The 2014 winner of the Center for Fiction‘s First Novel Prize, this was a novel that I read mostly during bouts of insomnia. The magical qualities & lack of sleep blended together to make a read that was filled with dreamy sequences in my mind. I‘m not sure I totally understood everything but it left an impression. The story is part family history, part historical (when St. Thomas becomes a US territory), part love story. Bit of a slog but 👏🏼👍

I‘ve always liked this guy. I just didn‘t like his memoir all that much. A recitation of his many successes and failures, a who‘s who of all the folks he worked with. Grabbed it on Libby on an impulse and consider it an accomplishment that I managed to finish it.

A terrible photo even though I was 3 rows back. Ozeki was wonderful. Of course she did a reading but she also talked quite a bit about how meditation allowed her to get to her characters, hearing voices, how Tale for the Time Being was a cousin to this book, and how much she disliked the audio version of this book. She hopes to re-record it herself. Her responses to questions were warm and generous, taking the time to have a bit of a conversation.

There were four women in this panel and they were all great. Sarah Stewart Taylor, Sarah Strohmeyer, Margot Harrison, and Miciah Bay Gault. All mystery writers, all Vermonters. I loved that Strohmeyer is the elected Town Clerk of Middlesex, VT and yet has managed to write 20 novels. They were witty, played two truths and a lie (I was 4 for 4) and talked about the old and current ways of writing a thriller/mystery.

Another Vermonter, Miller was a finalist for the Vermont Book Award and longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. This book, part historic/part novel, sounded fascinating. Of course they had sold out of his book once I tried to grab a copy. Seated beside him was Vermonter Janice Obuchowski who wrote The Woods (out in November. Anthony Marra, who awarded her a prize for her short fiction, called her book “A genuine work of art.”

Becca Balint, a Vermont Senator running for the U.S. House of Representatives, could quite probably 🙏 be the first woman in VT to be elected to Congress from our state. We have had wonderful representation from our elected officials but they stay in office forever. (Think Patrick Leahy or Bernie Sanders.) Becca used to be an Opinion Writer for her Brattleboro paper years ago and her beautiful essays reflect her love & appreciation of community.

Yesterday the inaugural Green Mountain Book Festival took place in Burlington, Vermont. Be prepared, there will be many posts. There were 38 authors in total. First of all I had no idea that so many of the writers involved live in Vermont. We have an abundance of excellent authors here. Here is Jay Parini, professor at Middlebury College, author of Benjamin‘s Crossing (so good) and The Last Station (about Tolstoy). Brett Ann Stanciu [cont.)..

Unlike the 2020 Center for Fiction First Novel prize winner, this 2019 winner was just what I wanted. An independent woman who seemingly needs no help and a community of friends and neighbors who watch over her. She‘s cranky, an alcoholic, and completely unapologetic. This is a multi-generational story and I loved each of the characters.

I was at the library looking at the Center for Fiction‘s First Novel prize winners list. I grabbed 2 of the books off the shelves. This book was the 2020 winner. The blurbs on the back, all from well known authors, were gushing. A young woman struggling to get by, develops a relationship with a married man, goes to live at his house having been invited by the wife. The first 1/4 was funny, the rest preposterous. What did I miss that others loved?

Much like Trevor Noah, the author‘s journey from childhood to where they are now is astonishing and the sacrifice of a mother to envision a better life is heartbreaking. It‘s an important story, one that informs everyone of the ‘promise‘ of America for those who come here versus the reality once they are here. The writing was so-so but overall it‘s a pick.

#BookerPrize22 Longlist. It‘s the only reason I picked it up. While this is primarily about John Wilkes Booth family members, it offers a glimpse into the U.S. well before and during the Civil War. Some of the incidents that occurred are wild, and remind me of the anger and lawlessness of today, but on steroids. While overly long I learned things from it that I will remember for some time.

(A view last night from the home I lived in for 20+ years before my divorce. I‘m housesitting which is an odd concept but…) I listened to this, read by Keefe, and it was terrific. Long essays written for The New Yorker of some shysters, grifters, and killers. One essay was about a murder that tied back to a story of the killer‘s childhood, all of which took place in the town I grew up in. Keefe is an automatic read for me.

But, but…The Colony 😩 Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies 😩

#BookerPrize2022

Don‘t know if this link will work but it‘s an interesting piece about housing and community for exiled writers. I had no idea… https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/02/opinion/salman-rushdie-free-speech-writers.ht...

This was a page turner for me. I loved how she structured the physical space of the book and the timing of the story. It‘s a brutal look at a woman dying of cancer and her life story, complimented by the individual experiences her family members are going through. The voice of cancer itself weaves through the story, sneaky and eventually overwhelming. Written by a very young woman whose mother died of cancer, the writing is beautiful and unique.

There is a particular cemetery in Burlington, edged by Lake Champlain, that I love to walk in. These photos don‘t do justice to the beauty, serenity and peace found there. This morning I suddenly realized how much it reminded me of the home of my favorite character, Violette, from my favorite book, Fresh Water for Flowers. 💕

I took a personal day and hit the rail trail on my new little pony. Just lying up on a hilltop, reading, napping, and moving on to new spots to recline. I haven‘t done this kind of thing in a long time and it feels lovely. So far this book is my kind of book.

Audio fiction tends to bore me & I find myself thinking of other things. It‘s a rare book/narrator that can hold my attention. This story succeeded in all ways. As others have mentioned, it‘s written by a teenager but I didn‘t know that going in & never would have guessed. The central drama is based on a true story & sadly I was not surprised by that at all. Teenager Kiera trying to navigate some terrifying situations & my ❤️ was with her 100%.

Abe knew what he was talking about.

I did it! I read a whole book! Sure, it was only 114 pages but just what I needed. A beautiful portrait of a family man during Christmas in Ireland. He has begun to question his life and its rhythms and purpose. His focus changes when he begins to understand the ways of the convent and the suspected tragedies taking place there. Thanks to Litsy and the #bookerprize2022 for bringing this lyrical, yet to the point, novel to my attention.

Just to be clear, this is not a photo of me. I don‘t wear makeup and I have long hair. But it‘s an accurate representation of me. Nowadays I read for 5 minutes and I‘m out like a light. I‘m hoping that less house sitting, dog sitting, cat sitting, babysitting, election work, and government work will change this scenario. I miss having that full reading experience.

(A vacation photo.) A very small group of folks live on a small island in Ireland. A self-absorbed artist & a linguist who has been coming for years, hoping to document the Irish language spoken on the island, arrive at the same time. I read it several weeks ago & the impact of each visitor, the wry humor of the inhabitants, the interweaving of the stories of the murders taking place in Ireland, the lifestyle of the islanders, remains. Terrific.

This is the worst time for me to be reading dysfunctional family dramas. Going in I knew it would a tough read. There are some authors who know how to break your heart into tiny bits. Mungo is a sweet, loving, gay teenager with a drunk unfit mother and a hooligan for a brother. Mungo falls in love and that part is told in the sweetest of ways. But evil lurks all around him with both his mother and his brother sending him off to obvious harm.

I had retired from my 2-year temp job helping to run elections. Yippee, summer! 3 weeks later an employee called & asked if I would PLEASE return for the summer primary election & possibly through the November elections. Staff were leaving her to do it alone in the largest city in Vermont. I said yes. 😳 My reading will go downhill. 😩

This is a photo of kids picking cucumbers. In my teen years I laid on one of these for three summers, picking.

So much of this book sneaks up on you. So short and yet so impactful. You start off introduced to Elena, a mother trying to determine who killed her daughter, even though it was clearly a suicide. You then begin to feel you‘re living in Elena‘s body as she navigates the world with Parkinson‘s. The writing puts you squarely in her body. And then … you learn the rest. A five-star read for me.

Straub mentions someone I haven't thought of in years. Marion Ettlinger. Marion was in Burlington, VT at some point years ago. She took pictures of many of my friends - I was told she was experimenting and needed practice. Her photos were some of the most stunning images of my friends that I'd ever seen. Over the years I kept seeing her name on book jackets as authors became her subjects. Check her gallery out: http://www.marionettlinger.com/

The four narratives, told by different individuals, is about a man who has been able to amass a fortune through the stock market. Did he cheat his way into rigging the market? Was he as brilliant as he was made out to be? The story within the story is about his wife. Who is left to tell her side of the story when the woman is no longer around to tell the tale. Does a man's legacy matter more than a woman's?

I listened to Love‘s Forever Changes as a teenager and thanks to Spotify I‘ve been listening to it again for the past few years. I never hear anyone talk about this band or this album. It‘s a good one. Many thanks to Straub for mentioning them.

Because I love to read books, I often leave my New Yorker's sitting in a pile. I have a serious backlog & can't throw them out. I made a commitment to read at least 2 of them before reaching for a new book. Each time I pick up the magazine I am struck by how much I love the content. I learn so much about subjects I had no idea I could be interested in. Just a heartfelt appreciation that they continue to put in the time to provide amazing content.

After reading a series of books that left me uninspired, I finally picked this up & could not put it down. The sea, Ireland, and the main character continues to hover in my mind days after reading it. This is a haunting novel of a quest to track the last migration of the Arctic tern, of a woman who cannot stay in one place despite her desire for love and connection, a woman who carries on despite so much grief, and those who stand alongside her. ⬇

Vermonter Garrett Graff who wrote the impressive ‘The Only Plane in the Sky‘ about 9/11 has written another one that I‘m excited to check out. Thought I‘d share a local newspaper‘s review of the book: https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/book-review-watergate-a-new-history-garrett-...

(Captain Adorable and his sister hoping to catch a ride in that boat.)

It‘s been exactly a year since I received this book from @BarbaraBB as a gift. Today I am finally picking it up to read. I thought it was serendipitous that @TheKidUpstairs posted this today. A book is read when it‘s ready to be read. 😀❤️

There are 3 essays in this book. The 1st is Lost & that is the one I was most struck by. The author writes of her father-his life, his illness & his passing. It is a glorious piece of work, one that I immediately wanted to share with my friend whose sister passed away. Of the last 3 books I read about a parent dying, this one hit all the key points in such an elegant way. I appreciate her effort in expressing the inexpressible.

“…a woman with a tight, mean face, dark hair, green eyes, lots of freckles, skin like an aging banana peel.”

That sentence stumped me. Skin like an aging banana peel? Certainly a creative description but I have no idea what that would look like.

It‘s a pick but primarily because I learned so much about deaf culture.

I was left with so many questions about the characters…is there going to be a sequel? What the heck will their future be? Why did the story end in such an abrupt way? Was the story simply a vehicle to explain all the challenges experienced by those who are deaf or was it supposed to resolve the various situations of the characters, such as housing, schooling, marriages?

I LOVED Freshwater, their 1st book. Their 2nd book sits on my shelf to be read but I went directly to this one for #CampLitsy. I know the goal is to write in many genres & I can appreciate that challenge. But this one just kind of broke my heart. It felt repetitious and full of guilt. I consider their writing to be so unique and this was not. I may grow to appreciate how they write of rising from grief into hope. But mostly I‘m disappointed.

I seem to be reading memoirs about dead fathers. This is my second in a row. Carr writes a beautiful testimony to her father, David, who died at 58. I thought I was a good parent but now I feel I have to kick it up a notch. David was a crack addict and alcoholic with twins who kicked it all to become a columnist at The NY Times. His advice to his children. and his (sometimes tough) love was ❤️❤️ 🔥

Burlington - where I finished reading this one.

My friend said, “You‘re not reading Kellyanne Conway‘s book, are you???” No. The author is Kelly, the daughter of Tim Conway, who continues to make me laugh when I see his skits. I read it because I needed a light read after my last book. This was not light. Tim was a great dad and it‘s amazing how close he was to his six kids. But there‘s a stepmother who turns into the wicked witch near the end of Tim‘s life and hurts Kelly a great deal.

What happens when a virus comes wafting through the world after the polar ice begins to melt and all that was buried in ice is unleashed? It can't be good, right? Chapter by chapter this book tells the story of the results. A generational story that is intriguing and depressing. Some chapters were more captivating than others and some were super sad. I actually made it to the end & enjoyed the last chapter - The Scope of Possibility - a lot.

Porch reading.

A fantastic read by a woman intimately involved in the work done by The Yippees. Covering the period of 1967 through the mid-1970‘s, Gumbo brings her work alongside Eldridge Cleaver, Bobby Seale, Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin back to life. The FBI notes sprinkled throughout reflect the wiretapping and surveillance done for years on the author. Women claiming their place in the struggle against the war effort while men received the attention. 🔽

It feels as though I‘ve been waiting for this book for years. My librarian just purchased it and waved it at me as I walked in the door. I‘m hoping Judy Gumbo does a good job of writing the history of the activism that took place in the late ‘60‘s. This is the story I want my kids to know about. With Bobby Seale and Robert Meeropol recommending it I have high hopes.

Thought this would be an easy breezy read, like his other book The Guncle. If you have an older dog you may want to skip this one. It brought back all the emotions I felt when my dog Rosie grew old & passed away almost 15 years ago. Believe it or not, I carried Rosie‘s ashes with me when I moved from Vermont to California & back again a year later. She‘s still with me. This story is a journey & one that you know the author personally experienced.

I ask friends if they‘ve ever heard of this author and no one has. How can this brilliant writer, an author of over 30 books, not be more well known? This story covers three important parts of an artist‘s life - a rescue attempt, an affair, and his family life. Secrets color his life and colors are sprinkled throughout the story, highlighting the feelings imbued in the story. An engrossing read with an emotional end. I‘m sure I‘ll reread this one.

Abundance courtesy of the library AND I found a $20 bill stretched out in the walkway to the building.

I‘ve got something to read for #CampLitsy and #CampTOB22 and the recommended Lily and the Octopus. The book on the bottom of the list was written by Tim Conway‘s daughter. Those of you who watched Carol Burnett shows will remember him fondly.

I‘m so happy to be the first to post about Perrin‘s second novel to be translated. I just received my copy in the mail. Her debut novel, Fresh Water for Flowers, continues to hold a top spot in my list of much-loved books.

I imagine it was perfect in the ‘80‘s and it might have had an impact on me then. Now, though, I felt it offered very few specifics on achieving the transformation he writes about. Wanted to bail, but I rarely do that, and in customary fashion, (the reason I don‘t bail) is that the last few chapters finally gives you what you‘ve been waiting for: his grand pronouncements on what matters. I‘ve done inner work for years and this is merely a primer.

“There are no ordinary moments.“

I‘m really trying to take that statement to heart. It feels like a different way of saying ‘live in the present moment.‘

This was my front yard for over 20 years until my divorce. My ex-hubby still lives there. I‘m housesitting in the neighborhood right now so this was my reading spot last night. Pretty sweet.

Very well researched, this is the story of events at Memorial Baptist Hospital in New Orleans during and after Hurricane Katrina. It‘s also about the legal questions and charges filed against a doctor & several nurses who decided to end the lives of some remaining patients. The book is long and quite detailed and left me with so much to think about. I‘m also realizing it left me pretty depressed. I need to find some uplifting books!