The only thread that I make sure to visit regularly. I love the BaW thread! Books are my comfort, solace, and joy. I love hearing what everyone else is reading, as well as adding more and more books to my growing wish list!

Kindle book on sale today. I'm not sure if I'll be getting this one.

This is us also. Every year and everyone loves it.

I read A Family Christmas - 4 Stars - What a lovely anthology of stories and poems to get me in the Christmas spirit! Included in this are also scripture, letters, and songs. I especially loved the letter from Santa (John F. Kennedy) to his daughter, Caroline, who created this compilation. Many of the stories were already familiar to me, but others were new. Here is an excerpt from one of my favorite quotes, “Keeping Christmas”, by Henry Van Dyke: “It is a good thing to observe Christmas day. The mere marking of times and seasons, when men agree to stop work and make merry together, is a wise and wholesome custom. It helps one to feel the supremacy of the common life over the individual life. It reminds a man to set his own little watch, now and then, by the great clock of humanity which runs on sun time.”

Kindle book on sale today!

Kindle book on sale today - historical fiction/romance - these books do not need to be read in order.

That made me laugh! Sorry to be such a bad influence on your wallet. I hope that you enjoy the book. Oh, loved reading about your Christmas!

I read The Fireside Grown Up Guide to the Husband - 2 Stars - Not as funny as the others in the series. Noble Hounds and Dear Companions - 5 Stars - How could I not love this book? Dogs and monarchy! What more can I say? Pets of the Royal Family are shown from Queen Victoria onward. The photographs are simply delightful. Most of the pets are dogs, but there are some cats also. This would be a lovely coffee-table-type gift for anyone who loves monarchy and dogs. I was particularly moved when I saw pictures of Princess Alex of Hesse, who later married and became the last Tsarina of Russia. If you are interested in seeing some pictures, here's a link to my Good Reads review.

Here goes. Don't Burn This Book (I should call it, Don't Burn This Review 😄 OR "At Least Now I'll Have a Better Idea as to Who/Whom Complained 😄) Don't Burn This Book: Thinking for Yourself in an Age of Unreason - 4 Stars - In today’s world, the ability to think for oneself is like a breath of fresh air and needed more than ever before. I appreciated the author’s humility and vulnerability. Although he doesn’t have an amazing writing style, he writes from the heart. Plus, it helped that I enjoyed his sense of humor. This book covers a wide range of topics, and, as with anyone, I don’t agree with him on everything. I had hoped that the book would offer more practical advice as to how to stand up for oneself in this age of unreason. That’s my only criticism. In all fairness, he does encourage the reader to not be intimidated, to not feel the need to stay silent, and, most importantly, to remain respectful when it comes to differences of opinion.Here are some of my favorite quotes:African American“I’m black—not African American. That’s a term I don’t like. I was born in America and I’ve never been to Africa. It’s an absurd term. A term that Jesse Jackson crammed down the throats of the media. It’s ridiculous.”America“America isn’t perfect, nor could any nation ever be, but that she has granted more people more freedoms than any other country in the history of the world.”“… the left wants you to believe that the United States is a lethal cocktail of imperialism, xenophobia, toxic masculinity, and capitalist greed designed to enslave the masses. This is a fascinating take, considering the left also wants open borders so that everyone can apparently share in the nightmare that is America.”Balance (keeping it together)“When we fail to live a life outside politics, we become a slave to it. While it’s certainly important to be aware of all the issues I’ve discussed here, it’s way more important to live a well-rounded, fully-realized life that’s regularly removed from all the drama.In order to do this, we must learn to distinguish between being politically engaged and politically obsessed.”“Twice each year, take a one-week break from social media. I recommend the last week of the summer and the final week of the year—this will recharge your batteries at convenient times and restore your perspective. Then slowly reintroduce yourself to it all with fresh eyes. (If you’re feeling really adventurous, join me once a year for the month of August, when I shut off all my devices and stop reading the news entirely.”Borders“Borders are all around us in various forms—they’re the laws that stop criminals from stealing our property, the front doors that keep us safe at night, and the parameters of personal space that discourage people from getting in our faces. Even literal borders are good. The triple-fence erected along San Diego’s U.S.-Mexican border has been hugely successful, reducing illegal access by 90 percent. Likewise, Israel’s border wall with the West Bank is considered another triumph for its citizens. Before its existence, Israel suffered countless suicide bombings, which terrorized thousands of innocent people.”“… other nations throughout Europe have built their own territory markers, including Spain, Greece, Norway, Hungary, Macedonia, and Austria. Are these countries racist? Are they building walls in the name of racism? Of course not.”“’We are a generous and welcoming people here in the United States,’ Obama said in 2005. ‘But those who enter the country illegally, and those who employ them, disrespect the rule of law, and they are showing disregard for those who are following the law.’ He added: “We simply cannot allow people to pour into the United States undetected, undocumented, unchecked, and circumventing the line of people who are waiting patiently, diligently, and lawfully to become immigrants into this country.’ A few years later, in a 2013 State of the Union address, Obama promised to put illegal immigrants ‘to the back of the line.’He even once told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos: ‘Our direct message to families is ‘do not send your children to the border.’ If they do make it, they’ll be sent back. But they may not make it [at all].’ Yes, that’s progressive hero, Mr. Hope and Change himself, Barack Obama, sounding an awful lot like evil, racist Republican Donald Trump, wouldn’t you say?Capitalism“As it stands right now, the top 1 percent already pay 90 percent of the money generated through federal tax, while the lower 10 percent pay basically nothing—yet still we’re told the rich need to pay more.And if the rich must pay more, then how much more—and for how long? Answers on a postcard please. Why not increase the rate annually until they’re eventually paying 100 percent tax? That’ll really teach them not to be greedy. This anticapitalist approach does little to encourage entrepreneurialism and most likely does the opposite. Once again, Thomas Sowell nailed it when he said: ‘No government of the left has done as much for the poor as capitalism has. Even when it comes to the redistribution of income, the left talks the talk but the free market walks the walk’.”Fathers“Elder was right and he damn well knew it. ‘The biggest burden that black people have is being raised without fathers,’ he declared. ‘A black kid raised without a dad is five times more likely to be poor and commit crime, nine times more likely to drop out of school, and twenty times more likely to end up in jail. When I hear people tell me about systemic racism or unconscious racism I always say ‘give me an example.’ And almost nobody can do it. I give the facts . . . and [according to left-wingers] the facts are racist.’”“As he noted in The Daily Signal, children from fatherless homes are likelier to drop out of high school, die by suicide, have behavioral disorders, join gangs, commit crimes, and end up in prison. They are also more likely to live in poverty-stricken households. Conversely, nuclear families—whether black or white—are richer in all ways.”Feminists“… If one still needs a reason to justify being a militant feminist, then head over to the Middle East. That’s where you’ll find real misogyny, which is propped up by a proper patriarchy. Happy travels!”Gender Equality Paradox“Researchers at the University of Missouri had found a ‘gender equality paradox’ when they studied 475,000 teenagers across the globe. They noted that hyperegalitarian countries such as Finland, Norway, and Sweden had a smaller percentage of female STEM graduates than countries such as Albania and Algeria, which are considered less advanced”Gender Pay Gap“There are two things that could survive a nuclear war: cockroaches and the myth of the gender pay gap.… young women who don’t have kids are outearning their male peers. According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, unmarried, childless females under age 30 who live in cities earn 8 percent more than their male peers in 147 of 150 U.S. cities. In Atlanta and Memphis, the figure is approximately 20 percent more, while young women in New York City, Los Angeles, and San Diego make 17 percent, 12 percent, and 15 percent more, respectively. Besides, even if men and women do earn different sums, statistical disparity doesn’t always mean discrimination—sometimes they are the reward for life choices, which is fair. This is good news, unless you crave victimhood.”Global Warming“… the global polar bear population has actually increased since the 1960s.According to Danish environmentalist Bjørn Lomborg, the greatest threat to polar bears comes from hunters, who shoot between three hundred and five hundred of them every year—not global warming.The panic is best summarized by British journalist and author Matt Ridley, who told me: ‘Global warming is real, but slower than expected. The latest hysteria is based on exaggeration rather than evidence. We are told that we must panic, despair, and deliberately impose harsh austerity on ordinary people just in case the current gentle warming of the climate turns nasty at some point later in the century. That is like taking chemotherapy for a head cold.’”Gun Violence“… the root of our gun problem isn’t the weapon itself but the human beings behind them. After all, it’s a person who pulls the trigger. If you think this isn’t relevant, it may be worth noting that one of the Columbine, Colorado, shooters, Eric Harris, had Luvox (a Prozac-like, psychotropic medicine) in his bloodstream. Likewise, Stephen Paddock, the man who slaughtered fifty-eight people in the Las Vegas shooting—the worst in modern American history—had antianxiety medication in his system and had previously been prescribed diazepam. Meanwhile, Parkland, Florida, shooter, Nikolas Cruz, had been on psychotropic drugs before he embarked on his killing spree as well. These are facts. Yet we still allow mind-altering medication to be advertised on television, even though their side effects produce all sorts of problems, such as suicidal tendencies, anxiety, and insomnia. I’m no expert on prescription medicine or mental health, but perhaps focusing on these elements could be a sane place for the debate to go. After all, it maintains our Second Amendment freedoms without ignoring some pivotal factors.”Identity Groups“Think about yourself right now. Do you represent all white people, or black people, or straight people, or gay people? No, of course not. You only represent yourself. Segregating Americans into identity groups—the very essence of bigotry—has been fully embraced by modern progressivism, which has absolutely nothing to do with classical liberalism. Progressivism has traded a love of individual rights for paternalistic, insincere concern for the collective. It judges people based upon their skin color, gender, and sexuality, thus imagining them as competitors in an Oppression Olympics in which victimhood is virtue.”The Irony“’Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.’ In other words, today’s progressives have now become the sexists and racists they’ve claimed to hate.”Islamic Terrorism“Suddenly, out of nowhere, rationalizing Islamic terror had become a progressive position. According to progressives, it was another 2-D argument: brown people = good, white people = bad.”Socialism“… socialism, which was a founding principle of the Nazi movement. The name ‘Nazi’ is an acronym for the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, which most of today’s Democrat socialists conveniently forget. Actually, that’s an understatement. These people don’t just overlook this truth, they’ve totally rewritten history on the matter. These days, Nazism gets associated with conservatism at the drop of a hat, but historically it stems from the left. Adolf Hitler? An art-loving vegetarian who seized power by wooing voters away from Germany’s Social Democrat and communist parties. Italy’s Benito Mussolini? Raised on Karl Marx’s Das Kapital before starting his career as a left-wing journalist and, later, implementing a deadly fascist regime.”Systemic Racism“Harvard University has chosen to make it harder for Asian applicants to be accepted into the university because they outperform their peers. So yes, systemic racism is real . . . at America’s top university.”Virtue Signaling“This is because outward virtue signaling is separate from being a considerate, moral person. Whereas the latter is central for common decency (and is something we should all strive for), the former is just a display of faux morality. One that’s designed to offer protection from the mob ever turning on them. It’s a protection racket—a form of insurance. You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.”

I am not sure whether I think it's wise to or not. I still stand by this: "It's completely appropriate to talk about political books if that's what you're reading. If you were to use every book you read as a springboard for talking about your pet political projects, that wouldn't be appropriate. But you don't."

I would like to thank you again, so much, for caring, and also for being so fair. It means the world to me. I have been re-thinking all of this and am upset. I was only being polite earlier, since I loathe confrontation, in person and online. Mind you, I can be upset and angry while still being polite and considerate. Thank you. This is how I feel exactly. When I disagree with something, or at least if something upsets me, I just scroll on down and ignore it. I feel sure that someone must have complained to Robin, and very quickly, may I add! I'm not sure who it was, but I have some suspicions. This post has me a little confused. Robin, on the one hand, you want us to not feel censored and all, and yet, on the other, you are judging my post and my quotes, with descriptions such as "overenthusiastic" and "extensive", never mind "triggered a great deal of discomfort." I don't even recall the first part, about the one person on progressive causes, etc. I guess this was either before my time or I just ignored it all. I appreciate you removing yourself as mediator. I agree with you completely that we are all adults and should handle differences of opinions as adults, as opposed to running to Mummy with every complaint. I have been posting here for over a decade, I believe. Right now, I'm not sure how I feel about whether to continue participating in this thread or not. I am not asking for sympathy, just being genuine and real here. Most people here are just lovely, other than the one or two who rushed to complain about my review and "overenthusiastic" quotes. I certainly feel hurt by their actions, smacks of tattle-tale behavior. Something seems to have changed. Maybe it's these boards entirely. I don't know. I do feel sad about it, because, again, I've been there for at least a decade or so. I love hearing what everyone's been reading and all that. On the other hand, I don't like feeling stifled or restricted. Sadly, I think that it's often one-sided. I could be wrong. One would think and hope that these boards would be different, as one of my good friends here said the other day, "considering how everyone proclaims to be all smart, logical, and educated, but people are people." Agreeing with what two friends here shared with me recently, along the same lines: "It's completely appropriate to talk about political books if that's what you're reading. If you were to use every book you read as a springboard for talking about your pet political projects, that wouldn't be appropriate. But you don't." No. I never did use ANY of my reviews as a springboard. Never have done. Never plan on doing so.

Vicki, sorry to have to bother you, but would you mind please removing that link from your post? Thank you so much.

Love you, dear Robin. I'm sorry that I upset anyone here.

Thank you so much, Melissa. You're so kind and sweet. If you (or anyone else here) is interested, here's a link to my Good Reads page, although I believe that we are already friends there.

I love my two yoga mats. Yes, they had a smell at the beginning, but it wore off after a while. I have a round one and put my Jade Fusion yoga mat on top of it. Jade Fusion 74" is thicker but not too soft for yoga. It has a good grip. It is a bit heavy, but that's not a problem for me, since I don't take it anywhere. As a friend of mine commented on another forum: "Mine has been going strong for over 10 years. I love this mat. I lie down on this mat and immediately feel happy." This is my Mandala round yoga mat. When I bought it, I ordered "a second". They don't seem to have seconds right now or anymore. I bought one of the seconds and after two years of use, I still cannot figure out the flaw that made it a second. Again, quoting a friend, "Layering this and the Jade mat is perfect for restorative/yin yoga. If you tend to migrate off your mat, a round mat really helps. It's nice not to roll over onto the cold floor in the winter!"

nm

Robin! Happy, Happy Birthday to you! Wishing you a wonderful birthday weekend!

Kindle book on sale - autobiography/memoir/humor

Kindle book on sale today - may be of interest to Pat Conroy fans, such as myself.

Robin, hope that your husband heals quickly and that he's feeling better. I read Memories of Nine Years in Akka - 5 Stars - This is a memoir that would be of interest and relevance to Baha’is. I first read it right before going on pilgrimage over 15 years ago. It was a wonderful re-read. The author served in the Holy Land from 1900-1909. He writes with wisdom and humor. While reading this, I went through a whole gamut of emotions. What a special time in history that was! Here are some of my favorite quotes: Divine Confirmation “Divine confirmation is dependent on action.” Our Will versus God’s Will “Whatever a human being desires for himself brings him nothing but loss, and whatever God desires for him is gain upon gain.” Spiritual Health “He would say that whereas physical health is only moderately communicable, physical disease is highly contagious. By the same token, the effect of spiritual health is also very gradual and slight, while spiritual disease is communicated quickly and potently. This is because a patient struck down with a spiritual disease does not seek a cure; in effect he hides his malady and thus communicates that condition covertly.” Success “He then explained the importance of education, and the secrets which would lead to success. He considered success and progress in any field conditional first on divine confirmation and then on wholehearted perseverance.”