A book, lost keys, and muffins

A Picture Book of Jewish Holidays ~ by David A. Adler, illustrated by Linda Heller, 1981, children's picture book, 32 pages

This book highlights the Sabbath, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Simhat Torah, Hanukkah, Tu Bi-Shevat, Purim, Passover, Yom ha-Azma'ut, Shavuot, Tishah be-Av, and other Jewish holidays.  A resident donated this book to the Crown Center's library.

Lost keys (mine and hers)

Click HERE to see my dream last summer of searching for my keys.  This week, one of my friends had been walking in our neighborhood and realized when she got home that her keys were missing.  She walked back over the same sidewalks, but did not find her keys.  Nobody had turned them in to our office (she asked).  Imagine your own panic at losing car keys or house keys.  Now what?  So another neighbor and I went out to help her search.  It occurred to me that our area has apartment buildings and a preschool and a few businesses, so maybe someone turned in her keys to whatever place was nearest the spot she dropped them.  Long story short, I rang a doorbell, asked if any keys had been found, and a man held up his hand asking, "Are these the keys?"  Yes!  My neighbor was happy when I came back to our place waving her keys.

A friend shared her banana chocolate chip muffins, and I enjoyed every bite.  Okay, so I don't usually talk about food, but they're delicious muffins.

Bloggers gather in the Sunday Salon — at separate computers in different time zones — to talk about our lives, our books, and our reading.  Deb at Readerbuzz hosts the Sunday Salon.

School bus hero

Did you hear about the 7th grade boy who stopped the school bus when the driver lost consciousness at the wheel on Wednesday?  Click HERE to watch the video.  Dillon Reeves, a student at Lois E. Carter Middle School, is a very observant kid — and a hero.

Beginning ~ in the nineteenth century

Beginning:

Between the middle of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, a handful of men and women changed the way we see the world.  Some of their names are on our lips for all time:  Marx, Freud, Proust, Einstein, Kafka.

The fourth paragraph is more interesting:

Folk wisdom has it that five Jews wrote the rules of society:

• Moses said, "The law is everything."
• Jesus said, "Love is everything."
• Marx said, "Money is everything."
• Freud said, "Sex is everything."
• Einstein said "Everything is relative."

Genius and Anxiety: How Jews Changed the World, 1847-1947 ~ by Norman Lebrecht, 2010, history, 464 pages

What do these visionaries have in common?  They all had Jewish origins.  They all had a gift for thinking in wholly original, even earth-shattering ways.  The Jewish people made up less than 0.25% of the world’s population in 1847, and yet they saw what others did not.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays.

Thursday Thoughts ~ about whodunits

Bodies, Baddies, and a Crabby Tabby: A Bliss Bay Village Mystery (Book 1) ~ by Sherri Bryan, 2018, cozy mystery, 420 pages (my friend Donna rated it 4/5)

Megan Fallon is in a pickle.  As if empty-nest syndrome wasn't bad enough, she's joined the ranks of the unemployed, and her fiancé’s run off with her hairdresser.  In desperate need of a change of scene, she heads back to her childhood village home for some long-overdue friends and family time.  Things are looking up until members of the community start getting bumped off at an alarming rate, and Megan finds herself at the heart of an investigation that has her suspecting everyone.  As she becomes involved in the hunt for a murderer, it’s not long before she finds out that some of the villagers are harboring shocking secrets.  Will you guess whodunnit?

Quiet The Dead: Promise McNeal Mysteries (Book 1) ~ by Morgan James, 2010, cozy mystery (North Carolina), 350 pages (my friend Donna rated it 4/5)

Promise McNeal is a retired psychologist and transplant from Atlanta to the Western North Carolina Mountains.  She doesn’t believe in coincidences, but does believe the universe always has a plan.  Sometimes that plan may include messages from the dearly, or not so dearly, departed.  Just how her dream of a hanged woman dangling over a creek fits into that plan, she isn’t sure.  When she accepts a consulting job from Atlanta attorney Garland Wang, she has a sense she’s about to find out.  Garland says the assignment is a piece of cake, though Garland is selective in sharing information.  Promise finds herself digging into something that isn’t at all like cake.

But dig she does, since Garland pays well.  She’s also more than curious about who killed the wealthy socialite, Stella Tournay, and why Stella haunts her dreams.  But then, as Promise is within a hand’s grasp of unraveling the truth about Stella’s death and a shocking secret about the Tournay fortune, another murder pushes her into the darkness with only her intuition as armor and clues from a murdered woman as weapons.

The Church Murders: Greek Island Mysteries (Book 2) ~ by Luke Christodoulou, 2015, thriller (Greece), 210 pages

The picturesque Greek Isles are unsettled by death.  Hellenic Police Captain Costa Papacosta and Lieutenant Ioli Cara are faced with four brutal cases all strangely connected to the Greek church.  A reporter investigating the existence of a Gospel written by Jesus himself is found stabbed to death on the island of Salamina, while a lawyer and a young girl have gone missing.

In Santorini, the most beautiful of all Greek islands, bodies are piling up fast.  Murder after murder, our officers are left puzzled.  All the clues are there, but who is the killer?

The Ionian islands.  Seven islands, seven bodies.  Suicides or foul play?  Ioli’s lack of faith is tested by a boy experiencing stigmata on the island of Kefallonia.  Could his marks be for real?  Time is against the two investigators and lives are on the line.

My thoughts:  A whodunit is "the lowest form of literature" (according to page 66 of Time Magazine, February 27-March 6, 2023).  But I'm in the mood for one (or two or three).  I found these whodunits on the Kindle I inherited from my friend Donna, and the cover of the third one says it's a stand-alone thriller.  Since Donna never got the first book or the following four in the series, I certainly hope it's a stand-alone book!

The O Word

I laughed when I read this on page 127 of Nora Ephron's book I Remember Nothing:

I'm old.

I am sixty-nine years old.

I'm not really old, of course.

Really old is eighty.

Why did that make me laugh?  Because I was in my eighties when I read it recently.  Today is my 83rd birthday, an age that is apparently older than old.  I googled "older than old" and found out a few things:

• "What is a fancy word for old?  senior, geriatric, senescent, unyoung, over-the-hill."
• "Forms of ageism in language:  old fogey, old man/old woman, geezer, dinosaur."
• "A person between 60 and 69 is called a sexagenarian.  A person between 70 and 79 is called a septuagenarian.  A person between 80 and 89 is called an octogenarian.  A person between 90 and 99 is called a nonagenarian.

Any way you look at it, I'm old.  More and more people are living into old age.  I look back and see that my maternal grandmother died at 62.  My youngest child is nearing that age, and my other two have already reached it.  Thanks to medical science, folks are living longer.  By the way, Nora Ephron's chapter is entitled is "The O Word."  Old age.

Here is a photo of me in my early twenties, with my three children and my husband.  It was taken about 1964, when my son was about a year old and I was 24.  I wasn't old yet.

Everything's in ashes

Ashes of Roses ~ by Mary Jane Auch, 2002, YA historical fiction, 256 pages

The story of a young girl's newfound independence, from her entrance into a new country to her frightening involvement in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911.  Here's a quote from page 9:

       My heart filled with fear and hope at the same time. I had the feeling that I was brought to America for a purpose. Something important would happen to me here.

       I remembered the words of the poem, "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses..."  Well, we were poor, all right, and after two weeks crammed into the bottom of a boat with Joseph screamin' his fool head off, we certainly qualified as tired, huddled masses.

       "Here we are, America," I whispered. "We're just exactly what you ordered."

When she arrives on Ellis Island as a seventeen-year-old Irish immigrant, Rose Nolan is looking for a land of opportunities.  After part of her family is sent back to Ireland, unable to set foot on American soil, she is left to fend for herself and her younger sister.  She finds work at New York City's Triangle Shirtwaist Factory shortly before the 1911 fire in which 146 employees died.  Stubborn and tenacious, she refuses to give up even though she is left alone to fend for herself and her younger sister.  Rose is thrust into a hard-knock life of tenements and factory work.

When the devastating Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911 upends Rose's life, her confusions are brought to an all-too-painful head.  To whom and to what can she turn when everything around her is in ashes?

This book qualifies for the 2023 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge.

Right to Read Day ~ and Café Concert by Joe Taylor

Joe Taylor will be singing in a Café Concert for us today.  Click on the red arrow to hear him sing "What Happened to the Old Songs" that he composed in 1999.  Or view this on YouTube by clicking HERE.

The American Library Association announced a "national day of action" in defense of libraries and the freedom to read, designating April 24, the Monday of this year's National Library Week, as Right to Read Day.

World Book Day ~ and Sunday Salon

World Book Day is April 23 in the United States

In 1995, at UNESCO’s General Conference, it was decided that April 23rd would be named World Book and Copyright Day as a way to pay tribute to books and authors.  It was also determined that this day would be good for encouraging everyone to read and enjoy the pleasures that go along with it.  April 23rd was chosen because that is the date when Miguel de Cervantes, William Shakespeare, Vladimir Nabokov, Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, and Maurice Druon all died.  All of them are famous authors.

I thought I'd show you some books that I'm reading or have just recently finished, so do you want to see what library books I have at the moment?  My nearest library is University City Public Library, now located temporarily in this building while the library building is being renovated.  (You can also see one of the pair of lions representing the city in this photo and in the logo on the left.)

First, the eleven books I now have checked out from the University City Library:

1. Abigail Takes the Wheel ~ by Avi, illustrated by Don Bolognese, 1999, children's fiction, 64 pages, 9/10
2. Ashes of Roses ~ by Mary Jane Auch, 2002, YA historical fiction, 256 pages
3. An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good (Book 1 of 2) ~ by Helene Tursten, translated by Marlaine Delargy, 2018, mystery stories, 184 pages
4. An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed (Book 2 of 2) ~ by Helene Tursten, translated by Marlaine Delargy, 2020, mystery stories, 272 pages
5. Feathers: Not Just for Flying ~ by Melissa Stewart, illustrated by Sarah S. Brannen, 2014, children's picture book, 32 pages
6. Genius and Anxiety: How Jews Changed the World, 1847-1947 ~ by Norman Lebrecht, 2010, history, 464 pages
7. How Do You Spell Unfair?  MacNolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee ~ by Carole Boston Weatherford, 2023, children's historical fiction (Ohio and DC), 40 pages, 9/10
8. Miss Rumphius ~ by Barbara Cooney, 1982, children's picture book, 32 pages, 10/10
9. Nala's World: One Man, His Rescue Cat, and a Bike Ride around the Globe ~ by Dean Nicholson with Garry Jenkins, 2020, travel (Scotland), 261 pages
10. One Amazing Elephant ~ by Linda Oatman High, 2017, young adult fiction, 272 pages
11. Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within ~ by Natalie Goldberg, 1986, 2005, writing, 288 pages

And here are two more that I have checked out of the Crown Center Library:

1. The Beautiful Struggle ~ by Ta-Nehisi Coates, 2008, memoir, 240 pages
2. The Last Days of Dogtown – by Anita Diamant, 2005, historical fiction (Massachusetts), 304 pages

Deb Nance at Readerbuzz

hosts The Sunday Salon.

Today is Earth Day

Each year on April 22, more than a billion people celebrate Earth Day to protect the planet from things like pollution and deforestation.  Here are some specific things you can do:

• Look for ways to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle our natural resources in order to send less waste to landfills.
• Get involved in environmental work in your local community by cleaning up parks and other efforts to make communities greener.
• Plant trees.
• Buy reusable bags that you can use over and over.
• Conserve energy at home by turning off lights and electronics when they are not in use.
• Reduce paper waste by thinking twice before printing things, whether you're at home or at work.
• Walk, ride a bike, carpool, or take public transportation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (and get more exercise).
• Pick up litter.
• Turn off the tap while you brush your teeth or wash dishes.
• Buy local to reduce shipping distances for food.  (Doing that also supports local providers).

Beginning ~ in the frosty winter of 1814

Beginning

Judy Rhines decided to take the footpath through the pasture.  It was half the distance of walking all the way down the Commons Road and back up Dogtown Road, and she wanted to get there early enough to be of help.

The Last Days of Dogtown – by Anita Diamant, 2005, historical fiction (Massachusetts), 304 pages

Set on the high ground at the heart of Cape Ann, the village of Dogtown is peopled by widows, orphans, spinsters, scoundrels, whores, free Africans, and "witches."  Among the inhabitants of this hamlet are Black Ruth, who dresses as a man and works as a stonemason; Mrs. Stanley, an imperious madam whose grandson, Sammy, comes of age in her brothel; Oliver Younger, who survives a miserable childhood at the hands of his aunt; and Cornelius Finson, a freed slave.  At the center of it all is Judy Rhines, a fiercely independent soul, deeply lonely, who nonetheless builds a life for herself against all odds.  This is an extraordinary retelling of a long-forgotten chapter of early American life.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays.

Library Loot and Thursday Thoughts

Nala's World: One Man, His Rescue Cat, and a Bike Ride around the Globe ~ by Dean Nicholson with Garry Jenkins, 2020, travel (Scotland), 261 pages

The author shares the full story of his life-changing relationship with his rescue cat, Nala, and their inspiring bicycle journeys through the refugee camps, remarkable terrains, and animal shelters of the world.  To quote Bookfoolery:  "Author Dean Nicholson, a Scot, was not far into his trip biking around the world when he came across a scrawny kitten in an area so far from civilization that he knew she couldn't possibly have a home nearby and adopted her."  The book sounds good, especially since Nancy the Bookfool liked it, so I got it.

How Do You Spell Unfair?  MacNolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee ~ by Carole Boston Weatherford, 2023, children's historical fiction (Ohio and DC), 40 pages

MacNolia Cox was no ordinary kid.  Her idea of fun was reading the dictionary.

In 1936, eighth grader MacNolia Cox became the first African American to win the Akron, Ohio, spelling bee.  And with that win, she was asked to compete at the prestigious National Spelling Bee in Washington, DC, where she and a girl from New Jersey were the first African Americans invited since its founding.  She left her home state a celebrity — right up there with Ohio’s own Joe Louis and Jesse Owens — with a military band and a crowd of thousands to see her off at the station.  But celebration turned to chill when the train crossed the state line into Maryland, where segregation was the law of the land.  Prejudice and discrimination ruled — on the train, in the hotel, and, sadly, at the spelling bee itself.

Wednesday Workout ~ balance

Balance ~ Feeling stable while you’re standing isn’t enough to prevent falls.  Work on your balance using these strategies from a SilverSneakers trainer.  To avoid falls, do these five things every day:

1.  Practice both static and dynamic moves.  Static balance comes into play when you stand on one leg and don’t move.  Dynamic balance is when we walk, transfer weight from one leg to the other, and propel ourselves forward.

2.  Change up the way you stand.  Try these variations:  feet side by side, one foot in front of the other, and heel to toe.

3.  Exercise in all three planes of motion.  Move forward and back, move side to side, and rotate.

4.  Use your senses.

• Visual:  Stand on one leg,  and close one eye or both. If you’re shaky with this at first, hold on to a counter or a sturdy chair.
• Hearing:  Stand with one foot directly in front of the other, and then turn your head to the side.
• Mental:  Stand on one leg, and hold a ball in one hand.  Tap the ball to your right ear, to your left shoulder, to your right hip.

5. Conquer common tripping hazards.  One reason we fall is because our legs get tangled up, so SilverSneakers suggests ways to practice untangling our legs and lifting our toes, HERE.

All of these things are discussed in greater detail, HERE.  Go for it!

A pair of mysteries ~ "a juicy dose of senior justice"

An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good (Book 1 of 2) ~ by Helene Tursten, translated by Marlaine Delargy, 2018, mystery stories, 184 pages

Maud is an irascible 88-year-old Swedish woman with no family, no friends, and no qualms about a little murder.  This funny, irreverent story collection will keep you laughing all the way to the retirement home.

Ever since her darling father's untimely death when she was only eighteen, Maud has lived in the family's spacious apartment in downtown Gothenburg rent-free, thanks to a minor clause in a hastily negotiated contract.  That was how Maud learned that good things can come from tragedy.  Now in her late eighties, Maud contents herself with traveling the world and surfing the net from the comfort of her father's ancient armchair.  It's a solitary existence, and she likes it that way.

Over the course of her adventures — or misadventures — this little bold lady will handle a crisis with a local celebrity who has her eyes on Maud's apartment, foil the engagement of her long-ago lover, and dispose of some pesky neighbors.  But when the local authorities are called to investigate a dead body found in Maud's apartment, will Maud finally become a suspect?

An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed (Book 2 of 2) ~ by Helene Tursten, translated by Marlaine Delargy, 2020, mystery stories, 272 pages

Don’t let her age fool you.  Maud may be nearly ninety, but if you cross her, this elderly lady is more sinister than sweet.

Just when things have finally cooled down for 88-year-old Maud after the disturbing discovery of a dead body in her apartment in Gothenburg, a couple of detectives return to her doorstep.  Though Maud dodges their questions with the skill of an Olympic gymnast a fifth of her age, she wonders if suspicion has fallen on her, little old lady that she is.  The truth is, ever since Maud was a girl, death has seemed to follow her.

In these six interlocking stories, memories of unfortunate incidents from Maud’s past keep bubbling to the surface.  Meanwhile, certain problems in the present require immediate attention.  Luckily, Maud is no stranger to taking matters into her own hands, even if it means she has to get a little blood on them in the process.  (Kirkus Reviews calls this a "juicy dose of senior justice.")

Monday musing ~ about writing

Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within ~ by Natalie Goldberg, 1986, 2005, writing, 288 pages

For decades, Natalie Goldberg has been challenging and cheering on writers with her books and workshops.  In this book, she brings together Zen meditation and writing in a new way.  Writing practice, as she calls it, is no different from other forms of Zen practice — "it is backed by two thousand years of studying the mind."

This edition includes a preface in which Goldberg expresses her trademark enthusiasm for writing practice, as well as an interview with the author in which she reflects on the relationship between Zen sitting practice and writing, the importance of place, and the power of memory.

Clawdia makes this a Caturday post on Sunday

"Go exploring around your local area, and notice new things."  That's today's Action for Happiness suggestion.  Clawdia was "exploring" our neighborhood visually when I took this photo in 2020.  I hope to get out there today, but she balks when I try to put a collar and leash on her.  So an open window may have to suffice for Miss Clawdia Cat.

Four Fantastic Surprise Endings for Children 3-5 ~ by Scott Gordon, 2015, children's stories, 176 pages, 3/10

1. Little Chickadee = After months of loneliness, a little chickadee realizes that he misses someone in particular.  He writes constantly and waits for her return, but time slowly trickles by with no end in sight.  There's something he's been meaning to tell her — something very, very special.  Will he get the chance?
2. Who Wants to Be a Robot? = The off-world planet of Infinim, which promises a heavenly and eternal existence for its society of robots, is now taking applications.  Although one of its applicants is older and not quite as quick as he used to be, does he have what it takes to be accepted?  Figure out who he is before the story's end in this clever children's book.
3. Froggy Dearest = One fine day, you come across the frog of your dreams.  Soft spoken and ever courteous, you've never met a creature quite so charming.  But tread carefully, for this frog has quite a secret to share!
4. Eggtastic = Spring is just around the corner and it's time to see what the Easter Bunny is up to.  This year he's enlisted some help, and it's an odd choice at that.  What is that clever rabbit up to, and what is he really planning?  Find out in this humorous picture book.

These books are definitely NOT "for Children 3-5 years old."  Preschoolers would have no clue what you're talking about, for example, in Who Wants to Be a Robot? where the robot talks about sending mail "via intergalactic express mail which moves at the speed of light, or 299,792,458 meters per second" (p. 137).  Then the robot asks for the resulting number when "the letter's mass is converted into energy."  It seems the "applicant" (who desires to be a robot) has "recently awoken from cryogenic sleep."  The next page (p. 146) shows an old man with Einstein's face, followed by e=mc2 and a dedication of the book to Albert Einstein.  Amazon is selling this book for "Reading Age 3-5 years."  How many people have bought it thinking it's for children?  Shame, Amazon!  Look at the actual book, and ignore the stupid title!  "About the Author" (p. 148) says he's "the author of over 100 children's books."  I wonder how many are actually for children.

I do have a favorite quote from Who Wants to Be a Robot?

"...creativity and originality are our greatest assets, and humans have them in abundance" (p. 150). 

Deb Nance at Readerbuzz hosts The Sunday Salon,

and Clawdia makes this (a belated) Caturday post on Sunday.

A book about cats for our library

Know Your Cat: An Owner's Guide to Cat Behavior ~ by Bruce Fogle, photography by Jane Burton, 1991, animal behavior, 128 pages, 9/10

This guide book for cat lovers provides penetrating insights into cat behavior, based on the scientific research and analysis of veterinarian Bruce Fogle.  Supported by 350 color photographs, he explains how cats communicate through body language, meowing and hissing, and rituals like rubbing and grooming.  Reading this book will give the novice an overview of how cats behave and what to expect as the cat grows to maturity.

My friend Toni was talking with me in the lobby recently and asked me to wait while she ran back up to her apartment to get this book.  Her daughter Margo wants to donate it to the Crown Center library, and Risé and I re-shelve the books there.  Thanks, Margo!

Yes, kitty cat, today is Caturday.

Beginning ~ with a feeling like riding the universe

Beginning

I'm finally riding the elephant, my Grandpa Bill's circus elephant, Queenie Grace, and it feels kind of like I'm riding the universe.

One Amazing Elephant ~ by Linda Oatman High, 2017, young adult fiction, 272 pages

This middle grade animal story is about two unlikely friends.  A girl and an elephant face the same devastating loss — and slowly realize that they share the same powerful love.  Twelve-year-old Lily Pruitt loves her grandparents, but she doesn’t love the circus — and the circus is their life.  She’s perfectly happy to stay with her father, away from her neglectful mother and her grandfather’s beloved elephant, Queenie Grace.

Then Grandpa Bill dies, and both Lily and Queenie Grace are devastated.  When Lily travels to Florida for the funeral, she keeps her distance from the elephant, but the two are mourning the same man — and form a bond born of loss.  When Queenie Grace faces danger, Lily must come up with a plan to help save her friend.  In other words, the girl develops an unexpected bond with her grand-father's equally grieving elephant.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays.

Spring blooms, tornado skies, and bookish books

Spring has sprung!  This is one of several trees blooming at the Crown Center, where I live.

"The US population has more than doubled since 1950."  (Quoted from a Wired article dated April 7th about tornadoes and how more people are affected by them now.)  I took the photo on the left when we were under a tornado watch on March 31st, but our sky got lighter just as I reached for my camera.  It had been as dark as the upper part of the sky in the photo above, even as the sun shone brightly on the building next door to me.  Quite a contrast, actually!  I sent my photo to my children and grandchildren, calling it "tornado skies."

The Echo of Old Books ~ by Barbara Davis, 2023, historical fiction, 425 pages

Rare-book dealer Ashlyn Greer has an affinity for books that extends beyond the intoxicating scent of old paper, ink, and leather.  She can feel the echoes of the books' previous owners — an emotional fingerprint only she can read.  When Ashlyn discovers a pair of beautifully bound volumes that appear to have never been published, her gift quickly becomes an obsession.  Not only is each inscribed with a startling incrimination, but the authors (Hemi and Belle) tell conflicting sides of a tragic romance.

With no trace of how these mysterious books came into the world, Ashlyn is caught up in a decades-old literary mystery, beckoned by two hearts in ruins, whoever they were, wherever they are.  Determined to learn the truth behind the doomed lovers' tale, she reads on, following a trail of broken promises and seemingly unforgivable betrayals.  The more Ashlyn learns about Hemi and Belle, the nearer she comes to bringing closure to their love story — and to the unfinished chapters of her own life.

I find myself drawn to books about books, bookstores, and libraries.  Am I alone in this, or is it something common to all book bloggers?  If you can think of any titles of books fitting that description, would you share them with us, please?