Dianeham - reading, dreaming, not sleeping

Reserved

Welcome to Club Read 2023, Diane! I look forward to more book talk with you this year.

I have the first 2 posts reserved but don’t know what for. I’d like to have some reading plans for 2023 but it seems like when I do plan what to read, i don’t read what I planned. I guess I’ll think about it. Still planning on 10 a month. Will try to post a poem a day. And read more poetry books.

Hi. I’ll follow along. I’m enjoying the poems. About plans, my plans only seem to work when i can create some curiosity and drive specifically towards the books on the plan. If they aren’t what I most want to read, then the plan becomes a chore. So I sorta try to create that want.

A chore, yes. Avoiding chores.

>5 dchaikin: Do you think I should say something about the poets? I don’t know if people know who they are or not.

>7 dianeham: oh, no one will mind if you don’t, but I think it would be really terrific if you did.

>7 dianeham: >8 dchaikin: Agreed. If you don't want to, or it's too much extra work, don't. But if you want to, I would definitely be interested.

>8 dchaikin: >9 Julie_in_the_Library: I like having a "job." Thanks for you feedback.

The new cr 2023 posts are starting to outweigh the new cr 2022 posts. Pretty exciting.

Happy New Year, Diane. I don't do well with reading plans either. I look forward to seeing your poetry discussion. I usually have a collection of poetry going.

>11 BLBera: oh, that’s great. Happy new year.

Wow! What a lot of people in cr2023! I’ve read 2 books so far. The Body Falls and A Portable Paradise - poetry by Roger Robinson.

Happy reading in 2023. I look forward to following along with the reading you do, the poems you post (and the poets you choose to describe).

>14 rocketjk: thank you so much.

Hi Diane, I'd be here for the poetry alone, but I look forward to seeing what else you read also.

I had xrays of my hip and lower back today. Hopefully they are unremarkable.

>17 dianeham: Good luck with your x-rays. Are you having trouble? I had to have my hips replaced when I was 45.

>18 labfs39: wow! Both of them? I have pain on the outside of the hip area. They said hip joint pain is felt on the inside of the leg. I have had back surgery on my lower spine, maybe 10 years ago.

>19 dianeham: Huh. My pain was in the buttocks. I also had pain on the outside of my hip, which was bursitis and inflamed IT bands. The surgeon removed the bursa and lengthened the IT bands during the replacements. Whatever you have, I hope they find it and fix it. Chronic pain is a pain.

>13 dianeham: A nice reading start!

Wish you well if resolving that pain.

>20 labfs39: my husband had a hip replacement and his pain was in the groin. I seriously don’t want to have any surgeries. I had plenty in middle age but don’t think I’m up to it now.

>21 dchaikin: always good to see you Dan.

I’m reading A Brief History of Time - shouldn’t take long. :-)

Happy New Year, Diane. I'm losing track rapidly of what threads I have and haven't visited. Look forward to following along this year.

>24 AlisonY: thank you Alison. I have to come and see you. There is such a flurry of activity here.

>26 dianeham: I thought that was funny

I’m reading Breathing Lessons and while I think the writing is good, I do not like the characters - none of them. I’m reading it because I never read Anne Tyler until recently. So I’ve read the books she’s written more recently and thought I’d read her older books but these are not my people.

The amount of posts in cr2023 is overwhelming. I’m gonna hang out here for a while.

>27 dianeham: January is chaotic on the threads. I love what you are doing with the Poetry thread though.

>28 labfs39: thanks

So far I’ve read:


And currently reading:

You've had a first good week.

>26 dianeham: I suppose he's talking about comparing his ornithology books to what he actually was seeing in studying birds, but perhaps he also discussed a few things with these birds and found them smarter than his books.

I finished Breathing Lessons 4 stars.

My topic title is now "Dianeham - reading, dreaming, not sleeping." Didn’t want to confuse people with 2 Dianes.

Now reading Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow.

I had a very bizarre dream last night. I found babies in a cabinet at the library - 2 of them. I decided to sneak them out. I ended up pushing them in a coach

I just ordered an airbook.

Still reading Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. Not loving it.

I just saw 2 people refer to being "layed off." That is so annoying.

>36 dianeham: I was just complaining about stuff like that with a friend. She was mad about an article that used grizzly in place of grisly. I just want politicians to learn the difference between martial and Marshall.

>30 dianeham: A nice mix of reading, Diane. Will stop in from time to time. Hope you can find a resolution for your pain.

>37 RidgewayGirl: That’s interesting. I guess I don’t hear that much but a published article that’s messed up.

>38 avaland: Thanks. The anti-inflammatory med is dealing with the pain ok.

I’ll be stopping by from time to time, Diane. January is very busy.

How did you end up liking Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow? I have it out of the library but haven't started it yet.

>40 NanaCC: thank you, Colleen.

>41 arubabookwoman: still reading it. Barely half way through. Maybe I’m too old for it. Every so often the time line shifts to the past and then I put it down for awhile. There’s also this weird (to me) thing that she does of listing things that people do or like. I like lists in poems but am finding it distracting in the story. I’ll find an example and post. Would like to hear what you think of it.

Unrelated to books and reading. The bottom drawer in our oven fell apart and we put it back precariously.

This is an example of what I call a list in Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow

By eleven-thirty, Sadie was in her pajamas, teeth brushed and flossed, ready to go to bed. She wondered if this was what other twenty-three-year-olds’ Friday nights were like. When she was forty, would she lament that she hadn’t had sex with more people and partied more? But then, she didn’t enjoy many people, and she had never gone to a party that she wasn’t eager to leave. She hated being drunk, though she did enjoy smoking a joint every now and then. She liked playing games, seeing a foreign movie, a good meal. She liked going to bed early and waking up early. She liked working. She liked that she was good at her work, and she felt proud of the fact that she was well paid for it. She felt pleasure in orderly things—a perfectly efficient section of code, a closet where every item was in its place. She liked solitude and the thoughts of her own interesting and creative mind. She liked to be comfortable. She liked hotel rooms, thick towels, cashmere sweaters, silk dresses, oxfords, brunch, fine stationery, overpriced conditioner, bouquets of gerbera, hats, postage stamps, art monographs, maranta plants, PBS documentaries, challah, soy candles, and yoga. She liked receiving a canvas tote bag when she gave to a charitable cause. She was an avid reader (of fiction and nonfiction), but she never read the newspaper, other than the arts sections, and she felt guilty about this. Dov often said she was bourgeois. He meant it as an insult, but she knew that she probably was. Her parents were bourgeois, and she adored them, so, of course, she had turned out bourgeois, too. She wished she could get a dog, but Dov’s building didn’t allow them.

>43 dianeham: I would find coming across a recitation like that annoying. One reason I asked about the book is that I have too many library books out now to be able to read them all, so I'm looking for the ones I would be least likely to enjoy to return. That list, as well as your comment about maybe being to old for the book (my feeling as well for many of the newer books I read) makes me think this might be one to return unread.

I read Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow last year because two of my friends LOVED it. I really didn't enjoy it. At first I loved the characters and the plot set up, but I got very tired of the tone the author used. I couldn't put my figure on what it was, but passages like the one you posted were definitely part of the problem!

>44 arubabookwoman: probably better off returning it.

>45 japaul22: glad to hear that passage annoyed someone else too. It would make an okay prose poem but doesn’t work in the novel.

I’m 80% done now.

Add me to the "decidedly underwhelmed" category with regards to Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. I read it last year, and while there were some things I liked, on the whole the book just didn't work for me. I wanted to love it. The premise sounded incredibly interesting, and the cover is absolutely gorgeous. But in the end, I kind of wish I had read something else.

>47 shadrach_anki: me too. I wish I had dnf’d it.

I’m reading Noopiming: the Cure for white ladies and I’m loving it. All first nation characters are referred to as they and not he or she. I found this to explain it.

In Anishinaabe, language is not gendered like in most European languages – it is instead characterized as either animate or inanimate. All the characters in Noopiming are referred to by they/them pronouns. The moratorium on English gendered pronouns that invoke a binary (she/her and he/his) reinforces the multipleness of Mashkawaji and the seven, while at the same time deconstructing gendered language and the violence it inflicts (an ongoing project in Simpson’s writing). This radical use of Anishinaabe aesthetics in English asks the reader to reframe how they view the world and how language structures relationships. It asks us to think of relationships as multiple and intersecting rather than binary and individual.

Here’s the full article
https://quillandquire.com/review/noopiming-the-cure-for-white-ladies/

>49 dianeham: How interesting. I'm tempted to add this to the wishlist. I'm wait for your review.

Belatedly wishing you a happy reading year, Diane.

>50 labfs39: >51 PaulCranswick: hi thanks for stopping my.

I’m done noopimingThe Cure for White Ladies. I am unclear about the subtitle. This book is supposed to be a reaction to the Susanna Moodie, Roughing It in the Bush. I’ll have to read the Moodie book to see. I love the book. What I love about it is that it’s funny. The people are so real and believable. Every individual in it so far is referred to with the pronoun they. That was a little off putting but I’m getting used to it. There is one character who is just crazy about sales and what they call "bargoons" - just love them. It’s not written with a clear plot-line but you follow the same people and they all interact. I feel like I met them last night more than I just read about them.

I’m reading the Susanna Moodie book, Roughing it in the Bush. I haven’t gotten far, barely off the ship. Does she talk about Natives in the book?

Also reading Hamnet.

>49 dianeham:, >52 dianeham: Noopiming sounds fun. Adding it to my Mt. TBR. Thanks for sharing the article.

>54 markon: hi, good to see you.

I read the kindle sample of The Shards but it didn’t convince me to read the 700+ page book.

Roughing it in the Bush - actually reading it. Glad I’m not descended from pioneers - or English people from Canada.

Finally finished This Other Eden. 5 stars.

They looked like apparitions, phantoms standing on the strand, indistinct as sand blowing over sand, ghosts sighted on some shipwrecked expedition to the top of the world.

>57 dianeham: I'm hearing nothing but good things about this one.

>58 labfs39: I took a while getting through it. I kept putting it down. The book itself seems like it’s a little indistinct - a bit in the distance - in the fog of the past. And that is totally appropriate to this story. Plus I didn’t want anything bad to happen to these people so I stopped reading a few times.

I’m dealing with processing unpleasant news from an eye doctor. Have to see the md eye doctor - ophthalmologist. Saw the Optometrist yesterday. Appointment not for a month - should have made it sooner just so I know exactly what’s going on.

>59 dianeham: Waiting for that type of information can be stressful. Can you call back and ask for an earlier appt or be put on a waitlist?

Good luck Diane. I liked the Paul Harding quote

>61 dchaikin: thank you, Dan. Best wishes for your family situation.

>59 dianeham: Hope the news is better from the ophthalmologist.

>63 avaland: so far it’s cataracts and glaucoma but no treatment until I see the dr.

FWIW my husband has glaucoma, for about a decade I think.With good medication (aka eye drops) and frequent follow ups hes doing fine. And cateracts are usually taken care of with surgery of course. It is scary knowing you have both of them, but hand in there, see a good doctor who knows both like the back of his hand. Hang in ther

>65 cindydavid4: my hubby has glaucoma. He had surgery on one eye and uses drops. I’m going to the same doctor who has a great reputation. Thanks Cindy.

ETA: Just makes me feel old.

I started to write a post earlier but it disappeared. I am reading a book because I thought it was by Joseph Campbell of mythic fame. However, it was written by a different Joseph Campbell. The book is Mearing Stones and is about the author’s travels around Donegal Ireland.

I have a friend/neighbor, ex-coworker down the street and her memory is really bad. She had some kind of car accident and damaged the car body. She’s been without the car for about 2 weeks now. She sends me email, texts and calls. Every time I hear from her she tells me she had an accident like I don’t already know. She’s always walked a lot so now she is walking miles to do things. Oh, she’s 74 or 75. She said she took an uber to the bank yesterday - probably 7 or 8 miles. It waited for her and brought her home and she said it cost $100. That sounds crazy. She doesn’t remember anything we tell her. Both my husband and I told her that our car was broken and we left it at the dealer to be repaired. She calked today and wanted to know why our car wasn’t outside. She has family in Philadelphia and I really wish they would help her. I think she needs to be evaluated for memory stuff. She never forgets where she lives so that’s good. But the accident as she describes it is very suspicious. She said she thought she hit a pole but it turns out she hit another car. She didn’t get out of the car snd drove straight home. The guy she hit and a cop followed her home - unknown to her until the cop knocked on her door. She got a citation for leaving the scene of an accident. This is stressing me out because I feel responsible for it to an extent.

I put this here because i just need to put it somewhere and there’s lots of smart people here. She could be wrong about the uber costing so much because she gets things wrong a lot. She told me the cable company charged her $300 when they replaced ger cable box and it turned out they gave her $300 credit. She too is a retired librarian.

An interesting aside - there are around 24 houses on our dead-end street and 3 librarians live on our street. 2 are retired and one is currently a branch head. And he is marrying a librarian so soon there will be 4. What are the odds?

>68 dianeham: Oh, Diane, that is hard. Do you have any way to contact her family and suggest that she needs someone to come and make some decisions regarding her situation?

>69 RidgewayGirl: no, but she claims she is keeping them up to date. We both suggested she talk to a lawyer before she goes to court but she said she is writing a statement that her family will read. Maybe they want her to lose her license. She said if she loses her license that she will sell her house and move into senior living.

Maybe you could ask her for one of her children's # just in case of an "emergency"? You are in a tough position being neighbor and bystander. Perhaps her losing her license would be the best thing.

Big day in South Jersey - Eagles in the super bowl. We don’t watch sports so no bowl game here. Also my hubby’s brother died years ago on a super bowl game day so unpleasant memories for him from 1985. So Michael and Shaka are going to play Hobbs ball in the yard. Video and photos later. :)

I’m making a pork roast. I never had a pork roast until I was 38. Didn’t even know there was such a thing. We had pork chops and lots of ham when I was growing up.

I’m enjoying my book by Margaret Millar, Beyond This Point Are Monsters. A woman’s husband/rancher disappeared and she is trying to get him declared dead. The whole town is in court for the process.

Beyond This Point Are Monsters had the strangest ending. Never saw that coming.

>68 dianeham: That's rough :( As much as I hate saying it, it may be time for some professional help - she does not sound safe - either for herself or for the rest of the world... And she definitely should not be driving.

Both my grandmothers had severe memory issues in the last years of their lives. None of them was ready to admit it or realized just how bad they were... or was really conscious at what they are communicating. They thought they kept Mom up to date, they were not simply because they did not realize something was abnormal for a long time. If you are close enough, find a way to contact the family and get her some help...

PS: Not that crazy about the Uber if they waited for her or if she took it at a time when the prices had gone up (my Uber to the library is usually $9-$12 one way but yesterday, if I had taken it when I wanted to at first, it was going to be $42 one way for example (I waited 20 minutes and the prices dropped)). Uber waiting for you IS expensive - it is much cheaper to call a second one to take you back when you are done.

>74 AnnieMod: thanks Annie.

I’m sorry about your neighbor. I hope her family will take action.

Funny about your street of Librarians.

>76 dchaikin: dan, I can always count on a word or two from you. It’s reassuring.

I worked in an oil refinery in Philadelphia from 1976 to 1986. Last night I dreamt I was leaving work there and there were lots of women in the locker room. The locker room was like a maze and I couldn’t find the exit. I finally got outside but then I couldn’t find my way out of the refinery. At one point I said I must be dreaming but then I decided I wasn’t because the sky was getting darker like evening was coming on. Never did get out.

>78 dianeham: Reading about your dream made me glad I don't remember mine. I have enough angst in my daytime hours. Hope tonight is more peaceful

>78 dianeham: the maze does sound like how I actually imagine oil refineries. 🙂

"An owl fell down the chimney chute at the McCain Library at Agnes Scott College (GA), causing the library to shut down for nearly a week. Best line ever: “They’ve since hired a professional falconer who left a door open and then tried to shoo the owl away with a really long stick. He even set up a special trap with a pigeon and a gerbil inside.”

>81 dianeham: Lol. That's funny. Reminds me of when I was a student working at the college library. I was responsible for walking the stacks at closing time to make sure everyone had left. One midnight I hear a scream and go running to one of the study rooms. The window had been left open, and when a student went back to retrieve her belongings, switching on the light as she entered, she startled a bat that had flown in. It took the janitor and me a good hour to get it back out the window.

>82 labfs39: You have to watch this bat chase in a home in Ireland. "He’s making a mockery of you, Derry." "Catch him, Derry."

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

>83 dianeham: Oh, that was a hoot, Diane!

>81 dianeham: Library Journal generally doesn't post a lot of outside stories in its social media, but I wrote our person who's in charge of it and said, "You HAVE to post this story!" Because who doesn't like wildlife in a library?

>85 lisapeet: cool. It was from Book Riot - Check Your Shelf

>83 dianeham: lol

I finally finished Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms: Journeys Into the Disappearing Religions of the Middle East. It took me forever. It was fascinating and somewhat boring at the same time. I never heard of some of these religions- like the Yazidi with the peacock. So much hardship and bloodshed over religion is beyond me.

Intriguing title, and idea.

>89 dchaikin: Some of the religions are so secret that people who are that religion don’t know much about it. The priests know and the followers don’t. Very hard to convince thier immigrant children to stick with it when they can’t explain it to them. Of course, converts are not welcome.

I’m reading an Early Reviewer book - The Historian Project: A Time Travel Catastrophe.

Still reading Remembering the Bones

Eye doctor appointment tomorrow.

oh please tell me what you think of the history project! I love time travel and history and this sounds really good!

>92 cindydavid4: I was getting bored last night but just with initial descriptions of the set up. It got better. I’ll keep you posted. Time travel and psychopaths - sounds good to me.

Found out the reason I can’t see to read paper books is cataracts in both eyes. Can’t get them fixed yet because I also have glaucoma.

>94 dianeham: I'm sorry, Diane. At least now you know what the issue is. Do you have a good plan going forward?

I have to have another test and then see the doctor again.

>94 dianeham: oh no; Im so sorry. I don't understand why glaucoma would be a problem for the surgery? Does having a kindle help at all?

>97 cindydavid4: yes, I only read ebooks.

>94 dianeham: so sorry you’re dealing with that. But it must be nice to know the cause. I hope you get this all resolved.

>99 dchaikin: thank you. Me too. Feel old.

>94 dianeham:, >96 dianeham: I didn't realize the glaucoma would keep you from having cataract surgery. Like Dan, I hope you can get it resooved. I had 6 appointments this week -- nothing like a reminder that we are not young any more. Hang in there.

Also chiming in on the feeling old angle. I hope you can get your vision stabilized, at least, so you can do what you need and want to.

>101 avaland: >102 lisapeet: thank you. I have so much health stuff going on. It gets a little overwhelming.

I finished The Historian Project : A Time Travel Catastrophe. It was an Early Reviewers copy. I loved it. The time travelers are from the 28th century and the go back to 2021 to correct an anomaly. They enlist the help of a present day psychologist to help them. I love time travel and this did not disappoint. There were a few places where the descriptions got a little boring but not too much.

I also finished Remembering the Bones. It was excellent but I got anxious near the end to know the outcome. It also felt very Canadian. Canadian women in novels by Canadian women seem very stoic. They don’t show much of what’s going on inside. They put up a good front.

What to read next?

>104 dianeham: Oh Im so glad the Historian Project worked for you!

>105 cindydavid4: Hope you like it. The force of feminism was strong in the book.

Unless I feel like the author is pounding her beliefs into every moment it should be fine thanks for the heads up!

I’m reading Mama Amazonica. And We know You Remember.

And The creak on the stairs

I lost 6lbs in the last five days…

Was this on purpose? if so, congrats. If not, I hope you are feeling better!

>111 cindydavid4: definitely on purpose. Thanks. :)

Finished The Creak on the Stairs. I had a hard time getting through it but really enjoyed the last 1/3 of the book. The author is Icelandic and it’s crime fiction. It’s first in a series and I think I will probably read the 2nd one soon. But first I have to finish a Swedish crime novel I started - We Know You Remember.

I paid for an online membership to the Queen’s Public Library last night. They have over 130,000 ebooks. Twice as many titles as I have access to in South Jersey. I wish I could get e-access to a library with the full-text poetry index.

>113 dianeham: Interesting about the Queen's Public Library e-membership. I hadn't thought of that before.

>114 labfs39: Here’s an article about libraries where you can get out of state e-access. I picked Queens because they have so many ebooks.
https://bookriot.com/out-of-state-library-cards/?fbclid=IwAR0sd6TMiONLTU1BP6huMZ...

>115 dianeham: Thank you, Diane, that's informative and one of the links led me to a new source of free e-books in the public domain, Standard Books.

>116 labfs39: I missed that. Thanks for pointing it out.

I finished The Creak on the Stairs and We Know You Remember - both Nordic Noir. The first is Icelandic and the second Swedish. The Swedish book was better. The first is already fading from my memory. It was a little gimmicky in that much of what happened was in the past but wasn’t revealed until near the end. Both books are the first in a series so I may move on in one or both series. I’m reading much less this year mostly due to my eyesight. Staying away from more serious books because I just have a lot of health stuff going on.

I got a poetry book today Through a Grainy Landscape. It’s not too hard to see.

Tomorrow we’re going to our favorite restaurant for my hubby’s 70th birthday. We like it so much that we pretty much don’t go anywhere else. It’s right on the beach in Cape May, NJ. It’s basically a steak house but also has lobster and other seafood. The owner is the best chef ever.

My birthday is in a month and I was thinking of going there too but I am taking wegovy, a diet med that kills my appetite so not sure about going for my bday. I’ll see how I feel tomorrow.

I got a fancy chocolate peanut butter cake too but I’ll probably just have a sliver.

I need to lose weight basically so I can live longer. Lower cholesterol, a1c and not cause faster artery blockages. I’ve never in my life been athletic. Get no exercise now. Despite not being athletic, I did work outside for 10 years and did some heavy blue-collar labor. I had a cardiac "event" when I was 47 but still didn’t go aerobic.

So I read books, enjoy my life, play with the dog and keep to myself. But I have a doctor who is older than me and he wants to keep me alive for quite a few years. Oh and he wants me to have fun. Even though he has me going to endless medical appointments.

Enjoy your life, and eat more of that delicious sounding cake my mom was miserable the last year of her life due to her diet restrictions. Can you cheat a little?

>120 cindydavid4: you’re sweet. I can cheat.

>113 dianeham: NYC is strange with libraries. The main one in Manhattan - the one with the lion stairs out front - is not available for residents of the other boroughs. I would not have thought library membership would be borough-specific

I lived in nyc for 2 years ad never went to any nypl. I was in my mid-30s and a full time student at nyu. I went to nyu’s Bobst library. That’s the biggest library I’ve ever been in.

lisapeet lives in ny - she may know why the boroughs are separate.

>122 kjuliff: I don't know why the borough libraries are separate (NYPL, BPL, QPL) but I do know that all three system are in the top ten for population served. Perhaps one big system was thought to be unwieldy? Or it has to do with the local governments/funding systems (the boroughs are separate counties). The Twin Cites has separate library systems for Minneapolis and St. Paul.

I don't know what the current restrictions are, but they used to allow reciprocal cards -- if you had a Brooklyn Card you could get a NY card. Or I got my NYPL card because I work in Manhattan*.

*I looked it up: Any person who lives, works, attends school or pays property taxes in New York State is eligible to receive a New York Public Library card free of charge.

Queens: Must live, work, go to school or own property in NY to receive free card. Out of state incurs $50.00 fee.

Brooklyn Public Library's card is free for anyone who lives, works, pays property taxes or goes to school in New York state.

>124 ELiz_M: You got here before I did, and that info is correct. They're three separate systems since they were instituted, for whatever reason, so they each do what they want and aren't bound by the others, no matter how many suggestions there have been (plenty) for the three systems to merge.

I've never investigated getting a library card in any other place because NYPL is more than adequate for my needs—it's a fantastic, well-resourced library. But so is Brooklyn PL. Queens PL is always a bit of the little sibling, but that's also relative—it's still NYC and probably a great resource as well.

When I was working for Los Angeles Public Library (which is run by the city of Los Angeles), we were often and understandably confused with the Los Angeles County Public Library. The latter changed its name a few years back to LA County Library, which helped a bit. I happen to live right at the edge of the city, so I have a branch of each system within walking distance, which is very nice.

I almost wound up working at Queens PL. They'd offered me a job as I was entering my last semester of library school, but they got hit with budget cuts and a hiring freeze, and had to withdraw the offer.

I finished A Kindness of Ghosts.

I highly recommend Invasion of the Spirit People byJuan PabloVillalobos. "An on-point satire of immigration politics. Villalobos hilariously sends up the ways in which racism and xenophobia sully the city’s strong cultural identity. Once again, Villalobos proves himself a jester." -PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

Twice I’ve been scheduled for a visual field test and twice they cancelled it. Two weeks ago because there was no heat in their office and today because their "system" was down. This is getting annoying.

>129 dianeham: Frustrating. At least they are able to reschedule you fairly quickly. A doctor's appt that was supposed to be a two-week follow-up was four and another that was supposed to be a month, is seven weeks.

>130 labfs39: my life seems to be all about doctors now.

I’ve been reading two different nordic crimes series. One is Icelandic - the other Swedish. And I’ve been alternating between the 2 countries. They are both about a woman detective who is in her thirties. The Swede’s name is Eira and the other is Elma. I’m having a hard time keeping them straight.

I’ve been having trouble getting any sleep lately. Really annoying. I’m tired all day and can’t sleep at night.

Last night I kept waking up so I was reading Sorrowland. What a strange book. It’s about a young woman who escapes from a cult. It’s a black political/religious cult. They give the cult members some kind of health enhancement that turns out to be life changing, to say the least. What I thought was a dystopian novel turned into a bizarro science fiction story. There’s an interesting twist. In the cult the baddies were all men. Outside the cult - they’re all women. I’m almost done.

I read another Rivers Solomon book recently about a space ship that had been looking for a new place to live for 500 years. I find her very interesting.

I finished Camp Zero last night. It’s an apocalyptic climate novel. I enjoyed it.

I’m going to get a visual field test today. I was scheduled twice before but the dr’s office cancelled both times.

Crossing fingers that this time you will get the test done!

>135 FlorenceArt: thanks

Just started The Ship Beneath the Ice: The Discovery of Shackleton’s Endurance.

>137 dianeham: I'm interested in hearing more about this one. I have been reading lots of juvenile books about Shackleton with my niece lately. I also have his book, South but haven't read it. I love the photos that Frank Hurley took and saw an exhibit with some many years ago.

>138 labfs39: so far I’m enjoying it. The author is familiar with all the diaries from the Shakleton expedition and compares where he is in his search for the Endurance with the where Shakleton was.

I’m wearing a halter monitor over night.

>140 dianeham: Those can be very annoying - hopefully it is just overnight... Hopefully it will not find anything bad.

>141 AnnieMod: thanks, Annie. Yes just overnight and mildly annoying. And I’m supposed to do some sleep study app thing on my cell phone too. That is pretty annoying because I don’t sleep much at night and if I do, I usually wake up, go online, go back to sleep, over and over.

The Ship Beneath the Ice: The Discovery of Shackleton’s Endurance by Mensun Bound

At the end of the expedition the author had to give a speech and he said he was not good as a speaker. I feel the same with his writing. It is adequate but the story lacks excitement. I’m sure days and days of plowing through ice got boring - reading about it was a bit boring also. This may be much more exciting to people who have read about Shackleton in the past.

I’m sure days and days of plowing through ice got boring - reading about it was a bit boring also.

I’m sorry it was boring, but your comment made me smile.

>144 dchaikin: smiling is good.

Today is my birthday. It’s a good day. Got good news from the eye doctor. The visual field test I had last week was normal. My eye pressure (glaucoma) is greatly improved from using the eye drops. I’ve scheduled 2 cataract surgeries in June. There will be additional glaucoma work included that may result in not even needing the eyedrops anymore. And for an added expense, not covered by insurance, I can have lens implanted that will give me perfect close, medium and long range vision.

I got printouts of my halter monitor results but I have no idea what they mean. Still have to get 2 more circulation related ultrasounds and a nuclear stress test. Hopefully my heart can stand up to the surgeries.

Looking forward to being able to read books again.

Happy Birthday! and happy good news!

>147 dchaikin: thank you!

Happy Birthday, Diane! And I'm delighted to hear about your good news regarding your vision. I know it has been weighing heavily on you.

>149 labfs39: thank you, yes it has.

Belated Happy Birthday, Diane!

Thank you

Here’s a crazy request. Sometimes I start sneezing and I can’t stop. I keep this web site handy https://www.wikihow.com/Stop-a-Sneeze and often consult it but sometimes nothing works.

One suggestion is: Stop someone else's sneeze with an absurd comment. If you see someone about to sneeze, or if they state that they feel a sneeze coming on, say something absurd. Sometimes the brain will 'forget' about the sneeze when it has something more interesting and immediate to focus on.

My husband and I have trouble coming up with absurd statements. Could I get some ideas please that we can try out the next time I need them?

>146 dianeham: happy birthday (a bit late but …) and great news from the doctor :)

I don't have any suggestions, but thank you for the link to the website. My husband has frequent sneezing fits, and I find myself unable to concentrate on anything (other than counting the number of sneezes), even when he's in another room (they're very loud). So I've passed the info on to him.

>154 AnnieMod: thanks Annie. I’m looking forward to the eye surgeries.

>155 arubabookwoman: if you two come up with any good absurdities, let me know.

>153 dianeham: "Could I get some ideas please that we can try out the next time I need them?"

The frog is looking rather pale.

>153 dianeham: But if you prepare them in advance, won’t you lose the surprise effect?

I’d say try anything that comes into mind, as long as it totally irrelevant to the moment.

>158 FlorenceArt: you might be right. Thanks.

But if you prepare them in advance, won’t you lose the surprise effect?
A good point. Perhaps you and your husband could prepare your lists of absurdities separately.

Anyway, good luck, and remember . . .
If you’re a feaster
don’t fall on your keister
on Easter.

I read 2 Hugh Howey books this month - Across the Sand (4*) and for the second time Wool. I am currently reading Dust. Wool and Dust are the first and third books in the Silo Series. There is a tv version of the series now on Apple tv.

I am also reading Cursed Bread. I was reading Breasts and Eggs and The Covenant of Water but they are paused for now. I intend to get back to them but I needed something lighter - like a post-apocalyptic dystopia. ;)

>131 dianeham: my life is almost all about doctors now. Every calendar entry is a doctor’s visit. I am starting to wonder the point of it all. This year has been particularly bad and I’ve had trouble immersing myself into a novel. Currently reading Kevin Powers’ A Shout in the Ruins which managed to get me in after a faltering start.

I find the most difficult novels to sustain interest when feeling distracted for whatever reason, are the ones that jump around in time. This approach to novel writing is becoming increasingly common and is often without any point. A Shout in the Ruins does this time. Jump thing too but Powers is such an exceptional writer I was able to keep reading, though I’ve had to go back several chapters several times. Worth it though. Highly recommend.

>133 dianeham: Jon Mcgregor’s Reservoir 13 is a good book for falling asleep. Wonderfully written, the English woods are described page upon page. Nothing happens. Ap parental it’s about a search for a missing child who is never found. I really liked this novel, but I fell asleep after a page of concentrated reading.

>163 kjuliff: I loved If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things which I read years ago. I tried Reservoir 13 but couldn’t get into it.

I was so happy yesterday because I woke up to 2 doctor’s messages cancelling appointments .

>162 kjuliff: said this before, but usually the first part of these books esp about historic events or people are generally much more interesting to read about then the pasted on second part. some writers can pull it off but most cant imho

>165 cindydavid4: I hadn’t thought of it that way, but you are quite on point!
I also find it somewhat trite the way the characters from the various threads come together after paving separate and distinct paths in the previous jumping around chapters.
Just finishing off Kevin Powers’ A Shout in the Ruins which is a it like this. Loose ends being tied up … annoying but still I’ve enjoyed reading the book. My baptism into the American Civil War.

I am loving The Covenant of Water. I put it down for a while but now I can’t put it down.

>167 dianeham: Good to know, Diane. I'm looking forward to reading another Verghese novel

>168 labfs39: I finished it today and still pondering what to say about it. I’m not great at reviews. Gave it 5 stars.

>169 dianeham: This is good to hear. I am looking forward to reading this new book sometime this year.

I’m having my first cataract surgery tomorrow. Should be home in the early afternoon. 🤞🏻

I’m currently reading Meru by S.B. Divya. It’s a space opera loosely based on a Hindu myth.

>171 dianeham: Best of luck! My dad had both of his done last year and sailed right through. Hopefully yours goes as smoothly and you are back to reading in no time :)

>169 dianeham: I just nabbed a used copy and its sitting on my desk waiting for me. Glad to hear its so good

>171 dianeham: Wishing all goes welll with you! I know how frustrated youve been with reading. Hope this does the trick!

I hope it goes well. I remember when my grandmother had hers removed. She was in her 80’s and it made a huge impact on her. She was quite a character. Afterwards she complained a lot about her decorating decisions she had made when she still had the cataracts.

Diane, I hope your surgery went well and the results are spectacular.

Thank you guys. It went well. Still fuzzy so far.

Hope things are in good shape in a few days. My cousin had one eye done this spring, and said he woke up and panicked for a few weeks 'cause he thought he slept with his contacts in, his vision was so clear.

>177 dianeham: Glad it went well, I hope you will be able to read more easily now.

Huzzah for the good news, Diane.

Sorry I've been offline and missed your news. I hope you are recovering well, and your eyesight is much improved.

>181 labfs39: thank you. My right eye is still improving and the left is being operated on a week from today.

In my book The Memory of Animals

“You know what they say,” I continue. “If you go home with somebody and they don’t have any books, don’t fuck ’em.”

Actually it’s John Waters who said that.

Thank goodness my husband had books the first time I went to his apartment in 1987.

I started noticing my husband (at that time the super to the apts we were living in) when Id come home from dates to see him relaxing by the pool, reading and we'd end up talking about it. Took me a bit to realize what I was looking for was here the whole time

>184 cindydavid4: That story could/should be in a romance book!

nah, sci fi or fantasy really, those are mostly the books he read at the time :)

>184 cindydavid4:

What Florence said

>183 dianeham:

Coincidence!... today's freebie at the New York Review of Books is an interview with John Waters, from 2021:

The avant-garde filmmaker who wanted to be the filthiest person alive has ended up becoming a national treasure. How did that happen?

>187 LolaWalser: thanks!

I started The Sullivanians: Sex, Psychotherapy, and the Wild Life of an American Commune. There are some famous people in this: Judy Collins and Jackson Pollack to name two.

Cataract surgery on my left eye tomorrow morning.

wishing you an easy and sucessful surgery!

Wish you well tomorrow.

>190 cindydavid4: >191 dchaikin: thank you both.

>189 dianeham: Hope the surgery goes smoothly!! Sending healing wishes.

>193 PlatinumWarlock: thank you.

I was seeing double every time I woke uo today so I kept sleeping. Doing better now.

>194 dianeham: Sometimes sleep is the best medicine. Hope you are feeling better now and will soon be reading up a storm!

Hoping you have wonderful vision and bright colors. Wish you well.

Yes, all the best for the rosiest possible outcome for your vision.

>195 labfs39: >196 dchaikin: >197 rocketjk: thank you thank you thank you.

I no longer need reading glasses with my ipad. My left eye seems perfect close and far. That was the one done last Tuesday. The right eye is still coming along. It’s still blurry close and far. The doctor said it will improve. I’m getting a book from the library today. Might need readers for that. We’ll see.

Before the second surgery, I was talking to the anesthesiologist. At the first surgery he told me he went to Philadelphia Pharmacy College before he went to medical school. This week I told him I knew a minor mafia guy who was a guard there and who used to be a boxer. Then we started talking about boxing. Turns out the doc was an amateur boxer. We talked about Hurricane Carter. And I told him that I used to work with a guy who was Kenny Norton’s sparing partner. The doctor said he talks to a lot of patients at the surgery center but that was the first time he talked to a woman about boxing. We both grew up in white working class neighborhoods in Philly.

>198 dianeham: That's terrific... isn't modern medicine amazing?! Glad you're on the mend.