:grouphug: Life is messy and no one should talk to you that way

:grouphug: Rose. Keeping your family and you in my thoughts.

I forgot about Dubliners, which I haven't read. I've read Portrait of the Artist, and I've attempted Finnegan's Wake a few times, but couldn't get very far. There was a period in my early twenties where I had planned to read the top 100 books written in the English language. I can't remember the website but the Modern Library list looks familiar. I think Finnegan's Wake was where I gave up on the list. I don't know why I thought Wake would be more approachable than Ulysses.

I started up my spooky reads last week as they came into the library. I have a large stack to work through and I'm looking forward to it! Most of my reading this year has been fantasy with my BAW Bingo reads mixed in, so it will be fun to change things up. Books read last week: Going Postal by Terry Pratchett. Fantasy. A con man finds himself running the town's postal service. I thought this was a fantastic book, the first Discworld book I thoroughly enjoyed apart from the Death/Susan Sto Helit and Tiffany Aching series. Ulysses by James Joyce. Classic Literature. A day in the life of an aspiring artist and an ad man. I finished! Wipes the sweat off my brow and dances in celebration. What a tough read! While I could appreciate Joyce's talent and brilliance, I just couldn't care about the characters. It's like studying a well-executed painting and finding the subject matter repulsive. Nearly every possible bodily function is described, often in such beautifully descriptive detail that it takes a few lines to realize what is happening. I'm still working on the Ulysses Teaching Courses lecture and debating whether I should re-read sections, but it doesn't sound very tempting right now. I wish Joyce had written books I could like. I Am Providence by Nick Mamatas. Horror. A writer investigates a murder at a Lovecraft conference. Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey. Science Fiction-Space Opera. A burned out cop investigates the disappearance of a wealthy girl with rebel sympathies. A well done science fiction read. Envy of Angels by Mark Wallace. Urban Fantasy. A short novella about a catering company that creates magical dishes for demons. My goal this week is to finish my last bingo read plus read some horror to get in the mood for October.

Our sports teams set aside one hour and have the kids call relatives and friends, from 10 to 20 people, and ask for donations. Most prefer to just donate money rather than buy items they don't need.

I think you are doing a lot actually. I would just encourage you to pick up writing again. WWE was too much for my first grader so I would pick a sentence from her reading and have her copy it. Building up the hand strength and stamina is so important.

Not yet. I saw it was nominated for a Pulitzer so it's another book added to my TBR list.

To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey is written by an author raised in Alaska and set in the nineteenth century Alaska. I thought it was a lovely read.

Did the researchers control for socioeconomic status? I've lived in many large US cities, and housing costs were a significant portion of our budget. That's with both DH and I working good jobs. With four children, safe neighborhoods are out of our price range in high density urban areas, and based on my experience, the unsafe neighborhoods in many US cities aren't walkable. We now live in a developed suburban area, but it was built to be very walkable and bikeable. The schools and library are less than a mile away. Restaurants and gorcery stores are a bit further. I love where we are and hope we can stay. I wish more neighborhoods were developed this way rather than large swathes of homes isolated from any commercial zones.

Can I lodge a protest against Into the Wild as an Alaskan read? Every native Alaskan I've met who've read the book thinks the premise is terrible. Here's a good article summarizing the many problems with the book. A good quote: From the article, Penn is naive when he says that few have attempted what McCandless did (living in the wild). When I lived in Montana, I knew many people who camped for a long time in the wilderness, but they survived because they were trained and prepared.

I was just thinking about Remains of the Day this morning while contemplating Ulysses. It has been my favorite book for many years. I love Ishiguro's language, his characters, his humor. The butler Mr. Stevens is complex and difficult. He wants to live up to his ideals, to do the correct thing, but pays a price in the end. Just thinking about the last few pages, when Mr. Stevens is truly honest with himself, causes a little lump to form in my throat. Even though I read it in my early twenties, it isn't a young person's book and it only grows more dear to me every year. Regret, memory, honesty, deception, love, hate, betrayal - there are so many emotions wrapped up in this quiet book. I think Ishiguro is a British writer, but he writes from the perspective of someone who grew up within, but set apart from the dominant culture. I've ranked the books I've read below in order of most favorite: Remains of the Day An Artist of the Floating World Never Let Me Go The Buried Giant I've added his other books to my TBR list.

Location. We've lived extreme urban and extreme rural, and I love where we are now. The library, a park, three schools, restaurants, friends, etc. are all within a short walking distance. Even a few churches, if we were inclined to attend.

:grouphug: good that you brought fire, brimstone, and lawyers. It's terrible that you required them in the first place.

That was frightening. The entire article was scary, but who thinks: well, this judge abused his power over the powerless elderly, let's transfer him to oversee kids. A relative of mine was removed from her adult child's care for abuse, but the rest of the family never lost physical access to her. My heart was racing for the children begging to see their parents, not knowing if they were well or even alive.

I may not participate in the read around the world challenge, but I'm adding many books to my TBR list.

I've added this to my TBR list. I've been fascinated by the case since reading an Oliver Sacks book. H.M. also inspired the premise for the movie Memento, which was my first introduction to Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan's short story Memento Mori.

I understand what you're saying. I challenged myself this year and now I feel internal pressure - finish your list!! I'm thinking next year I might just read however I feel inspired and take a step back from a creating a specific list.

Me, too. I realized when he died it was the last photo of the two of us together.

Is she allergic to sulfa drugs? Benadryl can sometimes make rashes worse if there's a sulfa allergy. Two friends have discovered an allergy when an entire body rash erupted.

Books read last week: A History of Eastern Europe by Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius. History-European. A historical overview of the many countries that make up Eastern Europe. Like I said last week, though I've been an avid reader of history, this course really opened my eyes to how much I focused on the Western European countries. The instructor is unsparing towards the many forces that have partitioned and influenced the Eastern European region. Most surprising, the professor makes the argument that World War I, while a disaster for Western Europe, is viewed differently by Eastern Europeans as the four empires that controlled the region were destroyed. Given the size and scope, it would be impossible to cover the history with any depth so I was left with a desire to learn more. Highly recommended. Moon over Soho (Peter Grant #2) by Ben Aaronovitch. Urban Fantasy. The constable and wizard apprentice discovers London jazz musicians are dying under suspect magical circumstances. Another enjoyable read. I've added the Peter Grant series to my TBR list. An Unlikely Duchess by Mary Balogh. Historical Romance. A wealthy heiress runs away from an impeding betrothal and is rescued by a chivalrous gentleman who hides that he's her intended fiance. Terms of Endearment by Larry McMurtry. Literary fiction. A merry widow drives her many suitors mad. I loved the Aurora's character until midway through. In a foreword, McMurtry says he likes the daughter Emma more, but I couldn't see why. My hometown Bingo read (both setting and author location). Mythical Trickster Figures by William J. Hynes. Mythology. A collection of academic essays discussing the definition of a trickster and the role the archetype plays in various cultural traditions. With the essays totaling only 210 pages, it seems like it would be a quick read, but it took me over a week as I tried to read the essays one day at a time and really absorb what the authors were saying. I don't think I have the anthropological background to understand all the references, but it was an interesting introduction to Yanqui, Greek, Japanese, Catholic, and Yoruba tricksters. The bibliography was 20 pages long so there's plenty to read if I want to learn more. I'm still working on Ulysses, another book I'm trying to read only one section at a time. I've learned I can't stop reading in the middle of a section or I lose the narrative and must start over. I'm spending a lot of time re-reading sections to make sure I understand what's happening. The Teaching Company's Joyce's Ulysses has been a great help in understanding. I'm reading Pratchett's Going Postal and McGuire's October Day #3, An Artificial Night. Plus, I'm finishing up Beyond Heaving Bosoms, but I'm weary of the snarky humor. In my dusty TBR stack, I'm thinking about reading The Writer's Journey, yet I can't work up any enthusiasm. Has anyone read it? For scary reads, I have The Elementals by Michael McDowell and The Essential Ellison, a collection of Harlan Ellison's short stories that I've been saving for October. I may pick up another Matt Ruff as I thought his Lovecraft Country was extremely well done. Horror used to be my favorite genre so I'm looking forward to everyone's recommendations.

I didn't like The Historian (too much random sudden screaming), but I loved Justin Cronin's The Passage. Cronin is a literature professor at Rice University in Houston, TX and he started the book after a conversation with his daughter - what if a virus causes humans to become vampires and they take over the world. Can one girl save humanity? How do humans survive when they are no longer the top of the food chain? A well-done mash up of many genres (terror, dystopian, science fiction, and apocalyptic), Cronin imagines a world where most everyone human is gone and he deftly walks the line between literary and commercial fiction. The other two books in the trilogy are excellent as well (City of Mirrors made me feel some empathy for the Big Bad), but neither one can match my enjoyment of the first book in the series.

Good thoughts and prayers sent your daughters way.

I'm halfway through Ulysses and since I finished my last audiobook, added in The Teaching Company's course. I'm two lectures in and thoroughly enjoying it. I love when teachers are enthusiastic about their subject (I had a similar experience with Dante's Divine Comedy-I highly recommend the course).

I liked your post because I share your shock. If you don't know Tap's background, please go back and read her posts before making insensitive comments.

I would at least go visit the cat. Pet him and talk to him to see if the personalities suit. Then I'd end up bringing him home.