rosalita ROOTs around in 2021 - page 2

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rosalita ROOTs around in 2021 - page 2

1rosalita
Bearbeitet: Feb. 27, 2021, 4:05 pm



ROOTs read in 2021
January

  1. Blue Heaven by C. J. Box.
  2. The Silent Pool by Patricia Wentworth
  3. Banker by Dick Francis.
  4. Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut
  5. The Silver Music Box by Mina Baites.
  6. The Secret of Terror Castle by Robert Arthur
  7. Jackie Robinson and the Integration of Baseball by Scott Simon.

February

  1. This Is How I Lied by Heather Gudenkauf.
  2. Olive, Mabel & Me: Life and Adventures with Two Very Good Dogs by Andrew Cotter.
  3. Whisper Me This by Kerry Anne King.
  4. Echoes by Maeve Binchy.
  5. Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan.
  6. Passing by Nella Larsen.


2rosalita
Bearbeitet: Feb. 1, 2021, 2:44 pm

New acquisitions in 2021

  1. West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge (Amazon Prime First Reads)
  2. The Shadow Box by Luanne Rice (Amazon Prime First Reads)
  3. Fear of Food: A history of why we Worry About What we Eat by Harvey Levenstein (University of Chicago Press monthly free ebook)
  4. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (free audiobook from Libro.fm)
  5. Empire of the Summer Moon by S. C. Gwynne ($2.99 ebook/Kobo)
  6. They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933-45 by Milton Mayer (free ebook from University of Chicago Press)
  7. The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton (public domain ebook from Project Gutenberg)
  8. Passing by Nella Larsen ($3.99 ebook/Kobo)
  9. The Cost of These Dreams: Sports Stories and Other Serious Business by Wright Thompson ($4.99 ebook/Kobo)
  10. Echoes by Maeve Binchy ($1.99 ebook/Kobo)
  11. Zone One by Colson Whitehead ($1.99 ebook/Kobo)
  12. Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut (paperback gift from Beth)

3rosalita
Bearbeitet: Feb. 25, 2021, 6:19 pm

New acquisitions in 2021 (cont'd)

February
  1. Afterthoughts 2.0 by Lawrence Block ($2.99 ebook/Kobo)
  2. A Fatal Lie by Charles Todd. ($14.99 ebook/Kobo)
  3. Three-Day Town by Margaret Maron ($1.99 ebook/Kobo)
  4. Designated Daughters by Margaret Maron ($1.99 ebook/Kobo)

4rosalita
Bearbeitet: Feb. 27, 2021, 4:06 pm

Tentative February reading plans

2021 Read Your Bookshelf Challenge (February = A book that is also a movie)
The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Stedman (literary fiction)
6954108::Prince Caspian by C. S. Lewis (Chronicles of Narnia)
The Son by Philipp Meyer (literary fiction)
✔︎ Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan (historical fiction)
Persuasion by Jane Austen (classics)
✔︎ Echoes by Maeve Binchy (Irish fiction)

TIOLI challenges
✔︎ Passing by Nella Larsen (read a book tagged “African-American”)
✔︎ Olive, Mabel & Me by Andrew Cotter (read a biography/autobiography/memoir by or about someone who is currently alive)
Still Waters by Viveca Sten (read a book where the author’s last name contains only one letter used as a vowel)
✔︎ Whisper Me This by Kerry Anne King (read a book where the author’s last name contains only one letter used as a vowel)
Give Us the Ballot by Ari Berman (read a book combining race and politics)
✔︎ This Is How I Lied by Heather Gudenkauf (read a book by an author with at least a 3.5 rating on LT)

Nonfiction Reading Challenge
Give Us the Ballot by Ari Berman

That’s 11 books, which seems quite ambitious for my current reading pace. But that’s OK; I’d rather have too many possibilities than too few.

5katiekrug
Feb. 1, 2021, 11:09 am

Ambitious lists are what LT is all about :)

6mstrust
Feb. 1, 2021, 11:24 am

Happy new thread!
Already acquired 11 new books? You've got me beat by one, ha! I had a greedy January.

7rosalita
Bearbeitet: Feb. 1, 2021, 11:34 am

>5 katiekrug: Indeed! My intentions are always so much bigger than my capacity, but half the fun is shuffling through my catalog looking for possible reads.

>6 mstrust: I was a bit horrified to end up with 11 new books, Jennifer, but I regret nothing! At least February has fewer days, so fewer opportunities for acquiring ... at least that's what I'm telling myself!

8BLBera
Feb. 1, 2021, 1:25 pm

Happy February reading, Julia. Great acquisitions list. Just saying, I've gotten rid of more books than I have acquired so far this year. :)

9connie53
Feb. 1, 2021, 1:28 pm

Happy New Thread, Julia.

10scaifea
Feb. 1, 2021, 1:40 pm

Happy new thread, Julia!

11rosalita
Feb. 1, 2021, 2:41 pm

>8 BLBera: Dagnabit, Beth! Now you've reminded me that one of those books you got rid of you sent to me, and I forgot to add it to my January acquisitions list!

>9 connie53: Thanks, Connie!

>10 scaifea: Thanks, Amber!

12BLBera
Feb. 1, 2021, 2:51 pm

Heeheehee. I'd be happy to send you The Skeleton Road as well, the third book in a series. Just to mess with you of course.

13rosalita
Feb. 1, 2021, 3:10 pm

>11 rosalita: DON'T MAKE ME COME UP THERE, BETH!

14lyzard
Feb. 1, 2021, 3:49 pm

Well, look at you in your flashy new thread, Miss I Don't Need A Thread Full Of Ambitious Reading Lists! :D

15bell7
Feb. 1, 2021, 3:52 pm

Hi, Julia! Nice job reading 7 books off the shelf in January. I agree with Katie, an ambitious list is what it's all about. I was also pretty ambitious with how many (library) books I put on the TIOLI wiki, we'll see how many I actually read in February...

16rabbitprincess
Feb. 1, 2021, 5:21 pm

I agree, better to have too many choices than too few!

17rosalita
Feb. 1, 2021, 5:54 pm

>14 lyzard: "A reader's reach must exceed her grasp, else what's a TBR list for?"

>15 bell7: I am always much too ambitious when it comes to TIOLI, Mary, but often the prompts are so much fun to find matches for. And thanks for the reminder to add my prospective reads to the wiki.

18BLBera
Feb. 1, 2021, 8:09 pm

I put it in my mini library, not wanting to cause trouble.

19MissWatson
Feb. 2, 2021, 4:36 am

Happy new thread! Seeing that challenge list in the first post again, I wonder if I may pinch it? I fell like jazzing up my ROOT reading a bit...

20rosalita
Feb. 2, 2021, 8:09 am

>18 BLBera: I really think that's for the best, Beth. Now, let us never speak of this unpleasantness again. :-D

>19 MissWatson: Steal away, Birgit! I myself stole it from Chéli, so it's fair game. It's really helped give me a focus when looking for books each month.

21rosalita
Feb. 2, 2021, 2:40 pm



What I'm Reading Outside of Books

First, some bookish items:

  • Octavia E. Butler Society Conference — The Octavia Butler Society’s annual conference will be free and online this year. It’s titled The Confluence: Octavia E. Butler at the Intersection of Cultural Critique and Climate Collapse and takes place March 6-7. Program details and registration info is at the link above. (via The Octavia E. Butler Literary Society)

  • The Very First Cover of the Book Review — That’s the New York Times Book Review, to be clear. It’s the 125th anniversary this year of its initial publication, and this page offers annotated images of that first print edition. (via The New York Times)

  • Books Are Back in the White House — And One of Them Is by Angie Thomas — NOTE: This is not a political story! It is a charming short profile of the author of The Hate U Give that opens with an anecdote about having First Lady Jill Biden give her a shoutout at the American Library Association midwinter conference. (via The New York Times)

And we round off our roundup with a non-book item:

  • Who’s Making All Those Scam Calls? — The opening scenario is nightmare fuel for anyone who worries about falling for a phone scam. The best defense I’ve found is to turn on the setting on my iPhone that sends calls from unknown numbers straight to my voicemail. If someone really needs to reach me for a legitimate purpose, they’ll leave a message. (via The New York Times Magazine)



22BLBera
Feb. 3, 2021, 8:52 pm

Books in the White House!

23scaifea
Feb. 4, 2021, 7:02 am

Morning, Julia!

Books in the White House: Every little story coming out of DC right now about the new admin just makes me breath another happy sigh of relief.

Scam Calls: I do essentially the same thing, but manually (I didn't know there was a setting)! If it's important, there will be a message for me. I get *so* many trash calls these days. Ugh.

24rosalita
Feb. 4, 2021, 7:42 am

>22 BLBera: What a concept!

>23 scaifea: Totally agree, Amber. And re scam calls, I never realized how disruptive the constant ringing from spam calls was (even when I was immediately declining them and sending to voicemail) until I turned on the auto decline. You still can see the list of missed calls but they no longer demand my attention. Heaven!

25karenmarie
Feb. 4, 2021, 2:59 pm

Happy New Thread, Julia!

26katiekrug
Feb. 4, 2021, 3:46 pm

Hi Julia! I know you mentioned it, but I've forgotten and I'm too lazy to look - what is the timeline for reading Passing? When are you reading it and when is the NYT discussion of it?

27rosalita
Feb. 4, 2021, 5:42 pm

>25 karenmarie: Thanks for visiting, Karen! Come back often. :-)

>26 katiekrug: The NYT discussion is March 9, Katie. I hadn't really planned out when to start reading Passing but it could be any time. I only have one book on the go right now, but we wouldn't have to wait until I finish that one if it works better to start sooner. My impression is it's not a long book but since I have an e-copy I don't really know. :-)

28katiekrug
Feb. 5, 2021, 2:05 pm

>27 rosalita: - It's pretty short. I have a paperback copy, and I think it's about 100 pages. I might start reading it this weekend.

29LovingLit
Feb. 5, 2021, 3:54 pm

>2 rosalita: ooooh, twelve books acquired this year already. Nice :)

>22 BLBera: I know! It's exciting!

30rosalita
Feb. 5, 2021, 4:48 pm

>28 katiekrug: Sounds good, Katie.

>29 LovingLit: I believe the polite thing, Megan, is to avert one's eyes when one sees a train wreck in progress. :-)

31rosalita
Feb. 5, 2021, 5:15 pm



8. This Is How I Lied by Heather Gudenkauf.

Eve Knox disappeared just before Christmas from her small town in Iowa. She was a high school sophomore, and her body was found later that night in a cave outside of town. Despite a number of suspects, including an abusive high-school boyfriend, the killer was never found.

Now it's 25 years later, and Eve's best friend Maggie, who along with Eve's sister found her body in the cave that long-ago night, is a police detective in their hometown. New evidence has been found, leading to a re-opening of the case. Can Maggie, seven months pregnant after years of trying to have a baby, find the killer without turning her own life upside down?

I'm always drawn to Gudenkauf's novels because they have interesting premises and they are set in my part of Iowa, in towns that are somewhat disguised but recognizable to me. And I always come away disappointed with vaguely drawn characters, some ridiculous plot points, and a general sloppiness that I'm more inclined to blame on her editor than on her, to be honest. Whenever an author writes in one paragraph that her character had reached through a picket fence and undone the latch to enter a backyard, then inexplicably two paragraphs later writes the character as looking into the backyard through the fence from the outside, an editor has not earned their wings. And the first-person narration shifts from present to past tense within the same sentence, then back again. Pick a lane, people!

For all of that, this is not a bad book. I never felt tempted to Pearl-rule it, and I don't regret reading it. Indeed, someone less neurotic about grammar may well enjoy this book. I myself have often overlooked inconsistencies when a book is otherwise engaging. There's a reason I read so many of Martha Grimes' Inspector Jury mysteries: Grimes created memorably quirky characters and had a gift for scenic description that made me feel I was right there. Who was I to quibble if I finished the book unsure exactly why the Who had Dun It? Alas, Ms. Gudenkauf has many of the faults and few of the assets of Ms. Grimes.

I have decided I'm no longer going to fall for the "but it's Iowa" urge and let this author go. Of course, I said that the last time, too ...

32BLBera
Feb. 5, 2021, 8:34 pm

Great comments, Julia. It sounds like you need to let her go...

33rosalita
Feb. 5, 2021, 9:14 pm

>32 BLBera: But will I? Is the third time the one that finally sinks in? I can already feel myself wavering...

34Caramellunacy
Feb. 6, 2021, 5:42 am

>31 rosalita: I, too, have some authors like this. Every time I read them, I end up dissatisfied because we just don't suit...but their premises seems so much like my catnip that I get suckered in again and again...

I hope you stay strong!

35charl08
Feb. 6, 2021, 7:03 am

>21 rosalita: Love the link to Angie Thomas.

You've acquired lots of free books. Can I sit at your feet and learn your skills?

36rosalita
Feb. 6, 2021, 9:55 am

>34 Caramellunacy: Yes, that's exactly it! I'm glad I'm not the only one who has this problem. :-)

>35 charl08: it's too cold to sit on the floor today, Charlotte (-7 degrees F or -21C), but I can tell you where I find them. The most reliable source is University of Chicago Press, which offers a free nonfiction ebook from their back catalog every month, and occasionally will offer a bonus free ebook on a timely topic. Also, if you like science fiction/fantasy, Tor.com has an email list that offers a free backlist book every month, and occasionally others during the month. The others, like libro.fm, seem to be a byproduct of the various publishers' email newsletters that I've signed up for over the years.

37lyzard
Feb. 6, 2021, 8:49 pm

Oh, Julia! - this isn't really a spoiler and I just had to share!---

In The Benevent Treasure, Maudie's picking up clients in the train again! :D

(The client knows who she is from Miss Silver Comes To Stay, so it's not a cold pick-up; but still...)

38rosalita
Feb. 7, 2021, 9:16 am

>37 lyzard: Oh, Maudie! Old habits die hard, I reckon. I'll look forward to reading this in a few weeks — how many reviews did you say you have due? :-p

39lyzard
Feb. 7, 2021, 4:20 pm

>38 rosalita:

Nine Ten. :(

40rosalita
Feb. 7, 2021, 4:21 pm

41rosalita
Bearbeitet: Feb. 9, 2021, 4:57 pm



What I'm Reading Outside of Books

First, some bookish items:
  • Create Your Ideal Bookshelf Or Order a Custom Print — I stumbled on this site while following a Twitter link about being able to order a custom print of a painting of a stack of your favorite books (see the picture above). I still think that would be an awesome gift, but if you’re looking for something a little more DIY and frugal (read: free) they also have a variety of book-stack templates that you can print out and fill in yourself. (via Twitter and Ideal Bookshelf)
  • 6 Books for Grown-Up Horse Girls — I cannot tell you how many hours I spent drawing horse-head profiles (I never went past the neck because my sense of proportion is seriously deficient and every full-body horse ended up looking like a weird horse-dachshund cross). I read every one of Marguerite Henry’s books about the wild horses of Chincoteague, and longed to visit that magic place. I was devoted to Walter Farley’s Black Stallion stories. As I got older, I latched on to Dick Francis’ mysteries set in the world of British horse racing. Yes, I was a Horse Girl. If that is also you, you may find some new-to-you horsey books on this list. (via Read It Forward)
  • Book Club: A Journal — The purpose of these links is not to get you to spend money (and I hope it goes without saying I have no stake in whether you do or not) but I am intrigued by this book that according to Penguin Random House will help you “prepare for, keep track of, and remember your reading discussions with 200 book recommendations and meeting activities.” People who belong to the sort of book club that focuses more on the book than the wine and chat might find this to be just the thing, but I could also see using it to gather my thoughts about books that I particularly want to remember. (via Penguin Random House)

And we round off our roundup with a non-book item:
  • Pellet Ice Is the Good Ice — I first learned the profound truth that underpins this article in 2008 when I was undergoing chemotherapy. The outpatient chemo suite offered drinks (Sprite was the soda of choice, since chemo patients shouldn’t consume caffeine) in paper cups filled with glorious pellet ice. At the time, I didn’t think too much about why it was the perfect ice, but this article explained it all to me. And now I’m trying to remember all the Very Good Reasons I do not need to spend $400 on a countertop pellet ice maker. (via The New Yorker)

42scaifea
Feb. 9, 2021, 1:12 pm

OoooOOOOooooh! I LOVE the custom print idea, and YES to pellet ice! The hospital in which Charlie was born had pellet ice, and I can't tell you how many little hospital cups of grape juice I poured into glasses filled with pellet ice and then proceeded to chomp my way through during my stay. *happy sigh*

43katiekrug
Feb. 9, 2021, 1:16 pm

>41 rosalita: - I so love these posts of yours, Julia...

I may have to drop some strong hints about an Ideal Bookshelf gift for my birthday. And conveniently leave around a list of my favorite books ;-)

I was never that into horse books, but I too drew lots of horse heads with no bodies!

"...the sort of book club that focuses more on the book than the wine and chat" Does.Not.Compute. ;-)

Sonic ice is The Best.

44rosalita
Feb. 9, 2021, 1:22 pm

>42 scaifea: So glad to share the pellet-ice love with you, Amber! I think I alternated between the Sprite and apple juice when I was getting chemo. The crunch factor is so satisfying without being a danger to chipping a tooth.

>43 katiekrug: The bodies never, ever turned out right, Katie. The heads were much more fun to obsess over. We don't have Sonic around here, but there is a sandwich shop chain in Iowa City, Which Wich, that has perfect pellet ice. And I cannot lie: I was thinking of you when I wrote that qualification about book clubs. :-D (They don't sound like nearly as much fun, do they?)

45katiekrug
Feb. 9, 2021, 1:27 pm

>44 rosalita: - At Sonic, at least some in Texas, you can buy bags of their ice...

And oh! Which Wich. We had those in Dallas, and there was one near my office so I had many a lunch there...

And snork! to thinking of me with the book club description. I can't imagine why....

46rosalita
Feb. 9, 2021, 5:00 pm

>45 katiekrug: Which Wich is seriously underrated as a sandwich place. I mean, even besides the pellet ice. :-)

47BLBera
Feb. 9, 2021, 5:49 pm

>41 rosalita: I love this. I have a book club journal. It's a notebook. :)

Talk to you in a bit.

48mstrust
Feb. 10, 2021, 10:04 am

I almost got to try Which Wich about ten years ago. We were in Vegas, I'd heard about this great new sandwich place at the MGM, so we went there and had to ask five employees where it was, because it wasn't on the casino floor. So it was on the second floor, where they have the convention rooms. We spotted Which Wich down the main hall and start heading there and, I'm not kidding, all the convention room doors fly open and hundreds of people come out like someone had yelled, "Charge!" They filled up Which Wich, and every other restaurant there, just as we'd gotten within feet of it.
>41 rosalita: I never knew pellet ice had a name and was made differently. Interesting!

49rosalita
Feb. 10, 2021, 10:15 am

>47 BLBera: But this is a special book club journal, Beth!

>48 mstrust: Oh, what rotten timing, Jennifer! Maybe someday you will find a less crowded Which Wich. If only for the pellet ice. :-)

50rosalita
Feb. 10, 2021, 5:08 pm



9. Olive, Mabel & Me: Life and Adventures with Two Very Good Dogs by Andrew Cotter.

I really needed this book. It’s a gentle, often humorous and occasionally profound story of a man and his dogs, and a fair bit of mountain walking thrown in. If you were hanging around on Twitter last March, you may have come across a cute little video tweet featuring two dogs having an eating contest, as their sports commentator owner provided the play-by-play commentary, as seen here: I was bored.

It's a clever takeoff on traditional sports commentary but of course what makes it so charming (beyond the very appealing Scottish accent of Mr. Cotter) are those adorable Labradors, Olive (the black one) and Mabel. It went as viral as you'd expect, ricocheting around the Internet at a time when we were all just beginning to come to terms with what the pandemic had in store for us. I loved it, promptly began following Cotter (who I confess to never having heard of, not being privy to much in the way of overseas sports broadcasting) and delighted in the occasional videos he has posted since. (If you'd like to catch up, you can find them all on his YouTube channel.)

Really, there’s not much more to say. If you love dogs, I think you’d very much enjoy the book. The canine averse will probably want to give it a pass. It is not a book that will haunt your dreams or cause you to despair of the loss of our common humanity — that's what the news is for. Indeed, it will not teach you much about the world, except that Dogs Are Very Good Boys and Girls. I deducted a half-star only because the author has an unfortunate fondness for sentence fragments that made my left eye twitch just a tiny bit. A few moments’ break to look at pictures of Olive and Mabel and all was well again.

51lyzard
Feb. 10, 2021, 8:17 pm

>50 rosalita:

So you finally chose the Human In cover over the Human Out? :)

52BLBera
Feb. 10, 2021, 8:21 pm

>50 rosalita: This sounds adorable. And who doesn't like dogs?

>49 rosalita: Well, if it's special...

Nice talking to you.

53rosalita
Feb. 10, 2021, 9:13 pm

>51 lyzard: I was impatient, so I got my hands on the UK edition, which includes the man owned by Olive and Mabel. And there was no good version of it here on LT, so I had to take that picture of my actual book!

54rosalita
Feb. 10, 2021, 9:14 pm

>52 BLBera: It was so lovely to read about sweet dogs, Beth. It really made me wish for one of my own again.

55karenmarie
Feb. 11, 2021, 9:42 am

Hi Julia!

>31 rosalita: I just finished a ‘cold case’ mystery, the first in the Karen Pirie series by Val McDermid,The Distant Echo.

>41 rosalita: Yay. Clickbait.

56rosalita
Feb. 12, 2021, 7:20 am

>55 karenmarie: Karen. Please. Between you and Beth I have heard all I ever want to about that dang series! (This comment may not make sense to you unless you read Beth's thread.)

Enjoy the links!

57rosalita
Feb. 12, 2021, 9:47 am



10. Whisper Me This by Kerry Anne King.

An above-average suspense/thriller about Maisey Addington, who upon the death of her mother discovers that her childhood "imaginary friend" Marley was based on a real-life twin sister from whom she was separated at a very young age. Who did the separating, and why, and what it means for Maisey's relationship with her own daughter, forms the heart of the story. I thought the apparently obligatory romantic subplot was a bit over-the-top and unrealistic but the rest of the story kept me turning the pages at a brisk pace. One note of warning: This isn't a book for people who have an aversion to stories about domestic violence.

58rosalita
Feb. 12, 2021, 4:22 pm

When I was updating my LT catalog to add reading dates and tags to Whisper Me This, I was again confronted with the question of what type of book this is. Is it a mystery? Suspense? Thriller? What the heck is the difference in those categories?

I was watching a BookTube video breaking down the various literary genres. It's just one person's opinion, but I thought a lot of her categorizations made sense. Here's how she broke down the genre Crime Fiction:
  • Mystery — crime occurred in the past; main plot line is who done it
  • Thriller/suspense — both involve pursuit in the moment or current threat
    • Thriller — unknown perp
    • Suspense — known perp (to reader at least)
  • Horror — monsters, supernatural beings, good vs evil, often grisly

By those definitions, this is probably a suspense novel. But I see from the tag cloud on the work page that far more LTers have tagged it "mystery" than either "suspense" or "thriller". So I don't know.

Does anyone else use tags to the extent that you find yourself trapped on a similar existential hamster wheel? How much guidance do you take from what other LTers have tagged a book? (I mean for the more broad categories; I have some very unique tags that I wouldn't expect anyone else to use, such as "unlikely heroes named Waldo.")

59Jackie_K
Feb. 13, 2021, 3:09 pm

>58 rosalita: I don't (consciously, at any rate) feel influenced by other LTers tags, but I now feel like my life's mission should be to find a book I can tag "unlikely heros named Waldo".

60rosalita
Feb. 13, 2021, 3:32 pm

>59 Jackie_K: It turns out that I was remembering my own tag incorrectly — it’s actually “improbably dashing dudes named Waldo”. That book (it’s The Nonesuch by the way) also has the tag “insufferable girls named Tiffany” for reference. :-)

61Jackie_K
Feb. 13, 2021, 3:39 pm

>60 rosalita: Your tags are so much more fun than mine! Maybe another lockdown project - get a random quirky tag into every LT entry :)

62lyzard
Bearbeitet: Feb. 13, 2021, 4:50 pm

I have "unintentional humour" as a tag. I've applied it to The Merrivale Mystery, among others. :)

Yes, I also spend ridiculous amounts of time fretting over whether something is a mystery or a thriller: I guess the former applies when it's about whodunit, and the latter if the focus is either a pursuit or the imperilment of the protagonist.

Books can be both, or course, or shift from one form to another. I tend to dislike it, though---sitting down with a mystery and ending up with a chase. :)

63rosalita
Feb. 14, 2021, 9:07 am

>61 Jackie_K: I have to confess that my original motivation was to make it easier for me to remember the plots, which normally go in and out of my head like clouds floating across the sky. :-)

>62 lyzard: Is that tag proof or refutation that you are indeed, living the life of a potato?!

The interesting thing about the classification hierarchy I posted was the parsing between suspense and thriller, based on whether the baddie is known. And I agree about books that start as traditional whodunits and then morph into some mad chase and repeated close calls — especially if the protagonist is an amateur sleuth.

64bell7
Feb. 14, 2021, 11:33 am

I often think of the distinction between mystery and thriller as the mystery is more about the puzzle and solving it, while thriller/suspense (I lump them together) is more about the pacing and keeping you on the edge of your seat. But that still leaves a lot of overlap, so categorize it where it fits for you, I say.

65katiekrug
Feb. 14, 2021, 2:18 pm

I also have trouble differentiating between crime/mystery/suspense/thriller. As a result, I don't think my tagging is very consistent...

66rosalita
Feb. 14, 2021, 5:24 pm

>64 bell7: Thanks, Mary. I guess I wasn't so much asking for advice as looking for other people's opinions on the hierarchy I posted in >58 rosalita:. But I think I need to accept that topic is just not that interesting to anyone but me. :-)

>65 katiekrug: It doesn't help that so many books don't really fit neatly into one category or the other, Katie.

67lyzard
Feb. 14, 2021, 5:54 pm

>63 rosalita:

Oh I am definitely living the life of a potato! - and that's on my good days. :D

68rosalita
Feb. 14, 2021, 6:05 pm

>67 lyzard: Potatoes are underrated, I say!

69rosalita
Bearbeitet: Feb. 15, 2021, 11:47 am



11. Echoes by Maeve Binchy.

I know, I know. I said at the beginning of the year that I was only going to count books acquired in 2020 or earlier as ROOTs, and here I am listing a book that I just bought a few weeks ago. But here's my (not at all torturous) rationalization: Purchasing the ebook has allowed me to mark the paperback I already owned as ready to be donated to the library book sale, whenever those actually happen again. See? Simple.

Now, the book. I really enjoy Binchy's stories set in small Irish villages and the way she depicts the conservative, insular Irish culture changing through the years (in this case, the 1940s-1960s). Because this is one of her earlier books, it's a more cohesive story, not a series of connected character studies (the way, say, Copper Beech is) in which we see the same events through the eyes of different characters.

The main characters — 10-year-old Clare O'Brien, daughter of a shopkeeper, and 15-year-old David Power, only child of the local doctor and his rather snooty wife — are appealing and easy to root for from the start, though events that happen toward the end of this (long!) novel put them in a different light. And as usual, Binchy populates Castlebay with a winning assortment of secondary characters, from the playboy Gerry Doyle to Father Flynn to teacher Angela O'Hara, who sees something of herself in Clare that makes her the girl's fierce champion in her goals to attain a proper education.

The ending, though ... oof. I don't remember thinking much of it when I first read this as a twentysomething, but today? It's hard not to want David strung up by the twig-and-berries for the infidelity he so casually excuses with "my wife just had a baby and ismno long focused exclusively on me and my sexual needs". Just, no.

70katiekrug
Feb. 15, 2021, 11:53 am

>69 rosalita: - I went to my master reading spreadsheet to see when I read Echoes - 2003! I remember it being engrossing, which is all I wanted in books back then. I'd buy the longest books I could find (preferably paperback for easier carrying), because I had an hour commute each way and just tore through books at the time :)

71rosalita
Feb. 15, 2021, 11:54 am

>70 katiekrug: Well, you certainly got your money's worth with this one — it does go on and on! Which isn't to say it's a hard read at all — the pages keep turning briskly.

72BLBera
Feb. 15, 2021, 12:42 pm

I've never read any Binchy. Do you think I would like her?

I have nothing to add about tags except I know I am inconsistent.

73rosalita
Feb. 15, 2021, 1:31 pm

>72 BLBera: That's a good question, Beth. What I like about them is the depictions of Irish life (mostly rural in the early books; later ones are set in and around Dublin) and the knack Binchy has for showing how what we think we know about people and events from the outside is often very different from the inside. They are pretty gentle, undemanding books (though many are long because they span decades) in which not much and also everything happens.

I have no idea if I've helped you or confused you with that answer! But why don't I send you my paperback of Echoes or maybe one of the others and you can try it for yourself?

74BLBera
Feb. 15, 2021, 5:39 pm

Thanks for the offer, but I can probably easily find these in the library. I'm REALLY trying not to add books to my shelves this year. So far, I'm doing OK.

75rosalita
Feb. 15, 2021, 5:56 pm

>74 BLBera: Oh, I see how you are. The book train only runs one way, eh?

:-)

76BLBera
Feb. 15, 2021, 8:13 pm

You know me too well, Julia. ;)

77rosalita
Feb. 16, 2021, 5:17 pm



12. Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan.

This book came along after I outgrew the age group it's targeted at, so I had never read it until now. I was under the misapprehension that it was a more substantial read, in terms of length (one of the difficulties with reading ebooks is never knowing how long they really are). So this was an exceedingly quick read, but a very pleasant one. I didn't know until I was cataloguing it here at LT that it is the first in a whole series of books about this particular family. I don't have any others on the shelf, so I don't expect to continue with it. But I'm very glad to have read this at last.

78Caramellunacy
Feb. 17, 2021, 6:34 am

>77 rosalita:
I never read Sarah, Plain and Tall growing up, but it looks like something I might enjoy dipping into during the quarantimes. Glad you enjoyed it.

79katiekrug
Feb. 17, 2021, 8:49 am

>77 rosalita: - I was a fan of SPaT as a kid, though I don't think I read any of the sequels.

(As an aside - does Kobo not give page numbers? Some older Kindle editions don't but most e-books I read now include page numbers and total page count, as well as % read.)

80scaifea
Feb. 17, 2021, 8:54 am

I love both Binchy and MacLachlan, so woot!!

81rosalita
Feb. 17, 2021, 8:56 am

>78 Caramellunacy: It was very relaxing to read, for sure!

>79 katiekrug: Once I opened the book I knew it was going to be short — although even there it was misleading because there were excerpts from every one of the other books in the series at the end of the story. But those length markers inside the book mean nothing when you are just looking at the book in the list of Your Books on the e-reader. :-)

82rosalita
Feb. 17, 2021, 8:57 am

>80 scaifea: Woot, indeed! A very soothing pair of books to read, for sure. And now I'm tackling Persuasion, the last Austen book I've not read yet. A bit of literary whiplash, but not too bad. :-)

83katiekrug
Feb. 17, 2021, 8:58 am

Yay for Persuasion! It's my favorite.

84rosalita
Feb. 17, 2021, 8:59 am

>83 katiekrug: That's a strong endorsement!

85katiekrug
Feb. 17, 2021, 9:07 am

I should say for clarity's sake, it's my favorite Austen. Not my favorite book EVER or anything.

PS: I'm sad about the LL delay. I was getting excited for the new season. And The Wayne finally made it out of Rundle D(unce) (his term, not mine...).

86rosalita
Feb. 17, 2021, 9:18 am

>85 katiekrug: I will adjust my expectations accordingly. :-)

I am also sad about the postponement of the season, but I completely understand why and think it's a good move. Hooray for Wayne, moving up to CRundle! My goal, as it has been for the last few seasons, is to get demoted to BRundle. If at first you don't succeed ...

87katiekrug
Feb. 17, 2021, 9:25 am

>86 rosalita: - Most definitely the right thing to do. But I want it NOW.

I wouldn't mind getting demoted. A rundle is too hard. I don't like to have to work for it...

88rosalita
Feb. 17, 2021, 9:28 am

>87 katiekrug: I have a fragile ego, and it kills me to get 5 or 6 questions right and end up with a tie instead of a win!

89katiekrug
Feb. 17, 2021, 9:52 am

Oh, same-same.

90BLBera
Feb. 17, 2021, 10:51 am

My daughter and I loved Sarah Plain and Tall, Julia. And you are on your second thread already!

91lyzard
Feb. 17, 2021, 4:16 pm

>82 rosalita:

Ahem. Group read thread is out there if you need it.

Just sayin'...

92rosalita
Feb. 17, 2021, 4:29 pm

>89 katiekrug: Solidarity!

>90 BLBera: That's because I don't let my threads swell to 300+ posts before I create a new one. You might try it sometime ...

>91 lyzard: WHERE?! TELL ME WHERE?!

93lyzard
Feb. 17, 2021, 5:53 pm

94rosalita
Feb. 17, 2021, 6:47 pm

>93 lyzard: I love you.

95lyzard
Feb. 17, 2021, 8:33 pm

>94 rosalita:

Awwww... :D

96Copperskye
Feb. 18, 2021, 4:44 pm

I used lyzard’s P&P group read thread when I read it several years ago. And probably the Persuasion thread, as well. What a great resource they are!

97rosalita
Bearbeitet: Feb. 19, 2021, 12:25 pm


Illustration by Thomas Allen for The Atlantic

What I'm Reading Outside of Books

First, a couple of bookish items:
  • Women Are Writing the Best Crime Novels — Crime fiction has come a long way since Philip Marlowe and Sam Spade were wise-cracking their way through noir fiction. These days, as Terrence Rafferty points out, “Male crime writers seem never to have fully recovered from the loss of the private eye as a viable protagonist, and men, for whatever reason (sports?), appear to need a hero of some kind to organize their stories around … The female writers, for whatever reason (men?), don’t much believe in heroes, which makes their kind of storytelling perhaps a better fit for these cynical times.” You go, girls. (via The Atlantic)

  • 'Poetry of the Pandemic' contest — The Washington Post is celebrating National Poetry Month (it’s in April) by sponsoring a poetry contest for kids. It’s open to ages 6 to 14, and the theme is — what else? — the pandemic. The deadline is March 22. The Post will publish 10 poems on April 28. (via The Washington Post)

And we finish with these non-book links:
  • France’s Latest Covid Measure: Letting Workers Eat at Their Desks — Zut alors! The country that raised eating well to a fine art is bowing to pandemic pressure and upending a tradition that to me sounds like a lovely fantasy. Is nothing sacred in this mean old world? For the record, my lunch today (at my desk, which admittedly is in my living room) was a turkey and cheddar sandwich on rye bread, with a dill pickle on the side, eaten between answering phone calls from students. (via The New York Times)

  • I Miss My Bar — This clever interactive website offers a series of sliders to allow you to set just the right mix of sound to replicate your favorite watering hole you haven’t seen since the pandemic began: Bartender Working, People Talking, Rain on Window, Serving Drinks, etc. Set your mix and hit play, then cue up your own jukebox playlist and drink along. (via Twitter)

98rosalita
Bearbeitet: Feb. 19, 2021, 5:29 pm

>96 Copperskye: I'm not sure I would have gotten through Middlemarch or any of the Anthony Trollope Barsetshire novels without the tutored read threads, Joanne!

99BLBera
Feb. 19, 2021, 10:41 am

>92 rosalita: Ouch! I might have to send you a copy of The Skeleton Road...:)

I will share the pandemic poetry link with my daughter. Go women crime writers!

100rosalita
Feb. 19, 2021, 12:23 pm

>99 BLBera: Don't threaten me, missy!

101katiekrug
Feb. 19, 2021, 12:30 pm

I got some BBs from that crime novel article. Thanks (I think)!

And I love the "I Miss My Bar" website. I may have to give it a try at some point...

102rosalita
Feb. 19, 2021, 12:39 pm

>101 katiekrug: I was playing around with the I Miss My Bar site, and it was fun. Not that I hung out in bars much in the Before Times, but there's something about that sound mix that just seems so cozy and relaxing. (I note that they do not have a slider for "loud drunks about to get into a fight".)

103BLBera
Feb. 19, 2021, 1:38 pm

Oh, and I did start a new thread.

104rosalita
Feb. 19, 2021, 4:09 pm

>103 BLBera: Will miracles never cease! I'll be sure to pop by. :-)

105BLBera
Feb. 19, 2021, 5:26 pm

Thanks. :)

106rosalita
Bearbeitet: Feb. 19, 2021, 5:30 pm

>99 BLBera: I forgot to say that I hope Scout enters the poetry contest! Or were you thinking your daughter would use it in her class? That would also be neat.

107lyzard
Feb. 20, 2021, 5:16 pm

>96 Copperskye:, >98 rosalita:

Thank you both, much appreciated! :)

108Copperskye
Feb. 20, 2021, 7:35 pm

>98 rosalita: >107 lyzard: I bought myself a copy of Middlemarch last month (what was I thinking - maybe it will cure my inability to concentrate??!!). I'm very happy to learn there is a group read thread out there to help me along.

109rosalita
Feb. 21, 2021, 9:45 am

>107 lyzard: And now I've reminded myself that I need to finish off the Barsetshire Chronicles at some point.

>108 Copperskye: It's really a wonderful story once you've got someone/something to sort out the political bits that Americans are completely ignorant of.

110karenmarie
Bearbeitet: Feb. 21, 2021, 10:44 am

Hi Julia!

>56 rosalita: I get it – no more new series for you. *smile*

>58 rosalita: Very interesting and timely for me. I found some categorizations that made sense for me last year to break out mystery/suspense/thriller but am actually not happy with them since I still have problems trying to decide where a book should be categorized. I think I like yours better and am going to use them starting now. I also have reclassified my 2021 reads. Thank you.

This is what I used to have.
Mystery: The protagonist’s goal is to uncover the clues, solve the mystery and bring the antagonist to justice.
Suspense: The reader knows the protagonist is endangered from the start, but the protagonist may only gradually become aware of the danger.
Thriller: The protagonist’s goal is to stop the bad guy’s evil plan from succeeding. The protagonist and/or others are in danger from the start.
I never look at anybody else’s tags. Purist and self-centered, I know. I actually got criticized for personal/unique tags because they wrecked the tag clouds (forget the year, forget the thread, but definitely not 75ers) and had to pull out Tim’s ‘permission’ for people to use whatever tags they wanted to. I don't appreciate the LT user police at all.

>66 rosalita: Totally interesting to me! I don’t have all my books classified by genre, but started reporting genre in my stats quite a while back. Tagging all my books by genre is a good project. So far all I do consistently is break them down by fiction, nonfiction, and reference.

111rosalita
Feb. 21, 2021, 10:47 am

>110 karenmarie: Hi, Karen! Whoever criticized you for unique tags has completely missed what Tim actually wants from tags. It's why he resisted for so long having any sort of "tag memory" feature when you're adding tags to a book. He wants each person to come up with their own tags instead of just defaulting to the most popular, which is almost always the most generic and least interesting. And of course you know all this already, but I tend to get worked up when I hear about people trying to police how other people use the site. :-)

I have not had the stamina to go back and re-tag all my old books based on my new classification scheme. It's a good project to work on when I'm on hold on a phone call, or during an all-staff meeting where big stretches have absolutely nothing to do with me. Shh, don't tell!

112rosalita
Bearbeitet: Feb. 22, 2021, 10:16 pm

Sometimes things in the universe align in mysterious and inexplicable ways, and all we can do is hang on tight and go along for the ride. Case in point ...


WAY back in 2012, on my now-defunct blog, I wrote a quick little post about this local roadside curiosity fallen on hard times. I wrote it, pressed Publish and promptly forgot about it. That blog averaged approximately zero visitors, so I assumed it had fallen forever into the great intertoobz void.

Fast forward to yesterday. A reporter for the local newspaper sends out a weekly Substack email newsletter. This week, one of the brief items showed a different picture of the Ronald McDonald statue, which had been posted on Twitter by an Iowa City historical group. Zach, the reporter, wrote "If you have any information on this statue, also drop me a line. I have so many questions…" So I emailed him a link to my old blog post and went on with my day.

This morning, he emailed me back to say someone else had sent him a link to my blog (what?! I thought I was the only one who ever read it!) and he would like to chat about it for a possible story. The whole thing seemed faintly ridiculous but I replied and told him what little I knew about its origins, and said I'd be happy to talk on the phone if he still had questions. He immediately called me and we had a wide-ranging discussion that encompassed everything from my mom's World War II service to the intricacies of franchise restaurant ownership but added virtually no information he didn't already know. Still, it was the kind of bonding moment you feel when a stranger turns out to be as obsessed with some random thing that you were.

OK, so all of that is fairly serendipitous and unexpected. But that's not the end of it, because an hour or so before I emailed Zach back and we talked on the phone, I got a message on Twitter from a random account (@nonstandardmcd), saying that they had found my Ronald McDonald blog post on the internet (again — how?!) and would like permission to re-use the photos on their Twitter account.

I do not understand which particular butterfly flapped its wings to cause such a convergence 19 years after the original blog post but you have to admit it's weird. Delightfully weird, from my point of view, but weird, nonetheless.

113MissWatson
Feb. 23, 2021, 3:50 am

>112 rosalita: The Internet does not forget. So this time around it was a good thing.

114charl08
Feb. 23, 2021, 4:21 am

>112 rosalita: Love this!
Did I ever tell you about the time a vintage motor bus enthusiast emailed me to ask if he could use my photo (from a local to me museum, posted in LT) in his book?

115rosalita
Feb. 23, 2021, 7:23 am

>113 MissWatson: Indeed, Birgit, I'm grateful that the Internet's memory dredged up a benign slice of my past — though, truthfully, those are the only kinds of past I have!

>114 charl08: You did not tell me that story, Charlotte! So did he use it? What's the book? Do tell!

116scaifea
Feb. 23, 2021, 7:24 am

>112 rosalita: Oh, that is *so* cool!

117rosalita
Feb. 23, 2021, 7:24 am

>116 scaifea: Delightfully weird, for sure!

118scaifea
Feb. 23, 2021, 8:19 am

You know about this, surely, but I just saw it on Joe's 75er thread and had to scurry over here on the very off chance that you don't:

https://newsroom.spotify.com/2021-02-22/president-barack-obama-and-bruce-springs...

119rosalita
Feb. 23, 2021, 8:23 am

>118 scaifea: I do, but I love that you thought of me! Thanks for having my back, my friend!

120scaifea
Feb. 23, 2021, 8:43 am

>119 rosalita: I suspected you did because of course you do. I was super excited for you when I saw it, though!

121rosalita
Feb. 23, 2021, 8:44 am

>120 scaifea: Me, too! :-) I've only listened to the trailer and part of the first episode so far — darn work obligations! But I love it already, of course.

122scaifea
Feb. 23, 2021, 8:46 am

>121 rosalita: Of course!

Also, stupid work. Always getting in the way, that.

123katiekrug
Feb. 23, 2021, 8:52 am

>112 rosalita: - That. Is. Awesome. I love stuff like that.

124rosalita
Feb. 23, 2021, 8:54 am

>122 scaifea: Stupid, stupid work.

>123 katiekrug: It's just so bizarre, Katie, and I love it. I really hope the reporter can find out The Rest of the Story somehow.

125rosalita
Feb. 23, 2021, 5:59 pm

What I’m Reading Outside of Books


What’s wrong with Canadian (and American) butter?

In the literary world:

  • Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Poet Who Nurtured the Beats, Dies at 101 — I didn’t know much about Ferlinghetti outside of his being the founder of the famed San Francisco bookstore City Lights, but the obituary shows him to be a very interesting man who lived a lot of life in his century on earth. City Lights became a such a sterling example of the independent bookstore genre that numerous other bookstores around the country modeled themselves after it, including my beloved Prairie Lights Books in Iowa City and River Lights in Dubuque, Iowa. (via The New York Times)

  • Reading On My Mind — Book publisher and podcaster ruminates on the unique things reading (as opposed to movies or TV shows) can give us: “It’s only reading that gives us this chance to enter another consciousness – that’s why most adaptations of novels fail as films or television – we are always on the outside looking in, being distracted by the visual and unable to access the seams of emotion and reflection that the words on the page mine so deeply.” I’d have to agree, even if he does use one of my least favorite “classics” of all time (“Catcher in the Rye”) to make his point. (via The Bookseller)

And in the real world:
  • Buttergate: Why Are Canadians Complaining About Hard Butter? — Apparently it’s down to farmers adding palm oil supplements to the cows’ feed, which increases milk production but may affect the consistency of the delicious final product. The UK and the US also allow palm oil supplements. As for me, ever since I discovered delicious Kerrygold butter while vacationing in Ireland in the 1990s, I’ve made it a point to buy the stuff (or other European-style butters) whenever it’s available from my local market. It definitely does not suffer from the Canadian complaint of butter not softening properly at room temperature, and I think it tastes much better as well. As always, YMMV. (via BBC)

  • Our Sports Need a Healthier Version of Masculinity, And Men Need to Create It — Another day, another sexual harassment scandal in American sports. The problem, according to a former athlete who has written a book about it: “We don’t raise boys to be men,” said McPherson, whose book “You Throw Like a Girl: The Blind Spot of Masculinity” is an essential exploration of what’s holding men and sports back — and how to overcome it. “We raise them not to be women.” (via The Washington Post)

126scaifea
Feb. 23, 2021, 6:16 pm

>125 rosalita: Those all sound so interesting!

I'm so pleased that I've been able to visit all three of those bookstores (and two of them with you!).

127BLBera
Feb. 23, 2021, 7:05 pm

>112 rosalita: Spooky...

>125 rosalita: Ferlinghetti was still alive?! Well, I am going to share this news at my next department meeting. I'll let you know how many of my colleagues knew he was still alive.

128rosalita
Bearbeitet: Feb. 24, 2021, 7:10 am

>126 scaifea: I was definitely thinking of those visits when I wrote the blurb, Amber. Especially the utterly delightful day we spent in Dubuque — a lovely bookstore, a charming local yarn shop, and a fabulous lunch at an Italian joint with a dear friend. What could be better?

>127 BLBera: I seem to keep having that reaction lately when we'll-known people die — "wait, they were still alive?!"

129scaifea
Feb. 24, 2021, 8:43 am

>128 rosalita: *sigh* I think about that Dubuque visit so often. Such a perfect day.

130rosalita
Feb. 24, 2021, 10:30 am

>129 scaifea: I think that was the last time we met in person. *sigh*

131scaifea
Feb. 24, 2021, 10:31 am

132rosalita
Feb. 24, 2021, 10:46 am

>131 scaifea: **SIGH**

133scaifea
Feb. 24, 2021, 11:24 am

134rosalita
Feb. 24, 2021, 12:01 pm

>133 scaifea: That was the first time I've ever wished I could change the font size in LibraryThing messages. I thought we could get a good ever-increasing SIGH chain going. :-)

135katiekrug
Feb. 24, 2021, 12:03 pm

I was waiting for one of you to put it in bold or underline it ;-)

136rosalita
Feb. 24, 2021, 12:19 pm

>135 katiekrug: D'oh! I forgot about bold! Missed opportunity. *sigh*

137katiekrug
Feb. 24, 2021, 12:24 pm

SIGH

138scaifea
Feb. 24, 2021, 12:28 pm

Haaaahahahaha!! Oh man, that didn't even occur to me, either. Yoicks.

139rosalita
Feb. 24, 2021, 12:46 pm

>137 katiekrug: Brilliant! Except you forgot the italics ... SIGH

140BLBera
Feb. 24, 2021, 12:47 pm

Or you could add punctuation - SIGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



141BLBera
Feb. 24, 2021, 12:47 pm

OR:

142rosalita
Feb. 24, 2021, 12:48 pm

>141 BLBera: Oooh, I like the cloud one.

143BLBera
Feb. 24, 2021, 12:49 pm

Can you tell I am procrastinating. I have some essays to grade...

144BLBera
Feb. 24, 2021, 12:49 pm

Shall I go on? 😆

145katiekrug
Feb. 24, 2021, 12:49 pm

>139 rosalita: - Dammit!

>140 BLBera: - Ohmigod, they'd start one-upping each other exclamation point by exclamation point by exclamation point.... Madness!

146rosalita
Bearbeitet: Feb. 24, 2021, 1:27 pm

>145 katiekrug: Everyone reading this thread should give thanks that LibraryThing does not have a "search for and insert GIF here" button like Twitter. I would fully expect (and deserve) to be banned for my behavior that would ensue.

147scaifea
Feb. 24, 2021, 1:17 pm

*SNORK!* I spent about 10 minutes looking for a good gif and didn't find one that satisfied me as being good enough.

*deep breath in*

SIGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

148rosalita
Feb. 24, 2021, 1:28 pm

>147 scaifea: !!!!!SIGH!!!!!

149scaifea
Feb. 24, 2021, 1:44 pm



150rosalita
Feb. 24, 2021, 2:49 pm

>149 scaifea: Oh, that's a good one!

151rosalita
Feb. 24, 2021, 4:17 pm

I interrupt this SighFest to bring news from the Twitter related to the saga in >112 rosalita:. The @nonstandardmcd account has retweeted my photos and a link to the blog post. https://twitter.com/nonstandardmcd/status/1364682184288841738

/end Public Service Announcement

152katiekrug
Feb. 24, 2021, 4:30 pm

You're famous! Don't forget us little people, ok?

153rosalita
Feb. 24, 2021, 4:44 pm

>152 katiekrug: I want you to know that should we ever meet in person again (here's hoping!) I will be happy to autograph a printout of either the blog post or the tweet. Come to think of it, perhaps you could get them framed together to make some unique and lovely home decor. I'd be delighted to do it for you, my good friend Chrissie.

154katiekrug
Feb. 24, 2021, 4:46 pm

>153 rosalita: - Oh, you are too, too kind and gracious. *snork*

155scaifea
Feb. 25, 2021, 7:45 am

>151 rosalita: Wow! That is so very beyond cool, Julia.

156rosalita
Feb. 25, 2021, 7:51 am

>155 scaifea: It's all just so surreal. If I hadn't written it down here I'd start to think I just dreamed it all up.

157karenmarie
Feb. 25, 2021, 10:03 am

Hi Julia!

>111 rosalita: Tim, our fearless leader, is relentless in his efforts to keep LT working for any way anybody wants to use it, within the TOS of course. One of the many reasons I love LT.

>125 rosalita: I heard something on NPR about Buttergate. And now to break down and get some Kerrygold at my local grocery store. Sigh. $3.99/8 oz. vs $2.50/16 oz. for the generic store brand that I use. I almost hope I don’t like it too much.

>151 rosalita: Congrats.

>152 katiekrug: LOL. Thank goodness I wasn’t drinking coffee at the time.

And, of course, wasting time being one of my specialties:
Word Document SIGH!! in 72-pt, bold, caps, red
Snip and save as JPG
Upload to Junk Drawer
Copy image location to feed img src HTML syntax:


158rosalita
Feb. 25, 2021, 10:12 am

Howdy, Karen! That is a fine addition to our homegrown Bridge of Sighs. Let me know what you think about the Kerrygold, Karen. It is more expensive, for sure, but as a Single Lady I don't use so much of it that I feel too burdened. And it has revived my love for toast, which is just about the best no-fuss meal I can think of.

159katiekrug
Feb. 25, 2021, 10:22 am

I'm another Kerrygold fan. It's heaven slathered on some Irish soda bread...

160rosalita
Feb. 25, 2021, 10:32 am

>159 katiekrug: Oh my, yes!

161rosalita
Feb. 25, 2021, 10:35 am

I was so sad to read this morning that one of my favorite authors, Margaret Maron, has died from complications of a stroke. I adore her mystery series featuring North Carolina judge Deborah Knott and her sprawling family. If you haven't read any of it, the first book is Bootlegger's Daughter and is well worth your time.

I didn't vibe as much with her other series featuring NYPD detective Sigrid Harald, but that's OK.

Some details on her passing: https://poisonedpen.com/2021/02/24/margaret-maron-rip/

162karenmarie
Feb. 25, 2021, 12:24 pm

>158 rosalita: I love buttered toast, and I never put on as much butter as I want to. :(

>161 rosalita: I never got into that series, which is strange since I live here in NC. I'll keep an eye out for a cheap copy of the first.

...
The Dick Francis SHARED Read March - April thread is up: March - April, Odds Against

163rosalita
Feb. 25, 2021, 12:28 pm

>162 karenmarie: Thanks for the link to the Francis shared read, Karen!

164scaifea
Feb. 25, 2021, 12:41 pm

(I added Kerrygold to my grocery order today, because I, too, love buttered toast.)

165rosalita
Feb. 25, 2021, 12:54 pm

>164 scaifea: So. Good. If I didn't have leftover pizza that needs to be eaten, I'd be having toast for lunch after all this discussion!

166scaifea
Feb. 25, 2021, 12:58 pm

>165 rosalita: Ooooh, leftover pizza!


167rosalita
Feb. 25, 2021, 1:00 pm

168Copperskye
Feb. 25, 2021, 2:40 pm

I’m a recent convert to Kerrygold butter. I started buying it last spring to melt for popcorn. Once my husband discovered it for his toast, I struggle to keep up. But it’s so good! It’s been on sale recently (only twice the price now of what I usually buy) so I’ve stocked up a bit. Interesting about the cattle feed.

>161 rosalita: I saw her obit this morning but have never read her books. Sad to lose a beloved author.

169rosalita
Feb. 25, 2021, 2:51 pm

>168 Copperskye: Hooray for Kerrygold. It's a bit of a luxury but I just think of all the things I'm not spending money on — booze, cigarettes, loose men — and it doesn't seem so bad.

I really think you'd like the Deborah Knott series, Joanne. Perhaps you'll give it a try someday (no pressure!).

170Copperskye
Feb. 25, 2021, 2:57 pm

>169 rosalita: Well, sure, cigarettes are gross. But cutting back on booze and loose men? That’s kind of extreme in these times... :)

I’ll take a look at that series sometime. I just finished the first book in Lovesey’s Peter Diamond series and liked it well enough to read a few more.

171rosalita
Feb. 25, 2021, 3:08 pm

>170 Copperskye: Cutting back, not eliminating, I hasten to add. ;-)

172BLBera
Feb. 25, 2021, 3:28 pm

RIP Margaret Maron - I loved her Deborah Knott books. The Sigrid ones were OK, but the Knott ones were great. I miss them.

173rosalita
Feb. 25, 2021, 4:12 pm

>172 BLBera: Totally agree, Beth. I loved the Knott series. I think I still have the last one on my virtual shelf unread. Maybe I'll do a chronological re-read of the series and finally read the last one, now that I know there won't be any more. (Actually, I think she had announced her retirement from writing a while back, but hope always spring eternal until, well, it doesn't.)

174charl08
Feb. 25, 2021, 5:45 pm

I'm not keeping up, but >153 rosalita: made me laugh out loud, thank you!

175rosalita
Feb. 25, 2021, 6:04 pm

>174 charl08: You're welcome, Charlotte. I hope you stuck around long enough to see my response to your question up in >36 rosalita:

176scaifea
Feb. 27, 2021, 8:24 am

Just popping in to report that I had Kerrygold on my toast this morning and it was everything I had hoped it would be.

177rosalita
Feb. 27, 2021, 8:26 am

>176 scaifea: Marvelous! You’ll never go back.

178rosalita
Mrz. 1, 2021, 10:04 am

This will probably be the last time I am able to start a new thread with the beginning of a new month.

You know what to do with that link ⬇︎ don't you?
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