFAjkf6tk60

>325 jnwelch: Re: Shaw's Pygmalion--raising hand slowly in class.....

At the end of the text of the play Pygmalion, Shaw has a long postscript (several pages) that describes the lives of Eliza, Freddy and Higgins after the play ends. In the postscript, Shaw refers to Prof. Higgins as "Pygmalion Higgins." Shaw concludes this postscript with the following:

She {i.e., Eliza} knows that Higgins does not need her, just as her father did not need her. The very scrupulousness with which he told her that day that he had become used to having her there, and dependent on her for all sorts of little services, and that he should miss her if she went away (it would never have occurred to Freddy or the Colonel to say anything of the sort) deepens her inner certainty that she is “no more to him than them slippers”, yet she has a sense, too, that his indifference is deeper than the infatuation of commoner souls. She is immensely interested in him. She has even secret mischievous moments in which she wishes she could get him alone, on a desert island, away from all ties and with nobody else in the world to consider, and just drag him off his pedestal and see him making love like any common man. We all have private imaginations of that sort. But when it comes to business, to the life that she really leads as distinguished from the life of dreams and fancies, she likes Freddy and she likes the Colonel; and she does not like Higgins and Mr. Doolittle. Galatea never does quite like Pygmalion: his relation to her is too godlike to be altogether agreeable.

So Shaw had a general idea of the Greek myth of Pygmalion the sculptor and Galatea from Ovid in mind when he wrote the play, not the Pygmalion who is Dido's brother. One of my all-time favorite plays and the movie version with Wendy Hiller and Leslie Howard is a classic.

I'll go back to my seat now...

I love free classes! *Sits up nice and straight in her seat* : )

>332 kac522: Yup, it's definitely the Ovid Pygmalion Shaw was inspired by. There's a long line of retellings and, essentially, AU fanfics of this story out there. This one is a...generous...interpretation (the Ovid story is much more pared down and of course we get nothing from the perspective of the statue (who isn't even named in Ovid, if I'm remembering correctly).

>330 NarratorLady:. I’ll look for it later, Anne, if no one else responds.

>331 scaifea:. Thanks, Amber. I’ll look forward to listening to Lombardo later. I’d love to hear him do it live. Have you met him?

>332 kac522:. Lovely, Kathy. Thank you. Ovid is next for me, so I’ll look for that. Pygmalion is such a weird name to be used twice like this.

>333 Berly:. 😀

>334 scaifea:. Jeez, that is a generous interpretation! It’s hard to believe that’s what inspired the famous play.

>330 NarratorLady: Anne, it’s “Top Five Books of 2021”. I can’t do the link for you right now, but will later if you can’t find it by the title.

I switched devices; here you go: https://www.librarything.com/topic/337286

These end of year Top 5s are a lot of fun. I'm glad you brought it up.

For Stasia:

>335 jnwelch: I have met him. We invited him to Kenyon to give a couple of talks, so I got to hang out with him for a couple of days. He is an absolutely lovely person - and a zen master, too. I think you'd like him a great deal.

>338 scaifea: Oh my, please give him all my contact info, and I ca supply whatever you don't have. He sounds great. Next Chicago trip he can stay with us.

Forgive me if we already covered this, but has he also translated Metamorphoses?

>340 jnwelch: For me, it should read "27th December—25th(ish) November" to be accurate. But I relate.

Happy Humpday, Joe.

>339 jnwelch: Ha! He has translated Ovid and, of course, I highly recommend it:

https://www.amazon.com/Metamorphoses-Hackett-Classics-Ovid/dp/1603843078/ref=sr_...

Today’s Bargain: Jack by Marilynne Robinson for $1.99 on Kindle. Not at the level for me of Lila and Gilead, but worthwhile.

>340 jnwelch: It's true!!

Hiya Joe. I hope you are doing well and looking forward to the new year.
We depart day after tomorrow for Fairbanks and three nights at Borealis Basecamp about 25 minutes north of there. HOPING to see the Northern Lights to check that one off my bucket list!

I'm currently reading The Promise by Damon Galgut and quite enjoying it. Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead is cued up on the Kindle for the hours of travel. It's going to be frigid in AK, and the days will be very short, so I'll be spending some time in the "igloo" with a book in my paws!

Happiest of new years to you and yours, my friend.

Found you again, Joe! I would like to wish you and your family the very best of the season and good health and happiness for 2022.

>341 richardderus:. The first time I read this I hoped it meant you were festive most of the year, Richard. Wouldn’t that be something? But I understand feeling full of cheese and confused. Maybe the confusion is worth it in exchange for the cheese intake.

Sweet Thursday, buddy.

>342 scaifea:. Ha! Yay! His Metamorphoses will be my next stop on the classics highway.

What an accomplishment by Lombardo to translate all of them.

>344 EBT1002:. Hi, Ellen. I didn’t feel we connected as much as I’d like this past year, even with your wonderful postcards. I will do my best to visit you more often on LT in 2022.

I’m reading one that Mark and Caroline recommended that I think you’d also like: Still Life by Sarah Winman. Its engaging cast of characters is reminding me of Cannery Row.

Wow, have a great time in Alaska! I hope the Northern Lights show up for you. What a planet!

Happy New Year to you and P!

>345 humouress:. Hiya, Nina! I’ll leave a link here for yhe first 2022 thread.

Happy New Year!

Two of my favorite book series are Jack Reacher by Lee Child and Joe Picket by C.J. Box. Both have been adapted for tv series. Reacher comes out in February, and Joe Picket supposedly is available now - I’ll track it down.

My Top 5 Favorites for 2021

Code Breaker by Walter Isaacson

World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks and Other Astonishments by Aimee Nezhukumatahil

Pax, Journey Home by Sara Pennypacker

Matrix by Laura Goff

Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells

I also posted this on the >336 jnwelch: LT Top 5 Picks thread

Joe, I went back through your thread and read about the loss of your good friend. I know how much this hurts.

>336 jnwelch: Thanks so much for the link Joe!

You’ve read so many books this year, it must have been tough to choose the top five.

>351 Whisper1:. Thanks so much, Linda. He was a special friend. It does hurt, and we miss him tons.

>352 NarratorLady:. You’re welcome, Anne. Fun stuff. I made additions to my WL.

This year, up in >3 jnwelch:, I kept track of favorites as we went along. So picking the Top 5 from that wasn’t so hard. But there were definitely close runner- ups. Once There Were Wolves and Cloud Cuckoo Land come to mind.

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Happy new year, Joe!

Forget your stresses and strains
As the old year wanes;
All that now remains
Is to bring you good cheer
With wine, liquor or beer
And wish you a special new year.

Happy New Year, Joe.