TTT: The ridiculously long list of books I started but didn't complete in 2020

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Top Ten Tuesday: 

(Off the board) The books I started and didn't finish in 2020. 

Beware. The list is ridiculously long. 

For reasons that should be relatable to others, I had a harder time in 2020 actually finishing books I started. Here's what I'm sure is my incomplete list of titles.

1. True Trump: An Honest Biography of Donald Trump by Ross Rosenfeld

I agreed to review the book given to my by the author. I thought I could read about the President from a dispassionate point-of-view. Turns out I couldn't. 

2. Stay With Me by Ayobami Adebayo

I sort of finished this one after I said I didn't. But by 'finishing' I meant speed-reading almost to the point of silliness. This was a book club selection so I really wanted to finish it for the discussion sake. Then, as it turns out, we canceled club that month.

3. Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything by B.J. Fogg

I launched this book right about the same time that the pandemic launched. The timing was bad and I set it aside for a while and haven't gotten back to it yet.

4. Red Rising by Pierce Brown

Not sure if this one really counts because I checked out the library e-book of this one to my phone several times in 2020 and just never found the initiative to start it.

5. Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

See note above. I did the same for this book, checking it out several times and then never bothering to even try and read it.

6. The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King

Same as the above two books. I checked it out multiple times, had it on my device for weeks at a time and never got to it. 

7. Ten Windows: How Great Poems Transform the World by Jane Hirshfield

Pretty scholarly. I just couldn't concentrate hard enough to make the effort worth the while.

8. Small Wonder by Barbara Kingsolver

Kingsolver is my favorite author and I've read just about everything by her except this collection of essays. I decided I wasn't interested and set it aside. My tastes ran toward poetry and short stories this year, something I could consume in short reading stints. Not this collection, however.

9. Where the Bluebirds Sing and the Lemonade Springs by Wallace Stegner

See note above. This is another essay collection by a favorite author. 

10. The Love Letter: a Novel by Madeleine L'Engle

This was an ill-advised purchase from BookBub. I doubt I'll get back to it.

11. The Yellow House by Sarah Broom

I purchased the Audible version of this memoir. Both my husband and I decided, after listening to about an hour of it, that it was too serious to continuing listening to due to our current collective mood. 

12. The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh by Candace Fleming

I realized that I didn't care what happened to Charles Lindbergh, past tense, when I was living my own nightmare, present tense.

13. Bedtime Stories for Stressed Out Adults 

I purchased the e-book and would read a story or two before bed when the pre-election crap was especially distressing. Now that Biden has won, even though Trump is still being awful, I can sleep without it.

14. Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

I really liked this book which I checked out in audio format from the library. But it disappeared from my account before I was finished with it and I haven't had another turn yet.

15. Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Ditto. See above. However this was an e-book instead of an audiobook. It also disappeared before I was finished with it.

16. Every Body Looking by Candice Iloh

Ditto. Ditto.

17. Anxious People by Fredrik Backman.

Ditto. Ditto. Ditto. The ridiculousness of this situation is the book is so popular I may not get it back for six months from the library. Don't you think they should buy a few more copies?

18. Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

I made myself a promise to avoid reading books with explicit sex in them just because I usually feel it is unnecessary to the story and often disturbs me. When I got to one part of this book involving sexual acts, I decided to give it up. Now I see this book on the end-of-the-year best books list and wonder if I abandoned it too soon. 

19. The Submission by Amy Waldman

A friend loaned me her copy of this book several years ago in hopes we could discuss it. I tried but found that the serious topic of racism around the 9-11 attacks on the Twin Towers just didn't gel with my literary needs this year. Plus, I think my friend has given up on me and the potential conversation.

20. Trust Exercises by Susan Choi

This book which was on lots of end-of-year best books lists for 2019 just didn't capture my attention in the first or second chapter and I gave it the heave-ho, even wiping it off my TBR list.

I'm sure there are others that I started, or checked out and never cracked, but I didn't put them back onto my TBR list so I've forgotten what they were.

Hey. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year everyone! Here's hoping that 2021 is a better reading year than 2020 was.

-Anne

Sunday Salon: Fourth Sunday of Advent

The boys at Zoolights at Pt. Defiance Zoo in Tacoma

Weather: Pretty miserable. Rain and more rain.

Family news: (Just random stuff, in no particular order.)

• We went to Zoolights this past week with our daughter and her family. We luckily were there for an hour between rain storms. Everything was sparkly and beautiful.

  

  Mt. Rainier is all lit up in the background
  

  
  
  

  

  We can't attend Seahawks games, but we can celebrate their fan base in lights
  

  
  
• I taught at Gov. John R. Rogers High School for twenty years before moving to be a librarian at another school. RHS had many, many traditions especially around the holidays. Many of the traditions became precious to me particularly after my daughters attended the school and participated in them, too. One of these traditions involved the concert choir inviting all choir alumni to join them in singing "Thy Little Ones" during the yearly holiday concert. This year, with COVID restrictions in place, they continued the tradition but this time in a remote concert. Click the link here or watch the video below to listen to the RHS choir and many alums sing this beautiful song.
  
  

•  The RHS Jazz Choir singing "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" at the holiday assembly was another yearly tradition. Both of my daughters were in Jazz Choir and can still sing the song. This week they sang it while I pointed for my grandson to the appropriate page in the book. This version of the song was originally recorded by Fred Waring and the Philadelphians in the 1940s. Click the link and enjoy this rarely heard song!
• Dough art ornaments a bust. My daughters decided to create dough art ornaments of hand/paw prints our two grandchildren and all the pets. Only one turned out...the print of the fat cat, Fred, who must have put all his weight into it.
• My youngest daughter turned 29 on Friday. I made the world's best cake for the occasion. If you are wondering where I got the recipe, look on the back of your Hersey's Cocoa container. It is the best. We played a new game which has a lot of potential to become a new favorite: Ticket to Ride.
• We are watching Sanditon, the mini-series, for a second time and finding it lacking. Enjoy it once and call it good.
• Typically this close to Christmas I would be frantically running around shopping, baking, decorating, visiting, mailing, fussing. This year I'm nearly done with the buying, all done with the mailing, and the baking seems pretty optional which leaves me time to sit around. And I find that I like it.
• Keeping with the holiday theme I purchased a bar of homemade soap scented with frankincense and myrrh this year. I love the scents! Who knew?
  
• Memories of a Christmas several years ago spent with friends near Mt. Rainier.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

Other news:

• It is only 31 days (one month) until Biden is inaugurated!
  
• We have immigrants to thank for the COVID vaccines.  "Hungarian-born scientist Katalin Karikó believed in the potential of messenger RNA — the genetic molecule at the heart of two new COVID-19 vaccines — even when almost no one else did" (NPR).
• Jupiter and Saturn meet in a 'great conjunction' tomorrow night, Dec. 21st. The last time such a great conjunction occurred was in 1623, and that was during daylight hours. "In the distant past, such alignments of the planets were seen as portents of things to come, from great fires and floods to the birth of Christ and the ultimate collapse of civilization" (Guardian). We are trying to figure out where to go so we can see it. Since it has been raining here our skies are definitely cloudy. A drive to Eastern Washington might be in order.
• Deb Haaland, is the first Native American to be tapped as Interior Secretary in our history. This puts environmental justice front and center for the Biden Administration. (WaPo)
  
  

• Pete Buttigieg will be the first openly gay cabinet member if confirmed for Transportation Secretary. Infrastructure here we come! (USA Today)
  
  
  
• McKenzie Scott, ex-wife to Jeff Bezos the founder of Amazon, has given almost $4.2 billion to higher education. "They came like gifts from a Secret Santa, $20 million here, $40 million there, all to higher education, but not to the elite universities that usually hog all the attention. These donations went to colleges and universities that many people have never heard of, and that tended to serve regional, minority and lower-income students" (NYT).
  

The favorite purple tree.

Books:

• One of my two book clubs met this week to discuss The Library Book by Susan Orlean. We had a terrible discussion and I'm not sure why. I love the book but read it over a year ago. My lack of memory on the finer points may have led to our disastrous discussion. Or maybe, and this is probably it, the Zoom meeting format just didn't help.
  
• Reading:
  
• The Greatest Miracle in the World by Og Mandino. First published in 1975, I was planning on weeding this book from the church library. I've changed my mind. It is very spiritual. I'm trying to figure out if we can use it for our church book club as a future selection. (Print, 55%)
• Ready, Player Two by Ernest Cline. I love the first book in this series, so of course I have to read this sequel. (Audio, 10%)
• High Achiever: The Incredible True Story of One Addict's Double Life by Tiffany Jenkins. A book club selection. I'm questioning my judgment in selecting this one. We'll see if it improves. (Print, 48%)
  
• Completed:
• The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett. This was a book club selection for December but our meeting was canceled due to pandemic restrictions. I think we will discuss it next time we gather. I liked the book and think we'll have lots to talk about.
• Home for the Holidays: Stories and Art Created for the Benefit of Habitat for Humanity edited by Gene Stelten. I was tremendously disappointed by this collection. It was poorly curated and had little to offer in terms of gaining interest in this worthy charity---Habitat for Humanity. The other disappointment is that I've had this book for years, dutifully bringing it out every holiday with the other books of its ilk and now I know it was just wasting space. 
  
• Check out this list of lists of the best books of 2020. The compiler of the list @ BooksAreMy FavouriteAndBest  looked at 52 end-of-year lists in publications and came up with a list of 50 of the best books based on the number of times they made it onto a list. Here are the top thirteen:
• The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett (30 lists)
• Luster by Raven Leilani (23 lists)
• Deacon King Kong by James McBride (18-20 lists)
• Caste by Isabel Wilkerson (18-20 lists)
• Leave the World Behind by Ruuman Alam (18-20 lists)
• Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi (18-20 lists)
• The Burning by Megha Majumdar (16-17 lists)
  
• Real Life by Brandon Taylor (16-17 lists)
• Weather by Jenny Offill (16-17 lists)
• Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid (16-17 lists)
• Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell (16-17 lists)
• Memorial by Brian Washington (16-17 lists)
• The Glass Hotel by Emily Mandel (16-17 lists)

Humor:

1. A friend and former colleague has been asked by his wife to hide the 'elf on the shelf.' He says the elf, who has been locked up for eleven months, just wants a little fun. His wife says these are not appropriate. Either way you have to admit that they are funny, naughty, and creative. Thanks Scott!

2.

3.

4. I agree with this statement. I don't want to think about the President every day. Do you?

 

 

Have a wonderful Christmas and Happy Holidays!

-Anne

Review and quotes: THE BOY, THE MOLE, THE FOX, AND THE HORSE

Title: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy

Book Beginnings (or somewhere near the beginning) illustration:

I wish everyone's goal would be to grow up kind.

Friday56 (or some other page) illustration:

All the little conversations caused me to stop and think. I am hoping that a bunch of people can unlearn their thoughts and beliefs around politics. Sigh. It seems like unlearning is a hard thing to do.

 

Summary: The project started as random little Instagram posts by Charlie Mackesy and evolved into this book. "A former children’s book illustrator and cartoonist for the Spectator, Mackesy finds himself, by happenstance, to be a spokesman for uplift in down times."  Watch the short video to meet the author/illustrator and how his little conversations between a boy, a mole, a fox, and a horse have made such a big splash. (YouTube)

 

Review: Last year everyone was reading this little gem of a book and I was feeling left out. Apparently my library has but one copy and it was taking months for my turn to come up so I could have a turn at it too.  After reading it I immediately tried to order copies for everyone for Christmas gifts. Alas, the book was out of stock everywhere. Once again I was late to the party and would have to choose different gifts for my friends and family members I'd hoped would love this book as much as I do. 

Good plan. Sometimes we just need to focus on positive things like cake!

The whole book is full of the darling illustrations as exampled above, and had simple thoughts, usually framed as questions or small conversations. The replies often left me breathless. 

Each conversation is a springboard to others.

 

2020 has been a tough reading year for me. I found I couldn't settle into books easily which caused me to abandon many, many books only half read. If the book was too serious, too silly, too tough, or just not relevant, out it went. Then I found The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, the Horse. In it I found quiet solace and calm assurance. It is by far my favorite book of the year.

The quote is from the Jan. 15, 2020 review of the book in the Washington Post. I highly recommend you read it. (WaPo)

Book Beginnings on Friday is hosted by Rose City Reader. Share the opening quote from current book.
The Friday56 is hosted at Freda's Voice.  Find a quote from page 56 to share. 
Visit these two websites to participate. Click on links to read quotes from books other people are reading. It is a great way to make blog friends and to get suggestions for new reading material.      

-Anne

TTT: My winter reading list (and a look at how I did on my autumn list)

Top Ten Tuesday: My Winter reading list (and how I did on my autumn list)

Audible/Overdrive audio or e-books:

1. Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
2. The Enigma Game by Elizabeth Wein
3. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett (a postponed book club selection)
4. A Promised Land by Barack Obama (It is 29 hours in the audio version. Wow.)
   
5. Ready Player Two by Ernest Cline
   

Print books: 

1. High Achiever by Tiffany Jenkins (a book club selection)
2. The Last Resort by Marissa Stapley (another book club selection)
3. The Greatest Miracle in the World by Og Mandino
4. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
5. The Magic Fish by Le Nguyen Trung
   
6. Apple: Skin to the Core by Eric Gansworth

Cybils Nonfiction: I am a second-round judge for the Cybils again this year in the nonfiction category. I have no idea how many books I'll be reading and judging between Jan. 1st through Feb 14th. I'm guessing it will be around 10.

******************************************************

My Autumn reading list: (How did I do?)

Overdrive audio or e-books:

1. Writers and Lovers by Lily King ✓
2. A Very Stable Genius by Rucker and Leonnig ✓
3. The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert ✓
4. The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood ✓
5. Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo (I read about one third and then it was due at the library and disappeared from my device. I'm back in line for another turn soon)
   
6. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah ✓
7. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett (Currently reading)
   
8. Princess Bride by William Goldman ✓

Print books

1. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse by Charlie Mackesey ✓
2. Lifting As We Climb by Evette Dionne ✓
   
3. Poisoned Water by Candy Cooper  X
   
4. The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom X
   
5. Wind, Sand, and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupery X
   

This list helps validate me right now. I've been in a bad space for reading lately and to see that I actually finished some great books, more than I realized.

-Anne

Sunday Salon, Third Sunday of Advent 2020

Jamie has the most wild, stick-up hair. We love him to pieces.

Weather: Cold and clear on Saturday. Today it is gray and rainy. Wait, now it is blue-skied and lovely. Never mind, here come the clouds. Who can pin down the weather?

Family news: Right now Carly and Ian are making gingerbread-men cookies. Don is doing the last load of laundry, a Sunday chore he does every week. Rita is nursing Jamie who, at three months, has hit a very fussy phase. If he isn't being held and walked, he is unhappy. No worries another phase is just around the corner. Our house was dried out after the unfortunate toilet-caused flood, but it is a long way from being fixed. I'm afraid it will be months of disruption, but we are fine. We finished mailing our holiday cards and got all the packages to family members sent on their way. Anne has delivered a few poinsettias to shut-ins, part of a church outreach program. Ian sings "Up on the rooftop" with hand motions. So cute and heart-warming. The dog is groomed and looking so dapper. Life is good.

An artsy version of Ian checking for Santa. Not yet.

Books: Another week where I didn't finish a book but had one 'disappear' off my Kindle Fire because the due date came and went. That is is so irritating. The book, Anxious People by Fredrik Backman, is quite popular and I would have gladly paid ten or fifteen cents a day to keep it a little longer in order to finish it up. Now I am back in line and the hold for it at the library may be as long as six months. Egads. I'll have to start over when I get it back. I'm also working on a book club selection, The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett. I purchased this on Audible, so no hurry. The book has garnered a lot of attention this year from critics. I'll wait to evaluate it until it is completed. Another book I've had around the house for over a month finally got cracked open this week, Lifting As We Climb: Black Women's Battle for the Ballot Box. It is also getting a lot of positive reviews by those who read YA nonfiction. It is very interesting and I'm learning quite a lot.

Holiday news:

-Happy Hanukkah! (Dec. 10-18, 2020) These two videos make me so happy...

The Maccabeats "Candlelight"

Hanukkah is one of our favorite holidays -- and a reminder to spread the light at a time when we've never needed it more.

From our big, modern family to yours, happy Hanukkah! pic.twitter.com/KbkisZooCO

— Doug Emhoff (@DouglasEmhoff) December 10, 2020

-And this news about how a neighborhood in Kentucky stood up for a black family who received a racist letter after they set up a black Santa in their yard display. This is a feel bad, then feel good story. When the neighbors heard about the racist letter, many went out and bought black Santas for their yards, too. They bought so many that the stores were sold out of Black Santas! Take that racist neighbor!!!  (WaPo)

Political News: I keep thinking that I won't need this category any longer. But this week took the cake in stupid, eye-rolling law suits post election when Texas (along with 17 other red states' attorneys-general) filed a case directly with the Supreme Court to invalidate the votes in Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia and Pennsylvania because, um, the Attorney General in Texas didn't like the results of the election.

• The Supreme Court said "Denied", they weren't even going to give this complaint a hearing. Voting 9-0 against Texas and against Trump.
• Battleground states issue blistering rebukes to Texas about this lawsuit. The Pennsylvania AG, Shapiro said, "Texas's effort to get this Court to pick the next President has no basis in law or fact. The Court should not abide this seditious abuse of the judicial process, and should send a clear and unmistakable signal that such abuse must never be replicated." The Texas lawsuit, Shapiro said, rested on a "surreal alternate reality." (CNN)
  
• Of the seventeen states, ruby-red Idaho wasn't one of them. (Grace, this one's for you!) It is nice to know that some Republicans still believe in the rule of law. Here is what their AG said:
  

-After Trump is out of office, his Twitter account will be subject to controls for facts and truth. Trump may no longer have his bully pulpit if/when he breaks the rules. Can't wait, because we all know that the guy cannot tell the truth.  (Daily Beast) Speaking of Twitter, Trump is losing followers, while Biden is gaining them. (WaPo)

- The Editorial Board of the Orlando Sentinel apologized to its readers for endorsing a Congressman, Rep. Michael Waltz, who signed on to overturn the Biden election. They said, "We had no idea at the time of the endorsement that Waltz was not committed to democracy. We didn't even think to ask the question in our interview with him." (Orlando Sentinel, Dec. 11)

-How Joe Biden's digital team tamed the MAGA-crazed Internet. The campaign's empathetic digital strategy held up well. Among it's goals it was decided to not spend a lot of time on Twitter but instead to focus on Facebook. "As it focused on Facebook, the Biden campaign paid extra attention to “Facebook moms” — women who spend a lot of time sharing cute and uplifting content, and who the campaign believed could be persuaded to vote for Mr. Biden with positive messages about his character." (NYT)  Ha-ha. They found me!

Wonderful news:

1. Jimmy Carter's solar farm is powering half of his home town! Remember back in the 1970s when he had solar panels put on the white house? He still is at it all these years later. (GASANature)

2. Hydration may be the recipe for happiness. I am back to drinking at least 6 glasses of water a day, starting today. (GNN)

3. A physicist makes better, cheaper N95 face masks using a cotton candy machine. (GNN)

On the lighter side:

1.

2. I'm totally going to do this...

 

3. This is random but is especially funny to me because we have a family joke about a blue potato masher.

4. The funniest part of this, is that you can actually order this box of spa items here.

5. Thank goodness. (Remember the soup Nazi on Seinfeld?)

6.

7. I saw this display yesterday as I was out running errands. Something tells me that this Santa is giving the wrong message by his droopy presence.

Happy Hanukkah

"Blessed is the flame that burns in the secret fastness of the heart.” 

“The spirit of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, is shared by all people who love freedom.” 

“A little bit of light dispels a lot of darkness.” 

“Still ours the dance, the feast, the glorious psalm; the mystic lights of emblem, and the word.”

-Anne

TTT: Books I recommend that have wintry themes

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I recommend that have wintry themes

1. Burial Rites by Hannah Kent---Set in Iceland in the 1800, even in the summer, winter is threatening. The setting is very cold and foreboding.  

2. Disappearing Earth by Julie Phillips---set in the Kamchatka Peninsula in Eastern Russia. A cold, formidable setting, especially in winter.

3. Virgil Wander by Lief Enger---Set in a small community on Lake Superior. In the opening scene an accident, which sets the stage for the whole rest of the story, occurs on the day of the first big snowstorm of the year.

4. Winter Wheat by Mildred Walker---The title alone lets the reader know that winter is a theme in this beautiful story set on a Montana farm that grows winter wheat. One scene, where the children and the teacher are snowed-in their one-room schoolhouse is especially wintry.

5. Martin Marten by Brian Doyle---set at the foot of Mt. Hood in Oregon. There are several harrowing scenes set in the snow. I am very fond of this book where a pine marten is a main character.

6. The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah---Set in Alaska. The family spends almost all their time preparing for winter, when all the demons come out.

7. Beartown by Fredrik Backman---Set in a small community in Northern Sweden where ice hockey is king. Need I say more?

8. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden---set in medieval Russia with many of the scenes set in the snow and ice. Even the cover gives off a wintry vibe.

9. Egg and Spoon by Gregory Macguire---another book set in Russia that deals with Russian folktales. There is one scene I remember vividly where they are traveling to Moscow and the icy, snowy streets are melting.

10. Revolver by Marcus Sedgwick--- "A boy sits in a cold, bare shack somewhere north of the Arctic Circle, alone but for his father's body lying on a table, frozen both by rigor mortis and the manner of his death." Can't even imagine anything more wintry than this YA book.

I recommend all of these books. Read my reviews, which are hyperlinked.

-Anne

Six Degrees of Separation: ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT'S ME, MARGARET to...

Six Degrees of Separation

Starts with: 

↓

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume  

I just read this book, finally, many years after my eldest daughter talked about how much it meant to her as a young girl. I determined to read it for that reason but took years getting around to it.

↓

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen 

Another book recommended to me by my daughters. They and all their classmates loved this book when they were in 4th or 5th grade. It is another book I've been meaning to read for years but finally got around to it this year.

↓

Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood

I just finished this book this week after starting it over thirteen years ago. I had a lot of starts and stops with this book because of the complex plot involving a story-within-the-story.

↓

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

Another book long on my TBR that I read this year. This clever and funny book also includes a story-within-the-story, though in this book that story is the main event. I read this book mainly because I love the movie so much.

↓

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Another book I read because I love the movie so much. Gaiman is one of my favorite authors and admire his work in several genres/types.

↓

Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Another favorite author who dabbles in different genres and mediums. This book is my favorite of hers partially because of the book trailer Stiefvater made for it which includes music and art that she created. View it here. Turn up the sound.

↓

The Girl Who Circumnavigated the Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne Valente

Another book with a fabulous book trailer.  Check it out here, scroll down. It also has a crazy, fun title. The main character is a preteen girl.

↓

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume

That brings me back around to where I started. Margaret is a preteen girl who has lots of growing-up questions. And the title is very memorable.

Note: I am always surprised what books populate this list. How did I get from a rather serious book about real-world problems to a mystical fantasy book? I hope you can follow my train of thought as I make my way from one book to the next. One never knows when they embark on the Six Degrees trip where they will end up. 

Six Degrees is hosted over at BooksAreMyFavouriteAndBest

-Anne

Sunday Salon, 2nd Sunday of Advent

Ian gets to decorate his own tree.

Weather: Yesterday was beautiful, crisp and clear. Don got out and finished putting up the outdoor Christmas lights. I took the dog for a long walk. The weatherman says that rain is coming, but what is new in the Pacific Northwest? The rain is always coming.

Family News: This past week is sort of a blur in my memory punctuated by a crescendo...our upstairs toilet's water supply line exploded and water poured forth. The first we knew anything was wrong was when our daughter noticed water dripping from the light fixtures in the kitchen below. Since that event our house has been taken over by big blowers and dehumidifiers, attempting to dry out the floor boards and walls before we can really determine the extent of the damage. It is so ironic that this freak event happened in 2020, don't you think?

Books: 

1. I completed The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood. It has taken me over thirteen years to complete this 2000 Booker Prize-winner. Now I can check it off my list and be done with it. Click the link for my review.
2. Started: The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett (audio) and Anxious People by Fredik Backman (e-book).
   

Good News:

1. Rachel Maddow urges Americans to do one thing: ignore Trump. So that's what I'm doing. (HuffPost)

2. #ThanksBiden was trending No.1 on Twitter Saturday. So many people are just as happy and excited as I am for the upcoming administration. If you can, spend a little time with these 'friends' on Twitter like I did. And look what I found there...

Millions of front line workers — like the firefighters and nurses I called today — worked away from their families on Thanksgiving. Our nation is grateful to all of you. pic.twitter.com/VhHePAEzvx

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) November 27, 2020

3. And this.

I cannot wait! How about you? #ThanksBiden pic.twitter.com/I3uTNeZ4va

— Gina Wagner (@Diamnd_G) December 5, 2020

4. Jupiter and Saturn will appear to converge in the night sky. The first 'double planet' in 800 years. Look for it Dec. 21st. The last time this conjunction was visible was March 1226. So to refer to this as a once-in-a-lifetime event is an understatement. (WaPo)

5. NPR Book Concierge. Looking for a good book to read, published in 2020? Check this out. Super Cool. (NPR)

6. This might be the news that finally gets men to wear masks.... (DKos)

On the lighter side:

1. Arms to short? Head too large?

2. It took me forever to see what he was talking about. Now I can't un-see it, just like he said.  Ha!

3.  What, no political funnies this week? Nope. Just silly stuff like this.

4. Okay, maybe a little political. The funnest part of this is who wrote it...Dan Rather.

 Inspiring: Asian woman paints tiger on fence. Unbelievable. (YouTube)

-Anne

Review and quotes: THE BLIND ASSASSIN

Title: The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood

Book Beginnings quote:

Friday56 quote:

Summary:

The novel opens with these simple, resonant words: "Ten days after the war ended, my sister drove a car off the bridge." They are spoken by Iris, her sister. Just as the reader expects to settle into Laura's story, Atwood introduces a novel-within-a-novel. Entitled The Blind Assassin, it is a science fiction story told by two unnamed lovers who meet in dingy backstreet rooms. When we return to Iris, a newspaper article announces the discovery of a sailboat carrying the dead body of her husband, a distinguished industrialist.

Told in a style that magnificently captures the colloquialisms and clichés of the 1930s and 1940s, The Blind Assassin is a richly layered and uniquely rewarding experience. The novel has many threads and a series of events that follow one another at a breathtaking pace. As everything comes together, readers will discover that the story Atwood is telling is not only what it seems to be--but, in fact, much more. -The Publisher

Review: Back in 2007, or thereabouts, my book club selected The Blind Assassin as a monthly choice. I had a terrible time with the book. After reading less than 100 pages I abandoned the effort. It was so unlike me to not finish a book but I found the book-within-a-book-within-a book format terribly confusing. I went to the meeting empty handed and had to listen to the discussion without having much to offer to it. Since that time over thirteen years ago, it has bothered me that I didn't finish the book, especially since I learned about the bucket-full of awards it gleaned the year it was published, even capturing The Booker Prize in 2000.

I added The Blind Assassin back onto my TBR list a few years ago and finally got started reading it in August. Well, more accurately, I started listening to the audiobook. And do you know what? The problems I encountered in 2007 persisted. The book was still so confusing, the plot so twisted, the mix of genres so disturbing, the mystery was so ill-defined, and the romance so unromantic. I once again had a hard time with it. Because library checkouts have an expiration date, I wasn't able to finish the audiobook in the three weeks. Three months went by before I was able to get it back. Equally irritating and frustrating I only listened to about 100 pages of the book this second time, which got me to the point where I left off the first time. (Cue the eye-rolling.) But I was determined. So when the library gave me another turn on the audiobook in November I reluctantly started listening from that point forward finishing it the day the book was due. I'm done with the darn thing. Whew.

After sitting on the book for a few days trying to figure out how to review it, I opened up a few reviews written back when it was first published in 2000 and guess what? The reviewers for the New York Times and The Guardian newspapers didn't really like the book either. So how did it end up winning the Booker?

Announcing the 2000 Booker Prize winner at a ceremony at London's Guildhall, Simon Jenkins, chairman of the judges, said:

"The Blind Assassin is a complex book that works on many different levels. Far reaching, dramatic and structurally superb, it demonstrates Atwood's immense emotional range, as well as her poet's eye for both telling detail and psychological truth.

"The book demonstrates the mature pessimism of age and does so brilliantly."

So there you are. It was brilliant and pessimistic. It was written with a poet's eye to detail. Yet, it was still confusing and I only gave it three out of five stars.

What did you think of it? Let me know.

Publishing Info: McClelland and Stewart. September 5, 2000. 521 pages.

Book Beginnings on Friday is hosted by Rose City Reader. Share the opening quote from current book.
The Friday56 is hosted at Freda's Voice.  Find a quote from page 56 to share. 
Visit these two websites to participate. Click on links to read quotes from books other people are reading. It is a great way to make blog friends and to get suggestions for new reading material.     

 

-Anne