Mark's Reading Place: Chapter Thirteen

-Centennial Trail



-Morton Arboretum



-Eastern Bluebird

“We need the tonic of wildness... At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable. We can never have enough of nature.”

~ Henry David Thoreau

"The play of shine and shade on the trees as the supple boughs wag,
The delight alone or in the rush of the streets, or along the fields and hillsides,
The feeling of health . . . . the full-noon trill . . . . the song of me rising from bed
and meeting the sun..."

-Leaves of Grass- Whitman

Audiobook:



Graphic/Comic:



July:

66- Tomorrow, and Tomorrow & Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin 4.2 stars
67- Strangers in Paradise (Book 1)- Terry Moore 4 stars GN
68- Prisoners of the Castle by Ben Macintyre 3.8 stars (audio)
69- Coming Through Slaughter by Michael Ondaatje 4.3 stars
70- East of Eden by John Steinbeck 4.6 stars
71- All the Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby 4.2 stars (audio)
72- Harmony by Carolyn Parkhurst 3.3 stars
74-The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni 4 stars (audio)
75- I Meant it Once- Stories by Kate Doyle 3.3 stars ER
76- Last On His Feet: Jack Johnson by Adrian Matejka & Youssef Daoudi 5 stars GN

August:

77- Old God's Time by Barry Sebastian 4.6 (audio)
78- Chain-gang All-stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah 4.2 stars
79- 100 Poems That Matter by The Academy of American Poets 3.7 stars P
80- The Colony by Audrey Magee 5 stars w/Stasia
81- A Fever in the Heartland by Timothy Egan 4.3 stars (audio)
82- Dinosaurs: A Novel by Lydia Millet 4 stars
83- The Last Ranger by Peter Heller 4 stars (audio)
84- The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride 4.6 stars
85- The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson 3.2 stars
86- Trespasses: A Novel by Louise Kennedy 4.2 stars

September:

87- Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel 4.3 stars
88- All Hands on Deck by Will Sofrin 3.8 stars (audio)
89- Juliette by Camille Jourdy 4 stars GN
90- The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng 4.7 stars
91- No Ivy League by Hazel Newlevant 3.5 stars GN
92- Tom Lake by Ann Patchett 4.5 stars
93- Nowhere Girl: A Memoir by Cheryl Diamond 3.8 stars (audio)
94- Fourth Wing (The Empyrean, 1) by Rebecca Yarros 3.8 stars
95- Eyes of the Rigel by Roy Jacobsen 3.7 stars E
96- The Dragons, the Giant, the Women: A Memoir by Wayétu Moore 3.5 stars (audio)
97- Night and Dana by Anya Davidson 4 stars GN

October:

98- The Singapore Grip (Empire Trilogy) by J.G. Farrell 4.6 stars w/Benita
99- This Other Eden by Paul Harding 4.7 stars
100- Almost an Elegy: Selected Poems by Linda Pastan 4.8 stars P
101- Funny Things: Charles M. Schulz by Luca Debus 4 stars GN
102- The Five Wounds by Kirstin Valdez Quade 4 stars (audio)
103- Skippy Dies by Paul Murray 4.5 stars
104- Our Strangers: Stories by Lydia Davis 3.7 stars E

Poetry: P
GN: Graphic Novel

^ I was able to do some shared reading, this past year, with a few of my book buddies and I really enjoyed it. I would like this to continue through 2023. Primarily, I would like to read books off shelf, but I am still catching up with a few titles that I missed in the past year. I also would like to do a few rereads. I will list some titles and if you are interested, we will set a firm date.

The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst w/ Jeff, Benita June
East of Eden w/Linda P, Lynda, Meg, Paul, Anita, Susan- July
The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng w/Donna, Caroline, Rhonda September
The Singapore Grip w/Benita September
Skippy Dies by Paul Murray w/Stasia, Benita, Anita, Ellen?? October
Gap Creek w/ Judy, Benita November
The House of Doors w/Ellen, Stasia December

2024

One Hundred Years of Solitude January?
The Bee Sting w/Judy Jan/Feb?

The Wild Swans at Coole

The trees are in their autumn beauty,
The woodland paths are dry,
Under the October twilight the water
Mirrors a still sky;
Upon the brimming water among the stones
Are nine-and-fifty swans.

The nineteenth autumn has come upon me
Since I first made my count;
I saw, before I had well finished,
All suddenly mount
And scatter wheeling in great broken rings
Upon their clamorous wings.

I have looked upon those brilliant creatures,
And now my heart is sore.
All's changed since I, hearing at twilight,
The first time on this shore,
The bell-beat of their wings above my head,
Trod with a lighter tread.

Unwearied still, lover by lover,
They paddle in the cold
Companionable streams or climb the air;
Their hearts have not grown old;
Passion or conquest, wander where they will,
Attend upon them still.

But now they drift on the still water,
Mysterious, beautiful;
Among what rushes will they build,
By what lake's edge or pool
Delight men's eyes when I awake some day
To find they have flown away?

-William Butler Yeats

Joe suggested I give Yeats a try. I have read very little of him. I normally do not connect with classic poetry but this Irish poet is working for me.

Hello?? Great Horned Owl chicks.

"With echoes of Educated and Born a Crime, How to Say Babylon is the stunning story of the author’s struggle to break free of her rigid Rastafarian upbringing, ruled by her father’s strict patriarchal views and repressive control of her childhood, to find her own voice as a woman and poet."

I snagged an ARC of How to Say Babylon a couple of months ago. It was published earlier this month, so I thought I better get to this memoir. It sounds very promising and has been getting strong reviews. I will start it today.

103- Skippy Dies by Paul Murray 4.5 stars

Seabrook College is Dublin’s preeminent boy’s school and we are introduced to a wide variety of students and teachers. The mystery at the heart of this big novel, is why fourteen-year-old Skippy suddenly dies, on the floor of the local doughnut shop. This is presented in the opening pages and of course the title is a dead giveaway. The reader is immersed into this world of teenage boys, drugs, and girls, along with teachers who are still struggling to find peace in their own adulthood. Sharply written, with many laugh out loud moments but with enough dark and disturbing revelations to keep the book grounded. This will not be for all tastes but for those willing to stick it out, it is well worth the time.

Happy New thread!

>2 msf59: Oooh that baby! He’s getting so big!

Did you notice all of the music trivia in Skippy Dies? Just this morning I found a reference to Toto's song Africa. These music references are all over the place in this novel.

Guess I have to add Skippy Dies to The WANT!! List™.

I did acquire and read George Takei's graphic memoir They Called Us Enemy over the weekend. Slowly progressing through Turgenev's Fathers and Children, and I've gone back to Mary Shelley's Mathilda. Too, Full Bloom: The Art and Life of Georgia O'Keeffe is calling to me.

Happy new thread Mark!

>2 msf59: I love the Jackson pictures and I want his glowboard!

Happy new thread, Mark!

>8 msf59: Nice review!
I just finished Skippy Dies. I remembered some, certainly not all. Still love the book, athough the rating went 1/2 a star down to 4.5 My review will come later this week, I will let you know.

>8 msf59: Glad the read was a success, Birddude.

>1 msf59: ooooo
preeettyyyy

>9 Storeetllr: Thanks, Mary. He does look like a big boy in that first photo but you see the baby in his face in the second one. He is in transition.

>10 benitastrnad: I did like the music references in the novel, Benita, although many of the choices were from the author's childhood. That is my guess anyway.

>11 weird_O: If you would be interested in my copy of Skippy Dies, Bill. Let me know. I thought They Called Us Enemy was an excellent GN. I hope you felt the same.

>12 quondame: Thanks, Susan. Jack got his glowboard for his birthday. He likes it. I had never heard of it before. LOL.

>13 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita. I am glad Skippy Dies held up for you on your reread. I am looking forward to reading The Bee Sting early next year. Do you have a copy yet?

>14 richardderus: Hey, RD. It was a good read but I can see why it might not work for everyone.

>16 msf59: Is it really called a glowboard? Naw, it looks like a light board but used with dry erase markers? I did a brief Amazon search and nothing quite that showed up.

Happy new one, Birddude!

>17 quondame: Honestly, I don't know what it is called, Susan. I am clueless. I will ask my daughter.

>18 drneutron: Thanks, Jim.

>16 msf59: The Bee Sting isn't translated yet, Mark. Keeping my fingers crossed a Dutch translation will come soon.

>15 msf59: Your copy of Skippy Dies? But of course. Who could turn that one down.

My address hasn't changed

HAppy new one!

Happy New Thread, Mark! Glad you enjoyed Skippy Dies. Nice review! Yesterday I took over a couple of gifts for Mile and Melissa. I took Miles a Halloween book, and it has pop out picture on every other page - like a ghost , a bat etc. I said to him - Ohhh!The Ghost -so scary! And he just laughed and said " it's just paper ". Melissa seemed very pleased with her Halloween Lego of spooky cat and mouse. I had purchased her a Halloween book too, but it turned out she already had it , so I gave it to my great neice and nephew. They are so fun at this young age.

>20 FAMeulstee: I hope The Bee Sting gets translated soon, Anita. 🤞

>21 weird_O: Glad to share the book with a friend, Bill. I will try to get it in the mail, in the next week.

>22 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Anita.

>23 vancouverdeb: Thanks, Deb. I hope you are also enjoy Skippy Dies, once you get to it. I got a kick out of your Miles & Melissa story. They bring so much joy, right? Looking forward to Jack reaching that age.

Water of the womb

It is winter in Anchorage, and I am only as tall as the shoveled snowbanks in the parking lot of the pink apartments. I am old enough to have chores but young enough not to fully understand frostbite. It is not my turn to take out the trash. I’d like to think I was persuaded with hot chocolate or choosing the movie for the evening, but I’m sure it was just force that made me put my bare feet on the icy asphalt. I waddle to the dumpster with the bag that almost weighs as much as me. The slow burn of the ice threatens to peel the skin from my pinky toes with each step. I’m told I’m not old enough to tell my elders no. My small voice is frozen on the roof of my mouth anyway, so I continue trudging. I don’t remember getting rid of the bag or making it back upstairs, just a face in the mirror while mom ran warm water over my feet in the sink. It is desolate, disinterested in my ability to walk. I’d like to say we were just kids doing kid things, but I remember you had shoes on.

-TIANNA BRATCHER

Happy new thread, Mark!!
It's going to be a lovely day here today so the driving range is on the day's agenda. Fore!!!!!
Haha last week I shattered a window in the enclosed driving range. Yup I hope I can learn from my mistakes.

Good Wednesday, Mark!

‘Morning, Mark, happy new thread, happy Wednesday to you.

>2 msf59: Sweet boy. I love all the scribbles on the glowboard.

>6 msf59: Still think that pic's great, glad you’re sharing it again.

Great pics, Mark, and Jackson seems to be cuter by the day. I need to be less of a stranger over here.

Happy new thread, Mark.

Yeats is a favourite of mine too. I smiled at you calling him a "classic poet" which I am not so sure he would have appreciated that much as he was an idol to the modernists who followed him. He was certainly adept a classic forms but innovative too. One of the undeniable greats of 20th Century literature.

>26 Carmenere: Thanks, Lynda. Happy Wednesday! A nice fall day here too! I didn't know that you had taken up golf. I gave it up years ago. Enjoy!

>27 richardderus: Back at you, RD!

>28 karenmarie: Thanks, Karen. Hooray for Jack & the GHO chicks!

>29 lindapanzo: Thanks, Linda. Great to see you. I have missed you. I hope all is well.

>30 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul. I am enjoying the Yeats collection. I use the term classic because I am not sure what other word to describe early poetry. LOL.

>32 msf59: Awomen.

>8 msf59: Nice summary of Skippy Dies. I've about 100 pages to go and you were right, the last section gets a bit dark. I find myself thinking things like "what is he going to do with another 150 pages??" and then I find out.... I am really glad I stuck it out. I don't think I'll give it 4.5 stars as you did but it's definitely a worthwhile read and motivates me to keep my place in the queue for The Bee Sting.

Oh, and happy new thread!

>34 EBT1002: Thanks, Ellen. I am so glad you are finishing out Skippy Dies. I have been waffling a bit on my rating on this novel. I want to knock off a few points and then decide not to. Bottom line- it is an impressive effort and I am happy that I got to do a shared read with you and Benita.

-Michael Ramirez

>36 msf59: Oh yeah, oh yeah. I believe I read that Gym got fewer votes today than yesterday.

On a lighter side...

       

       Boy with pet owls, circa 1911.

>37 weird_O: I read that too, Jim. He is another POS and does not deserve that post. I love the owl pic. I wonder what happened when these chicks grew up?