The Library

[bellamarie]

Frybabe, Wally Lamb sounds so familiar but looking at the list of his books I just can't recall reading any of them here:

She's Come Undone   (1992)   
I Know This Much Is True   (1998)   
The Hour I First Believed   (2007)   
Wishin' and Hopin'   (2009)   
We Are Water   (2013)   
I'll Take You There   (2016)   
The River Is Waiting   (2025)

Barb, I agree you just don't know what to believe anymore no matter what the source is.  These protestors in L.A. have shown to be hired by groups wanting to disrupt and destroy for whatever their goals are.  I do know my eyes are still perfectly fine and so when I see trucks drive up and pass out supplies to these protestors to provide them with tools, materials, helmets, hammers etc. it cannot be misconstrued.  It is not as the media claims to be "Peaceful protestors."  It seriously breaks my heart watching the owners of mom & pop stores crying and trying to understand why and how they will survive after their business they put all their life efforts and money into be destroyed.  I'm glad you have found something that helps with your stress. 

As for "the glue that holds us together" you mention... for me it is my online Bible study I have been with for five years now, it keeps me focused and calm.  Fr. Jim has also begun a book club on Wednesday, the book we are reading and discussing is An Introduction to Prayer by Bishop Robert Barron.  There are about 15 people who come, and we have had some great discussions on how today's world is and how we must remain focused on God and his teachings.  This is no different than since the Old/New Testament, people put power, money, idols, and pride first and all that can do is create a world of chaos.  Even if someone does not believe in God, or a higher power it would seem they would have the consciousness of treating others with dignity and respect.   Philippians 4:6 ESV Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Ginny, Congratulations to all your Latin students for their achievements!  You've done a great job as well in teaching them and as you should be very proud! 

[Frybabe]

Me too, Bellamarie, but I couldn't remember the name and it isn't one of those listed. My only conclusion is that I confused him with another author and I can't remember the title, thought I would remember it if I saw it.

[BarbStAubrey]

OK after over an hour of looking and finally realizing I could put his name in to search and found over a dozen posts mentioning Wally Lamb including one that said something to the affect he was a favorite among SenorNet but nothing that showed a book that we discussed - then I pieced it together with my memory - one post referred to the prison project and that was it... we collected books and I don't remember who among us gathered them and sent them either to him or directly to the Women's Prison where he was sponsoring classes in writing and several of the women wrote and published that later, after we no longer were directly involved, the prison system took the proceeds from the sale of these women's books justifying their action that the books were written on their dime during time served.

I thought we discussed his book something The Hour - if we did I cannot find it in the archive and where I understand some of the first discussions were lost during a system change over I'm not remembering the Wally Lamb connection with SeniorNet took place during the first year or two.

I'm wondering Ginny if your memory of the connection with Wally Lamb is better and can shed some light on the time there was a connection.

[Frybabe]

Look-it here what I found. https://www.seniorlearn.org/bookclubs/readerguides/couldntkeepit/Couldntkeepit_Lamb.html The link to the discussion works.

I am reading The Mountain King by Anders de la Motte. It is a crime mystery/psychological thriller featuring an odd assortment of police individuals who have been shunted off into a small neglected corner of the station, and what is turning out to be a serial killer/kidnapper who is running rings around the "bright stars" of the Serious Crimes division. Had I know it was going to be a serial killer type thing, I probably would not have pick this book up. However, it is holding my attention.

[Frybabe]

Found another book, just released, that may be worth taking a look at: Bad Company. Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream by Megan Greenwell. My online library has it listed already, and there is a waiting list - six months for both the print and the audio versions.

Barb, Patricia over on Seniors and Friends, has noted your absence recently. I noticed that Jenny (Denver) hasn't posted for two weeks, either. I miss Tomereader, who does not post often.

Because I was getting close to having to send The Mountain King back to the library, and my hold on The Doors of Eden by Adrian Tchaikovsky just became available again. I skipped the latter part of The Mountain King and just read the last two chapters. The book was quite lengthy with lots of twist, turns and false clues, so I don't think that I missed much by skipping. The ending was exciting and the culprit was a surprise, never would have guessed. The Doors of Eden looks quite lengthy too.  Amazing that after that COVID book reading frenzy where I was reading three books at once and getting through four or five a month, I can't seem to finish a long book in 21 days. Oh, well.