Last Day of the Year Varia

 Today's post is going to be a mix of things. This year was a mix of accomplishments, successes, and defeats, negatives, and several incompletes, and continuances.

In no particular order, I'll attempt to say something about them as I think of them. The positives will begin with a plus (+) sign; the negatives will begin with a minus (-) sign; and the incompletes and continuances will be marked with a question (?) mark.

+ This year I read 101 books! An all-time high. A large part of that is because I belong to three book clubs, two of which began this year. Several books were either small young adult or children's books of 100 pages or less, but I read them because of a recommendation of a friend. Several were re-reads, especially my favorite mystery series. I haven't counted the fiction/nonfiction breakdown yet, but I think it will be roughly 60/40.

- Healthwise, it hasn't been the best. I've had celultis twice, one resulting in a trip to the ER and a two-day stay in the hospital amongst COVID patients. I had a small surgery on my left ear to remove a cancerous growth caused by the sun many years ago. And just earlier this month I had two molars taken out. One was loose and was going to fall out besides having a small decay which was rapidly getting larger. The other was what was left from a root canal years ago and needed to go if I am to have a partial denture put in (another story). My knees continued to weaken this year. I avoid stairs if I can. But my diabetes numbers seem to be doing a little better. I have my annual scope of my bladder for my 2011 cancer next week. I've been cancer-free since 2017.

- Because of COVID and my knees, I had to give my volunteering at the Stonewall Jackson House as well as the Lexington library. 

? I'm still trying to write, but the computer gods aren't working with me. I can't write longhand anymore to any extent. My hand shakes too much. And the laptop is so old it takes 30 minutes or more to open up usually. And then, it often just freezes so I have no other choice except to shut it down for another day. My writing goes back and forth between a mystery I have been working on for over a year and a memoir of sorts that I have just begun in the last three months. But neither is doing well because I spend most of my thinking about how to get the computer to work.

+ At least I'll have a good dinner - crab cakes, shrimp cocktail, and scallops. And there's watching "When Harry Met Sally" again almost yearly since about 1990. I know I missed it in 1999 when I was sick with the flu and watched Y2K come in around the world with Peter Jennings. 

+ And of course, a big positive was the birth of our fourth grandchild, another girl, named Serenity. I think we're finished now - two boys, two girls.

+ Anyhow, Happy New Year!

A Different Christmas

 This was a different Christmas from years past without even considering COVID. This year I didn't get a book as a present. I can't remember when the last time that happened. I figure back in the 70's.

I am trying to cut down on my physical library. I use the library for most of my book club selections - unless it's one I have recommended; then I already have it.

This year I asked for DVDs. I had bought a book about the TV series, Numb3rs, on TV in the early 2000s where a mathematician helps his FBI brother solve crimes using math. So got the first three seasons - which happens to be what the book covered. Can't wait to begin watching and reading, though it will be not a continuous read,

We usually just buy a book and/or a CD for each other, but this year we decided to buy an old-style LP record (they are now called vinyl) player. We have about 300 of old records we both grew up with, but haven't played them in almost 30 years! So far, the few we've tried haven't seemed to suffer any damage.

We're not going anywhere due to COVID. We've got a baptism next month for our newest grandchild in Pennsylvania. And Lisa may have to go down again for our middle daughter's possible surgery. She was there at the beginning of this month for a surgery on a thyroid.

Non-Reading Weekends

 Weekends are not good times for me when it comes to reading. I've reluctantly come to that conclusion over several months. While my weekdays seem to be available for scheduling reading times throughout the day, the weekends pose special obstacles. This is when I watch my sports and other pre-recorded shows from the past week. 

I watch my English Premier League soccer, PGA golf, as well as American Ninja Warrior. The soccer is mostly live or pre-recorded sometime during the weekend. The golf is recorded on the weekends, with round 3 on Saturdays and the final fourth round on Sunday. A caveat here - if I don't get to watch round 3 before the final round on Sunday, I usually delete it unless I know something major happened. Ninja Warrior shows are all reruns since I am just getting into watching it, so I watch them as they are taped. 

As for any other taped show, whether a weekly TV drama or comedy, a TNT movie, or any other show, more often than not they get saved to be watched whenever I have time and/or the urge to watch them. Needless to say, this does require a certain regular schedule of culling the programs.

As much as I try to meet my reading goals I'm afraid they most often fall short. The best I can do is read my fiction books each Saturday and Sunday evening after dinner, though most Sunday evenings I'm watching a couple of TV shows scheduled on Sunday, as well as the Sunday evening NFL football game.

So there it is. Just wanted to get it out there. Hopefully, now I won't feel (so) guilty for not reading on the weekends.

A Reading Challenge

It's almost the end of the month and there will be nine reading months left in the year. Trying to decide on what classics to read has been a chore for some time. So I have decided to make it a little easier. I am going to choose 10 authors I have either not read or if I have read them it has been so long I can't remember what I read of them.

Why ten authors, not nine, so each could have their own month? Because that would be too easy. This is more of a challenge. I have a couple more limitations/rules, but first, here are the authors in no particular order:

1. Jane Austen
2. George Orwell
3. Anthony Trollope
4. Sherwin Anderson
5. George Elliot
6. Charles Dickens
7. J.R.R. Tolkien
8. Thomas Hardy
9. Aldous Huxley
10. (TBA later)

Looking at the list I see that male authors greatly outnumber female writers. Even if I chose a woman writer as my tenth choice, it won't make much of a difference. So be it.

Any other rules or limitations on the title selections? I don't think so at this time, but that may change.

How will I update the list? I will enter an update in a future blog post and include the label "Reading Challenge" with any others for that post. 

Last Post of the Month - Cleaning Up

 Nothing particular about this post today. It's the day after I made a day-long push to finish two books yesterday for my two book clubs. Neither one will make my favorite list. But I did read the 23rd book in the Inspector Rutledge of Scotland Yard series. The series is about a WWI police inspector who is suffering from shell-shock while solving very complex cases. This one is called A Fatal Lie. 

I also posted on Facebook pictures of me carrying the Olympic torch in 1984. It garnered quite a few views.

I was able to get the front page picture on the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette because my mother gave the young photographer a ride to the run location; he was hitchhiking from Pittsburgh!

And I finished up my COVID vaccinations. Two of them. Pfizer. Lisa got the Moderna. I had no reaction either time. Lisa got chills with the second which lasted about eight hours. But that was all. 

We had a cold and snowy spell the last half of the month.

Looking forward to March!

Snow, Car, and Furnace Problems, and Finished a Book - Busy. Busy, Busy

 This week has been a doozy. First, I got us cleaned up by Tuesday from last weekend's.

But then, the outside air conditioner/furnace unit froze up so the fan would not rotate, causing the motor to get to the "burning out" phase. So I had to trudge through the icy crunchy snow-covered grass to break up the ice around the fans.

Yesterday, the Saturn wouldn't start. I figured it was the battery. It was. Fortunately, it was still in warranty. AAA came out and started it. They ran a test on it and said it was a dead battery. So I drove it around the corner to the shop I had bought the battery from. They replaced it for no charge. Took about 30 minutes. The only negative thing was none of the staff was wearing masks.

Overnight, the snow and sleet returned. There's a break,now but it's due to resume anytime.

Tomorrow I'll have to clean the car off and then the driveway.

But on a positive note, I finally finished "The Woman in White" by Wilkie Collins. It is 626 pages. I began it in May of last year. Written in 1886, it was one of the first of the mystery-thriller genre. Collins wrote another in the same genre in 1860. It was called "The Moonstone". I actually liked it better. Now to choose another big book. My latest Charles Todd/Inspector Rutledge is coming; it was released on Tuesday.

A Facebook Post

The following is a Facebook post about my library and books that I posted this evening. I thought I'd copy and paste it to my blog. Enjoy.

A very good friend posted a comment earlier on my page referencing my books and what I have actually read. He asked "...How many of the hundreds of books have I actually read." After I replied to him, I felt all of you deserved the same answer.

First of all, my library is not in the hundreds as he suggested; it is between 2-3 thousand separate books. About 80-90% are nonfiction. I have read a part or all of the majority of them. Sometimes, it is only the introduction, preface, afterword, and the first chapter or two. My plan is to return to it later. Often, I will stay with it and adjust my current reading list (5-7 books). About 50% of the fiction falls into that "read" category (reading the first couple of chapters). Not included are the books I take out from the library, which are mostly fiction. I buy very few books anymore. Before COVID, I stalked old bookstores and library book sales.

I read every day. As I said before I generally read anywhere from 5 to 7 books at a time, with only 1-3 being fiction.

I hope this helps to explain my "bibliomania" passion. I post the pictures of my books just to try to instill a passion for books in others. Thanks for reading.

 

Miscellany

This is a catch-up post. January was not a good month for my blogging. I spent most of it reading. I had two book clubs last month, one just beginning and the other after a month's break.

I also DID get my first COVID vaccine shot - Pfizer - and had no problems. I am scheduled for my second shot next week, the 10th, in the morning. 

We had our first significant snowfall in two years on Sunday. We got about 4-6 inches. Fortunately, the complex has a superior snow removal company and we were clear by late morning. No new snow is expected in the next week (good for the forecast for getting my shot next Wednesday).

Our B&B book club resumed well. We had a good discussion on "Marrow and Bone", a fiction book about a road trip through 1989 Poland. While I thought it was only okay, several enjoyed it. Honestly, I really don't get most of the fiction I read for this club. But I do like the nonfiction. We only have four this year so it will be a struggle. 

Our first meeting of the Mysterious Book Club was last week. We have seven members and six showed up. Our seventh has COVID and didn't really feel well enough to attend (virtually/ Incidently, both clubs are meeting virtually). My friend Dave and I started the club, so Dave selected the first book, a post-WW1 Scotland Yard series. It's a favorite of both of us so we had high hopes. 

Unfortunately, I don't think it went that well. Maybe it was because three of the members were new - three of us came from the B&B club - and might have been intimidated. We meet again in March (we meet every other month) so we will see how it goes.

I also re-read the last Inspector Rutledge again. It came out last February as they all do. I always re-read the last one in preparation for the next new release which comes in February. I've already pre-ordered it from Barnes and Noble. It is due to be released on February 16.

So my fiction is over for a short time, and I have decided to make a push to finish Wilkie Collins' A Woman in White. It was written in about 1880 or '86. Collins is called England's Edgar Allan Poe. He began the mystery thriller in England. 

It is over 600 pages and I still have about 190 pages to go. I began it last May! But it has been easy to drop off and pick back up again. Hopefully, I can finish it before my Rutledge gets here.

As I said - I didn't get much done last month except reading.

Two Books a Day

I have been posting on Facebook for the past week or so, some books from my library. I usually post two in the morning, together in one photo, usually with a connection of sorts. Then I post again in the afternoon another two. Most of the time I say nothing about the books, letting the titles and authors speak for themselves. 

If someone asks a question or comment, I respond. Some of the books I've read; some I intend on reading. I don't differentiate. 

Here is one of my old bookcases I bought At Corfe Castle in England in 1971. I paid $5 for the pair. Solid walnut. This is where I get a lot of the books I post.

A Memory Question

 Memory is a strange thing. I just finished a book that I first read 30 years ago. I remember it quite differently. 

Then I would have recommended it to my JROTC students. For some reason, I did not. Now I would not have recommended it.

As far as war stories about Vietnam go, it was a very good read. It just bothers me that I remember it so differently. But then, the story is about one soldier and how he remembered events and changed them in his mind.

I wonder why I did.

A New Way of Daily Reading

 I've been trying to come up with a more efficient way of reading my fiction than heretofore. I had been saving my fiction until the evening. That gave me the ability to read six nonfiction - two/day - in rotation during the day. But this meant that any lengthy fiction book would consume much of my evening reading. It came t head when I began to read Wilkie Collin's "A Woman in White", a tome of over 600 pages.

I have decided to do is this. I've reduced my day reading to five books; 3 nonfiction and two fiction. On Day 1 I will read NF Book#1 and F Book#1. On Day 2 I will read NF Book#2 and F Book#2. On Day 3 I will read NF Book#3 and return to F Book#1. On Day 4 I will read NF Book#1 and F Book#2. And so on.

Obviously, the key is not to get confused about the reading order. So after I have read for the day, I rearrange my daily currently reading bookstand that sits on my desk, with the books now showing what is to be read the next day on the righthand side of the stand - nearest the soldier standing guard over my treasures!

The advantage this will give me is that I can read a long fiction while still reading shorter ones. It does reduce my reading of nonfiction books, but I am going to attempt to replace that by reading one of nonfiction Easton Press or another living room book in the evenings when I read after dinner. 

A final part of this change to my current reading plan is whenever I get to between 50-100 pages from the end of any book, nonfiction or fiction, I will suspend that day's normal reading plan and concentrate on finishing that book. I've tried this a few times and find myself rewarded for the effort. What will determine when I make the "mad dash to the finish line" will be how difficult or how easy it was up to that point reading the book.

It all sounds likes a solid plan. We'll see how it works.

GoodReads

 I have an account with Goodreads with which I keep track of my reading. I also use it to list books in my library as well. I also follow several people who are much more avid readers, faster readers, and readers who can write better reviews of books they have read. I usually do not write reviews there because of intimidation; my writing just can't compare to theirs.

But I have decided to begin using GoodReads to write my reviews and forget about using my blog. I know that will limit me as to what I will write about, but at least I will be able to potentially get some feedback on my reading/reviews/writing.

I wrote my really first review this morning on GR about the last book I just finished.

It's about the Pan Am Seaplanes, called Clippers, and how the company tried to save all of them at the beginning of WW2 when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. The book is actually the story of one of them specifically, the Pacific Clipper.

During the war, these aircraft worked for/under the Army Air Transport Command. My father was in the Army Air Corps during the war and his Army unit was in the ATC. Though he didn't fly this type of airplane - he flew new and repaired B17's and B24's to Brazil and North Africa and returned with damaged ones - he did fly a very similar route from North America to Brazil to Africa. It was exciting to read about the Clipper's journey coming west.

A Final Selection

 A look back at my earlier posts this month (3rd, 12th) show I was deep into deciding what book to offer for discussion in 2021 for the B&B book club. I had worked down to three, then the list went back up to 15. So I began to work on it again. I even sent the list out to some friends asking for their suggestions. The book I finally came up with wasn't on the initial two lists but a late entry.

"Dreamers of the Day" by Mary Doria Russell is a story that begins in America during the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, but quickly moves to Egypt and the early 1920s. As typical with all of Russell's novels, it was very heavily researched, occupied with exciting characters - some real, some fictional, all amid very descriptive locations.

Mary Doria Russell is one of my very favorite authors. I have read four of her about nine novels. She wrote two about Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp which were very long and exciting. Her first book, The Sparrow, is sort of sci-fi, but very good. it's about a failed space mission to another planet to establish a colony which ultimately fails. The sole survivor is an Italian (or is he Spanish?) Jesuit priest. The story switched between the present where he is trying to tell what happened between being tortured by the Church, and the mission on the planet. As you can probably tell, I liked the book. She wrote a sequel but I haven't read it.

I hope by introducing Russell to the club that others will read her. She is one of the best fiction authors I have read. Oh, did I forget to mention that she has a Ph.D. in Biological Anthropology?

One last thing - I couldn't get my font to change back to the normal font so I just left it. The title was fine, but everything else is screwed up. We'll see next time.

Books, Books, Books

 It's raining cats and dogs and books in my study today. I am trying to get next year's books for the B&B assigned to months. I've sent the emails out; now just waiting to hear back. The first is taken care of because one of the members stepped up and volunteered to do two this year and I asked she would do the first one. She said yes. Takes a load off right there.

I've also been working on the new book club, The Mysterious Book Club for now, gathering members and an initial book list. Typical me, I've already changed my list twice. But it's not all my fault. A couple of people chose a book or two on my list. I figure I have more variety in my library than they do, so I just deleted from my list and went hunting again.

Back to the B&B club - I still haven't chosen my selection yet. Don't know whether to go with fiction or nonfiction. Maybe I'll select a fiction for this club that won't fit in the other. Thinking out loud now. 

In other news, COVID is continuing to be the pandemic the scientists and medical experts feared. The country will have 250,000 deaths in a few days. Still, not as deadly as the Spanish Flu of 1918, but then people have very short memories. And they don't like to study history. One of the things that we learned from the 1918 flu 1) wear a mask, 2) avoid crowds, and 3) wash your hands frequently. Sound familiar? People today believe it is their right to decide whether to wear a mask. Yes, until it affects others' health.

Sorry, I made a rule not to get into politics on this blog. But it is difficult at times. That's why I spend so little time on Facebook. I'll leave you with a picture today and talk about it next time.

A Mysterious Book Club

I'm starting a new book club. I've been thinking about this for quite some time. My current book club, Books & Brews, which I manage for the Lexington Library, covers basically everything but mysteries. Trying to choose my selection for this coming year I have two mysteries among the candidates. I would love to have them presented to the group, but I have some serious hesitations.

I have three other people so far: two from the B&B club who expressed an interesting one person from the Stonewall Jackson House (SJH) who loves Charles Todd as much as I do. Right now, I have sent out emails to three other people - all from the SJH - to see if I can a couple more. I only want about eight and I have four already.

It will be interesting to see what kind of mysteries will be chosen. I'll keep you posted.

Reading Matters (n.)

I've been off on my reading for the past couple of weeks. I am catching up slowly. You can see from the photo at the left what I am currently attempting. We'll see how it goes. The one fiction book, The Woman in White, is a longish read and will probably take another one to two months. That's okay because it is easy to stop at various points without losing the train of the story. The "book club" book is rather depressing; it's about the writer's mother and how she fighting, or rather living with, the cancer in her body. It does talk about books that they read. Or more precisely, books they have read in his youth.

On another reading front, we finished the year in our book club and are now selecting books and the monthly reading order. I haven't chosen my book yet; my list is down to 15 candidates. It was only 14 yesterday, but I passed one of bookcase and a book just called out to me, saying, "Add me, add me...', so I did. I sent out an email to the other members to help me choose and have heard back from a couple. Ultimately, though, I know I will have to decide. I set a deadline of November 30th.

Before we broke the meeting I brought up the idea of starting a mystery book club. I said that it did not necessarily have to meet monthly, but may every other; or possibly quarterly. So far I have three others who are interested. I would like to keep it smallish - say 6 to 8 members. We'll see.

 

Harassing a Friend

I've been working with a friend of mine from our book club about choosing books for next year. In the meantime, I've been recommending several good mysteries to him. Below is a typical missive he has been bombarded with these past several days. I only hope our friendship outlasts my obsession!

Dave,

As I was working earlier in my study, I happened to look down at my mystery pile next to my desk. That's' where I keep my stack of mysteries to be read or re-read. On top of the pile was the second of a five-part series by Anne Perry. She's probably most famous for the 18th Century Detective Thomas Pitt mysteries (I've never read them - don't know why), but since WWI is my weakness, I read her series several years ago and now have already re-read the first one, Angels in the Gloom, again. The second, Shoulder the Sky, the title from the English poet A. E. Housman, is beckoning me to read once again. 

Angels is the story of a young man whose parents were just killed in an auto accident that turns out to be murder. While solving the murder, the son - Joseph, an Oxford teacher of religion - discovers a conspiracy that threatens national security. So while the murder is solved in the first book, the conspiracy connects all five books. The story is about his adventures during the war, and those of his younger brother Mathew and younger sister, Judith, while they all get involved in the war and in solving the conspiracy.

I don't know why I didn't recommend this series to you before. It's on a par with CT.

I'll write later about my two French mysteries. Still trying to decide on what to do about the 2021 book selections. You and I are the last ones. Barbara came through today, while Debi gave me a three-choice; she will choose from them and us know early in the coming year so we have plenty of time to get the book. She is scheduled for November. I also have let Vera choose which two months she wants since she is doing two books. (If we had chosen the 2-book CT deal, I would have scheduled them back-to-back as well.)

Anyhow, these emails help me even if they may be slightly bothersome to you. It beats talking to myself.

Stay safe 

Ron

As you can see, my friend has a lot patience.

Book Choices for 2021 Book Club

Without any preamble, this is the list of books I have decided my selection (or selections) will be coming from for the coming year, along with notes to myself to help in my decision:

Fiction

A Very Long Engagement (find)

Regeneration

City of Thieves

A Gentleman in Moscow

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

The Wind in the Willows

The Secret Garden (library book)

Doomsday Book (library book)

Madonnas of Leningrad

The Indian Clerk

The Two Georges

Going After Cacciato (library book)

  

 

Non-Fiction

Spillover (500+ pages)

Killers of the Flower Moon (library book)

The Island of the Colorblind

The Death of Politics (decide after the election)

The Death of Truth (decide after the election)

Travels with Epicurus

Caesar's Last Breath

The Library Book

Inextinguishable Symphony

Shoe Dog (library book)

Movie Nights with the Reagans (library book)

Twin Tracks

The Pinball Effect

I will be discussing a few of these in the days to come to help me decide on my final selections - I'll choose two in case we need to cover the 11 months of book meetings. As of today, we have three submissions. I'll make my selections after I know everyone else has either submitted theirs or if someone has declined to submit one (we have two of these so far).

Re-Visiting Re-Reading

It's been quite a while since I have written on this topic. I have always been a re-reader. Most people I personally know are not. Most people I read about and the authors that I read are. I try very hard to explain to people why I enjoy re-reading a good book. By the way, this also fortifies my argument for keeping books after I read them. But I know I go overboard.

Yesterday I found something in a book I haven't read yet that best explains the habit of re-reading I've seen to this point. It is in a book by Michael Dirda.

He writes in his preface on page x, "Who, at any age, can read unmoved the last pages

of Tarzan of the Apes when the rightful Lord Greystoke, deliberating sacrificing his

own hope for happiness, quietly says, ' My mother was an ape...I never knew who my

father was.' In our hearts, we measure all the "better" and "greater" books of adult-

hood against such touchstones - and in later years we often return to the originals for

comfort and renewal."

Comfort and renewal. I guess that's how I feel when  I go a book I've read before and pick it up to begin again the story has to tell. One of my very favorites is actually non-fiction but is a series of essays about - what else but books. It's called, Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman. I have read it at least four times. Every time I enjoy it more. From combining her library with her husband's after only five years of marriage (to say nothing of six years before that of living together) to about what people write on flyleaves of books, the entire book is a treasure.

Now that I've pulled it down from the shelf, I just might read it again. At least about combining libraries.

Where Have You Been, Mrs. Robinson?

 Now that I have your attention, let me explain. I am talking about my  own  absence from the blog. In a sentence - I have been busy with medical visits and preparing for next week's book group meeting.

The medical appointments have all been normal follow-up visits with my docotrs. In one case, my diabetes is being handled by the endocronology department now instead of my primary care doctor (though he will remain in the loop). And they are not over yet. I have a urologist, a demotologist, a podiatrist, and a sleep specialist on my calendar before the end of the calendar year.

As far as the preparation for this month's book club, I am the discussion leader this time. The book, "when Books Went to War", is about the program America had to provide small, specially-made paperback books for the servicemen and women during WWII. As discussion leader I was responnsible for developing the questions. I actually found some online and a few of my own.

My current reading comes and goes. Books that I am currently reading: in fiction, "The Woman in White" by Wilkie Collins and "The Hunting Party" by Linda Foley. My nonfiction are "The Pity of It All" by Amos Elon, "Good-Bye to All That" by Robert Graves, and "Mind of the Raven" by Bernd Heinrich.

All good reads.