TTT: Books on my TBR list with the earliest publishing dates

Top Ten Tuesday: 

Book on my TBR list with the earliest publishing dates.

The Iliad by Homer -- 801 C.E.

The Inferno by Dante Alighieri -- 1320 

Hamlet -- William Shakespeare -- 1601 

Candide by Voltaire -- 1759

The Complete Grimm's Fairy Tales by Jacob Grimm -- 1812

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte -- 1848

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne -- 1850

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens -- 1850

Moby-Dick by Herman Melville -- 1851

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskill -- 1855

-Anne

Review: ORBITAL (+Friday56 LinkUp)

Book: Orbital: a Novel by Samantha Harvey

Book Beginnings quote:  

Orbit minus 1: Rotating around the earth in their spacecraft they are so together, and so alone, that even their thoughts, their internal mythologies, at times convene.

Friday56 quote: 

Orbit 4, descending: Their hands are in sealed experiment boxes or assembling or disassembling ruggedised units or refilling the auto-release food pouches in the modules of mice, their feet in tethers at their work stations, their screwdrivers and spanners and scissors and pencils are drifting here and there about their head and shoulders, a pair of tweezers breaks loose and sails towards the air vents which, in their imperceptible sucking, are the resting place of all lost things.

Summary:

A slender novel of epic power, Orbital deftly snapshots one day in the lives of six women and men hurtling through space—not towards the moon or the vast unknown, but around our planet. Selected for one of the last space station missions of its kind before the program is dismantled, these astronauts and cosmonauts—from America, Russia, Italy, Britain, and Japan—have left their lives behind to travel at a speed of over seventeen thousand miles an hour as the earth reels below. We glimpse moments of their earthly lives through brief communications with family, their photos and talismans; we watch them whip up dehydrated meals, float in gravity-free sleep, and exercise in regimented routines to prevent atrophying muscles; we witness them form bonds that will stand between them and utter solitude. Most of all, we are with them as they behold and record their silent blue planet. Their experiences of sixteen sunrises and sunsets and the bright, blinking constellations of the galaxy are at once breathtakingly awesome and surprisingly intimate. So are the marks of civilization far below, encrusted on the planet on which we live (Publisher).

Review: Orbital is not my usual reading fare. I rarely read science fiction but if I do the setting is usually in another world or in a far off time. This novel is set on the International Space Station in current time. The astronauts on board are fictitious, or more correctly they are probably an amalgam of the 280 astronauts who have lived on or visited the station since its inception in 2000. When I began reading the book I kept wishing it was nonfiction. Though I've been aware of the I.S.S. since it first launched, I know very little about it. Here was my chance to learn more. But as I read on I realized that author Samantha Harvey did her homework. It was evident that she did her research about what life on the space station is like. The quote for Friday56 shows a bit of what I learned -- in order to stand at their work the astronauts have to put their feet in tethers; items not secured will float around and move toward the air vents. In another section I learned the astronauts sleep in a chamber about the size of a phone booth, loosely attached to the wall so they won't float off. One character said he slept like a bat, upside-down. There is no up or down in space. Their tours up in the space station usually last nine months. It is critical they take care to exercise every day so their muscles don't atrope. Keeping a healthy mind is vital. Isolation and detachment would so easily destroy a psyche.

As the space station rotates the earth sixteen times in one 24-hour period the astronauts spend a lot of time looking out the window at the beautiful planet we call home. Circling 250 miles above Earth, politics, pollution, and other human conditions are smoothed out. Here is where I think Harvey's story really shines -- Orbital becomes a meditation, a song for Mother Earth. Harvey also pans out and helps us view man's time on Earth. Starting billions of years ago, she looks at the cosmic calendar of the universe and life. If creation started on January 1st, life on Earth started on September 14th, the dinosaurs appeared on Christmas Day. "[M]id-afternoon on New Year's Eve [mammalian things] had evolved into their most opportunistic and crafty form, the igniters of fire, the hackers in stone, the worshippers of god, the tellers of time, the sailors of ships, the wearers of shoes, the traders of grain, the discoverers of lands..." (171). We, mankind, have been on earth for less than a cosmic day in this history of the universe and look at what we've done -- for good or for bad.

The International Space Station is getting old. Cracks are appearing that no amount of epoxy or duct tape can mend. It is likely that the current astronauts on the station right now will be its last inhabitants. Orbital is also an elegy to the station itself.

Orbital is remarkable and very memorable. It won the Booker Prize on Tuesday, which didn't surprise me at all. I agree with the Booker Prize Committee who said of Orbital it is a "beautiful, miraculous novel."

My rating: 4.75 stars. Why not five? It starts out a bit slow but after that it builds to a wonderful finale where the songs of the different planets in our galaxy are compared. On Earth, "a fumbled harmony takes shape. The sound of very far-off voices coming together in a choral mass, an angelic sustained note that expands through the static. You think it'll burst into song, the way the choral sound emerges full of intent, and this polished-bead planet sounds briefly so sweet" (207).

Sign up for The Friday56 on the Inlinkz below. 

RULES:

*Grab a book, any book

*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your e-reader (If you want to improvise, go ahead!)

*Find a snippet, but no spoilers!

*Post it to your blog and add your url to the Linky below. If you do not add the specific url for your post, we may miss it! 

*Visit other blogs and leave comments about their snippets. Expand the community. Please leave a comment for me, too!  

Also visit Book Beginnings on Friday hosted by Rose City Reader and First Line Friday hosted by Reading is My Super Power to share the beginning quote from your book.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

-Anne

Novella Reviews: FOSTER; BUFFALO DREAMER; ALL SYSTEMS RED

Foster by Claire Keegan. Grove Press 2010 and 2022. 92 pages.

A child is taken by her father to live with relatives in rural Ireland. She does not know if and when she will return home again. In the Kinsellas' house, she finds warmth, affection, and attention. All unknown by her heretofore. Under their care, the girl begins to blossom. But she also understands that there is something unspoken in this new home and the girl worries that she will be sent home if she ever discovers it.

This is the shortest novella I've read so far this month. At 92 pages in a little book, it read much more like a short story. But it was also the perfect length, telling a heartbreaking story about an unnamed girl who is left with strangers by parents who are too hassled to think much of her, to even care enough to tell her when she will return home.

The very first day, after her father leaves without so much as a goodbye, even forgetting to leave her clothes, Mrs. Kinsella gives the girl a bath. From her reaction one wonders if this is the first good hot bath she's ever had in her life. Later, as the girl and the woman walk to the well together she tries "to remember another time when I felt like this and am sad because I can't remember a time, and happy, too, because I cannot." Rather than feeling abandoned, the girls feels at ease all summer with the Kinsellas. One worries that the idyll of the summer will come to a crashing end. And indeed the girl is delivered home to her parents before the start of school. But not before she expresses her love by calling Mr. Kinsella "Daddy." Heartbreaking.

My rating: 5 stars.

Buffalo Dreamer by Violet Duncan. Nancy Paulsen Books, 2024. 128 pages.

Summer and her family always spend their summer vacations in Alberta, Canada on the reservation where her mother is from. This summer is eye-opening for this pre-teen girl. Even before they arrive on the reservation she starts having vivid dreams as if she is a girl escaping from an Indian residential school. After several of these types of dreams she finally consults with her mother and other elders and learns about her own grandfather's experiences with the residential schools where many of the native children didn't even survive. At one point during the big summer Pop-wow she meets a woman whose story matches the dreams. 

Buffalo Dreamer is based on the author's family story. It is an important story for all North Americans to hear and to appreciate, not just children and teens. Generational trauma is a real thing. Summer's grandfather was traumatized by his schooling experiences. That trauma affected him for the rest of his life. His family was also impacted. We don't have the right to say "That was ancient history. Get over it." I am glad this book was selected as a finalist for the 2024 National Book Award, Young People's Division. Hopefully the publicity which comes with the award process has and will increase readership. the target audience is middle grade students, grades 5-8.

My rating: 4 stars.

All Systems Red (Murderbot Diaries #1) by Martha Wells.
Tor.com. 2017. 160 pages.
Audible Audio by Recorded Books. 3 hours, 17 minutes.

All Systems Red is a the first book is a Sci-Fi series known as the Murderbot Diaries. In a world run by corporate interests, all exploration must be done for maximum profits. Even the security androids, required for all exploratory and scientific journeys, are made by the lowest bidders which means that parts fall apart quite often. When a team of scientists start their work on a distant planet they do not know their SecUnit has disabled his governor module, making the possibility of going rogue. This SecUnit calls himself Murderbot.  But this self-aware SecUnit isn't interested in going rogue he is interested in all the entertainment programs he has downloaded to his feed. He'd like nothing better than to be left alone with his shows. 

But when I neighboring scientific team goes silent, it is up to the scientists with the help of Murderbot, to figure out what is going on or they may become the next victims.

I have to confess how much I enjoyed this quick Sci-Fi adventure. My husband and I listened to the audiobook together. I was entertained and he was not. I think he had a hard time picturing the action and couldn't quite suspend his disbelief long enough to embrace the characters or appreciate the action.

In 2018 All Systems Red won both the Nebula and the Hugo Awards for best novella of the year.  

My rating: 3.5 stars. Don's rating: 2 stars.  

-Anne

Classic Novella Reviews: GIOVANNI'S ROOM; THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE; THE DEATH OF IVAN ILYICH

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

Dial Press, January 1956. 169 pages. Baldwin's first publisher, Knopf, rejected the book due to the theme of homosexuality.

I'm committed to reading novellas this November. I got a jump on it by reading Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin a few days early. What a heartbreaking story!

David, the main character and narrator of the story, is an expat living in France in the 1950s. He left the US for a variety of reasons, many related to his poor relationship with his father and what he saw in himself as a character flaw -- his desire to be with men. While in Paris he meets up with other expats and falls for an American girl, Hella. He asks her to marry him but she goes off to Spain to ponder the answer. While she is gone, David meets Giovanni is a bar and the two start a relationship, eventually moving in together. Even though David is living with Giovanni, he is conflicted about their relationship, convinced what they are doing is bad and wrong. To David's relief, Hella returns from Spain and accepts his offer of marriage. David's handling of the situation is evasive and destructive to all three people: Hella, Giovanni, and David. The novel ends on a note of resignation.

James Baldwin, as you may know, was a gay man who left the US for France in 1948. He was sure if he didn't leave the country he'd end up either killing himself, like a friend did, or in jail. Homosexuality was outlawed at the time in the US but not in France. Baldwin's own despair, loneliness, conflicted feelings populated this story. What should have been a joyous love story between David and Giovanni ended up being a curse. David's lack of self-acceptance condemned three people. While David's, and by extension James' stories were tragic, the writing was so beautiful. It reminded me a little of reading Lolita by Nabokov. The topic was one thing but the writing, oh the writing, was a whole other thing. 

Giovanni's Room is a tragic love story with no happy ending but it is also instructive. It reminds us that people, all people, deserve to love and be loved no matter who they choose.

My rating: 4 stars.

The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain

Knopf, 1934. 188 pages.

The Postman Always Rings Twice was both successful and notorious at the time of its publication in 1934. Thought to be a remarkable crime novel of the roman noir genre, it sold well and is now regarded as one of the best crime novels of the 20th century. It was, however, banned in Boston due to the sexuality and violence it portrays. It has been made into films seven times and is credited with inspiring Camus' The Stranger.

The story is narrated by Frank Chambers, a grifter, who stops at a diner in California and ends up working there. It is the Depression so jobs don't come along everyday. Frank is immediately attracted to the owner's wife, Cora. They start an illicit affair and scheme on how to murder her husband while making it look like an accident. It takes two tries but they pull it off. This, of course, makes both Cora and Frank suspects for murder. They get off on a technicality and honestly I wondered what the last half of the book had in store for the reader. A plot twist I didn't see coming is what.

Don and I listened to the audiobook together. As we finished this short book Don wondered aloud what the title meant, since there is no postman in the story. I guessed at an answer and, not satisfied, he looked it up. You know how easy it is to jump down rabbit holes on the Internet. I won't tell you the answer because that will give away the plot twist, but I will tell you the phrase "The postman always rings twice" originated when a fellow screenwriter, Vincent Lawrence, was commiserating with the author about the anxiety he felt while waiting for mail from the studios. He noted that the postman always rang twice to make sure someone heard. Look up how this relates to the story after you finish it.

The Postman Always Rings Twice is my Classics Club Spin #39 selection. I only listed classic novellas in my list of choices this fall since I am also participating in a novella challenge. 

My rating: 3.5 stars.  Don's rating: 4 stars.

  

The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy

First published in 1886 in Russian; first published in English in 1887 in a book in called My Husband and I; published alone as a novella in English in 1902. 86 pages.

Thought to be one of the finest novellas ever written, The Death of Ivan Ilyich was written shortly after Leo Tolstoy's conversion experience in the late 1870s. After that time this famous Russian author's writing seemed to focus more on the meaning of life and pondering some of life's big questions than before. In Ivan Ilyich, Tolstoy explores death. 

Ivan Ilyich is a man determined to make something of himself and is always striving for a better job posting where he makes more money. When he gets his last job, as a high-court judge, he decks out his house in a way that seems good and classy but it is really like everyone's home who is striving to live above their station. Keeping up appearances is very important to him. When he starts experiencing pain and an odd taste in his mouth, he consults a series of doctors trying to find the magic cure to what ails him. Instead of spending his remaining days with his family is loving communion, he is irritated by them, even thinking he hates his wife and daughter.

During his painful process of dying Ivan Ilyich doesn't think he deserves to die because he thinks of himself as a good person. Nothing and no one can help him feel better except a servant, Gerasim. He is the only person in Ivan's life who is not afraid of death and feels compassion toward his employer. Ivan comes to view Gerasim as living an authentic life whereas everyone else is living an artificial life. Once he makes this revelation, he is able to bless his son and forgive his wife and daughter. In the end death isn't the end but a moving into the light.

Today The Death of Ivan Ilyich is considered a medical humanities classic and is used by medical educators to highlight doctor-patient conversations and how one should be fully present with ill patients, especially those who are dying. It has been especially helpful for those professionals working in hospice care.

My husband and I listened to the audiobook together on a recent trip. He more than I, was swept up in the story and in Leo Tolstoy's writing. He reminded me of the lessons we learned from George Saunder's book, Swimming in the Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing. In his introduction to the book Saunders says all good writing addresses these four questions: 

How are we supposed to be living down here? 

What were we put here to accomplish? 

What should we value? 

What is truth, anyway, and how might we recognize it?"

Leo Tolstoy, one of the four Russians examined in Saunder's book, addresses all of these questions in spades. Perhaps this is why we are still reading it over 150 years later and still getting something out of it.

My rating: 4 stars; Don's rating: 5 stars.

-Anne

TTT: Books With Place Names in the Title

Top Ten Tuesday: Books With a Manor, House. Estate, or Farm Name in the Title

1. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

2. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

3. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

4. The Tenet of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte

5. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (Also known as Wolf Hall Manor or Wulfhall)

6. The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie (Estate was Styles Court)

7. Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James 

8. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

9. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh (Brideshead Castle)

10.  Anne of Green Gables by J.M. Montgomery

11. The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

12. Bleak House by Charles Dicken

-Anne

Sunday Salon ---Self-Care

Self-Care: After Kamala Harris' loss in the Presidential election on Tuesday I went into a tailspin of sadness and fear. In order to not go to a very, very dark place, I decided to be very purposeful about my self-care. This post features a few things that have helped this week.

No Social media: The day after the election and a sleepless night, I decided to avoid all social media and TV news or commentary. This blog didn't count, since I could just focus on books and book reviews.

Communication with family and safe people only: You may have noticed I didn't write a post-election blogpost. I didn't have the heart to try being positive after the loss. I couldn't even manage calling my sister or mom until very late in the day on Wednesday. When we did speak, we talked briefly, cried together, and hung up. I wasn't ready to dissect the loss. I checked in with my daughters to see how they were doing. Hugs helped.

Physical activity: During an hour of physical therapy I could blissfully forget about politics. Dog-walks helped recenter my soul.

The After Party: For the past six weeks Don and I have attended a class at church called "The After Party." The focus is on better Christian communication around politics. Our last class was Wednesday, the day after. Being with other Christians and talking about the "hows" (relationships) instead of the "whats" (policy differences) was helpful. Our prayer closing this session helped, too. So was meeting with our pastor after the class ended, where I felt heard and was able to express some of my deepest fears. I was reminded again and again that even in the deepest, darkest moments God is there. 

Beloved community: The Women's Bible Study met on Thursday as per usual. Many (most? all?) were very worried and upset about the election results. Instead of descending into a crying session, however, we focused most of our attention on our lesson and let the scripture speak to us. It did. I am not sure if every gal left our study session feeling better, but I bet they felt supported. I did. 

Getting outside: The sun was shining on Thursday afternoon, so we decided to spend an hour outside cutting back the rose bushes and emptying the summer flower pots. The sun on our shoulders and in our eyes felt good and healthy. So did finishing those necessary tasks of preparing the yard for winter. I harvested the last of the flowers and made the arrangements you see in the photo above.

TV viewing: Sports are safe to watch. So are Rom-Com movies, soap-making videos, and Pointless game show reruns on YouTube. Don and I started the 4th season of The Chosen last week, and we watched two more episodes this week. If you aren't familiar with the series, it portrays the life of Jesus and his disciples. In an episode I watched this week the disciple Matthew - who is portrayed as neurodivergent on the show - talks to a Roman soldier whose life isn't going well. Matthew says "Often I wake up and I think about all the things which confuse me or worry about my problems, then I remember I have only one job -- to follow Jesus and everything else falls into place." I've thought back on this conversation many times this week. It puts things into a different perspective for me. 

Ian's soldier is in the middle (blue background)

Veterans Day: Our grandson Ian, age 7, called us on Thursday to invite us to attend the Veterans Day assembly at his school on Friday. Don is a veteran and Ian had recently expressed how proud he is of his grandpa for his service. The assembly was precious from start to finish. In my 37 years of teaching and attending the required assemblies at schools where I worked I never attended one as sweet and meaningful as this one. Both Don and I have spent many happy moments recalling the event. In a week of devastating news, this assembly was a highlight, a bright light beaming out of the darkness.

Football and family: We spent another weekend in Oregon, attending the football game and visiting with family before and afterwards. My brother and his wife were up from California and we hadn't seen them since summer. My cousin and his wife joined my sister and her husband at Mom's home, as per usual. The game was fine (Ducks won) but the fellowship was even better. We didn't talk politics at all in the large room, saving those conversations for later in smaller groups.

Minestrone soup: We made a huge pot of minestrone soup to enjoy with our family after the game. Eating healthy has never felt so important as this week. Here is the recipe if you'd like to try it.  Thanks Carol for bringing this one to our attention.

Books: Surprise, surprise. When one unplugs there is more time available for reading and listening to audiobooks. I've finished these books since election day last Tuesday:

• Buffalo Dreamer by Violet Duncan. A National Book Award finalist in the Young People's Literature category. This middle grade book details the long, lasting effects of the forced "incarceration" of Indian children in Indian Schools in Canada. This story could have been written about what also happened in the US. Based on the author's family story, Buffalo Dreamer is a short book and a quick read. Print. (Novellas in November)
• The Postman Always Rings Twice by James. M. Cain. A classic novella set in California in the 1930s. This was my Classics Club spin selection. Audio. (Novellas in November)
• How to Be Both by Ali Smith. A previous Women's Prize winner. This book is also on the NYT Best Books of the Century list. Audio.
• The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy. One of three novellas Don and I listened to on our trip to Oregon and back this weekend. A classic musing on what's important in life. Audio. (Novellas in November)
• All Systems Red by Martha Wells. My daughter has listened to all the books in this series -- The Murderbot Diaries -- and she recommended them to me. A Sci-Fi award winning novella. Audio. (Novellas in November)
• The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. A ghost/horror story which has spawned a host of books and movies about creepy children. A classic. Audio. (Novellas in November)
• Orbital by Samantha Harvey. A Sci-Fi selection picked by the hosts of Novellas in November for a read along. This meditation on planet earth originates from a unique location -- The Space Station. Print. (Novellas in November)

Scripture: This verse has been running through my head all week. I'll close with these words today and my prayer that you also are taking care of yourself right now.

Philippians 4:8.  Finally, brothers (and sisters), whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

-Anne

Review: SHAKESPEARE: THE MAN WHO PAYS THE RENT

Title: Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent by Judi Dench with Brendan O'Hea

Book Beginnings quote from the Introduction by Brendan O'Hea:

Friday56 quote discussing roles played in "A Midsummer Night's Dream":

Summary:

For the very first time, Judi opens up about every Shakespearean role she has played throughout her seven-decade career, from Lady Macbeth and Titania to Ophelia and Cleopatra. In a series of intimate conversations with actor & director Brendan O'Hea, she guides us through Shakespeare's plays with incisive clarity, revealing the secrets of her rehearsal process and inviting us to share in her triumphs, disasters, and backstage shenanigans.

Interspersed with vignettes on audiences, critics, company spirit and rehearsal room etiquette, she serves up priceless revelations on everything from the craft of speaking in verse to her personal interpretations of some of Shakespeare's most famous scenes, all brightened by her mischievous sense of humour, striking level of honesty and a peppering of hilarious anecdotes, many of which have remained under lock and key until now.

Instructive and witty, provocative and inspiring, this is ultimately Judi's love letter to Shakespeare, or rather, The Man Who Pays The Rent. (Publisher)

Review: It began as a project for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Judi Dench, now aged 89, sat down with her friend Brendan O'Hea over several years and just talked about every single role she played in Shakespeare's plays. They recorded the conversations, thinking the RSC might like them for their archives. Over the 70+ years Dench has been acting she has performed in many, many Shakespeare plays, some more than once, often in different roles. For example, Dench played First Fairy in "Midsummer Night's Dream" her first season at the Vic. Later she was cast as Tatiana, the queen of the fairies, and for another performance she was cast as Hermia. Remarkably she remembered what she wore for her costume and many of her lines, which is astonishing considering how many years ago that may have been and all the roles she has played during her career.

My husband and I listened to the audiobook which was read by Brendan O'Hea and Barbara Flynn. O'Hea was reading out his part of the interviews, asking the questions, seeking clarification, and, at times, teasing or goading Dench. Barbara Flynn read Judi Dench's part of the interviews, but occasionally we would hear Dench herself reciting lines from the plays. Barbara Flynn did such a good job being Dench we didn't know it wasn't Dench until we were about a quarter of the way through the book. The only thing that was odd about this arrangement was it was clear O'Dea and Flynn weren't recording at the same time. So O'Hea would record his question and Flynn (Dench) would answer but there was not the usual things that happen when two people are in conversation together, like talking when the other person is still speaking, interrupting, laughing, etc. It wasn't really a problem but it was noticeable to us.

One of the great regrets of my life is that I haven't ever studied Shakespeare or even seen that many of his plays. I think I've only seen nine in total. I've read a few of his sonnets but I never figured out how to get the iambic pentameter to sound right in my mouth. As I listened to Dench speak about her roles in the various plays, she also spoke about the plot and how she felt it needed to be acted. I became determined than ever to expand my own Shakespeare catalog of seen plays. Top of the list is Hamlet. I've not seen or read it.

Judi Dench is a treasure. She is so funny and sharp. At 89 it is amazing what she still has stored in her memory and this book will live on to remind of them after she is gone. Apparently she has macular degeneration in her eyes so has to rely on the ears and her memory not her eyes. She attributes her memorization skills on her poor eyesight. She wanted her line drawings included in the book as an inspiration to anyone who thinks they have no talent. She says if she can draw with bad eyes, anyone can. 

At the end of the audiobook, O'Hea and Dench are discussing the book and the project. O'Hea used a line I thought was great -- "The book", he said, "was biography by stealth." From it we learned a lot about Shakespeare and even more about Dench. 

My rating: 5 stars.

-Anne

TTT: Books with Bugs On the Cover

Top Ten Tuesday: 

Books with Bugs On the Cover Where I Learned Something about the Bugs or the Human Psyche.

The Great Divide by Cristina Henriquez
Building the Panama Canal which reveals a lot about how people from other cultures often feel about each other. (Colonialism?)

Jumper by Jessica Lanan
One spider's experience in the backyard. Very revealing.

What's Inside a Caterpillar Cocoon by Rachel Ignotofsky
A children's book but I learned so much about both moths and butterflies as an adult.

Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver
Climate change and monarch butterfly migration.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding
It's all about the nature of boys and how quickly things can fall apart.

The Secret History of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
About grief and the Civil Rights Movement.

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
The animal nature inside us? Can you find the spider in the drawing?

The Girl Who Drew Butterflies by Joyce Sidman
A biography about Maria Merian's Art Which changed Science.

Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver
A home over time. What it means to have a place to live.

-Anne

Sunday Salon -- Two days until the election!

My Halloween decorations this year. Notice the little donkey who snuck into the photo?
Go Dems!

Weather: Overcast, grey, and raining.

Two more days until the election. Today all I will share are fun or good news items I've found. I have had an emotional roller-coaster of a week. I imagine you have, too. I read or listened to some piece of political reporting that lifted me up and I'd be jubilant for a few minutes. Then I'd read another report that would send me into the basement of moods. Ugh. I hated it.  So today, I have decided to share only good, positive pieces of news or entertainment that will make you smile in hopes that they buoy all of us up and give us the strength to get across the finish line intact. Here we go.

Me posting my ballot in an election drop box in the library parking lot. I've checked. My ballot made it to the election office! I voted blue all the way through.

1. First up. Kamala was on Saturday Night Live last night and it was pure joy.

2. Jamie Raskin on Bill Maher about the definition of fascism (okay, not so positive but helpful.)

"The political scientists have told us the hallmark characteristics of a fascist political party; number one, they don't accept the outcome of democratic elections that don't go their way. Number two, they embrace political violence." — Jamie Raskin on Bill Maher. pic.twitter.com/0AjicmY2xX

— Blue Georgia (@BlueATLGeorgia) November 2, 2024

"The political scientists have told us the hallmark characteristics of a fascist political party; number one, they don't accept the outcome of democratic elections that don't go their way. Number two, they embrace political violence." — Jamie Raskin on Bill Maher. 

3. Women over 65 are voting for Harris. I'm in that group!

4. Ann Selzer, highly respected and accurate Iowa pollster, has Harris up by 3 points. In a state Trump won twice before!!! This poll hit the news yesterday is and is rocking the political world since Iowa wasn't even considered a swing state. (BBC) Is it possible that there will be an actual landslide? Is that asking too much?

5. Simon Rosenberg on Hopium Chronicles is bullish on Harris and the Dems. I spent an hour listening to his podcast this week. You could spend a lot of time looking at his site but let me sum up what his final message is: 

6. Not sure if this a comedy show or a real news show in Australia but here is a view of US politics from Down-under. Funny.

7 News Melbourne (Australia) has trump figured out @7NewsMelbourne … pic.twitter.com/x67QyxXTNO

— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) November 3, 2024

7. Let's do it. Let's end the age of Trump on Tuesday. Vote!

Books: Honestly I have been pretty distracted by politics so I haven't been reading much. But here is what's up with books:

I'm joining up on a new reading challenge this month: Novellas. Here is a link to my first batch of reviews: Novellas in November Reviews.

Finished this week

Currently reading

See you on the other side!

-Anne

Six Degrees of Separation: From INTERMEZZO to ...?

Six Degrees of Separation

We Begin with:

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Intermezzo by Sally Rooney. Two brothers. One is a competitive chess player.

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The Tempest by William Shakespeare. In Scene I of Act 5 Miranda and Ferdinand play chess and flirt.

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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rawling. In this first book in the YA series, Ron has to play wizard's chess to dismantle the enchantment.
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The Cardturner: A Novel About a King, a Queen, and a Joker by Louis Sachar. A teenager is the cardturner for his blind uncle who plays Bridge. He doesn't know the rules of the game and the uncle can't see. It's a crazy situation.

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One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey. In the Oregon State Mental Hospital McMurphy gets the other patients to play Monopoly for real money. The game lasts for three days.
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Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. The characters play a lot of games. One is Whist, another game played for money. Elizabeth declines the invitation to play, implying she doesn't have the money to join in "fun" with the others who are behaving like snobs.
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The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. In this dystopian novel Offred, the breeder, is called to do something unusual, play Scrabble with the Commander.

Join the fun. See where you end up. Link: Books are My Favourite and Best 6-Degrees Meme.

-Anne