Dianeham - reading, dreaming, not sleeping (2)

My reading so far this year

1. The Body Falls (An Inishowen Mystery Book 5) by Andrea Carter ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
2. A Portable Paradise by Roger Robinson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
   
3. A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
   
4. Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
   
5. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin ⭐️⭐️⭐️
   
6. Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies (Indigenous Americas) by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
   
7. Hold by Bob Hicok ⭐️⭐️⭐️
   
8. Roughing It in the Bush by Susanna Moodie ⭐️⭐️1/2
   
9. Revenge of the Librarians by Tom Gauld ⭐️⭐️
   
10. This Other Eden by Paul Harding ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
    
11. Mearing Stones ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
    
12. Beyond This Point Are Monsters by Margaret Millar ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
    
13. A Coney Island of the Mind: Poems by Lawrence Ferlinghetti ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
    
14. Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms: Journeys Into the Disappearing Religions of the Middle East by Gerard Russell ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
    
15. The Historian Project: A Time Travel Catastrophe by Nell Gavin ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
    
16. Remembering the Bones by Frances Itani ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
    
17. The Creak on the Stairs (Forbidden Iceland Book 1) by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
    
18. We Know You Remember: A Novel (The High Coast Series Book 1) by Tove Alsterdal ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
    
19. An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
    
20. Invasion of the Spirit People by Juan Pablo Villalobos ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
    
21. Girls Who Lie (Forbidden Iceland Book 2) by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
    
22. Pork Pie Pandemonium: Albert Smith's Culinary Capers Recipe 1 by Steve Higgs ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
    
23. You Will Never Be Found: A Novel (The High Coast Series Book 2) by Tove Alsterdal ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
    
24. Night Shadows (3) (Forbidden Iceland) by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir ⭐️⭐️⭐️
    
25. Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
    
26. Stories I Only Tell My Friends: An Autobiography by Rob Lowe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
    
27. Camp Zero by Michelle Min Sterling ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
    
28. The Ship Beneath the Ice: The Discovery of Shackleton's Endurance by Mensun Bound ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
    
29. Drunk on All Your Strange New Words by Eddie Robson ⭐️⭐️
    
30. Across the Sand (The Sand Chronicles) by Hugh Howey ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
    
31. Dragon's Island (English Edition) by Jack Williamson ⭐️⭐️1/2
    
32. All the Lovers in the Night by Mieko Kawakami ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
    
33. Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
    
34. Wool: Book One of the Silo Series by Hugh Howey ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
    
35. Cursed Bread by Sophie Mackintosh ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
    
36. B/RDS (Agha Shahid Ali Prize in Poetry) by Béatrice Szymkowiak ⭐️⭐️
    
37. The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
    
38. Saint Maybe by Anne Tyler ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
    
39. The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
    
40. As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
    
41. Shift by Hugh Howey ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
    
42. Man Alive: A True Story of Violence, Forgiveness and Becoming a Man by Thomas Page McBee ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
    
43. Dust by Hugh Howey ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
    
44. Mrs. Caliban by Rachel Ingalls ⭐️⭐️⭐️
    
45. 14 by Peter Clines ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
    
46. The Memory of Animals by Claire Fuller ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
    
47. Wool: The Graphic Novel by Hugh Howey ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

>1 dianeham: Oooh... a graphic novel version of Wool; I didn't know that existed. I'm not typically (or ever, really) a reader of graphic novels, but that sounds really interesting.

>3 PlatinumWarlock: I’m not either but I’m loving the Silo series on Apple tv so I decided to read it.

Happy new thread, and lots of luck for fun reading in the second half of '23.

Happy New Thread! Are you watching the series based on Wool, Silo?

>6 RidgewayGirl: yes, are you?

>7 dianeham: We've been watching it as a family (me, my husband, our son who is home for the summer) and we finished it last night.

2 books read:
48: The Quiet Tenant by Clemence Michallon ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
49: Waiting for the Barbarian by J.M. Coetzee ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I recently started The Saltmarsh Murders by Gladys Mitchell and Tell Me an Ending by Jo Harkin.

On Tuesday I had a Pharmacological Nuclear Stress Test. The good news is they said the blood flow to and in my heart is normal. No blockage. The less than good news is that I’ve felt totally drained since the test. They inject a nuclear tracer and a chemical to dilate the blood vessels to the heart. The dilation lasts 4 minutes and I almost passed out during that part. The best part was they gave me cookies after the test.

I had strange dreams last night. I have to put this here so I don’t forget. There was a paperback book that was at least 8 inches thick. And it said Sinclair Lewis on the side. I realized it was the book for our next book group discussion. But then I thought - weren’t we supposed to read a book by L. Ron Hubbard? No, way I’ll read a book that thick by Hubbard. Or any!

People were dressed for winter and there was snow. Also there was a cat driving a car. There were a bunch of people in mourning. I was making ice tea. And slicing ham while pointing out the solidified yellow fat in the meat to my mother who didn’t understand what I was saying and wouldn’t look where I was pointing.

>10 dianeham: Time to own up; I have read a book by L. Ron Hubbard Typewriter in the Sky but it wasn't a doorstop and I didn't dream about it.

"cat's driving a car" I sort of get that, but I hope I don't dream about it tonight.

>9 dianeham: Hopefully the effects of the test will wear off over time. I'm glad the results were good.

>12 RidgewayGirl: thanks. I think they are wearing off.

50: The Road to Roswell by Connie Willis - it was fun ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
51: Monolith: Blue Moon Appalachia Book 2 it was trash. ⭐️⭐️1/2

>9 dianeham: I abandoned the 2 books I was reading in that post but may return to them.

>14 dianeham: The Road To Roswell does sound like fun!

Just started A Thread of Violence: A Story of Truth, Invention, and Murder by Mark O’Connell.

>14 dianeham: I like Connie Willis, but hadn't heard of this one. I'll look for it.

>17 labfs39: just came out in June.

Shaka died today.

>19 dianeham: So sorry. Losing a beloved pet is heartbreaking, I know. That's a wonderful photo.

Oh, Diane, I'm so sorry. Wishing you healing as you grieve.

>19 dianeham: oh so sorry! Its so hard when that happens! my condolences

>20 rocketjk: the photo was taken on Tuesday. Didn’t realize how badly Skaka Zulu was doing. He had an enlarged heart and fluid surrounding it.

I’m so sorry you lost Shaka.

I’m so sorry. He does look healthy and happy in the photo, that must have been a shock.

Oh no. So sorry, Diane.

Yes, it was a shock. We got Shaka Zulu when he was 3 years old. We got him from a Philly police sgt. she rescued him from an elderly couple who kept him in his cage all the time. Shaka had bad anxitey. But when it came to flight or fight - he was ready to fight. It became impossible to take him to the vet - he just went ballistic. We ended up with a vet who would come to our house to give him his shots. He was the vet at our local zoo. I told Shaka that we had to get the lion tamer. We had tried all the calming pills before the vet visit but they only seemed to fuel his rage.

Shaka had been restless and not eating for a few days and hubby called our old vet (who was also a close personal friend and took care of our other 3 dogs) who retired to Florida to ask his advice and it turned out that he was here in nj for the summer working at a vet clinic. So we took Shaka there. That doctor gave him 2 shots to knock him out and they did nothing! They had to get hubby to put a muzzle on him - which wasn’t easy - so they could put in an iv. Even with the muzzle, my hubby had to hold Shaka down to get the iv in. He said it was like wrestling an alligator. And that was after the 2 shots that were supposed to knock him out. They did an ultrasound. He had fluid around his heart and things looked very bad. As sick as he was, he still had super strength.

Our plan was always to make Shaka happy and love him. He was very reactive. He bit 2 people - he felt attacked or threatened by them. No one would come in our yard. Even our 22 year old grandson was uncomfortable. Shaka liked people in the neighborhood as long as they were outside the fence. We had no one except our son in the house. And the lion-tamer vet. People who really understand and know dogs especially shepherds did ok with him but you really had to watch Shaka to be sure he wasn’t getting uncomfortable.

We had Shaka 4 years and he would have been 7 at the end of this month. We did our best loving him and keeping him safe.

Oh my goodness you did more for him than most people would have, which shows how much love you have for him. I suspect in the end he realized how lucky he was to have such patient and loving owners bless you for all you do

I'm really sorry for your loss. It sounds like Shaka had the best life he could ever ask for with you, and I'm sure it made a real difference.

I'm so sorry, Diane. What a handsome boy he was, and how wonderful you were to give him a loving home.

I’m reading Tell Me An Ending. I stopped then went back to it. It’s about 5 different people. 4 of whom have had a memory removed and/or want to have another removed and/or the first one restored. The 5th person works for the memory removal company. The novel alternates between the 5 people - over and over. I can’t keep track of the separate stories across the entire book. I was ready to dnf it but I’m interested in the stories - but I hate jumping around across all the people. All the people end up in the 5th person’s narrative but that just confuses me more.

>27 dianeham: What a wonderful story of Shaka's life. He was so very lucky to have been rescued by you and your husband, who were willing to stick with him and never gave up on him. He got to have years of security and love.

Aw, that's so sad, Diane. I'm sure you're heartbroken. How lovely that his last few years were spent with you in a place he felt secure and safe.

Thank you all so much.

I started reading Tom Lake but I put it down to finish Tell Me An Ending. And somehow I’ve ended up picking up The King of Elfland’s Daughter. And I am not a fantasy person.

Sometimes we all need a break from our usual, especially at times like this. I am so sorry about Shaka. As you know, we have a shepherd too. I can't imagine keeping such an intelligent animal as a shepherd caged. He was lucky to have you and your husband.

>35 labfs39: thanks. I didn’t know you had a shepherd. Or maybe I forgot?

>27 dianeham: I know I've already expressed condolences about Shaka, but nevertheless I wanted to add another message of support. As you may or may not know, my wife and I also have a shepherd, Rosie, who is a rescue and who also had a rough early life, although nothing as extreme as your poor pooch had to endure. At any rate, our previous dog was a yellow lab, so we didn't know much about shepherds. When the woman who ran the shelter (and who was also fostering Rosie at her home) told us that she had "stranger danger" issues, we shrugged it off, figuring, well, it will be OK once she's comfortable in her new home. Well as it turned out, while she got entirely comfortable with us, she never has gotten comfortable with strangers in our house. When we were in California, even our driveway was, according to her, her territory to defend. She's fine anywhere other than in our own home, although we still stay vigilant, but in our house, no. So we ended up getting a spacious crate which we would settle her in whenever we had guests. Here in our NYC apartment, we take her to a doggie daycare spot just a few blocks away where she does very well. (She's also good, thank goodness, at the dog park, and even in the elevator, which, as you can imagine, was a major area of concern.) Anyway, all that just to let you know that I have at least an inkling of what life was like for you with Shaka, and to express my admiration for your efforts on his behalf.

>37 rocketjk: we never had a shepherd before either. We had a yellow lab, then a chocolate lab and for 10 years before Shaka we had a standard poodle. From a spoo to a shepherd is a big difference. It was like Cisco, the poodle, wasn’t a dog. He was like a 2 year child in a poodle suit. And of course he didn’t shed.

We had a crate for Shaka but in the past year or so, he became very resistant to going in it. I don’t know why but all of our large dogs were larger than other dogs of the breed. Our yellow lab looked like a lab on steroids. The poodle was an extra tall variety. They were both over 100 lbs. Shaka looked like the shepherd from the Czech republic. He weighed 110 lbs . We are both too old now for 100+ lb dog. My husband had hip and knee stuff so walking a large dog is tough. Picking up a sick dog also an issue. I’m ready for the universe to drop a smaller dog on us. Maybe a 50lb poodle.

I grew up with English Spring Spaniels, and then had black labs as an adult. When my daughter was paired with a German Shepherd, I was intimidated. I had been bitten by one as a child. He's incredibly well-trained, but still a German Shepherd. He's fine outside the house in the yard, but he would defend the house to his last dying breath. My sister drops off and picks up her kids every day, yet Ace still goes nuts every time her vehicle pulls into the yard. Unless he's outside. He loves her, and LOVES the kids, but can't help but alert (loudly) every time she (or anyone) comes. Once people are in the door, he's fine again.

So intelligent though. Ace knows over 80 commands, some in German, and some hand signs. If we can think something up, he can learn it. He has opinions about them however. I taught him to balance a treat on his nose, which he thinks far beneath the dignity of a shepherd. He gives me the most doleful looks!

I haven’t been reading anything. I’ve been streaming some tv - mostly scifi - Invasion, Severance & For All Mankind.

Sometimes we all need a break. Take care

Diane, I'm just seeing this now and wanted to add my condolences for Shaka. Sounds like you gave him the best possible life he could have had.

We had a long haired shepherd when I was growing up—gorgeous dog, sweet within the home, but also a bit of a loose cannon. Fortunately more of a barker than a biter, and a puller—she once broke two of my mom's ribs by dragging her along the sidewalk for half a block. My mom had owned a sweet shepherd mutt when she was growing up, but neither she nor my dad were prepared to raise this one from a puppy—these were the 70s, when you sent a dog off to obedience school with no training for the owners, and it showed because they were never able to keep control of her (my teenage years will bear out that they were not super effective authority figures in general).

>42 lisapeet: well, you turned out pretty well :)
Yes, Shaka was too much for us at our age but once he was here, we loved him too much to try to find a better home for him. We loved him unconditionally and he, us.

I’m reading Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home and I don’t think I can finish it - i’m 82% done. It’s just so pointless and boring. Plus I actually thought it was a different book. I read about My Murder and I kept expecting that plot to develop in the book I’m reading but it didn’t because it wasn’t that book.

>44 dianeham: I've definitely started books, thinking they were actually a different book. The Moore didn't really work for me -- I have a limited capacity for that kind of anything goes writing; it has to go somewhere, with a plan, but Homeless didn't do that. You can safely set it down. If you want to know what happens they reach the body farm and Lily lies down and stays down. Finn goes back to his brother, who died while he was gone.

Echoing all the advice already given. Be gentle with yourself and take the time to get used to the great change in your life. Read escapist books and watch tv. Life will get back to a new normal. And I'm glad you're thinking of another dog.

>45 RidgewayGirl: I finished the book. Tonight I watched 6 episodes ofDoc Martin.

>46 dianeham: I've only seen the first episode of DM, but I can see how it would be a nice mental break. I'm still watching Korean (and occasionally Chinese and Japanese) dramas and movies when I need to "get away" mentally.

I’ve read 3 books in September so far. After the Eclipse - a true crime book written by the daughter of a woman who was murdered. The daughter was young and in the house when her mother was murdered. The case was solved over 12 years later. The All of It - a very short book set in Ireland. The Cabin at the End of the World - a disturbing book with crazy people in it.

And now I am reading What You Are Looking For Is in the Library - a charming Japanese book where people find answers in their library.

My husband and I were in a wedding this past Saturday. The wedding was on the beach. There were only 18 guests and we had dinner after in a fancy restaurant. My husband and I both have covid now - symptoms started on Tuesday. My SIL also tested positive. I don’t know who we got it from.

>49 dianeham: Ouch, hope it’s not too bad and you get better soon!

>49 dianeham: I hope you both find your covid experience underwhelming! I caught it, as far as I can figure out, on a guided nature hike. While the hike was, obviously, outside, there was a bus that brought us to the starting point. Of course, now that no one is masking, anyone can spread it. I caught a cold a few weeks ago and so wore a mask to the doctor's office where I get my weekly allergy shots. I explained why I was wearing the mask and twice personnel there cheerfully told me that they had all had the same cold last week.

>50 FlorenceArt: thank you >51 RidgewayGirl: thank you
I’m feeling better today.

>49 dianeham: Ugh. Sorry to hear you've been ill. I've been keeping my eyes open for the next covid booster. My doctor says sometimes in the next month or so.

Sorry to hear that, Diane. Seems a string of covid is making a pass through the US.

>53 labfs39: I had awful reactions to the 3 covid vaccines I’ve had so far including the booster. Every bone and joint in my body hurt so bad I could barely get out of bed. I don’t think I want another booster. The worst symptom right now is really bad pain in my neck. I looked it up and it seems to be a thing https://ada.com/covid/covid-19-symptom-stiff-neck/

>54 dchaikin: that wedding was one of my few outings in forever. So far it’s me, my husband and my SIL who got it. Don’t know who we got it from. The bride is pregnant and type 1 diabetic so thankfully she isn’t infected.

I’ve been streaming tv on my ipad while i’ve been sick but I keep falling asleep during the shows. I’ve been watching a German tv show called Dark. It’s about a town with a nuclear power plant. 3 children in the town have disappeared and time travel seems to have something to do with it. Very hard to follow especially since I keep falling asleep.

>55 dianeham: My mom had a similar reaction to the booster, but it only lasted 24 hours. I was sick with covid for four months then had heart problems. My uncle died. So I'm willing to put up with a lot to avoid getting sick again. Fortunately I read that 97% of people have at least some immunity to it, so we are unlikely to see the same sorts of spikes in hospitalizations and deaths that we did earlier in the pandemic, even if not everyone gets the booster. (Knock on wood)

Edited to add: Didn't mean to sound judgy, Diane, I hope it didn't sound that way, but rereading what I wrote, I could see that it might. I was trying to share my feelings about my getting the booster, which are driven by my personal experience. I respect that not everyone feels the same way. We are collectively in a much different place than we were three years ago, but I still get panicky at the thought of getting covid again.

So sorry to hear you are ill Diane. Hope you are able to recover quickly.

>57 markon: thank you
>56 labfs39: don’t blame you.

I’m better. Covid went away after 5 days. Hubby is better also. Still not reading yet. I’ve been really tired. Not reading much because it will put me to sleep. Almost done a time-travel German tv show called Dark. Very strange.

Glad you’re both feeling better!

Glad to hear you're healing. Hope the reading mojo comes back in a few days.

>59 dianeham: I'm glad you are feeling better, Diane. Rest up

Glad you're feeling better. I've had so many friends hit with this new wave of Covid... not terrible cases, but still. I'm going to jump on the vax as soon as I can, hopefully before I fly out to CA at the end of this month. Six hours each way in a steel tube without the most current jab just doesn't sound savory to me.

So I know where to find it later. A link to Salon article about The Abduction of Betty and Barney Hill: Alien Encounters, Civil Rights, and the New Age in America by Matthew Bowman

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/09/ufo-uap-encounters-betty-barney-hill...

>55 dianeham: My husband and I watched Dark, and I was confused even without covid! Glad you're feeling better. I also have a strong reaction to the boosters and I've ended up in bed for a day after each one. I get the new booster Saturday, so my Sunday is open for me to spend in bed, feeling sorry for myself.

>65 RidgewayGirl: Re:Dark
I have a mild form of face blindness (prosopagnosia). In dark, the same people are shown in different times and time lines as some of them travel back and forth. I had no idea who people were most of the time so that made things much harder. By the end I kind of got the gist of it and figured out who people were.

If I just had covid, isn’t that equivalent of getting the booster?

>66 dianeham: Probably? I have no idea. I certainly understand not wanting to feel terrible for a day, especially since you just finished a bout of the horrible stuff.

>67 RidgewayGirl: 3 days of intense pain for me.

>68 dianeham: Oh, Diane! No wonder you're reluctant. I would be, too.

Here in France I think the recommendation is still to wait 6 months after a covid infection to get a shot.

I didn’t read/finish anything in November or December. Besides not reading, I don’t really feel like talking either. I started a bunch of books that I didn’t finish. They aren’t dnf’d yet since I might go back. If I become more talkative then I will be back to summarize the year.

I'm sorry you are having such a tough winter, Diane. Hang in there, and we'll be here when you feel like talking again.

>71 dianeham: Try short stories. Anything by David Sedaris. I get that feeling too. I don’t even want to see people.

>71 dianeham: thats rough. glad you are healing and hopfully next year will be a better reading year for you. Hang in there

>72 labfs39: >73 kjuliff: >74 cindydavid4: Youse guys (as they say in Philly) are sweet. Thanks.

>73 kjuliff: I am a really funny person with a great sense of humor BUT I never like funny books and didn’t care for Sedaris.

>76 dianeham: What about George Saunders?

>76 dianeham: it’s not exactly funny but seems like it’s good. Just reading another of her books. Check out Wifedom.

>76 dianeham: So glad I’m not the only one! About funny books in general and Sedaris in particular. Hope you feel better soon.

>79 FlorenceArt: Funny 😆

I used to donate money at the end of the year to different charities. But lately we’ve ended up "lending" money to my step-son and grandson and a niece. I never have expectations of money I loan being repaid because it mostly never is and you lose friends and family over resentments. So if I need it repaid, I don’t lend it. Anyway, today I got an email from Queens Public Library asking for money. I have an online card to borrow ebooks from them. It costs $50 a year. And I get a lot of use out of it. They buy ebooks that my South Jersey consortium does not. I used to donate end of year money to the NY Public Library but they don’t have an online card. So Queens it is.

Anyway there is a funny coincidence in all of this. My husband is in the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, a volunteer group that assists the CG. The CG training base is in Cape May and on Wednesday mornings he goes over and helps to teach the recruits how to throw heaving lines for boats. As I was telling him about the Queens library, he told me one of the recruits he met is from Queens. Just a serendipitous coincidence.

>81 dianeham: I am a member of NYPL and have an online account. I live in Manhattan. Is it not available for you in Queens? I assumed it was for the whole city. I used to work in Queens - LIC. Miss it but hear it’s changed a lot.

>79 FlorenceArt: >76 dianeham: well ladies, since Diane’s post I’ve read some more Sedaris and I’ve gone right off him too! Must have been having a senior moment.

>82 kjuliff: I don’t live in Queens. I live at the southern tip of New Jersey. I can buy a card for queens but not for nyc.

>83 kjuliff: you are funnier than him by far.
If I lived in Queens - you and I would have met by now somehow.
I did live in Washington Heights in the mid-80s.

I got 3 kindle books from santathing.
The Time Traveler's Almanac: A Time Travel Anthology
Information Desk: An Epic (Penguin Poets)
Pond

I fell asleep reading The Martian Chronicles last night.

>85 dianeham: Thanks Diane. Yes I’m sure we would have met up somehow. Mid 80s I was in a Queens-like suburb of Northcote in Melbourne.

Looking back life seemed so easy then, though I didn’t think so at the time. Back then I was in a group of catty women who had lunch regularly. We all loved each other but there were annoyances and jealousies. Great lunches. That’s why I liked the writing in Ladies’ Lunch. Have you read it? I reviewed it on my thread.

Regarding Queens: My niece works at Flushing Town Hall, now a performing arts center. My wife and I have been to several concerts there. They have other sorts of events as well. We schlep all the way from our Harlem apartment to attend things there due to our niece's participation, but I highly recommend the venue for Queens denizens. It's a very nice performance space. Cheers!

>88 rocketjk: Queens has been undervalued, but is becoming trendy. There’s an. Australian book made into a TV series, caslled The Slap. In it there are characters from diverse suburbs of Melbourne- one being a then daggy one called Brunswick.

In the US version the producers chose Queens as its US equivalent.

My daughter and my son and his family both live in Queens (Astoria). They both really like it, and definitely cheaper than Manhattan, but still a fairly easy commute.

I’m trying to finish Death Writes by Andrea Carter before tomorrow. It’s #6 in a mystery series that takes place in Donegal Ireland. I liked the other 5 books but this one is dragging.

The post at the top of this topic - https://www.librarything.com/topic/351929#8177980 - lists the first 47 books I read this year. Here is the rest of the list.

48. The Quiet Tenant by Clemence Michallon ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
49. Waiting for the Barbarians by J.M. Coetzee ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
50. The Road to Roswell by Connie Willis ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
51. Monolith: Blue Moon Appalachia Book 2 ⭐️⭐️1/2
52. A Thread of Violence: A Story of Truth, Invention, and Murder by Mark O'Connell
53. Tell Me an Ending ⭐️⭐️⭐️
54. I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home ⭐️⭐️⭐️
55. The All of It ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
56. After the Eclipse: A Memoir by Sarah Perry ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
57. The Cabin at the End of the World ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
58. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia Book 2) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
59. Girls and Their Monsters: The Genain Quadruplets and the Making of Madness in America by Audrey Clare Farley ⭐️⭐️⭐️
60. My Murder ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
61.A Serial Killer's Daughter: My Story of Faith, Love, and Overcoming by Kerri Rawson ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
62. Eugene J. McGillicuddy's Alien Detective Agency ⭐️⭐️⭐️
63. While You Were Out: An Intimate Family Portrait of Mental Illness in an Era of Silence ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
64. A Suspension of Mercy by Patricia Highsmith ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
65. Finding Dorothy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
66. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
67. The Mysteries by Bill Watterson ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
68. The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2