November 2020

Activities:

 

Not much outside the house.

11/5 doctor 

11/16 lab; gassed car

11/24 pickup at libraries (2); jc farms for pie!

Books:

 Some good novels and lots of non-fiction this month.

Fiction:
Lovely War by Berry, Julie
Jean-Luc persécuté by Ramuz, Charles-Ferdinand; translated from the French by Baes, Olivia
How to Stop Time by Haig, Matt
Autopsy of a Father by Kramer, Pascale; translated from the French by Bononno, Robert
The Midnight Library by Haig, Matt
Forty Rooms by Grushin, Olga 

Poetry:

The Golden Goblet: Selected Poems of Goethe by Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von; translated from the German by Ozsváth, Zsuzsanna and Turner, Frederick  

Nonfiction: 
The Last Million: Europe's Displaced Persons from World War to Cold War by Nasaw, David
For the Love of Music: The Art of Listening by Mauceri, John
The Simpsons: A Cultural History by Fink, Moritz
A Promised Land by Obama, Barack 

Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Save the World's Largest Owl by Slaght, Jonathan C.
Music to Eat Cake By: Essays on Birds, Words and Everything in Between by Parikian, Lev

The Truths We Hold: An American Journey by Harris, Kamala

Online:

Sabine Meyer

 While reading For the Love of Music and Music to Eat Cake By I wondered why I was reading about music but not listening to music?  So I put the books aside and went searching for music, specifically Mozart's Clarinet Concerto. As a result I've spent a least an hour a day on YouTube listening to Sabine Meyer play. Mozart, Schubert, Beethoven, Brahms,....

Sublime Swimming: 14 examples of custom pools by María Francisca González

  I sure do miss my swims ... sigh...

Wagenhallen Stuttgart Cultural Center ArchDaily article

Wagenhallen official site

 a part of Stuttgart I've never seen (because it was something else when I lived in Germany)

June (24-30) 2018 Reads & Little Trips

Not many trips this week--too hot.

Monday - picnic Wickham Park,  Manchester/East Hartford. Not a state or city park. It's a private foundation. $5 a car entrance fee. Lovely gardens, nice picnic areas. 

Wednesday - picnic (with wading) Wadsworth Falls State Park, Middlefield/Middletown

This week the "Deal Me In" card  is the Two of Spades; the story is On the Beautiful Blue Danube by Georgi Tenev; translated from the Bulgarian by Angela Rodel (in Bat City Review, Issue 10, 2014)
The Danube is not anything near beautiful in this story of hazmat disposal.

online...

The Two Most Beautiful Words in Doughnut Language  

 from my shelves... 

The Dinner List by Rebecca Serle
A pleasant read to fill in between more serious stuff. Actually this covered some serious stuff, but with a light touch. Not too dense.
Advance review copy from publisher.

Fashion Climbing. A Memoir with Photographs by Bill Cunningham; Preface by Hilton Als
It's fun to read a memoir by someone who had a passion for his work. This covers Cunningham early life and his struggle to make a living designing hats. Some inside stuff, some gossip, some goofy parties, and what it's like in the salons when designers parade their new lines. Fun to read. I was a bit disappointed that this didn't cover the latter portion of his life when he was a street photographer.
Advance review copy from the publisher.

Bat City Review, Issue 10/2014 (see here for contents)
Literary journal from the University of Texas at Austin. Poetry, Fiction, and Art. 

from the library...

In the Land of Eternal Spring by Alan Howard
Young Americans get tangled up in the 1960s political situation in Guatemala.

Crimes of the Father by Thomas Keneally
Difficult subject matter--child abuse.

Revolution!: Writings from Russia: 1917 by Pete Ayrton (Editor)

Three that I checked out for home improvement ideas:
Dream Porches and Sunrooms: Designing the Perfect Retreat by Michael Snow
Pretty pictures and none of it fits my budget or daily life style. Nice places to visit.

Ultimate Guide: Porches by Steve Cory   
A couple of these might actually be something I would want to add to my house.

Ideas for Great Patios & Decks by Sunset Magazines & Books
Maybe, if I still lived in California...