I can relate! And so can you! 
The memoir is mostly about her grandmotherās mental illness due to her trauma during the dark years of 1950s CCP China, and how that rippled out to damage the emotionally stunted life of her mother, who handed down her own trauma to the grand-daughter (Tessa Hulls), thus infecting three generations, and is pretty depressing. But that passage was a welcome breather of levity.
Elmore Leonard was the Grand Master of Dialogue, but this may be my favorite short snippet of conversation yet.
2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America
Apology up front for dragging sordid American politics into this pristine space (ahem), but I may have to buy this book on its release on July 8. Based on the WaPo excerpt below, it appears borderline irresistible.
A blurb from the WaPo article linked below. Itās pretty
Joe Biden woke up at his vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, the site of his political last stand as he tried to save his presidency. In the afternoon, he had a Zoom meeting with the nearly 100-member Congressional Progressive Caucus, which represented the most left-wing members of Congress.
The meeting began cordially, with Biden emphasizing that he wanted the groupās support on a new initiative for Supreme Court reform. But as lawmakers started to push the president and raised some concerns about his campaign, he quickly became defensive.
Some lawmakers said voters had never heard about the administrationās accomplishments. Biden said lawmakers should do a better job of communicating about and campaigning on his progressive victories. Representative Delia Ramirez of Illinois asked the president about the ongoing Israeli bombardment of Gaza, pointing out that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not seem to be listening to him.
The president took umbrage at the criticism. He said Netanyahu hoped Trump would be reelected and was an impediment to any ceasefire deal. He asked Ramirez what she thought he should do, and she said she had a few suggestions. He told her to send him an email. How does one email the president of the United States? Ramirez thought. Should I email dearmrpresident@gmail.com?
At one point in the meeting, an aide passed the president a note, which he read out loud: āStay positive,ā he read. āYou are sounding defensive.ā
Yes and few still around for older men in older neighborhoods. Barbershop style.
Still available in massage places that cater for such.
Not quite as silly as theory that Shakespeare was really the Earl of Oxford writing under a nom de plume.
Iām currently reading Atomic Habits by James Clearāsimple but powerful stuff!
So, I was walking around the block in the ADK last month and saw a neighborhood library box that suburbs do and I checked it out. I found a copy of The Black Echo, which was cool in a serendipitous way as Iād been watching The Lincoln Lawyer on Netflix. Never much a fan of modern detective stuff, but it was quite readable.
I keep meaning to watch Bosch on Prime, but so far in five tries Iām about five minutes into S1E1. Not much of a hook in E1. But who knows. The reviews are really good ā¦ but eh.
Adirondacks must be nice right now. This time of year (itās hot and humid af) it seems like every day Iām angling in my head for a way to drop a swimming pool into my backyard. It would be stupendous. Also, it would be stupid (financially, the only thing holding me back).
In your pic ADK looks good, Euell Gibbons good. Not hot and humid af, anyway.
Rainy, was smoky from the Canadian fires. Then turned hot and one day it was hot enough that I said, āOk, THIS is hot.ā Lol
I donāt have Prime, so stick with TLL. Which is okā classic hero model.
Didnāt plan to read another Murakami novel but it just happened that in the library of my momās audible account that l got access to recently, among the 500+ books she has downloaded, the first one when listed according to title is 1Q84. So l started listening to it in German and lo and behold itās one that l canāt put downā¦ ehh, press the stop button. Sure, the sex scenesā¦ l donāt care. I love the imagery, the analogies, the weirdness. What helps is that the translator did a wonderful job and the narrator is probably an actor who knows how to use his voice. 
I thought it was his second attempt at Hard Boiled Wonderland.
I loved it, but now, years later, Iāll be damned if I can tell you what itās aboot.
Love Murakami but couldnāt get thru this one for some reason.
So far, so good, like with Kafka on the Shore, he has the two alternating storylines that will eventually come together. The only thing that makes me roll my eyes is his obvious (old dirty manās) interest in describing the female body and concocting lustful scenes without shame, not that there is necessarily anything wrong with that. 
Almost through the second book. I wonāt attempt trying to understand the story, which is BS for most part [especially the little people bits, the whole 1Q84 different world logic, and the cult leader who is forced to rape 10-year olds], but I truly enjoy how Murakami tells this wacko story and the original ways he describes people and what they are doing, masterful.
A week laterrā¦.
Made it through the third. After listening to the first two in German, I had to switch to English on YouTube, because German was not available for the third book. I must say, the German translation was much more to my liking, also the more professional narration. The English just felt too simple, not as sophisticated and colorful as the German. Iām not sure if this is a language issue or a problem with the translation quality. Anyway, made it to the end. Donāt think I would have managed that if reading the book. Listening allows you to speed up the narration and do other things at the same time. I read a few reviews, and it seems many readers feel itās too long, and I share that sentiment. Itās not boring, but it feels like it could be shorter without losing any crucial bits. Would I recommend it? Mmmhhā¦ not sure, probably not. Maybe if someone has read other Murakami novels and digs them, then, yes, probably.
Any Wade Davis Fans?
Iām looking to branch out. People like David Fairchild etc as well.
Fun exploratory works related to biology and real life events. Any good suggestions?
