Book report ~ Day to Read

Here were the rules laid down by Soccer Mom in Denial: "Please go read something not on the computer. A book. A magazine. The newspaper. Then come back here tomorrow to either tell about it or let me know if you wrote a post about it."

I called this a "book report," but the book wasn't all I read yesterday. Here's some of what I read, not counting road signs and billboards and the running commentary under the newscasts:

One of the seven books our city-wide committee is considering
Menu at my favorite restaurant
News
Obituary of the husband of an old friend
Social Security information
"Legacy of Women" brochure from my old school
Emails
Several of your blogs, though not as many as usual
Information about 135

I want to say a couple of things about that reading:

First, I cannot, absolutely can NOT, imagine what life would be like if I couldn't read. But mainly, I realized that what I read yesterday engendered lots of thoughts (as usual) that rarely make it into my book reviews. Are you interested in hearing about those thoughts swirling around my reading mind?

I read 142 pages of a 282-page book. Ha! That's exactly one page over half the book. Oh, you expect me to mention the title? I'm re-reading The Distinguished Guest by Sue Miller because our A Tale for One City committee is narrowing our current list down from seven books to three books ... and I need to write a review or six or seven. I am sharing this link with you, my readers, to allow you to make comments on these books before our January 29th meeting. In the meanwhile, let me tell you what I was thinking as I read the book ... this time.

Mortality ... I read The Distinguished Guest about a decade ago, found it interesting, and would have given it high marks back then, if I'd been reviewing the books I read. This time, however, I am seeing the main character in a whole new light, now that I have learned my favorite cousin also has Parkinson's. This go 'round, I am retired, as the protagonist is; she has temporarily moved into her son's home until her new place becomes available ... and I am very aware that my children have already discussed what to "do" with me, when "that time" comes. They (not I) have decided which daughter will "have" to take me in because the other two think they aren't able to do that, because of their circumstances. Yikes! I'm 67 and prefer to decide my own life, thank you very much! I don't want to live with any of them (sorry, kids). I'd rather live under the nearest underpass ... well, maybe not ... and saying such a thing would simply convince my children that I am getting senile ... or have the beginnings of Alzheimer's, which my mother had.

Speaking of mortality, I also read that obituary I mentioned above. At the funeral home I recognized my old friend (in the generation before mine) whose husband had died, but I had to ask someone to point out the second son ... I hadn't seen him since high school 50 years ago. He's two years younger than I am, so how come he looks so old??? Oops! I guess we all do, now. Which reminds me, I also read some stuff Social Security sent me this week. Do I have to read it? Yeah, I guess so. Scintillating reading? No, not exactly.

Then I ate out with a friend of mine. I chose the place, which happens to have the best fried okra in town since my mother died. And I read a brochure "The Legacy of Women in Theology and Ministry" from Emory University's Candler School of Theology. I was especially interested in "remembering the past" of the 1980s, when I was in seminary there. Two of the women faculty I studied under were featured in the brochure: Roberta Bondi, hired in 1978 to teach History of the Early Christian Church, and Carol Newsom, added to the faculty in 1980 to teach Old Testament.

And last, but not least ... I discovered that the number 135 is fascinating ... read all about it here. Some of you may remember I like numbers, so this is mere confirmation. What excited me was this fact:
135 = (1+3+5) (1x3x5)Do I have any readers who like numbers as well as words? Dewey, I know you mentioned numbers to me once, when I was talking about my fascination with the number 9.
__________

January 12th addendumm found online:

1 x 8 + 1 = 9
12 x 8 + 2 = 98
123 x 8 + 3 = 987
1234 x 8 + 4 = 9876
12345 x 8 + 5 = 98765
123456 x 8 + 6 = 987654
1234567 x 8 + 7 = 9876543
12345678 x 8 + 8 = 98765432
123456789 x 8 + 9 = 987654321
1 x 9 + 2 = 11
12 x 9 + 3 = 111
123 x 9 + 4 = 1111
1234 x 9 + 5 = 11111
12345 x 9 + 6 = 111111
123456 x 9 + 7 = 1111111
1234567 x 9 + 8 = 11111111
12345678 x 9 + 9 = 111111111
123456789 x 9 +10 = 1111111111
9 x 9 + 7 = 88
98 x 9 + 6 = 888
987 x 9 + 5 = 8888
9876 x 9 + 4 = 88888
98765 x 9 + 3 = 888888
987654 x 9 + 2 = 8888888
9876543 x 9 + 1 = 88888888
98765432 x 9 + 0 = 888888888

Brilliant, isn't it?
And look at this symmetry:

1 x 1 = 1
11 x 11 = 121
111 x 111 = 12321
1111 x 1111 = 1234321
11111 x 11111 = 123454321
111111 x 111111 = 12345654321
1111111 x 1111111 = 1234567654321
11111111 x 11111111 = 123456787654321
111111111 x 111111111 = 12345678987654321