This novel is a bit of a mood. My teen, leaning over my shoulder, noted the similarity in format to James Joyce's Ulysses, and with the number of literary references in it, I lean towards the opinion that this is intentional. And if so, that suggests there may be another literary/mythological parallel to the novel as a whole that I'm just not catching. All this to say, I might not have read this as closely as it deserves, but I still enjoyed it.

Made excellent progress on the tagged during the flight home yesterday, although I'm 90% done and am still not sure where it's headed.

I'm feeling so many conflicting things today: happy to be home, that a friend is coming to visit for a few days, and that the weather is so beautiful, but also concern and consternation about world events and relationships with aging parents and extended family. And preemptive exhaustion from post-trip chores.

I listened to this bit by bit on a series of drives across Ohio and Michigan with my family. On a road trip is a great way to listen to Kevin Wilson (this is our third), and the premise of this one in particular fits road trip listening well. Wilson's characters are so immediately engrossing, all of us were engaged, alternately moved and laughing as Wilson led us through the complicated nature of "family," via Marin Ireland's narration.

#5JoysFriday, Michigan edition.

From top middle, clockwise:
1) Butterflies!
2) Biking and hiking around an island.
3) Hiking up and down many dunes.
4) Hiking through wetlands.
5) Hiking up to views of glacier-carved lakes.
@DebinHawaii

Day 12 of a 14-day trip, and I am finally getting some substantial reading time in!

The Tournament of Books summer bracket has been announced for #CampToB25 : https://www.tournamentofbooks.com/welcome-to-the-summer-bracket

As expected, I've read most of these, so hopefully I remember them well enough to enjoy the match-ups.

Bookstore 3 of 3 for this trip: Brilliant Books in Traverse City, Michigan. Small but mighty! I overheard excellent book-related consultations with the friendly staff, and there was an old gumball machine repurposed to dispense D&D dice. Super cute!

Bookstore 2 of 3 for this trip: Horizon Books in Traverse City. Two floors of books, games, puzzles, cards, and a little café area.

One of the many awesome stickers at this fabulous bookshop in Petoskey, Michigan. My firstborn bought two books and a sticker, and I was tempted by their t-shirts, but the colors weren't great on me, so I refrained. Not enough room in my luggage for more books just yet. Hopefully in a few days!

This specific cookbook in our rental (Better Homes and Gardens Meals in Minutes, circa 1973) isn't in the database, but it was too good not to share. The format---quick meal plans to impress at short notice---is one that has always appealed to me, but I have difficulty imagining making most of these recipes unironically.

We're having some good times this trip, but I'm looking forward to the next phase of the journey, which will be away from the older generation for a bit. I'm grateful to be able to visit with them, but every time I open my book, they want to talk about something else. I am accustomed to more quiet time than this.

Photo: Red squirrel having a snack in Summit County, Ohio.

We're traveling and visiting family, so I've not been reading as much as usual (except for an hour of an audiobook in the car the other day), but we've been listening to a lot of music, including this Brahms waltz that showed up in my dream the other night. The first time I remembered a song from a dream and could identify it after I woke up. https://open.spotify.com/track/3ElNBOxaakZ4wEbCvZLei5?si=noxwspu3SISAG9da4Iqvag
#TuesdayTunes @TieDyeDude

1) I think it was the tagged, which I ordered as soon as I learned Meta was trying to suppress it.

2) I would have thought series, but I think I have ordered more stand-alones. I don't read a lot of series, and when I do, I tend to read them when all the books are out so I can binge them.

@TheSpineView ##Two4Tuesday

The overarching joy this week is that both of my big kiddos are home for the summer! Other joys are of a suburban/urban scenery and fauna nature (although I suppose my kids are suburban fauna, too):

1) Bee snuggling in a rose.
2) Dewy spiderweb.
3) Cat sleeping in packing material.
4) Mom and babies in a bird nest on an electrical box.
5) Sky.
@DebinHawaii #5JoysFriday

I enjoyed this one more than I have many of Christie's later mysteries. The story is silly, of course, but it's lively and kept me guessing with its many red herrings. I love having Mrs. Oliver and Poirot team up again, and it's also pleasant to see Poirot's vulnerable side (and his matchmaker side). I admire Christie's ability to just stop a book at the end, much as I admire people who can end a phone call without a long goodbye.

This novel is relatable in some ways, while also sappy and a bit tedious, as beach vacations often are. What's not relatable is why someone would go back to the exact same sub-par place for vacations for twenty years. I couldn't handle the sameness, although I guess it's comforting to know you won't have privacy or reliable plumbing year after year? And swimming in a pond is gross. I think I see why living in New England wasn't a good fit for me.

1) I like Mary Oliver's advice:

Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.

2) See comments

3) Playing the tagged game with my family last night. It's a hoot!

@Eggs #WondrousWednesday

This one ended up feeling a little less substantial (a little less oomph-filled) than it seemed like it would be, but I enjoyed the story, the character development, the coincidences. It's also interesting to see how authoritarianism manifests basically the same regardless of the stated politics behind it, possibly because it's about power and the ideology is just the vehicle for getting one man (or a few of them) as much power as he can wrangle.

I'm having one of those days that just feels tough for no really good reason. The kind of day where I was looking forward to repotting houseplants and am unreasonably undone that the delayed delivery of two pots has pushed the task until tomorrow, where I know I'm being bratty and ungrateful, but I can't seem to be anything different. So to heck with it; I'm reading.

June #bookspinbingo. As my teenager would say, let's go! Time to lock in!

@TheAromaofBooks

The Storygraph has this AI-powered book preview (basically a prediction about whether a user will like a book or not) that I like to look at after I finish a book. This is from its prediction for how I'd feel about The Guncle Abroad. It seems like it's figured me out pretty well. It makes me wonder: How much can you tell about a person based only on their reading history? I feel like the answer is, "A lot," but I'm not sure about that.

This one is relatively fun, and it's kind of nice to have Patrick called out on some of his silliness, but I'm not sure I'm super interested in general in people for whom flying first class is the default and purchasing real estate in SoCal or NYC is no big deal. The characters spend their time displaying a lack of awareness about their own wealth, being wowed at others even richer than them, and delivering one liners and schmaltz. Fun but light.

This lady has no respect for my to-do list. Or the fact that my coffee mug is empty. At least my book is within reach (just out of frame).

Two bingos in May! I completed my #bookspin (although not my #doublespin). And I seem to be avoiding my #Roll100 titles...
#bookspinbingo
@TheAromaofBooks

As I was putting this together, I realized that May 11-17 was a really good reading week...I listed my favorite, but there were a few other contenders, which is a lovely problem to have.

Farewell, May 2025! You were a good reading month.

#WeeklyFavorites @Read4life

Thanks for the tag @TheSpineView ! My first time playing this one...

Today is grocery shopping, running a mock 5k to see how my new training plan is working (aside from me gaining 5 pounds, which makes no sense but always happens when I add miles), and hopefully applying to a couple of interesting jobs. Oh, and getting my June library holds set up for our travels.

No idea whom to tag, so jump in if you want to play!

@AllDebooks #chatterday2025

Everett has a way of writing characters that just draws me in, even if the plot confuses me. I wish I could identify what it is he does because it's really effective. I really enjoyed this one, although when I got to the third story, I wondered if I'd been reading the whole thing wrong. In the first and third stories, Ogden had been in the army, and in the second, he'd been in the Marines; I assumed this was an oversight, but now I'm not sure.

1) Camille, my reading buddy.
2) The penultimate concert of the academic year (Carmina Burana with choir!).
3) Rose Garden walk.
4) Silo getting his claws stuck in my son's shirt and then forgetting how to use his legs.
5) This pipe on our regular walking route that looks like a tiny robot guy from one angle, which I find delightful.
@DebinHawaii #5JoysFriday

I am not happy that it's already June (I'm excited about things we're doing in June and that both kids will be home, but it's crazy that May is already over), but I'm always happy to put together my #bookspin list. I've got my #roll100, my #authoramonth, and my #camplitsy25 included here. (We'll see if I can get all of my hashtags right.)
@TheAromaofBooks

After a long day helping set up the high school gym for the Grad Night party, having an awesome time subbing a prealgebra class, and playing tennis with my spouse, I have a precious few minutes to read the tagged under a lovely sky before my kid is done with orchestra rehearsal.

Nate isn't quite as annoying as George (of The Book of George), but his story also isn't as interesting. After an enjoyable beginning, it moves into Nate's reiterative internal justification for inconsiderate behavior that provokes, at best, a kind of tired irritation, much like the emotional arc of his love affairs. His hopelessness and oblivious privilege are mundane (albeit realistic and well-written).

1) I'm pretty happy with my name now (after trying to go by my middle name for a couple of years), but if I had to choose a new one, I'd choose one that sounds strong and stately to me, like Millicent or Birgitta.
2) Sam-I-Am, Maurice, Owen, Conrad Birdie.
3) Schuyler (actor who played Diana Barry in the Colleen Dewhurst Anne of Green Gables miniseries), Angharad from Welsh mythology (on my parents' long list for my name).
@Eggs #WondrousWednesday

I picked up this book today in the hopes that it will satisfy my desire for fancy drinks while not destroying my sleep like even one of the "real" versions does. There are kind of a lot of ingredients in a lot of these, but they look tasty.

It's my #Litsyversary! Six years on my favorite non-toxic (mostly) social media! Not a lot of time for reading today, but I did get to listen to the tagged this morning while driving to and from hanging out with a friend at the park, where we saw beautiful roses.

I own this one in print, but I wanted to do housework today, so I opted for the audiobook. The contemplative pace is great for listening while doing chores. Everything in this novel means more than one thing, which I find comforting. There's also a comfort in the slow pace and the feeling that there's always time to reflect and improve. I feel like reading this on paper now, too.

This memoir captures the immediacy of Zamora's journey as well as the fast intimacies created by a shared intense experience, and it's delivered effectively through a voice that feels genuine to a nine-year-old's experience. It feels tedious at times, but this, too, feels true to the experience, which alternates between boredom and terror. I'm looking forward to the book club discussion. (Photo from a hike I took near the border in winter 2023.)

I switched from audiobook to ebook so I could snuggle with Camille. She seems content with this change. First day in shorts (for non-exercise) this year and next to an open patio door. Feels about right for Memorial Day!

Even now that I've finished this and enjoyed it, I'm not entirely sure how to read it. It's cleverly written and goes into some depth about navigating relationships during times of extremism. There's also a fatalism to this alternate history, a sense that with culture becoming increasingly polarized into extreme viewpoints, certain outcomes are inevitable. Extreme positions of any kind give opportunists and narcissists a platform to thrive.

Low-key readathon: Activated!

Only trouble is, the cat is so cozy, I'm about to fall asleep myself. 😴

#JumpStartSummer @TheSpineView

#5JoysFriday @DebinHawaii
1) Finished out the read-aloud year and brought home the book bin.
2) Bought a wagon so I'm less likely to injure myself taking the book bin to the main office next week.
3) Orchidelirium! Orchids have so much character!
4) Played my first piano recital.
5) Silo, our resident Distinguished Fellow.
Not pictured: I had a great informational interview exploring a new-ish field for me.

I've got a busy weekend of music (both professional and talented student musicians) and stagehanding (if that's a word), but I'm hoping to sneak in some reading each day. I'm working on some Percival Everett for #authoramonth, Solito for book club, and the tagged just for fun, although I'm leaving open the possibility of just mood reading. #jumpstartsummer @TheSpineView

After hearing the synopsis, reading the first few chapters and skimming the rest, I think I have the basic idea: You'll be happier and more successful if you aim for an ideal but measure yourself by your progress, not by how far you are from the ideal, like heading towards the horizon to give you direction, not because you expect to reach it. Decent idea, but it doesn't need this many words to convey it.

Bookends post for March and April 2025 is finally up: https://imperfecthappiness.org/2025/05/22/bookends-march-april-2025/

I list what I read in those months and ponder an unsettling temporal development.

Overall, I found this book to be moderate, data-driven, and interesting, with a couple of caveats. First, Twenge sometimes doesn't flag clearly what is data and what is her opinion. This is fine, it just means I have to pay closer attention. Next, I found the GenX section disappointing. She ignores outliers and nuances she points out in the Millennials section, and she reaches different conclusions from some data than I do. (cont'd ⬇️)

10/100, but it's more like 75/100 adjusted for Ulysses.

Notable titles of those I read:
1) Howards End (loved it)
2) The Trial (loved it)
3) Ulysses (loved being done with it)

#ThreeListThursday @dabbe

1) Reminding myself that, assuming we're not living in the Matrix, I only know for sure that I have this one life, so it deserves my attention, care, curiosity, and joy.

2) Tagged, although there are several I could name at different points in my life.

#WondrousWednesday @Eggs

Today I finished the last read-aloud session of the academic year with the tagged book. I volunteered to bring my school's book bin back to the main office next week and to pick up and return as many as three other bins from other schools. I'm in good shape, but lugging this bin a city block to my car left me a sweaty mess with an ache in my back, so I ordered a heavy duty wagon to help with the other bins. Volunteering can get expensive!

Lalami's writing is sometimes a little obvious in its intentions, but this one plays with nuance a little better than The Other Americans, which I appreciate. It's definitely paranoia-inducing, so if you're reading fiction to avoid doomscrolling or if you don't want to look at your smart devices with suspicion, this might not be your best option. But aside from those caveats, I quite enjoyed this one.

I had a lovely time at the orchid exhibition at the botanic garden yesterday. It was a nice break from national news, unlike the tagged, which I started on audio. It seems pretty good, but I don't know if I'm in the right headspace to cope with the paranoia. (I also played at a piano recital and was so nervous that I pretty much blacked out during my performance, so I might need something lighter to read to help me even out.)

A quick and impactful read, this book by Richard Haass is like a distillation of David Brooks's writings about character. It was written before the 2024 election but predicts many of the threats to democracy that resulted. The suggestions are moderate and bipartisan, although in the current environment would likely be considered radical.

TL;DR: Protecting democracy is necessary, nonpartisan, and requires our active participation.