Streamsong #3: Summer along the creek

Hi - I'm Janet.

I live in the Bitterroot Valley of western Montana along Skalkaho Creek.

I'm about half way between Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks - so if you're traveling or vacationing in the area, I'd love to meet you. Give me a bit of warning, though - the house often looks like a bomb went off in it. Unless of course, you find cluttery piles of books interesting decor (as I do).

I have Appaloosa horses and usually raise a foal or two each year. This year's foal - a filly:



What do I read? A bit of everything. I enjoy literary fiction, mysteries and the occasional feel good cozy. I'm working my way around the world in a global reading challenge. I had started my way through 1001 Books to Read Before You Die (actually 1300 + books since I use the combined version spreadsheet), but that project seems to be on hold. About half the books I read are non-fiction.

I belong to two in-person book clubs and occasionally join a couple of online book clubs. A favorite online club for nature reads is the Glacier Conservancy Book Club here - https://glacier.org/glacier-book-club/ This is a fund-raising arm for Glacier National Park.

Here's the link to my last thread of last year: https://www.librarything.com/topic/353013#n8332996

In 2023 I read 122 books - still need to do reviews on several of them.

2024 BOOKS READ

First Quarter

January

✅1. Two Old Women - Velma Walls - 2013 - library
❤️2. The House of Doors - Tan Twan Eng - 2023 - Global Reading: Malaysia - library -
3. Emergent Properties - Aimee Ogden - 2023 - library
❤️4. Jimmy Bluefeather - Kim Heacox - 2016 - Reread - Root #1 -Copy purchased 2023.
5. Tom Lake - Ann Patchett - 2023 - Library Brown Bag Book Club - library
✅6. Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World - John Vaillant - 2023 - library
7. The Great Alone - Kristin Hannah - 2018 - Book Girls Global Tour: Arctic - library
✅8. Almost an Elegy - Linda Pastan - 2022- library
✅9. Fruit of the Drunken Tree - Ingrid Rojas Contreras - 2018 - Global Reading/Book Girls Global Tour - Columbia - library

February
10. A Council of Dolls - Mona Susan Power - 2023 - library -
11. The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher - E. M. Anderson - 2023 - library -
12. Class: A Memoir of Motherhood, Hunger, and Higher Education - Stephanie Land - 2023 - library
13. Unlikely Animals - Annie Hartnett - 2023 - library
❤️14. Funny things : a comic strip biography of Charles M. Schulz - Luca Debus - 2023 - library
15. The Memory of Animals - Claire Fuller - 2023 - library
16. Lost Christianities: Christian Scriptures and the Battles over Authentication - Bart D. Ehrman - 2013 - audiobook/The Great Courses - library
17. The Civilian Conservation Corps in Glacier National Park - David R Butler - 2022 - Glacier Conservancy Book Club - library
18. Wolves at the Door - Judith Pearson - 2008 - NC Book Club - Purch Kindle 2023
19. The Queen of Water – Laura Resay and Maria Virginia Farinango – 2011 – Book Girls (2023) – South America/Ecuador – YA - library
20. Take What You Need - Idra Novey - 2023 - library

March Reading

21. The Fountains of Silence - Ruta Sepetys - 2020 - Book Girls Global Tour - Western Europe - Spain - YA library
22. Candide - Voltaire - 1759 - Library Brown Bag Book Club - Project Gutenberg on Kindle
23. The Mystery Guest - Nita Prose - 2023 - library
24. Fire Scars - John B Wright - 2023 - library
✅25. Neither Wolf nor Dog: On Forgotten Roads with an Indian Elder - Kent Nerburn - 2018 - N Book Club = Reread - library
❤️26. All That She Carried - Tiya Miles - 2022 - library
27. Start Where You Are - Pema Chodron - 1994 - ROOT #2 acq'd 2007

SECOND QUARTER

April Reading

28. How Beautiful We Were - Imbolo Mbue - 2021 - Book Girls World Tour/Global Reading: Cameroon - library
29. The Spy Who Knew Too Much - Howard Blum - 2023 - NC Book Club - Hoopla
30. The Silver Bone - Andrij Kurkow - 2024 - Booker International Long List - library
31. Crooked: The Roaring '20s Tale of a Corrupt Attorney General, a Crusading Senator, and the Birth of the American Political Scandal - Nathan Masters - 2023 - Glacier Conservancy Book Club - library
32. Undiscovered: A Novel - Gabriela Wiener - 2023 - International Booker Long List - Global Reading: Peru - library
33. Homegrown: Timothy McVeigh and the Rise of Right-Wing Extremism - Jeffrey Toobin - 2023 - audiobook - library
34. Horse - Geraldine Brooks - 2022 - Reread - NC Book Club - Root #3 for year; acquired 2023
35. Thunderclap: A Memoir of Art and Life - Laura Cumming - 2023 - 2024 Long List Women's Prize for Nonfiction - Global Reading: The Netherlands (Holland) - NF/location/British author - library
36. Lewis and Clark Through Indian Eyes - Alvin M Josephy - 2006 - Library Book Club - library
37. A Disappearance in Fiji - Nilima Rao - 2023 - Book Girls' Global Tour - Islands - Fiji - Global Reading: Book #1 Fiji - library

May Reading

38. Brotherless Night - V. V. Ganeshananthan - 2024 - Global Reading: Sri Lanka - library
39. The Twilight Zone - Nona Fernandez - 2016 - Global Reading: Chile - library
40. North Woods - Daniel Mason - 2023 - library -
41. Two by Patrica MacLachlan : Snow Horses: A First Night Story - 2022; and What You Know First - 1998 - both from library.
42. Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Revolts - Rebecca Hall - (graphic non-fiction) - 2022
43. Chenneville - Paulette Giles - 2023 - Library
44. State of Terror - Hillary Rodham Clinton & Louise Penny - 2021 - NC Book Club - library
45. The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett - Annie Lyons - 2021 - LBB Book Club - library
46 How Can I Help You - Laura Sims - 2023 - library
47. Dinosaurs: A Novel - Lydia Millet - 2022 - library

JUNE BOOKS *Reviewed
*48. Watership Down: The Graphic Novel - Richard Adams adapted and illustrated by James Sturm and Joe Sutphin - 2023 - library
*49. Reykjavik - Ragnar Jonasson & Katrin Jakobsdottir - Global Reading - Iceland - 2022- library
*50. Hard by a Great Forest - Leo Vardiashvili - 2024 - Book Girls' World Tour - Eastern Europe: Global Reading - Georgia (Book #1) - library
51. Raven Black - Anne Cleeves -2006 - library
52. An Ordinary Man - Paul Rusesabagina - 2006 - Global Reading: Rwanda - library
53. The Ghost Bride - Yangsze Choo - 2015 - Global Reading: Malaysia - library
54. The View From the Cheap Seats - Neil Gaiman - audiobook - library
55. Snowblind - Ragnar Jonasson - 2017 - Global Reading: Iceland - library
56. The Lost Journals of Sacajewea: A Novel - Debra Magpie Earling - 2023 - mine Root #4 (2023)

THIRD QUARTER

July
57. Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man - Emmanuel Acho - 2021 - library
58. Footprints of a Heart - Shayla Kiddo Paradeis - 2023 - Glacier Conservancy Book Club - library
59. The Poet's Dog - Patricia MacLachlan - 2016 - "for Anita" - reread - library
60 . The Secret Life of Sunflowers - Marta Molnar - 2022 - NC Book Club - purch 2024
61. The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother - James McBride - 2006 - audiobook - library
62. The White Rhino Hotel - Bartle Bull - 1992 - library

- 52 BOOKS REVIEWED /
- 62 - BOOKS READ IN 2024 (Stats are done as reviews are written - always slightly behind!)

Year Acquired
1 - 2007
2 - 2023
2 - 2024
48 - library/Hoopla

FORMAT
46 - print
3 - audiobook
2 - Kindle

- 29 - Fiction (May Fit into more than 1 category)

----1 - aging
----1 - American West
----1 - art
----1 - apocalypse/dystopia
----1 - classics
----2 - colonialism
----2 - contemporary fiction
----1 - dictators
----2 - environment
----3 - Global Reading
----1 - Graphic novel
----7 - historical fiction
----1 - horses
----7 - literary fiction
----1 - magical realism
----8 - mystery
----1 - Montana
----2 - Native Americans
----1 - Pandemic
----1 - political fiction
----1 - Racism
----1 - Romantasy
----1 - satire
----1 - sexuality
----1 - Science Fiction
----1 - thriller
----1 - YA

- 1- Poetry

- 15 - Non-Fiction (may fit into more than one category)
1 - Africa
1 - African American
1 - Art and Artists
5 - biography
1 - Buddhism
1 - Christianity
1 - Climate Change
1 - Espionage
4 - Global Reading
1 - Graphic Non-fiction
5 - History
23 - Memoir
1 - Natural Disasters
2 - Native Americans
1 - Outdoors
1 - Politics
1 - Terrorism
4 - Women

AUTHORS

33 - Female Authors
14 - Male Authors
- Non-binary
2 - Combination of male and female authors

28 - Authors who are new to me
11 - Books by Authors read before
2 - Combination (Anthology) of previously read and new to me authors

- 3 Rereads

Original Publication Date
1 - 1759
2 - 1994
3 - 2006
1 - 2008
1 - 2011
2 - 2013
3 - 2016
2 - 2018
1 - 2020
1 - 2021
8 - 2022
22 - 2023
1 - 2024

The Global Challenge: Read five books from each of the 193 UN members plus a few additional areas. (Ongoing project over **Many** years!)

Thread here: http://www.librarything.com/topic/188308
9 COUNTRIES VISITED IN 2024


Create Your Own Visited Countries Map

Countries new for me in 2024
Cameroon Book #1: How Beautiful We Were - Imbolo Mbue - 2022 - Fic (Unnamed African country/author) - 4/2022
Fiji Book #1: A Disappearance in Fiji - Nilima Rao - 2023 - Fic/Mys - (location/ Indian: Fijian: Australian author) - 4/2024
Georgia Book #1: Hard by a Great Forest - Leo Vardiashvili - 2024
fic: Mys/thr - (location, author) June 2024
Ukraine Book #1: The Silver Bone - Andrij Kurkow - 2024 - Fic/Mystery - (Ukrainian author & location; translated) - 4/2024

Countries Completed With 5 Books in 2024
The Netherlands Book # 5. Thunderclap: A Memoir of Art and Life - Laura Cumming - 2023 - 2024 Long List Women's Prize for Nonfiction - NF/location/British author - 4/2024
Spain:Book #5. Fountains of Silence - Ruta Sepetys - Fic/YA - (location, US author) - library - March 2024

Countries previously visited - working toward 5 books per country in 2024
Chile Book #4. The Twilight Zone - Nona Fernández - 2016- Fic; (location, author) read May 2024
Colombia: #3. Fruit of the Drunken Tree - Ingrid Rojas Contreras - 2018 - Fic (author, travel) - 1/2024
Ecuador: Book #2 The Queen of Water - Laura Resau - 2011- NF/YA - (location, author & coauthor) - 2/2024
Malaysia: Book #3. The House of Doors - Tam Twan Eng - 2023 - Fic (location, author) 1/2024
Peru: Book #2. Undiscovered: A Novel - Gabriella Wiener - 2023 - 2024 Intl Booker Longlist - autofiction- (author, location); read 4/2024
Rwanda: Book #3 An Ordinary Man – Paul Rusesabagina - 2006 - (NF: Location, author) 6/2024

Additional books for countries completed with five books in 2024:
France: Wolves at the Door - Judith Pearson - 2008 - NF (location, US author) 2/2024
France: Candide - Voltaire - 1759 - Fic/Satire (partial location, author) 3/2024


Create your own visited map of The World

ALL COUNTRIES VISITED: 116


Create Your Own Visited Countries Map

To help expand my global reading, I've been following along The Book Girls Around the World Book Voyage Challenge: https://bookgirlsguide.com/world-reading-challenge/

✔ January: Arctic and Antarctic: The Great Alone - Kristin Hannah US
✔ February: Western Europe: Spain: The Fountains of Silence - Ruta Sepetys 2020 - library
✔ March: Africa/ Cameroon - How Beautiful We Were - Imbolo Mbue
✔ April: Islands : Fiji - A Disappearance in Fiji - Nilima Rao - 2023
✔ May: Eastern Europe and Russia: Georgia Hard By A Great Forest
June: Australia and New Zealand (skipping)
July: South Asia: Beyond the sky and the earth : a journey into Bhutan - Jamie Zeppa
August: Northern Asia
September: Transportation
October: Middle East and Israel:
November: North America
December: South America

2024 In-Person Brown Bag Book Club - Bitterroot Public Library

January: ✔ Tom Lake - Anne Patchett
February ✔ -- Candide by Voltaire
March ✔ -- The Spy Who Knew Too Much by Howard Blum
April ✔ -- Lewis and Clark Through Indian Eyes by Alvin M. Josephy Jr.
May ✔ -- The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett by Annie Lyons
June -- A Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell (skipped)
July ***Rereading*** -- Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus Read
August -- Damascus Nights by Rafik Schami
September -- The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
October -- Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
November -- Yellowface by R.F. Kuang Read
December -- Potluck and 2025 choices

In-Person Newcomers' (and others!) Book Club

✔ January: Jimmy Bluefeather - Kim Heacox -- (reread for me)
✔ February: The Wolves at the Door - Judith Pearson
✔ (Reread) March: Neither Wolf Nor Dog - Kent Nerburn
✔ April - Reread: Horse - Geraldine Brooks
✔ May: State of Terror - Hillary Rodham Clinton & Louise Penny
✔ June: Demon Copperhead - Barbara Kingsolver - did not reread
✔ July: The Secret Life of Sunflowers - Marta Molnar

Bimonthly Glacier Conservancy Book Club

January ✔ Crooked: The Roaring '20s Tale of a Corrupt Attorney General, a Crusading Senator, and the Birth of the American… - Nathan Masters
March - Prev read - Tenacious Beasts: Wildlife Recoveries That Change How We Think about Animals - Christopher J. Preston
May - Ranger Confidential: Living, Working, And Dying In The National Parks - Andrea Lankford
July - Footprint Of a Heart - Shayla Kiddo Paradeis

Goals:
- Read at least two ROOTS each month from the first TIOLI challenges.
- Read at least one book each month acquired in 2023 (counts as one of the ROOTS)

The below numbers include the dozen or so library books I have at home:
As of 03/01/2024: 552 books on physical MT TBR
As of 01/01/2024: 549 books on physical MT TBR
As of 01/01/2023: 535 books on physical MT TBR
As of 01/01/2022: 530 books on physical MT TBR
As of 01/01/2021: 522 books on MT TBR

40 Books Acquired 2024; 3 Books Read :✔ : Currently Reading: 2
✔ 1. The Wolves at the Door - Judith Pearson NC's Book Club - Kindle
2. The Hundred Years' War on Palestine - Rashid Khalidi - 2/2024
3. Lewis & Clark and Me : Heading West from Traveler's Rest - 2/2024
4. It's Hard to Look Cool When Your Car's Full of Sheep: Tales from the Back Forty - Roger Pond - 2/2024
✔5. Candide - Voltaire - Project Gutenburg/Kindle - 2-2024
6. Epitaph - Mary Doria Russell - 3/2024
7. Elephant Song - Wilbur Smith - 3/2024
8. Uhuru - Robert Ruark - 3/2024
9. Defeating Diabetes - Brenda Davis - 3/24
10. Bangtail Ghosts - Keith MacCafferty - 2/24
11. The Angels Weep - Wilbur Smith - 3/24
12. When the Lion Feeds - Wilbur Smith - 3/24
13. A Time to Die - Wilbur Smith - 3/24
14. The Clinic - Jonathan Kellerman - 3/24
15. Catch as Cat Can - Rita Mae Brown 3/24
16. Hush of the Land - Arnold "Smoke" Elser - 4/24
17. Better Than Good - Zig Ziglar - audiobook - 5/15
18. The Journals of Lewis and Clark - ed by Bernard DeVoto - 5/31
19. Ghost Hunting in Montana - Barnaby Conrad III - 5/31
20. Never Eat Anything Bigger Than Your Head & Other Drawings - B. Kliban - 5/31
21. The Bible - Karen Armstrong - 5/31
22. Why Rustlers Never Win and Other Humorous Stories of the West - Henry Gregor Felsen - 5/31
***Reading*** 23. Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein - Kindle so I could finish the book checked out from the library originally - 5/31
24. Thurber on Crime - James Thurber - 1991 - 6/08
25. On Call: A Doctor's Journey into Public Service - Anthony Fauci 2024 - 6/21/2024
✔26. The Secret Life of Sunflowers - Marta Molnar - NC Book Club - 7/11/24
27. Ranger Confidential - Andrea Lankford - 2010- Glacier Conservancy Book Club - 7/11/24
Bitterroot Public Library Booksale 7/13/2024
28. Painted Horses - Malcom Brooks - 7/13/2024 (210)
29. Let Him Go - Larry Watson - 7/13/2024 (250)
30. Inkdeath - Cornelia Funke - 7/13/2024 (6950)
31. Flashback - Nevada Barr - HB signed by author - 7/13/2024 (1189)
32. A Room of One's Own - Virginia Woolf - audiobook - 7-13-2024 - (12511)
33. The Eighty Dollar Champion - Elizabeth Letts (710)
34. Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage - Alfred Lansing (5172)
35. Myths and Legends of Yellowstone - Ednor Therriault (4? maybe 1)
36. The Bears of Yellowstone - Paul Schullery - (26)
***37. Growing Up In Yellowstone - Gerald L. Bateson, Jr - (0)
38. The Lewis and Clark Cookbook: Historic Recipes from the Corps of Discovery - Leslie Mansfield -(62)
39. Glacier National Park After Dark: Sunset to Sunrise in a Beloved Montana Wilderness -John Ashley - (3)
40. A Guide to Exploring Grand Teton National Park - Linda L Olson & Tim Bywater - (7)
---
41. Pretty Shield - Frank Linderman - 07/17/2023
42. Grandmother's Grandchild: My Crow Indian Life (American Indian Lives) by Alma Hogan Snell - 07/17/2024
43. A Taste of Heritage: Crow Indian Recipes and Herbal Medicines - Alma Hogan Snell - 07/17/2024

I'm intrigued by everyone's lists of series. These are some of the ones that I have read recently: I will add other series that I am also working on.

Series

Nevada Barr - Anna Pigeon - (4/19)
Ann Cleeves - Shetland (1/11)
Robert Galbraith - Cormoran Strike (1/7)
Elsa Hart - Li Du (2/3)
Anne Hillerman - Leaphorn, Chee & Manuelito (5/8)
Ragnar Jónasson - Dark Iceland (1/6)
Alka Joshi - Jaipur Trilogy (1/3)
William Kent Krueger - Cork O'Connor (1/ )
Ngaio Marsh - Roderick Alleyn (2/27)
Dorothy Sayers - Lord Peter Wimsey (2/?)
Nita Prose - Molly the Maid (2/2)
Fred Vargas - Chief Inspector Adamsberg - 2/10

And here's the list of books I still need to review from last year (sigh)

November
111. The Buddha in the Attic - Julie Otsuka - 2012 - Library Brown Bag Book Club - library
✅110. Robert E. Lee and Me: A Southerner's Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause - Ty Seidule - 2022 - library
109. The White Mirror - Elsa Hart - 2016 - library
✅108. The Last Thing He Told Me - Laura Dave - 2023 - NewComers' Book Club - library
107. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind - William Kamkwamba - 2009 - Book Girls' World Tour/Global Reading - Malawi - library (on map)

December
122. Fima - Amos Oz - 1994 - Nov TIOLI#1 - Root #3 for month/ #24 for year - Global Reading - Israel - acq'd 2013
121. Narcolepsy: A Funny Disorder that's no Laughing Matter - Marguerite J. Utley - 1995 - Dec TIOLI #1 - ROOT #2 for month/# 23 for year - acq'd 2006
120. Come Together, Fall Apart - Cristina Henriquez - 2007 Book Girls World Tour: Panama - short stories - purch 2023
119. A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea - Melissa Fleming - 2017 - Book Girls World Tour - Middle East/Syria - library (mapped)
118. We Are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast by Jonathan Safran Foer - 2019 - library
117. YellowFace - R. F. Kuang - 2023 - library
116. Tenacious Beasts - Julian Stockwin - 2023 - New Comers' Book Club - acq'd 2023
✅115. The Maid - Nita Prose - 2022 - library
114. The Future - Naomi Alderman - 2023 - library
113. Murder Your Employer - Rupert Holmes - 2023 - library
112. The Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell - audiobook ROOT#1 for month/Root #22 for year; acq'd 2007

CURRENTLY READING:


The Ghost Bride - Yangsze Choo


Doppelganger - Naomi Klein


Jewish Literacy - Joseph Telushkin


Audiobook in the car: The View from the Cheap Seats: Selected Nonfiction - Neil Gaiman


The Lost Journals of Sacajewea - Debra Magpie Earling - put aside to finish library books, but not abandoned!

Welcome!

Happy new thread, Janet. Unsurprisingly I love all the lists!

Happy new thread, Janet!

>1 streamsong: lovely landscape. And very sweet looking filly.

You are still making progress on your reading around the world project, great. I seem to have stalled. You make me want to pick it up, though.

>13 streamsong: loved that Gaiman; read it, but might want to listen to him read it as well

>13 streamsong: I really need to get to Doppelganger soon. Thanks for the reminder.

Happy new thread, Janet!

Happy Sunday, Janet. Happy New Thread. I LOVE the Bitterroot topper, along with the beautiful filly. I also had a good time with Doppelganger. Enjoy!

Happy new thread, Janet!

Happy new thread! The topper is gorgeous and the filly is sweet.

I think you said on another thread that it is unusually cold and people are worried about their gardens. Meanwhile, we are under the dome and I am worried about my garden. I wonder if *anyone* is having a good gardening season?

>15 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul. And thanks for being my 'first footer' on the thread.

>16 EllaTim: Thanks for stopping by, Ella! The landscape topper is a professional photo of a wildlife refuge a few miles north of my place. The filly is wonderful - great fun!

I will miss Anita's input for the Around the World Reading project.

I am grateful to Beth, Paul and others doing similar similar challenges.

I'm also getting wonderful suggestions from the Book Girls' Book Voyage lists. Here are the July suggestions for Southern Asia. There are many genres, many countries and quite a few by authors native to the countries.

https://bookgirlsguide.com/best-books-set-in-asia-southern/

I've chosen Beyond the Sky and the Earth: A Journey into Bhutan for July, even though it's by a non-native author. It's always fun reading their list, trying to find a country that I haven't read and is available in my library system.

>17 cindydavid4: Hi Cindy! The problem with listening to Gaiman's The View From the Cheap Seats is that he is enthusiastic about a lot of writers, books, and genres that I'm not very familiar with - and now I want to read them all. It's definitely a treat to hear him read.

>18 alcottacre: Thank you, Stasia! Doppelganger is superb. As I said on my previous thread:

'it gives the most cogent view I've read about how very disparate groups can come together to support controversial subjects like the anti-vaccination movement - a phenomenon she calls diagnalism.'

I had checked it out from the library, but I was reading it slowly and thoughtfully and couldn't check it out again due to the line of people waiting for it. So I bought the Kindle version, thinking it would be nice to be able to highlight main points. Whoa! I have more yellow highlighting than any Kindle book that I have previously read."

>19 msf59: Hi Mark! I'm glad you enjoyed the toppers.

Doppelganger is amazing, although not a quick read.

>20 drneutron: Thank you, Jim, and thanks for all you do!

>21 witchyrichy: Thanks, Karen. Yes, snow last week and in the 80's this week. This valley has quite a few apple orchards; at one time promoters were trying to make this valley a hub for Macintosh apples. My friend's orchard has NO APPLES at all this year due to warm weather in March followed by a deep freeze. It's a huge blow to her finances (and her adult daughter who just moved here to take over the orchard this year).

I just received my copy of Anthony Fauci's book On Call. Now that he's retired, I doubt he'll ever make it back to far-flung Hamilton, MT again. But if he does, I'll be first in line to get it autographed. Or I guess that I could send him a bookplate to see if he'd sign it. The security is so amazingly tight around him after he and his family have all received death threats, that I don't know if he'd ever see my request. :(

I'm reading the part in Doppelganger where heroes are turned into villains with conspiracy theories.

>22 streamsong: thanks, I plan on listening soon

>25 streamsong: the bike I like to use at the gym is just under the tv that plays FOX. i can usually ignore it but couldnt stop hearing their critique of the book, saying how he lies, how he is trying to be humble but we know hes not and that he should be in jail and just more awful stuff. Glad hes being protected but I wouldnt want to live my life like that. stupid people

Happy New Thread, Janet! I'm not sure if I'm going to read Doppelganger, but I have a hold in transit on why people believe in conspiracy theories, called Conspiracy: A History of Boll*cks Theories, and How Not to Fall for Them .I'm not much of non- fiction reader, so I'll see if I get to it, but I am fascinated in why people fall for conspiracy theories.

>26 cindydavid4: Hi Cindy _ I love Gaiman's voice. I predict you'll like it too!

>27 cindydavid4: Yeah, Fauci has been branded one of the bad guys, mainly because he didn't have the proper respect for the president, who honestly was getting his Pandemic info off Fox news. The president didn't want experts who knew more than he did - that is why he wants to purge the experts and replace them with political flunkies if he gets re-elected.

I agree that theatening your opponents for their ideas is scary.

Recently very right wing right-to-lifers who are associated with the militia here in the valley, were filming everyone who signed a petition trying to get a 'right for reproductive care' initiative on the Montana ballot. They don't want the population to have the voice - I think they believe they can control the state legislature more easily. There's more to the story, but I'll leave it at that.

>28 vancouverdeb: Thank you, Deborah. Conspiracy: A History of Boll*cks Theories, and How Not to Fall for Them sounds interesting.

I'm also interested in why and how we are where we are today - where science and the scientific method are disregarded, public servants are doxed (is that the right term for having their names and addresses published so they and their families can be retaliated against?) and 'might makes right'.

I'm about ten reviews behind? Can I get caught up by July 1st?

This one was read by quite a few of my friends when it came out last year - so I don't know who to thank, and I'll thank everyone. :)



43. Chenneville - Paulette Giles - 2023
– Library

Another great novel by Paulette Giles in her writings about the post-Civil War western America.

John Chenneville suffered a severe head wound and spent the last months of the Civil War between life and death in a Union hospital. Finally recovered enough to head home to Missouri, he found conditions on his farm quite different than he had left them. In addition, his sister, her child and husband had all been brutally murdered.

Cheneville vows that as soon as he has recovered fully from his wound to hunt down the killer.

As he follows the trail, it becomes obvious that the killer is a psychopath with many more killings in his wake.

John gives up his home and even the possibility of love to end this man’s life, knowing that if he stamps out the life of the murderer, he will be seen as a murderer in the eyes of the law.

There are interesting characters along the way, including two telegraph operators; one becomes a friend; the other possibly more.

And it is these characters and the ending that take this from the standard ‘western justice’ novel – the type where you could see John Wayne in the title role in a movie – and into a study of the people and the choices they were obligated to make. As always there are quick Easter Egg type references to other Giles characters in this book but each of her stories stand alone.

And while I felt a little let down by the easiness of the ending, it’s a feel good novel when you need to believe that despite evil, there is still good in the world.

Cree the cat was eating his prescription dry food and suddenly shot backwards from the bowl hissing. He then started growling and hissing and going cat bonkers for about five minutes. Could something have bit him? I checked - nothing in the bowl, and as he calmed down, I hoped for the best. By yesterday morning he was drooling and bit of blood on the bed so I hauled him in to the vet. I suspected another broken tooth;removal of the infected one in April cost $700, so I was pretty apprehensive. Yeppers, broken tooth. But once they had him under anesthetic, they determined they could just pull it without surgery and it only cost about $100. Still, he has a lot of teeth and $100 -$700 per tooth if more need removal, is daunting. He goes back in ten days to check things out.

Poor old Cree. I love him dearly. He talks more than any cat I've ever known - we have long conversations with him using amazingly appropriate emotional inflections responding to what I am saying.

This was the May (!) choice for one of my two in-person book clubs.



44. State of Terror - Hillary Rodham Clinton & Louise Penny - 2021
- NC In-person Book Club
– library

A Trump-like president has chosen political enemy Ellen Adams, as his Secretary of State in order to embarrass and humiliate her. But, outstanding woman and political mind that she is, she does an extraordinary job as she untangles a trio of European bombings that kill three Pakistani nuclear scientists.

Ellen, her prominently positioned grown children and best friend/White House advisor all work together to discover that there is international plot involving a rogue arms dealer determined to acquire a nuclear weapon in order to plant the weapons in major cities in the United States.

There’s also clearly a mole in the White House keeping the bad guys informed at every step along the way.

This collaboration of well known author Louise Penney and former Secretary of State and author Hilary Clinton produced a page turning thriller with several good twists and turns. Is the whole scenario of how the Secretary of State came to be appointed unlikely? Undoubtably. But I enjoyed the woman protagonists –intelligent, clever and saving the world.

I also liked the political spin of the thinly disguised president, but those of another political persuasion may not – and yet would they pick up a book co-authored by Hilary Clinton?

P 249 Large print: “There are elements inside the United States unhappy with the direction the country is moving in. They’re using him. They see (President) Dunn as the only chance to stop the erosion of the American way. Not because he has a vision, but because he can be manipulated. First, though, they need to get him back into power.”"

Hi Janet. >22 streamsong: Yes, we’ll be missing Anita!

Bhutan sounds interesting, but probably difficult to find books from a remote place like that. How to get your book translated into English would be a real barrier, I guess.

>23 streamsong: Doppelganger BB for me! How do people fall for conspiracy theories, but I think I do understand a bit, as it all starts, I think, with not knowing who and what to trust anymore. But that’s my theory.

Thanks for stopping in, Ella.

I've just been notified that The Poet's Dog by Patricia MacLachlan has arrived for me at the library. Connie had said Anita had given her a copy and that it would be a great comfort read. Anita is irreplaceable here in the 75.

Yes, it's getting harder to find books for many of the countries that I still have 'unread' on my global challenge of reading 5(!) books from all the countries belonging to the U.N. I do think there is more global awareness and more internationally authored books available here in the U.S. than when I started it quite a few years ago. I have always counted travel books and books by other non-native authors with the intention that I will replace them if and when I can find them.

I'm still reading Doppelganger but I believe it will one of my favorites for the year. I had several library books with pesky due dates that demanded to be read.

Nice vibrant new thread, Janet. Beautiful setting. I've added Doppelganger to The WANT! List™ with a mental asterisk reminding me that I'm enthusiastic about such books until they're on the shelf. Then...well...some other book appeals more.

Hi Janet. Happy new thread. Doppelganger sounds fascinating. It is on my WL. I knew you would love Chenneville. I also enjoyed State of Terror. I wonder how much of Clinton's experience as Sec. of State made it into the novel.

>36 weird_O: Hi Bill! I'm glad you liked the toppers. I hope you get to Doppelganger. I totally relate to your description of books that I really want to read that are languishing on the shelf.

>37 BLBera: Hi Beth! Paulette Jiles is becoming a a reliable pick-me-up author to offset some of the grimmer reads and also real life. There are several on her back list that I should try to read.

The May choice for my other in-person book club sponsored by the local library



45. The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett - Annie Lyons - 2021
- Library Brown Bag Book Club
– library book 3.5 stars

Eudora Honeysett is an eighty five year old lady living in Britain. Her life is winding to an end and she is without family and has few friends. She fears dying in a nursing home and so she contacts a company that will help her with assisted suicide. It’s a big decision, but Eudora becomes more firmly convinced that it is right for her and begins to solidify her plans.

Then ten year old Rose moves in next to Eudora and insists on becoming Eudora’s friend. Gradually Eudora is drawn into the family next door as well as developing a friendship with a recent widower, Stanley.

But Eudora’s heart is failing. She must make decisions whether her planned ‘vacation’ to Switzerland is the end of life option she truly wants. And her friends of only a few months definitely have opinions as to what a ‘good death’ entails.

This book is sweet but also very sad. It highlights the plight and dilemma of many elderly people, especially those living alone and feeling they have outlived their place in society. I’m not sure friends of only a few months would step up as Eudora’s friends did. I believe that there are many possibilities of a good death and not just the one presented here. It was written well enough that it evoked both of my parents’ deaths for me and rather than the ‘life affirming’ story many reviewers report, it left me feeling sad.

I think I got this suggestion from Beth. It's the first I've read by this author. Perhaps I also need to add The Children's Bible to my never ending teetering pile of to be reads.



47. Dinosaurs: A Novel – Lydia Millet - 2022
– library

The day before the dinosaurs were wiped out, they were doing their daily dinosaur things. A few had already evolved into birds; they were able to escape.

Now we meet Gil – a man who has inherited quite a bit of money and whose romantic relationship has ended. He decides to start anew in Arizona, buys a house from a video online and takes off walking from his current home in NYC to Phoenix.
There he discovers that the house next door to him is made almost completely of glass which means he has an almost unlimited view of their family dynamics. He helps their son, befriends the husband, becomes a bit overly fond of the wife, volunteers in the community and does other routine day to day community-building activities.

Given the dinosaur analogy, I kept expecting a disaster to befall these people, going about their almost daily lives. It did not happen in this book – will it happen in the next page or the year after the close of the book? What should be emphasized in these days where we may (or may not) be teetering on the brink?

9 Books Read in June * Not yet reviewed

48. Watership Down: The Graphic Novel - Richard Adams adapted and illustrated by James Sturm and Joe Sutphin - 2023 - library
49. Reykjavik - Ragnar Jonasson & Katrin Jakobsdottir - Global Reading - Iceland - 2022- library
*50. Hard by a Great Forest - Leo Vardiashvili - 2024 - Book Girls' World Tour - Eastern Europe: Global Reading - Georgia (Book #1) - library
*51. Raven Black - Anne Cleeves -2006 - library
*52. An Ordinary Man - Paul Rusesabagina - 2006 - Global Reading: Rwanda - library
*53. The Ghost Bride - Yangsze Choo - 2015 - Global Reading: Malaysia - library
*54. The View From the Cheap Seats - Neil Gaiman - 2017 - audiobook - library
*55. Snowblind - Ragnar Jonasson - 2017 - Global Reading: Iceland - library
*56. The Lost Journals of Sacajewea: A Novel - Debra Magpie Earling - 2023 - mine

9 Books Read in June

- Year Acquired

8 - library
1 - mine acquired 2023

FORMAT
8 - print
1 - audiobook
- Kindle

- 7 - Fiction (May Fit into more than 1 category)
1 - magical realism
4 - Global Reading
--1 Georgia
--1 Maylasia
--2 Iceland
1 - graphic novel
2 - mystery
1 - Native American

- 2 - Non-Fiction (may fit into more than one category)
1 - authors and books
1 -- global reading memoir -Rwanda

AUTHORS

3 - Female Authors
5 - Male Authors
- Non-binary
1 - Combination of male and female authors

6 - Authors who are new to me
2 - Authors read before
1 - Combination of previously read and new to me authors

- Rereads

Original Publication Date
2 - 2006
1 - 2016
2 - 2017
1 - 2022
2 - 2023
1 - 2024

I believe this is the first graphic novel I have read that was not an original, but rather a novel graphic-ized. This was recommended by Mark.



48. Watership Down: The Graphic Novel – Richard Adams adapted and illustrated by James Sturm and Joe Sutphin 2023
– library

The graphics are great. The story is complete but of course lacks the nuances of the original novel. This seemed ultra condensed and although I enjoyed revisiting the story that I first read in 1975, although the major plot points are intact, the details are gone. It felt like reading the comic book versions of classics when I was a kid. I would recommend reading the original novel instead.

>33 streamsong: I really enjoyed this book! I thought it was better than her husband's collaboration with James Patterson.

You had a good month of reading.

Hi Karen! I read the Bill Clinton/James Patterson about five years ago, but I didn't review it and don't remember much. Maybe I'll have to reread it.Yay for the women creating the superior product! **wink**

I do my reviews as mostly for me so I remember the details. Otherwise my mind is like a sieve.

I *did* have an excellent month of reading in June. I just need to get caught up on reviews, now.

49. Reykjavik - Ragnar Jonasson & Katrin Jakobsdottir - 2022
- Global Reading: Iceland
- library


These two authors are another collaboration of a writer and a politician. Ragnar Jonasson is a well known Scandi crime writer. Cowriter Katrin Jakobsdottir is the prime minister of Iceland with a master’s in Icelandic literature; her thesis was written on Icelandic crime fiction.

1956 fifteen year old Lara disappeared while working as a maid on the small island of Videy, close to the city of Reykjavik. There was no evidence as to whether she left the island to return to the mainland or whether she was the victim of a crime and stayed on Videy forever.

Some of the inquiries are blocked as the couple she was working for were quite well known and resented being questioned. But no one else lived on the island and it appeared that Lara and all her luggage vanished into thin air. It’s been a constant mystery, never abandoned.

On the 30 year anniversary of Lara’s disappearance, journalist Valur Robertsson decides to reinvestigate. He seems to be making some progress, but then he is killed by a bus during the Iceland’s 200th anniversary celebration (could he have been pushed?). His sister Sunna takes over the investigation poring over Valur’s notes for a clue he might have missed.

The final chapters of the novel play out during the historic meeting in Reykjabiv when Reagan and Gorbachev met for the first time adding another nice historical touch.

I enjoyed this collaboration of crime writer and politician. There were several unexpected twists and I had not solved the ‘whodunit”.

>23 streamsong: Yeah, I definitely need to get to that one!

>31 streamsong: That one has been in the BlackHole for a while now. As I have enjoyed several of Jiles' other books, I need to get it. I just checked and my local library finally has a copy! Woot!!

>32 streamsong: Oh, poor Cree!

>41 streamsong: Nice monthly wrap up, Janet. It looks like a good reading month!

>42 streamsong: I am planning on reading the non-graphic novel of Watership Down later this year as one of the memorial reads for Anita. I would like to read the graphic novel version too at some point.

>45 streamsong: Already in the BlackHole or I would be adding it again!

Have a fantastic Friday, Janet!

>46 alcottacre: Hi Stasia - Thanks for stopping by.

Thanks for all your comments. I'm still slowly reading Doppelganger and letting it soak in a bit as I read. She's currently talking about anti-Semitism, which is fitting in with my continued read of Jewish Literacy.

Yeah, poor Cree. I've never seen that sort of reaction from a cat. That broken tooth must have been excruciating. I take him in again on Tuesday for it to be rechecked. I hope they will be able to determine if there are other bad teeth brewing.

I think I'll try to wedge in All Quiet on the Western Front for the Anita TIOLI read this month.

I would definitely be interested in joining you to reread Watership Down.

I'm reading The White Rhino Hotel and so far, thinking it is a bit 'gritty' for my taste. The amorous dwarf is not my favorite character. :) But the historical details are fascinating so I'll keep reading.

>42 streamsong: Lovely graphics! I read the book a very long time ago. Darker than most animal stories, when I remember right.

Hi Ella! I agree that the graphics were lovely and the story is a bit dark - it's a bit of a political analogy. But it's not half as dark as of one his next books, The Plague Dogs which I would never read again.

Whoops missed a review from the end of May.



46 How Can I Help You - Laura Sims - 2023
– library
3.5 stars

This is a story of a very small town library and two of the library workers, both hiding their pasts and their individual obsessions.

The first is Margo, a library aid. She is pleasant, punctual, and efficient as she reshelves books, helps with checkouts and other routine tasks. However, we soon find out that she is actually hiding from law enforcement; in her past life as a nurse, patients were mysteriously dying and Margo was forced to flee and create a new life and identity for herself.

Then there is Patricia, the newly hired reference librarian. She dearly wants to be a writer but was crushed when her book was rejected. Her boyfriend is fed up with her constant writing. Patricia determined to leave her writing ambitions and boyfriend behind and, having just graduated from library school takes a very quiet job to begin her normal life.

But her attention soon turns to the rather mysterious Margo, especially Margo’s actions when a porn-addicted patron dies in a library bathroom. Patricia has very little in the way of duties; she does some digging into Margo’s background and then begins obsessively writing out longhand a new novel where her discoveries and guesses about Margo form the basis of an eerily true novel.

Curious about the constant writing, Margo purloins the journal and recognizes the plot as her life story. The only solution is to eliminate Patricia.

I love libraries and books with a science/medical slant are also favorite topics of mine. The tension throughout the book built nicely and made me read it quickly. I was a bit let down by the ending – but having been a bit dissatisfied with the ending of several books in a row, I’m wondering if this would have been more satisfying if I read it at a different time. However, Patricia falls into the TSTL category – if you believe your coworker is a serial killer, would you really write about it at work and leave your writings “hidden” in your desk?

>44 streamsong: I saw a question on social media that made me chuckle: is it possible to love a book and still not remember anything about it? I am so grateful for LT as a reference.

I really enjoyed Reykjavik earlier this year. I'm glad you did too.All Quiet on the Western Front I really liked too , some years ago. I picked up a copy of Skippy Dies for the memorial read for Anita, but I don't think I will get to it until November.

>51 witchyrichy: Exactly, Karen! I may remember some odd detail about a book that I didn't like even years later but not remember *what and why* I liked about another book. It does speak to rereading books that I do like - if I'm loving a book and galloping through it, I'm liable to miss all sorts of details.

>52 vancouverdeb: Hi Deborah! You may be the person that recommended Reykjavik to me. I really did enjoy it. And although I don't usually read more than one book by an author in any given month because I like to mix things up a bit, I also read Snowblind in June (review coming eventually - grin) and will be reading onward in that series.

All Quiet on the Western Front is waiting for me at the library I should get to it fairly soon.

This book was one recommended by The Book Girls’ Book Voyage for Eastern Europe and Russia. https://bookgirlsguide.com/eastern-europe-books/ The author was born in Georgia and emigrated to London with his family when he was twelve. It’s the first book I’ve read from the country of Georgia for my Global Reading challenge.



49. Hard by a Great Forest – Leo Vardiashvili - 2024
- Book Girls' World Tour - Eastern Europe: Global Reading - Georgia (Book #1)
– library


Saba, his older brother and father fled Georgia during the war. There wasn’t quite enough money to pay for Saba’s mother’s exit and she was adamant there her boys should be safe. While Saba’s father worked diligently to earn the money required to bring her over to England, things went wrong and Saba’s mother’s died before making it to England.

Eventually, Saba’s father returned to his beloved war-torn Georgia. He immediately disappeared. Saba’s brother then returned to Georgia to hunt for his father, but he too disappeared.

Now it is up to Saba to enter Georgia and search for them both. When Saba and his brother were boys, Saba’s older brother often set complicated clue games to leave a trail. This was frustrating for Saba as he often couldn’t follow his older brother’s obscure logic.

But when Saba enters Georgia, he finds his brother has revived the old game in order to let Saba know where he has gone while eluding the authorities which are opposed to the family’s presence in the country.

The first clue is the first line from Grimm’s fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel: “Hard by a great forest there lived a woodcutter.” The deadly game is on.

Eventually the chase leads to the Ossetia Region which has traditionally been Georgian territory, but which the Russians have claimed for themselves. It’s highly defended; no one is allowed in or out. Families inside and outside the Ossetia Region are lost to each other.

Sneaking through Russian defenses seems impossible.

I enjoyed this novel, where the country of war torn Georgia was a vivid character of its own, especially as I couldn’t help but note similarities with what I know of Ukraine. Georgia had also been assimilated into the Soviet Union; after the Soviet collapse chaos reigned, but Georgia emerged as an independent country. Eventually Russia tried to reclaim the entire region of Georgia but ended up with the small Ossetia Region. Both Georgia and Ukraine are on the Black Sea.

Four stars – a tense twisty read that introduced me to an unfamiliar country.

We're entering a several week stretch of temps in the high 90's or 100 by late afternoon. So I'm setting my alarm for early and trying to get more work done outside in the mornings.

I'm not typically a morning person. I love lazy mornings on the internet or with a book, drinking two cups of coffee and doing Wordle and Connections before the day starts. :) Alas, not to be while this heat continues. We've been free of forest fire smoke so far this year, but small fires are beginning to break out here in the NW and there are projects I need to finish before the yearly smoke descends.

Today is a goodbye gathering for a friend who is moving cross country to be closer to her son and his family. Her husband and I were lab partners in many, many microbiology classes at University. He is quickly slipping away due to Alzheimer's and she needs family help at this point. I will miss her and D. The party moved inside this evening due to the heat....

There's a Friday night outdoor concert for a Beatles tribute band and Saturday is the absolutely wonderful local garden tour. Heat worries about both these events, too.

I was up at 2am and the temp was 92.

ETA in todays paper "As of Tuesday, the temperature had not gone below 90 for eight consecutive days, including an overnight low of 91 degrees on July 9, Salerno said."

At this rate, Phoenix could beat last summer's all-time record for 90-degree or above nights. There were 35, which shattered the previous record of 28 in 2020.

The record for the warmest night ever in Phoenix was also set last summer — on July 19 — when the low temperature was 97 degrees.

not fun

Sorry to hear your friend is leaving, but it's good she's getting the help she needs.

>54 streamsong: Sounds interesting, Janet. Good review.

I’m sorry your friend is moving away.

>56 cindydavid4: Hi Cindy! Did I ever tell you my brother and SIL live in Tempe? I honestly don't know how you stand it in the summer! At least in Montana we cool down during the nights. I think it was mid-60's when I got up this morning and is now 70 at 9am. It does give me until noon-ish to get some outside things accomplished.

I hope you can find some relief and stay cool!

>57 The_Hibernator: Hi Rachel - Yes, I'm glad J will have family nearby, but the whole thing sucks. D is still pretty good if I talk about things he grew up with enjoyed.

>59 streamsong: Thank you, Ella. I will miss J, but am also saddened by the hard times she has ahead of her. And she has been grieving the loss of D for several years now a the Alzheimer's slowly steals him away.

yes you did. I think we can stand it because we know that usually November through May are absolutely glorious, which is why all the snowbirds are here. Unfortunately it always feels like Nov will never get here!

The heat seems to be everywhere, Janet. We had a cool down today, it is 79 F with the humidex here right now. I think it was about 90 F yesterday . It is really hot where you are though. Like you , I am not a morning person. I tend to go for my walks at about 4 - 5pm when it is probably the warmest outside. I hope you enjoy your events on Friday and Saturday. Sounds like fun!

>60 cindydavid4: March in Phoenix is glorious! I hated to come back here to the snow and slush the year I visited then.

>61 vancouverdeb: Hi Deborah - We usually only have a day or two all summer this hot. Two or three weeks of this sounds mind-bending (melting?).

The mornings are beautiful; it's currently 58. One cup of coffee down, Wordle solved, watch out world here I come.

Saturday there was a FOL book sale. I had other plans that day so I didn't work it. But OF COURSE I had to stop by. It was pretty quiet, the shelves were pretty full although the sale was halfway done. And so I bought a tote bag and filled it up with books (did I need them? aren't I trying to cull books?).

So I've been slowly adding them here on LT - I'll have the list and post it here soon. I've been adding it to >10 streamsong: my list of books acquired for the year.

Anyhow, even though I wasn't bookscouting, I may have found a whale. I just sent an email offering it to the Yellowstone Research Institute. They already have a copy listed in their online catalog and list another copy in a locked collection in Gardiner. I told them I'd be happy to donate to any Yellowstone Collection that may want it. It'll be interesting to see what happens.

The book is Growing Up in Yellowstone by Gerald L Bateson, Jr. There is another similarly titled book by a different author.

I’ve been looking for a mystery series to read between the heavier books. I tried out the first titles in several series in June.

Several of my friends here on LT are enthusiastic about this series. I was familiar with the investigator Jimmy Perez and the Shetland Islands from watching the first few seasons of the TV series.



50. Raven Black – Anne Cleeves -2006
– library

An artist spots a splash of red against the snow and thinks how beautiful it is. Unfortunately, as she nears, it is clear it is a scarf belonging to a very dead teen age girl.

The most likely suspect is the odd recluse who lives nearby. He’s mentally a bit slow and since his mother died, he is very lonely. The girl and her friend have visited him a time or two on a dare. In addition, he was the prime suspect in a murder that happened twenty years ago. The police believed he knew more than he was saying and treated him badly.

The Shetland Islands are a sparsely inhabited island group where everyone knows everyone – there are a few newcomers in the mix but mostly the inhabitants know each others’ history and business.

There were lots of good twists and turns. I thought the characters were interesting and a good diverse mix. They ranged from high school kids, long time inhabitants, newcomers and a variety of professions and ages. I’ll be going on with this series. 4 stars

>64 streamsong: Oh thanks. I do the same, sandwiching mysteries between more demanding books, and I haven't read this series yet. And this is where it starts! Hooray!

Hi Judy! I'm glad that you will also be reading this series! It will be fun to share.

Stasia is also reading this series, although she's farther into it than I am. Her comments and the comments by the others on her thread about this series and Ann Cleeves' other mystery series really cemented that I give it a try.

Another day or 4 in the high 90's and low 100's. Forest fires are beginning to pop up everywhere in Montana and we are getting smoke from fires in southern Oregon, too. It's not unbearable out there yet so I need to get stuff done this morning before heading off to my IP bookclub at 1.

I'm not sure if the bookclub will be meeting on the restaurant patio today - we have the option of moving inside if it's too hot or smokey. The book we read is The Secret Life of Sunflowers about Johanna Bonger, the wife of Vincent Van Gogh's brother Theo. Theo died soon after his brother and it was Johanna's persistance and determination that brought Vincent's genius and paintings of the unknown artist to the world.

Here are the books that I bought at the Library book sale. The number in parenthesis at the end is the number of books catalogued here on LT. I always like to see how eclectic **smile** my taste is when I buy a pile of books. Number 37 is the rare one that I hope to find a home for in a Yellowstone collection. My personal favorite is the audiobook of A Room of One's Own which I'll be starting as soon as I complete my current audiobook, The Color of Water.

Bitterroot Public Library Booksale 7/13/2024
28. Painted Horses - Malcolm Brooks - (210)
29. Let Him Go - Larry Watson - (250)
30. Inkdeath - Cornelia Funke - (6950)
31. Flashback - Nevada Barr - HB signed by author - (1189)
32. A Room of One's Own - Virginia Woolf - audiobook - (12511)
33. The Eighty Dollar Champion - Elizabeth Letts (710)
34. Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage - Alfred Lansing (5172)
35. Myths and Legends of Yellowstone - Ednor Therriault (4? maybe 1)
36. The Bears of Yellowstone - Paul Schullery - (26)
***37. Growing Up In Yellowstone - Gerald L. Bateson, Jr - (0)
38. The Lewis and Clark Cookbook: Historic Recipes from the Corps of Discovery - Leslie Mansfield -(62)
39. Glacier National Park After Dark: Sunset to Sunrise in a Beloved Montana Wilderness -John Ashley - (3)
40. A Guide to Exploring Grand Teton National Park - Linda L Olson & Tim Bywater - (7

>67 streamsong: oh I read about herin a smithsonian article awhile backand remembered wanting to read the book thanks for the reminder

Happy Wednesday, Janet Nice book haul. I liked Let Him Go and thought Endurance was excellent. I will watch for your thoughts on a few of these other titles, I am not familiar with.

We booked a one night campsite in Bozeman, to split up the drive from Custer to Glacier. I can't believe how fast it is approaching.

>69 cindydavid4: Hi Cindy. Everybody liked The Secret Life of Sunflowers at the book club and agreed that it was a quick read and interesting to learn about the very determined Johanna Bonger who was the driving force in preserving Van Gogh's works after his death and seeing that he became recognized for the genius that he was.

The author is a romance writer with over 60 romances published. In the notes at the end she said she said she wondered about her ability to cross over into 'women's fiction' and historical fiction. It's a split timeline with the current time line falling into what I call women's fiction - a romance wrapped around a determined woman living up to her grandmother's legacy; the earlier time line with Johanna Bonger is more historical fiction. The author did a lot of research and I liked it enough that I'll pick up her next book Woman Braiding Her Hair.

>72 streamsong: Hi Mark - Book hauls are fun, even though I swore I wasn't going to accumulate as many books this year. However, with one friend moving and selling a lot of her books, and then going by the library sale I've acquired far more than I, should have.

There was a shared read for The White Rhino Hotel earlier this year that fell apart. I'd never heard of it, so thought I'd give it a try. It's a bit too much hairy knees and Hemingway in Africa for me, but I should finish it in the next day or two. I saw you enjoyed it. Did you read the next two in the trilogy?

Keep your eyes on the Glacier web cams to keep track of the amount of smoke they are getting. We are in heat dome expected to last at least another two weeks and the smoke in the Bitterroot Valley is beginning to get bad. There's a largish fire near Missoula and we're also getting smoke from southern Oregon.

>64 streamsong: >65 ffortsa: I have been doing the same thing: mostly reading cozy mysteries focused on books are libraries. Adding Cleves to the list!

Also added The Secret Life of Sunflowers to the list.

I am sorry to hear about the heat and the fires. We have a few days of cooler weather and *maybe* rain.

Hi Karen! Ooh I'll have to see what you are reading - cozy mysteries focused on libraries sound very enticing.

I hope you enjoy The Secret Life of Sunflowers when you get to it.

I envy you your rain - no rain here in the forecast until at least August. Temps high 90's and low 100's for the next week. We do have a covering of smoke but it is not the obnoxious level yet. And, like a layer of clouds, it reduces the temperature a bit.

>13 streamsong: I have not read The Ghost Bride yet, Janet, but I really loved The Fox Wife: A Novel by the same author earlier this year, so I purchased The Ghost Bride to read as my library does not have it. I hope you enjoy The Ghost Bride. The various Ann Cleves series are enjoyable. They aren't too heavy, I agree.

Hi Deborah! I think I may have read your review of The Fox Wife which led me to Yangsze Choo. Even though I was a science major in college, I also took some liberal arts classes and one of those was Chinese Fairy Tales. The Ghost Bride felt very familiar to me as I could see the Chinese influence. I may well read more by this author.

Yay for a bit of escapism with Ann Cleves.

I'm currently reading All Quiet on the Western Front as a tribute to Anita. The TIOLI challenge in her honor this month was to read one of her favorite books published in the 20's or 30's.

51. An Ordinary Man – Paul Rusesabagina - 2006
- Global Reading: Rwanda
– library

This book is the basis for the movie Hotel Rwanda. Paul Rusesabagina, the author, tells his story of giving shelter and saving about twelve hundred people in the hotel he managed during the 1994 Rwanda genocide when the Tsutis murdered some 800,000 Hutus.

Paul had made it a point to befriend all the regulars of the hotel; to give them little favors and to carefully record their telephone numbers in his little black notebook. This book of numbers and a hidden telephone became the very means of salvation – although Rusesabagina mourned that he saved a very small percentage compared to the huge number of murders.

He tells this story in the second part of the book.

The first part is dedicated to the root causes of the hatred between the two tribes. A large part of the discord he ascribed to the colonial ruler Belgium that assigned tribes according to physical assets which they said affected the intelligence of the various people.

As the injustices mounted,even after the Belgians no longer ruled, resentment grew. I found these two paragraphs especially interesting and relevant perhaps to the divisions in US politics with the concurrent uprising of the militia as well as revolutions everywhere.

“The other thing you have to understand was that the message crept into our national consciousness very slowly. It did not happen all at once. We did not wake up one morning to hear it poring out of the radio at full strength. It started with a sneering comment, the casual use of the term ‘cockroach’, the almost humorous suggestion that Tutsis should be airmailed back to Ethiopia. Stripping the humanity from ane ntire group takes time. It is an attitude that requires cultivation, a series of small steps, daily tending.” P64

“These refugees saw plenty of reasons to be angry at the rebels – and, by unfair extension, angry at each individual Tutsi, Plus the militias were fun (italics), in the same way that hate radio was fun. They brought a sense of purpose and cohesion to an otherwise dreary life. It was like being int the Boy Scouts, or a soccer club, only there was a popular enemy to hate ad a lot of built-up frustration to vent.” P68

Last night I watched In Restless Dreams: the Music of Paul Simon through a free presentation through AARP. If you are a Paul Simon fan, it's definitely worth seeing. Pure magic! But .. be warned it's 3 hours and 45 miniutes long. The AARP showing had no option to pause or come back to it later. And even though I cooked and ate dinner (cheese & mushroom ravioli with butternut squash sauce), mostly I sat and watched it.

I am so stiff this morning! I see it's available to rent through Amazon prime which I would highly recommend.

Re reading Lessons in Chemistry for a book club tomorrow. It's amazing how much of the book I have forgotten even though I read it last year for my other in-person book club. I probably read it quickly at the last moment- as I tend to do with book club books. But sheesh! all I remember are the broadest of the outline points. I should probably reread every book in my collection. It is lovely light fiction.

I'm also reading All Quiet on the Western Front for the TIOLI challenge of Anita's favorite books from the 20's and 30's, and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle for Mark's group read. My audio book is A Room of One's Own which I picked up from the recent book sale. It's supposed to hit the 100+ range by mid-afternoon so reading will be on the agenda.

>80 streamsong: LOL! So true! I really enjoyed All Quiet on the Western Front, Janet. I plan to read Skippy Dies by Paul Murray in November along with Stasia as my memorial read for Anita. She is missed, very much.

Just catching up here, Janet. Hope all is well with you! And hope the fires are contained and the air quality improves.