Sunday Salon ~ book sale

FICTION

1.  Morality for Beautiful Girls ~ by Alexander McCall Smith, 2001, fiction (Botswana)

2.  The Double Bind ~ by Chris Bohjalian, 2007, fiction (Vermont)

3.  Around the World with Mrs. Pollifax ~ has three books in one:

• The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax ~ by Dorothy Gilman, 1970, fiction (Istanbul, Turkey)
• Mrs. Pollifax on Safari ~ by Dorothy Gilman, 1977, fiction (Rhodesia)
• Mrs. Pollifax and the Golden Triangle ~ by Dorothy Gilman, 1988, fiction (Thailand)

4.  The Day the Sun Stood Still ~ has three original novellas in one book:

• A Chapter of Revelation ~ by Poul Anderson, 1972, science fiction
• Thomas the Proclaimer ~ by Robert Silverberg, 1972, science fiction
• Things Which Are Caesar's ~ by Gordon R. Dickson, 1972, science fiction

NONFICTION

5.  Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad ~ by Jacqueline L. Tobin and Raymond G. Dobard, 1999, history.  (Historian Giles Wright considers this book's theory to be "nonsense.")

6.  Bill of Wrongs: The Executive Branch's Assault on America's Fundamental Rights ~ by Molly Ivins and Lou Dubose, 2008, social science

7.  Stress: The Good and the Bad ~ by Paula Ceccaldi, Agnes Diricq, and Clementine Bagieu, 2001, health

8.  The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century ~ by Thomas L. Friedman, 2006 (expanded edition), social science

I bought eight books today at a tent sale outside Half Price Books.  Half are fiction, and half are nonfiction.  Hmm, since two of the books of fiction contain three stories each, I actually got an even dozen.  How do you like my math?

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

Beginning ~ with a miracle

Small Great Things ~ by Jodi Picoult, 2016, fiction (Connecticut)

The miracle happened on West Seventy-Fourth Street, in the home where Mama worked.  It was a big brownstone encircled by a wrought-iron fence, and overlooking either side of the ornate door were gargoyles, their granite faces carved from my nightmares.

Those first sentences were from Ruth's childhood, as she looked back at a miracle.  Here's a blurb about the rest of the novel:

Ruth Jefferson is a labor and delivery nurse at a Connecticut hospital with more than twenty years’ experience.  During her shift, Ruth begins a routine checkup on a newborn, only to be told a few minutes later that she’s been reassigned to another patient.  The parents are white supremacists and don’t want Ruth, who is African American, to touch their child.  The hospital complies with their request, but the next day, the baby goes into cardiac distress while Ruth is alone in the nursery.  Does she obey orders or does she intervene?  Ruth hesitates before performing CPR and, as a result, is charged with a serious crime.  Kennedy McQuarrie, a white public defender, takes her case but gives unexpected advice:  Kennedy insists that mentioning race in the courtroom is not a winning strategy.  Conflicted by Kennedy’s counsel, Ruth tries to keep life as normal as possible for her family — especially her teenage son — as the case becomes a media sensation.  As the trial moves forward, Ruth and Kennedy must gain each other’s trust, and come to see that what they’ve been taught their whole lives about others — and themselves — might be wrong.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays.  Click here for today's Mister Linky.

Library Loot ~ something new

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire @ The Captive Reader and Linda @ Silly Little Mischief that encourages us to share the names of books we checked out of the library.  See what others got this week.

I've started something new.  No, not the library loot posts, but a new way to use the library.  When I moved to St. Louis, I got library cards from the St. Louis County Library and from the University City Public Library.  My town (U-City) is in St. Louis County, so I'm eligible for both library systems.  When I was having car problems, now fixed, I couldn't get to either library without begging rides with others going that way.  So I tapped into the system set up by U-City to bring books to the seniors at the Crown Center where I live.  Deliveries are scheduled for every three weeks.  All I have to do is put books on reserve, and they'll be placed in a bag for me until the next delivery day!  Fantastic!

Still working on my DASH Diet:

The DASH Diet to End Obesity: The Best Plan to Prevent Hypertension and Type 2 Diabetes and Reduce Excess Weight ~ by Willliam M. Manger, Jennifer K. Nelson, Marion J. Franz, and Edward J. Roccella, 2014

Children's picture books:

Duck! Rabbit! ~ by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, 2009
Amazing Grace ~ by Mary Hoffman, 1991
Princess Grace ~ by Mary Hoffman, 2008
Grace at Christmas ~ by Mary Hoffman, 2011

Another look at an oldie:

Future Shock ~ by Alvin Toffler, 1970

Rape Culture

Diversity ~ mindfulness

This is what it's like to live at the

Crown Center for Senior Living in St. Louis.

Caturday ~ Clawdia's curiosity

Clawdia has an abiding fascination for reflections, shadows, and the little red dot of a laser pointer.  In this photo, she's staring at the reflection bouncing on the ceiling from the glass tabletop she's sitting on.  She avidly studies these strange lights, chattering to let me know she's spotted yet another one on the wall or floor or ceiling.

When I pick up her laser pointer, she knows that she'll get to chase that "red bug" around the room and jumps down to the floor to get ready to pounce on it.  The really odd thing, though, is that no matter how hard she smacks it or how she covers it with her paws, it always ... always ... always ... gets away.  Very strange.

This time, she knows for a fact that she got the white bug!  Nope, not quite.  But how?  How did it escape her paws?  Very perplexing, that white reflection from the face of my watch.

Thursday Thirteen ~ family on my mind

1.  Shiloh Mae, due to arrive in November, is my sixth great-grandchild.  Shiloh means "one who is peaceful."

2.  Jaxon has been to the doctor twice and to the ER for fluids. No one knew exactly what was wrong with him, his mom reported today when she asked for prayers.  Late in the day, she had a call from the doctor and learned he has salmonella, apparently from a restaurant.  That's the only time he ate anything different from the rest of the family.

3.  My twins took part in the Race for the Cure over the weekend.

4.  I got to visit with David and Sharon while in Chattanooga this summer.

5.  Jamey graduating from the university.

6.  Micah is busy crawling through the tube.

7.  Jonathan is absorbed in his activity.

8.  Cady now has a driver's licence.

9.  Shelby and I like cats.

10.  Sandra at Raegan's school on Grandparents' Day, today.

11.  I visited my sister Ann on July 14th, three weeks before she died.

12.  Sandra and Barbara in the Race for the Cure ran into Chase on the UTC campus.

13.  Grandkids when there were only six.  Clockwise from top left:  Brandy, Kendall, Cali, Kenzie, Jamey, and Chase.