Book a Week in 2014 - BW39

[Stacia]

I picked it up yesterday at the library and started it last night.  I'm in Chapter 2.  I will keep you posted.  

 

I also picked up The Giver and The Graveyard Book.  

 

Wow! (Your dh was happy to get you out of your ostrich ways -- I think he owes you a big dinner out for this! :lol:  Come to think of it, I think I owe you a dinner out too! Wish we were close enough to meet for dinner!)

 

And, a little PSA about The Graveyard Book, I love it, I think it's charming (& it seems strange to use 'graveyard' & 'charming' at the same time, lol), but the first chapter seemed (to me) a little shocking in the violence category. Not too much, but more than I expected in a kids' book, kwim?

 

And, I always post the link to Gaiman reading The Graveyard Book himself. Even though I'm not an audio person, the kids & I really enjoyed watching/listening to Gaiman read his book.

http://www.mousecircus.com/videotour.aspx

 

Also in book related news, you know how I said that Aly had a red bucket like Kate's from The Mysterious Benedict Society?  Well, yesterday we had to go and buy rope and fishing twine to go in the bucket and she is outside using the rope to climb a tree  :rolleyes:

 

Love it! :thumbup1:

[shukriyya]

VC, how is your dh doing? And yourself? :grouphug:

[shukriyya]

I haven't finished a book in several weeks and seem to have lost interest in following the trajectory of any narrative on the page. I abandoned 'Claire of the Sea Light' after going in search of reviews that might shed some light on my own disinterest and non-engagement with the characters. While there were plenty of glowing reviews there were also a lot that reflected my own experience. But the kicker was that those same folks said the ending was very disappointing and felt 'unfinished'. I know that would irk me after having invested time in finishing the book so I let it drift off on the next outgoing wave.

 

I picked up where I left off with Mary Stewart's, The Ivy Tree and hope that will keep me engaged. I think I mentioned earlier that it gets off to an implausible start. Our heroine agrees to impersonate someone thought to be dead in order to help out some rather unsavory characters. That just doesn't seem very Mary Stewart-like but I'm willing to run with it as the story's only just begun. As always the descriptions of the landscape are detailed and evocative.

[Mom-ninja.]

Glad, I'm not the only one who doesn't finish books.

 

I read a collection of short stories for kids by Gaiman a few months ago. There were some parts that I don't want to expose my kids to yet. Gaiman seems to push the line a bit. :) However, as I noted before, I would not try and ban the book from a library. Other parents have different standards. Anyway, I learned that Gaiman is an author I want to preread before having my kids read it. He is a great author none the less.  

[Pam in CT]

re: controversy and comfort zones

I'm glad we're still friends!  I truly hate to think on controversial topics!  Dh is always trying to yank my head out of the sand and get me to think about it and speak up.  But I just can't do it comfortably.  I get emotional, take it personal, don't understand how others can think certain ways, just these threads (and we are not even speaking face to face) make me sick to my stomach with anxiousness because there is a difference of opinion.  :blushing:  I know, silly, but true.  

_______

 

 

Stacia, my dh thanks you for making me participate and actually express opinions and not run away from the conversation.  However, I've spent enough time out of my comfort zone  ;)  I'm going to go think on unicorns and rainbows and the incredible Mr. Darcy!  I can't say it's been fun, but it's been good for me  :001_rolleyes:

 

I am heading back to my ostrich hole now  :seeya:

 

 

I can't think about any more.  And I think that my world view (hate that phrase, truly, but it fits best here unfortunately) really plays a big part in how I think about all of this.  

 

I appreciate every one being gentle and kind.  I think this may be the most I've ever posted in a 24 hour period.  

 

Angel, I actually am much the same about avoiding controversy... partly because I too get a pit in my stomach, and partly also because it's so terribly easy to step, often inadvertently, into a zone that is so uncomfortable for one or the other person that the conversation can quickly devolve into a wholly unproductive, or even counterproductive, place...

 

... but, as I've gotten older and mellower (dunno about wiser, lol), I've realized that it's actually more interesting to talk about things -- books, current events, philosophical issues, recipes, whatever -- with people who have different viewpoints than I do... that's where I end up stretching myself, turning an idea around and looking at it from another perspective that I might ever have even known existed before.  Sometimes I end up changing my mind, and very often I end up appreciating how someone could reasonably arrive at a different perspective... (and sometimes I too run back to my hole... )

 

So, thanks for sticking with it... I do know how hard it can feel.   :grouphug:

 

 

Re: alternate assignments:

 

(I lost the header - Robin said: 

 

 

 

"Loving the conversation this week and thanks to Stacia for leading the charge about banned books.  I'm in the 'censor for my own kid' category since everyone is different.  

 

___ 

 

I think the book banning thing just irks me.  If someone isn't happy about their kid reading a story, then don't let them. Don't make it so no one else can.  Lifestyles are so different. My parents didn't like the book list I was given in my junior year of high school so they went to my teacher and principle, told them they weren't appropriate for me and we all agreed to alternative reads.  They didn't request the books be banned, just requested alternatives. "

 

I wonder sometimes if parents don't understand how easy it is to arrange one-off alternative assignments?  Between my three kids, I've worked with public and private, big and small schools, and I have never had any problem with any teacher, anywhere, when I asked if my kid could do an alternate assignment that met the same educational objectives.  I haven't done it often, but I have done it at least once for each of the kids, and it's always been straightforward and no problem.  

 

 

Re: how depressing high school reading lists seem to be-

I find this entire conversation so fascinating.

I don't & never did censor my kids' reading (I did censor tv & film though)  They read all sorts of things.

But I'm amazed at how depressing the book lists for high school are.  It's like we're trying to make sure kids know life is miserable, and nasty, and horrid, and people endure horrific things & it's all so ghastly.  Last summer I was looking through a book list for gr 10-12 here & it was all  WW1, WW2, hero's dog dies, boy becomes friend with old man - who dies, friend has cancer - & dies, friend is raped, etc etc etc.  It appears the only topics allowed for 'serious reading' are:  dystopian, war, depression, violence...

I was going through the list with ds & he was aghast. Are we trying to drive kids into a massive depression?

Or - cynical old me whispers - trying to drive them into apathy & to a resigned acceptance of whatever society chucks at them? "This is life. Suck it up & quit complaining. Look how good you have it compared to x in that horrid book you had to read for Gr. 11 English!"

dd & I read The Kite Runner a couple years ago since it's on the Gr. 12 syllabus here & she was thinking of challenging an exam (before she discovered she didn't need to). What an utter drag.

 

 

I have felt this way about the assigned reading lists for a long time. It got even worse for my dd as a college English major. It seems every book assigned was about suicide or really sick serial killings. I thought the same thing about driving kids to depression. Where is the balance? On the other hand, my 8th grader and I have read Little Britches, Where the Red Fern Grows, The Phantom Tollbooth, and The Hiding Place so far this year. They have deep themes but a sense of hope emerges.
 

:iagree: What's up with this?  I don't know whether it's a matter of looking only at the trees, and not seeing a pattern in the forest... or thinking that kids that are are so moody that to be "relevant" the books have to match that mood... or what??

 

 

 

For Stacia and Pam, and other lovers of David Mitchell, here's an NPR interview with Michael Krasny.

thank you!  I will come back to this later when I have time to listen at leisure...

 

 

Shukriyya, was The Sekhmet Bed (The She-King Book 1) by L.M. Ironside one you read earlier this year? (I'm thinking I recognize the cover art....)

 

Asking because it is free for Kindle today: http://www.amazon.com/Sekhmet-Bed-She-King-Book-ebook/dp/B005EHR1EW/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1411678615&sr=1-1&keywords=the+sekhmet+bed

IME, shukriyya's recommendations are either 1. free; or 2. $248....  :laugh:

 

 

 

 

I was telling dh about your honey experiment!  It looks so yummy!  I had no clue there were so many types of honey.  Now we are keen to try some ourselves.

 

It was AWESOME!  Our most successful family tasting yet.  My son and I liked the buckwheat; my husband declared it was actually Marmite.  I think the overall winner was Alfalfa, which was also the lightest in color.  We're having people over for dinner tonight and we're going to do it again.  Will post more pictures later...

[mumto2]

I think giving up on books must be going around. I was awake for much of last night and finished a Peter Lovesy, Cop to Corpse, on my kindle after deciding to speed read it so I would know the end. Then I went on to start and quit a newish? Iris Johansen because it was too odd for me. Gave up on Frankenstein by Koontz, simply not in the mood. Also after a 30 or so pages decided I do not want to reread Interview with a Vampire again. Not sure what I want to read.....

[Stacia]

So, thanks for sticking with it... I do know how hard it can feel.   :grouphug:

 

Yes. Totally. Angel, thank you for sticking with the conversation, even outside your comfort zone. You are completely awesome! :cheers2:

 

 

... but, as I've gotten older and mellower (dunno about wiser, lol),

 

Well, I certainly hope you're wise :toetap05:  ;)  :D  because I look up to you as one of the WISE, intelligent, insightful ladies (as are all the BaW ladies) in this group! :)

 

I wonder sometimes if parents don't understand how easy it is to arrange one-off alternative assignments?  Between my three kids, I've worked with public and private, big and small schools, and I have never had any problem with any teacher, anywhere, when I asked if my kid could do an alternate assignment that met the same educational objectives.  I haven't done it often, but I have done it at least once for each of the kids, and it's always been straightforward and no problem. 

 

Yeah, I think so many people see all or nothing, that it is hard for them to realize there may be middle ground (or many middle grounds).

 

IME, shukriyya's recommendations are either 1. free; or 2. $248....  :laugh:

 

:smilielol5:  (Dang, I'm glad I'm racking up on her free suggestions, rather than pining for the sky....) Heeheehee....

[Stacia]

And for heaven's sake, I hope you went out in your pj's to get your books!  Nobody cares!  I traipse around in my pj's all the time.   :w00t:  :lol:

 

Now we know Angel's secret racy side. ;) :lol:  (I see people in their pjs at the grocery store, etc... My sis often sleeps in stuff she wears out of the house -- not necessarily pjs, but something soft & comfy enough to be pjs. Somehow, she looks chic & stylish. Me? It would never work.... :glare: )

[Onceuponatime]

I Also sneaked my mother's books and hid them under my mattress, along with other popular books I would not have been allowed to read, like Jaws and Coma.

 

The Graveyard Book's opening chapter shocked me too, until I realized it was practically identical to what happened to Harry Potter, without the surrounding story to cushion the blow.

 

shukriyya, I encourage you to stick with The Ivy Tree. It may not be one of her best, but I enjoyed it and still remember the story.

 

I'm back at Breaking the Spell and feeling uneducated while reading it. It is supposed to be for the popular market, I can't imagine what a more technical volume would be like.

[Mom-ninja.]

 

 

... but, as I've gotten older and mellower (dunno about wiser, lol), 

 

 

 

 

It was AWESOME!  Our most successful family tasting yet.  My son and I liked the buckwheat; my husband declared it was actually Marmite.  I think the overall winner was Alfalfa, which was also the lightest in color.  We're having people over for dinner tonight and we're going to do it again.  Will post more pictures later...

 

 

I'm a lot more mellow than I was in my teens and 20's. I don't know about you all but I knew *everything* when I was a teen and twenty-something. In my teens I was smug about being all knowing; during my 20's I was determined to show everyone how right I was about everything.

 

 

I wonder if honey from a gluten containing plant has gluten in it. I would think no. I don't think the protein is in the pollen/nectar of the plant.

 

 

 

 

 

I'm in the middle of a total fluff book, which is rare for me, and I'm laughing out loud. The Wedding Night  

 

I read another book by the same author and enjoyed it. I'm enjoying this one more. You all should really remind me to read fluff more often. 

[shukriyya]

I Also sneaked my mother's books and hid them under my mattress, along with other popular books I would not have been allowed to read, like Jaws and Coma.

 

 

I remember seeing 'Jaws' when it came out as a movie. We spent our summers at a cottage on the lake, read fresh water, but I had some serious qualms about swimming too far from the dock let alone underneath it as we so often did. Cue the Jaws music, shudder...

 

 

shukriyya, I encourage you to stick with The Ivy Tree. It may not be one of her best, but I enjoyed it and still remember the story.

 

Thanks for the encouragment, OUAT. I have the sense even early in that this will be an engaging story assuming my overall literary inclinations pick up :glare:

[shukriyya]

thank you!  I will come back to this later when I have time to listen at leisure...

 

 

 

IME, shukriyya's recommendations are either 1. free; or 2. $248....  :laugh:

 

:smilielol5:  (Dang, I'm glad I'm racking up on her free suggestions, rather than pining for the sky....) Heeheehee....

 

Glad to be such an obliging example of extremes, ladies :lol: Embracing complexity, ambiguity and all that... ;)

 

 

It was AWESOME!  Our most successful family tasting yet.  My son and I liked the buckwheat; my husband declared it was actually Marmite.  I think the overall winner was Alfalfa, which was also the lightest in color.  We're having people over for dinner tonight and we're going to do it again.  Will post more pictures later...

 

Okay, back up, the bolded "liked" the buckwheat?? Methinks I need to send your family a jar of the shukriyya varietal. It's a country unto itself.  As for your husband's comment, well it's all in the context. Does he like marmite? I do so I'll take his comment as a somewhat laudatory if misguided attempt to frame the uniqueness that is buckwheat honey within his worldview :smilielol5:

[Guest]

I started The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen. It's supposed to be my treadmill book. I don't know if it will make it until tomorrow. :)

[Stacia]

Now I'm really curious what buckwheat honey tastes like...

[Angel]

Wow! (Your dh was happy to get you out of your ostrich ways -- I think he owes you a big dinner out for this!  Come to think of it, I think I owe you a dinner out too! Wish we were close enough to meet for dinner!)

 

 

 

I do wish we were close enough to meet for dinner!

 

 

Angel, I actually am much the same about avoiding controversy... partly because I too get a pit in my stomach, and partly also because it's so terribly easy to step, often inadvertently, into a zone that is so uncomfortable for one or the other person that the conversation can quickly devolve into a wholly unproductive, or even counterproductive, place...

 

... but, as I've gotten older and mellower (dunno about wiser, lol), I've realized that it's actually more interesting to talk about things -- books, current events, philosophical issues, recipes, whatever -- with people who have different viewpoints than I do... that's where I end up stretching myself, turning an idea around and looking at it from another perspective that I might ever have even known existed before.  Sometimes I end up changing my mind, and very often I end up appreciating how someone could reasonably arrive at a different perspective... (and sometimes I too run back to my hole... )

 

So, thanks for sticking with it... I do know how hard it can feel.   

 

 

 

Re: how depressing high school reading lists seem to be-

 

 

 

 What's up with this?  I don't know whether it's a matter of looking only at the trees, and not seeing a pattern in the forest... or thinking that kids that are are so moody that to be "relevant" the books have to match that mood... or what??

 

 

 

 

 

It was AWESOME!  Our most successful family tasting yet.  My son and I liked the buckwheat; my husband declared it was actually Marmite.  I think the overall winner was Alfalfa, which was also the lightest in color.  We're having people over for dinner tonight and we're going to do it again.  Will post more pictures later...

 

Unfortunately, I'm still not mellow.  I'm one of those people who give all or nothing (I have problems with my adrenals partially because of this  :rolleyes: )  One day I will grow up and learn to moderate.  At least I keep hoping.  I do TRY to see from different perspectives.  Unfortunately, I fail all to often.

 

And about those high school reading lists...Richard Paul Evans, the author of Michael Vey stated that the suicide rate among teen boys was staggering.  I can't imagine what schools are thinking by feeding them a steady diet of depressing material.  Their (boys and girls) hormones are already out of control, they do not need more angst in their life, they need hope.  

 

We are definitely going to have to find some honeys to try! 

 

Yes. Totally. Angel, thank you for sticking with the conversation, even outside your comfort zone. You are completely awesome! 

 

 

I'm not really but I appreciate the sentiment! :D  I've thought a lot about everything everyone's said.  Actually, looked at a few things from a different perspective and have realized that this is a much bigger more complex subject than I first thought.  There are so many facets to the whole thing.  

 

Now we know Angel's secret racy side. ;)   (I see people in their pjs at the grocery store, etc... My sis often sleeps in stuff she wears out of the house -- not necessarily pjs, but something soft & comfy enough to be pjs. Somehow, she looks chic & stylish. Me? It would never work.... :glare: )

:001_rolleyes:  :willy_nilly:  :lol:   Well, if I owned racy pj's, maybe ... my dd's are always telling me to buy new ones, that they are tired of seeing me in 20 yo pj shorts  

 

I read Jaws as a teenager and absolutely LOVED the movie.  My Aspie dd loved it when she was little.  Weird.  We watched it last year for the first time in a very long time and it made her jump.  She still loved it though.  I am VERY afraid to go in the water.  Dd can watch Jaws and Shark Week and hop in the Gulf like nothing.  And she's the one with anxiety!   :scared:

[Pam in CT]

Now I'm really curious what buckwheat honey tastes like...

Well... you know from Marmite??   :laugh:

 

No, JK, not really.  The texture is very thick, and the color is very dark, and of all the ones we tried, it was the only one that, if it appeared without a label, would not I think be identifiable as honey.  It really does taste very different -- "dark," if you will, a little like molasses, with an almost bitter bite like Guinness?  Very, very different.  All the others, while surprisingly different, all tasted like honey.

 

Give it a try, Stacia!

[Kareni]

I'm back at Breaking the Spell and feeling uneducated while reading it. It is supposed to be for the poplar market, I can't imagine what a more technical volume would be like.

 

The poplar market, eh?  I'm wondering what kind of market there might be for poplar trees ....  Then there's  shukriyya's The Ivy Tree, and we're clearly in tree mode this week.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

I've been rereading as I so often do.  ("I do, don't you? 'Course you do." ***)  The most recent reread is  The Price of Desire by Jo Goodman which is a historical romance which packs quite a punch.  (It has many triggers.)

 

Other recent rereads include Julie James' FBI/US attorney series.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

*** Lyrics from Tom Lehrer's Poisoning Pigeons in the Park.

[Onceuponatime]

The poplar market, eh? I'm wondering what kind of market there might be for poplar trees .... Then there's shukriyya's The Ivy Tree, and we're clearly in tree mode this week.

 

Regards,

Kareni

Oops. Looks like I forgot to preview before posting.

[Kareni]

Oops. Looks like I forgot to preview before posting.

 

I do that routinely, so please feel free to poke at me when I do.  Your error was irresistibly charming.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kareni]

After having listened to Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? recently, my husband and I finally watched the movie Blade Runner: The Final Cut which is based (loosely) on the book.  It was an interesting experience to watch it and see in what ways it remained true to the book and in what ways it differed.  (Give me a good romance any day!)

 

Regards,

Kareni

[shukriyya]

I think giving up on books must be going around. I was awake for much of last night and finished a Peter Lovesy, Cop to Corpse, on my kindle after deciding to speed read it so I would know the end. Then I went on to start and quit a newish? Iris Johansen because it was too odd for me. Gave up on Frankenstein by Koontz, simply not in the mood. Also after a 30 or so pages decided I do not want to reread Interview with a Vampire again. Not sure what I want to read.....

:grouphug:

[mommymilkies]

Glad, I'm not the only one who doesn't finish books.

 

I read a collection of short stories for kids by Gaiman a few months ago. There were some parts that I don't want to expose my kids to yet. Gaiman seems to push the line a bit. :) However, as I noted before, I would not try and ban the book from a library. Other parents have different standards. Anyway, I learned that Gaiman is an author I want to preread before having my kids read it. He is a great author none the less.

Definitely. He's my favorite author and my kids have a few loved autographed editions. They love him. But definitely pre-read. He definitely pushes boundaries but really it's nothing most kids haven't been exposed to and makes good discussion. And his voice. Oh my. Some people read bodice rippers, I just need Gaiman's voice. LOL

 

I'm at soccer so will catch up more later. I just finished Steelheart. I loved it. 4.5-5 stars. A little off for being a bit predictable but seeing as it was kind of written for a younger audience, I'll let it slide. :D

 

I need to stop by the library and see what ILL books I have in to start next.

 

ETA:  I now have The Rithmatist and Gone Girl to read.   :)

 

And I think we'll finish Maniac Magee tonight and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry tomorrow. 

[Jane in NC]

Just finished another book that Stacia gave me, a thin volume of essays by Orwell. While I could appreciate the quality of the writing, I wasn't feeling particularly inspired by them. Some seemed dated. And then I read the last essay---rather the series of diary entries that reads like an essay---on hop picking. Oh my. Apparently Orwell would occasionally take to tramping to see how the poor and destitute lived. For London's Eastenders, going to Kent to pick hops was considered a vacation, their fresh air fund. I had read about this before but not with the insight that Orwell gives.

 

Thank you Stacia!

[Violet Crown]

 

VC, how is your dh doing? And yourself? :grouphug:

We're getting on all right; thanks for asking. Dh has gone back to work, but he isn't allowed to drive for a good while, which makes some days a little trickier.

 

I read and clean when stressed, so here I am in my gleaming house with three (three!) completed books:

 

41. James Boswell, The Life of Samuel Johnson

42. Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death

43. Alan Garner, Red Shift

[shukriyya]

Just finished another book that Stacia gave me, a thin volume of essays by Orwell. While I could appreciate the quality of the writing, I wasn't feeling particularly inspired by them. Some seemed dated. And then I read the last essay---rather the series of diary entries that reads like an essay---on hop picking. Oh my. Apparently Orwell would occasionally take to tramping to see how the poor and destitute lived. For London's Eastenders, going to Kent to pick hops was considered a vacation, their fresh air fund. I had read about this before but not with the insight that Orwell gives.

 

Thank you Stacia!

 

Jane, have you read Down and Out in Paris and London? Very engaging account of Orwell's time in these two great cities as a penniless writer.

 

We're getting on all right; thanks for asking. Dh has gone back to work, but he isn't allowed to drive for a good while, which makes some days a little trickier.

 

I read and clean when stressed, so here I am in my gleaming house with three (three!) completed books:

 

41. James Boswell, The Life of Samuel Johnson

42. Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death

43. Alan Garner, Red Shift

 

Glad to hear things are on the upswing for you and family. :thumbup: And I might add that your coping mechanisms sound happily productive. Nothing like a gleaming house to set the soul right :D

[brehon]

We're getting on all right; thanks for asking. Dh has gone back to work, but he isn't allowed to drive for a good while, which makes some days a little trickier.

 

I read and clean when stressed, so here I am in my gleaming house with three (three!) completed books:

 

41. James Boswell, The Life of Samuel Johnson

42. Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death

43. Alan Garner, Red Shift

I was about to PM you and read your update. I'm happy to read an at least somewhat positive update. One of my nephews has ideopathic seizures and is variously on driving restrictions, usually for 2 months at a time at least once or twice a year. I know it can be difficult dealing with that on top of whatever medical issues are going on.

 

Inspired by your "tweets" I've recently begun "The Life of Samuel Johnson". It's been on my TBR list for a while, but I was always too distracted. I'm still distracted; but, I decided to plunge in anyway because I don't see my life entering calm waters for a very long time.

 

I wish you and your family all the best.

 

ETA: I meant to say that if you need another house to clean to assuage your stress levels, I'll happily offer mine. No sense letting stress build up if you can help it. :) ;)

[shukriyya]

Here is a lovely excerpt from an article on writing poetry by Mary Oliver. The article itself is a poem. In it she talks not only of writing poetry but of the wider craft of writing and, in ever expanding circles, the nature of attention, interest and the dance that arises out the heart's partnership with mind. And to send the BaWers into a delicious and mellow Saturday night... 'Mysteries, Yes'

[Stacia]

Bwa-ha-ha -- clever TeeFury shirt with Poe & Lovecraft:

http://www.teefury.com/??utm_campaign=cj_affiliate_sale&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=cj&utm_content=3711792&utm_term=11687041&c3ch=Affiliate&c3nid=commissionjunction

 

Robin, shall we add to our Poe/Lovecraft tee collections? Lol!

[Stacia]

Six Banned Middle Eastern Books You Should Read:

http://www.vice.com/read/banned-books-week-and-middle-eastern-literature-923

[Stacia]

Violet Crown, glad to hear the update. Still sending hugs & good thoughts your way....

 

Pam, yes, I'll have to try the honey.

 

Jane, your review of Orwell's essays mirrors my thoughts on the essays when I read them.

 

Mumto2, hope you're sleeping better....

[Jane in NC]

Jane, have you read Down and Out in Paris and London? Very engaging account of Orwell's time in these two great cities as a penniless writer.

 

 

This looks completely fascinating. Thank you for the recommendation!

 

Sending best wishes to VC during this stressful time. And sending the Sandman with gentle lullabies to Mumto2!

[Robin M]

Link to week 40 - please continue conversation in new thread