Did Santa bring you any good books?

Did you get any books for Christmas? I got one--an ESV archeology Bible. My NIV was lost in the move, so rather than fret every day I just asked for a different one. But here's what Bob got. I'm reading the one on the far left, "An inside job" by Daniel Silva (2025). It's not a genre I like, but I'm really enjoying it. He's a good writer.

As I age, I read less and less, although I have plenty of time. I just can't find a comfortable place with good light.

Snowed in on Saturday

We finally have measurable snow. About 4.5" on our deck railing (a very scientific figure). Some of central Ohio got up to 6". I'm baking lemon cookies this morning. It just seemed to go with snow. Bob says the streets are still too slick for us to be out, so we won't go to the gym today. We have too many friends on walkers and canes, healing from broken bones and surgery.  I'd rather not join them.  I picked up 2 books at the library yesterday, Pale Rider about the pandemic of 1918 for March book club, and Blackout by Candace Owens, which I bought for $1.00.  So it will be a cozy day with wonderful smells from the kitchen.

Weather snowfall:  we're next to Hilliard.

The Mentor magazine

It was snowing in Columbus, OH, on January 19.  I'm recovering from back strain and much improved, so was tackling the laundry. My adult ADHD kicked in and I noticed something on a top shelf peeking out, calling to me while the washer filled. Debating whether to stress my back, I reached for it and found a May 1929 "The Mentor" magazine.

"The Mentor magazine was published from 1913 to about 1931 by The Mentor Association. The Association was founded by William David Moffat in 1912 and included experts in various fields. Each issue was devoted to a single subject augmented by fine photogravures (photogravures are prints produced in such a way as to mimic the richness and subtle range of tone found in photographs). . . http://archives.dyclibrary.net/?p=206

I've searched this computer for the data base of my grandparents' library, but I can't find it.  I created and printed it back in the 90s, but my back will not allow bending, stretching and lifting. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have picked this up anywhere unless I recognized it. Both my maternal grandparents attended college in the 1890s and although they subscribed to many practical and farming magazines, this looks like it would have appealed to their interests.  This issue concerns wild animals (birds, bears, elephants) and travels, particularly the American west.  Also articles about animal artists. Robert L. Dickey, Grace Mott Johnson, Louis Jonas

I particularly enjoy the advertisements in old magazines. There's a full-page ad for Woman's Home Companion (Springfield Ohio) which promised serialized books for only $1.00 a year. Last year (1928?) the subscriber could have enjoyed The Story of Religion, What is Wrong with Marriage, Mareea-Maria,  The Foolish Virgin, The Quart Eye, Mamba's Daughters, Troupers of the Gold Coast or the rise of Lotta Crabtree, Keeping off the Shelf, and The Father. Of course, on the back, there is a full color ad for Camel cigarettes, "a Miss is as good as a mile" with an attractive young woman offering cigarettes to a handsome man.

The Cat who Saved Books

I just finished The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa and we're discussing it at Book Club this afternoon. Here's my take, which probably no one will agree with. The grandfather could have been anyone other than a Used Book store owner.  Perhaps he could have been a former coach in professional baseball or a retired horse trainer--who has developed a different or related business to his career. His death devasted Rintaro--love, caring, wisdom and security are gone leaving him frightened and empty. The cat and two other adolescents, Sayo and Ryota, from his school come into his life of grief and insecurity as well as odd experiences with adults in a fantasy world with a talking cat. He experiences compassion and empathy, which help him develop courage and a sense of self. Really, it's about relationships, not books, which is why I decided no books need be abused in this story. The cat, yes.

Balance by Carol Svec

I recently "graduated" from my balance physical therapy, and then saw this book, so I've put it on hold from the library.

"Balance: A Dizzying Journey Through the Science of Our Most Delicate Sense."
by Carol Svec

Some low-frequency sounds—such as noise from storms or truck engines—can make you feel dizzy and nauseated. An index finger’s light touch can stop people from losing balance. You are more prone to trip when you think someone is watching you. A breakthrough in improving balance as we age might just come through the study of the Achilles tendon. A person gets “falling down drunk” due to a tiny structure in the inner ear that floats when it becomes soaked in alcohol. These and other surprising and useful nuggets of information can be found in this lively, 360-degree exploration of our body’s most intricate, overlooked sense—balance. Readers follow award-winning science and health writer Carol Svec through various facilities as she talks with leading scientists doing state-of-the-art balance research. Svec translates their most fascinating findings for the layperson in a way that is highly entertaining and broadly accessible. She showcases the coolest gadgets used by researchers as she grills an egg in a virtual kitchen, has her senses fooled by a mannequin named Hans in a Tumbling Room, survives “the Vominator” without losing her lunch, and experiences drunken dizziness inside a police muster room. Along the way she cites case studies of people whose lives are affected by balance dysfunction; explains how balance research is being applied today to help those who are ill, elderly, disabled, or simply prone to motion sickness; and provides a glimpse at what ingenious, potentially life-changing advances may be coming down the road.

Whether you have a balance disorder or care about someone who does, are an athlete or performer whose livelihood depends on balance, or just love accessible, page-turning popular science, you’ll be enlightened and entertained by this appreciation of our complex super-sense.

10 books Conservatives need to read

‘Economics in One Lesson,’ by Henry Hazlitt (1946)

‘The Black Book of Communism,’ by Stéphane Courtois, et al. (1999)

‘Hollywood Party: How Communism Seduced the American Film Industry in the 1930s and 1940s,’ by Kenneth Lloyd Billingsley (1998)

‘Reagan and Thatcher: The Difficult Relationship,’ by Richard Aldous (2012)

‘A Renegade History of the United States,’ by Thaddeus Russell (2010)

‘Gay New York,’ by George Chauncey (1994)

‘Wrapped in Rainbows: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston,’ by Valerie Boyd (2002)

‘Public Opinion,’ by Walter Lippmann (1922)

‘Good White People,’ by Shannon Sullivan (2014)

With summaries and annotations. 10 Books Every Conservative Should Read To Combat Fake News (thefederalist.com)

Library books and Covid

Browsing the new rules and guidelines for OSU Libraries for the autumn semester 2020 I see there’s not a lot of agreement on how long the virus lives on books.  The guidelines say a book will be quarantined for 5 days when returned to service.  I’ve checked various websites, and at least in the recent (yet ever changing) rules and research nothing is that draconian. It will push faculty and students even more to on-line use. I know when I was employed there (retired in 2000) the library was absolutely dependent on our student staff; I assume it is still that way and they will have the most face time with the public.  They will be handling the materials. If the lending partners throughout the state have the same quarantine, it will really back up interlibrary and intra-library loans. And no course reserves—those were heavily used in the veterinary library because so many did not own the books for their classes.

https://library.osu.edu/news/university-libraries-service-updates-for-autumn-semester (posted August 7)

“University Libraries is looking forward to providing the services our students, faculty and staff need to meet their education and research goals in a safe and healthy environment. To that end:

• masks are required in all University Libraries facilities.
• the book stacks will remain closed to the public. Materials must be requested through paging. Only University Libraries staff may remove books from shelves. Any books brought to the circulation desk by visitors will have to be quarantined and unavailable for up to five days.
• requests for materials will be made online at library.osu.edu and picked up at the circulation or information desk within the library.
• visitors are asked to maintain a safe physical distance of six feet apart. We have spaced out seating in our common areas and closed our group study rooms to help make this possible.
• eating and drinking are not permitted in the libraries.
• returned materials will be quarantined for five days and will remain on your account until quarantine is complete and they have been checked in.
• due to quarantine, OhioLINK and Interlibrary Loan requests will be delayed.
• physical course reserves will not be available.
• requests for new materials will take longer than normal to process.
• Thompson and 18^th Avenue Libraries will maintain normal hours, departmental libraries and special collection reading rooms will be operating on a modified schedule. Hours are subject to change. Please visit library.osu.edu for current information

This article from WebMD sounds more like the advice from 4-5 months ago when they were trying to sanitize cruise ships, however it’s update stamp is Aug. 21. https://www.webmd.com/lung/how-long-covid-19-lives-on-surfaces

Although I haven’t been in a library for 6 months, I’ve used the free little libraries around town liberally, and I’ve been in a book store and touched and opened the books. https://www.webmd.com/lung/how-long-covid-19-lives-on-surfaces (posted April 3)

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2020/06/26/heres-how-long-coronavirus-can-live-surfaces-and-air/3256678001/

In all research, it’s what you do AFTER you hold or touch material others have been using that is critical.  Your HANDS and FACE.  Do not touch.  And since masks are so uncomfortable, that’s the hardest advice to follow.

Big Tech is still the winner in this pandemic.  There is no problem getting a new or used book through Amazon, and although the machines may be wrapping and handling, you still have to get the box open and dispose of the trash.

This article is not research, it’s anecdotal, but something to think about because we’ve become so dependent on how some large businesses are staying open when everything we need is closed. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-08-27/covid-pandemic-u-s-businesses-issue-gag-rules-to-stop-workers-from-talking (posted August 27)

Reading and cycling

My office was cleaned out to the bare walls and moved to the laundry room to make way for our son’s hospital bed and supplies. At first the exercycle was in my husband’s office, but I pushed it into the laundry room so I could multi-task.  My washing machine, which I’ve written about before, is a little touchy and likes to dance around if not loaded evenly, so sometimes I just jump on the cycle during spin.

But it’s sort of boring, so I’m reading a new book I was sent for review: American Harvest, God, Country and Farming in the Heartland, by Marie Mutsuki Mockett, a Californian with a Japanese mother, and American father.  There’s been a 7,000 acre wheat farm in her family for over 100 years, although her grandfather had left the area as a child.

What caught my interest was not just the farmer angle, but the Christians who annually harvest the wheat using teams from the Pennsylvania Anabaptist country. I’m only in chapter 2, but so far, unless her liberal side takes over, I’m enjoying her vivid descriptions of the farms and her compassionate look at the harvesters she travels with to get material for this book.  I can go 3-4 miles a day with Marie.

http://www.mariemockett.com/books/american-harvest/

Here’s a review, but it sounds like the reviewer only finished the first 2 chapters, which is how far I am on my exercise plan. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2020-04-03/evangelicals-marie-mockett-american-harvest

I don't own this t-shirt, but I should

Book suggestions for 2019-2020

Our book club, which doesn’t have a name, was organized by a group of young mothers mostly who lived in Clintonville and attended Bethel Road Presbyterian Church in 1979.  So this fall, it will be 40 years old.  The babies are grown, most members are grandmothers, new members have joined (I joined in October 2000), others have moved out of the area. We are missionaries, librarians, school teachers, lawyers, administrators, volunteers, and of course, daughters, mothers, wives, sisters, widows and grannies.  Except for a few special occasions, we now meet in the afternoon instead of the evening and at Bethel Road Presbyterian where we have good parking and is centrally located for all but one of us. Part of the group split off and still meet in the afternoon.  In May we select our new books for the next September through May, and these are the suggested titles.  All looked good, so I’ve listed all, but starred the ones who got the votes.

**1. Becoming Mrs. Lewis, by Patti McCallahan  September 9 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39189837-becoming-mrs-lewis  The marriage of Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis.  Led by Bev

**2. The black ascot, by Charles Todd November 4  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40133569-the-black-ascot  Inspector Ian Rutledge  Led by Justine

**3. Dream of death, by Connie Berry (local author) March 2 Murder mystery https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42785284-a-dream-of-death Led by Carolyn C.

4.  Beneath a scarlet sky, by Mark Sullivan.  Historical fiction. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32487617-beneath-a-scarlet-sky

5.  What Alice Forgot, by Liane Moriarity. Fiction, woman forgets a decade of her life

**6. Before we were yours, by Lisa Wingate, October 7, at Peggy’s, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32148570-before-we-were-yours Historical fiction, stolen children placed for adoption. Led by Margie

**7. Road to dawn by Josiah Henson April 6 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32148570-before-we-were-yours  Real life story of slave who inspired Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Led by Gail

8.  Heavenly Man the story of Brother Yun, Chinese Christian.  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/79421.The_Heavenly_Man

9. Another kind of madness by Stephen Hinshaw. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31450861-another-kind-of-madness  Memoir of mental illness

10. White Rose by Kip Wilson, with We will not be silent. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39884755-white-rose  WWII era historical fiction 

11. Road to Character by David Brooks  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22551809-the-road-to-character  Thinkers and inspiring leaders

12.  Mrs. Mike by Benedict Freedman https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/155712.Mrs_Mike Love story set in Canada

**13. Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd.  January 13. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18079776-the-invention-of-wings  Grimke sisters. Led by Peggy

**14. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. February 3. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3228917-outliers Unusual interesting people. Led by Carolyn A

**15. One of the Narnia stories—A Horse and his boy. At Carolyn A.’s home December 2.  Everyone shares in this one. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/84119.The_Horse_and_His_Boy

**16. Elephant whisperer by Lawrence Anthony. May 4.  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6375561-the-elephant-whisperer  Led by Peggy.

Todd Bol and Little Free Library movement

Todd Bol died recently at 62.  He was the founder of the Little Free Library. They grew out of his pain and grief over the loss of his mother.  There’s not a lot in life that’s free, but at the Free Library, you could get a book for nothing.

There are several Little Free Library boxes in Lakeside, Ohio, where we spend our summer, and I’ve counted at least 3 on my morning walks. They are great for picking up an old novel or even a text book about a  topic you know nothing about. And they are just as good for finding a good home for your summer reading.  But I haven’t seen any around Upper Arlington where we live.  Maybe because we’re so close to public library branches, church libraries, The Ohio State Libraries, Chemical Abstracts library, and Battelle Library.

They’ve only been in existence for a decade, and now there are 75,000 of them around the globe—all 50 states and 88 countries.  You could order one, or the blueprints for one, or build your own.  Some are quite fanciful. It must have been an idea whose time had come.

https://www.philanthropydaily.com/the-legacy-of-todd-bol-and-his-little-free-libraries/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/todd-bol-whose-little-free-library-brought-books-to-the-street-corner-dies-at-62/2018/10/21/7ae2cf64-d53b-11e8-aeb7-ddcad4a0a54e_story.html?utm_term=.a4199a528913

“In recent years, some social entrepreneurs have taken the Little Free Library idea and extended it to other things. In Fayetteville, Arkansas, Jessica McClard in 2016 started the first Little Free Pantry outside the Good Shepard Lutheran Church. She told ABC News that she makes sure to check the pantry every day because “it turns over in about 30 minutes” after the day’s supply of canned food is placed in the pantry.

In Lansing, Michigan, Adriana Flores, who recently got a master’s degree from the Michigan State University School of Social Work, created the E² Box to supply toiletries and feminine hygiene products (tampons, sanitary pads) not covered by government assistance. Why “E Squared?” Because, Flores says, that stands for “empathy and equity.” Right now there is only one E Squared Box, but Flores hopes to create more.”

Dr. Matthew Bunson

Dr. Matthew Bunson has written over 50 books, which includes this list found in Wikipedia.  I plan to look for others.  I heard him on the radio and was fascinated by his story, and that of his parents. He said both his father and brother died of Huntington’s disease (a hereditary brain disease), but never addressed that in the interview.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47usbiHDefg

• Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire
• The Encyclopedia of Catholic History
• The Encyclopedia of Saints
• All Shall Be Well
• Papal Wisdom
• The Pope Encyclopedia
• Encyclopedia of American Catholic History
• Angels A-Z, an Encyclopedia
• Pope Benedict XVI and the Sexual Abuse Crisis (co-author)
• We Have a Pope! Pope Benedict XVI
• Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages
• The Angelic Doctor
• Apostle of the Exiled: St. Damien of Molokai
• Saint Kateri Tekakwitha
• Encyclopedia of Sherlock Holmes
• The Agatha Christie Encyclopedia

Webinar on decisions of life and death from Catholic Distance University hosted by Dr. Bunson

https://youtu.be/ArVQDob8ZvU

The POLST referred to in the discussion: https://www.cathmed.org/assets/files/LNQ59%20FINAL.pdf

We met with our lawyer this week to update and revise our documents. A lot has changed since 2005 when they were created, including medical advancements. Be informed.

A book review in Forreston, 1949

 

At least I think it was 1949. . . that’s the year the book was published. This book was made into a movie in 1952 starring Cary Grant and Betsy Drake.

I don’t think I read any of those books she recommended, but I do remember Jimmy Lewis who had a wonderful voice and white blond hair, and Davis Folkerts, a precocious piano player. Davis must have been about 10 years old when he performed for the ladies. He retired as professor of music from Central College in Pella, IA, in 2017 and was still playing the organ at 79. He learned to play the instrument in the sixth grade according to the local paper which covered his retirement 2 years ago.

I found this clipping inside her address book which seems to be from about 1990-2000. It’s full of names I remember, many who died that decade, according to her notes.  I’m not sure how I inherited either the address book or the clipping inside it.  I’m sure she didn’t put it in there.

But it’s fun to think of her at 37, giving a book review—I don’t remember her enjoying public speaking--getting out of the house and chatting with ladies of the community may have been an adventure. As I recall, the local library was a volunteer effort, open only a few hours a week, and run by my first grade teacher, Miss Flora.

Lovely tradition

12 rules of life—bought it yesterday

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5RCmu-HuTg Jordan Peterson’s best seller
3:30 - Rule 1 "Stand up straight with your shoulders back"
 16:23 - Rule 2 "Treat yourself like someone you are responsible for helping"
22:53 - Rule 3 "Make friends with people who want the best for you" 25:44 - Rule 4 "Compare yourself with who you were yesterday" 37:20 - Rule 5 "Do not let your children do anything that makes you dislike them"
 48:52 - Rule 6 "Set your house in perfect order before you criticise the world"
58:47 - Rule 7 "Pursue what is Meaningful" - - :- - Rule 8 "Tell the truth or at least don't lie" seems to be mixed in with Rule 7
 1:05:00 - Rule 9 "Assume the person you are listening to might know something you don't. - - : - - Rule 10 "Be precise in your speech" seems to be mixed in with Rule 9
 1:11:43 - Rule 11 "Do not bother children when they are skateboarding"
 1:17:06 - Rule 12 "Pet a cat when you encounter on on the street" 1:22:30 - Q&A
So if you need to borrow it, let me know.

Jordan Peterson’s best seller

I rarely buy a book. I either buy them used, or receive them as gifts, or borrow them from friends, or from the free box at church. I even use the public library. But today I shelled out $25 in cash for Jordan Peterson's "12 rules for life; an antidote to chaos." Shocking that it can become a #1 bestseller because the millennials didn't learn any of the rules my grandparents knew! Their grandparents were boomers. #1 Stand up straight with your shoulders back.  #8 Tell the truth.

Gentleman in Moscow, September book club

I'm reading "A Gentleman in Moscow" by Amor Towles for September book club. It's a great read, and I admit to being thrilled I recognize some of the names and events being a Russian major in college and taking all those history courses.  But I had to laugh at a perfect example for all the mush brained snowflakes and Bern babies who think socialism is so great. Count Rostov is indeed quite the gentleman, knows his wine, and which goes with what. One evening in the dining room of the hotel he can’t leave he orders a specific wine, a bottle of San Lorenzo Barolo, 1912, and was told he can order either red or white. He repeats his order, so the manager takes him to the wine cellar of the Boyarsky dining room of the Metropol Hotel where he discovers that 100,000 bottles of wine have had their labels removed. He inquires and is told:
"A complaint was filed with comrade Teodorov, the Commissar of Food, claiming that the existence of our wine list runs counter to the ideals of the Revolution. That it is a monument to the privilege of the nobility, the effeteness of the intelligentsia, and the predatory pricing of speculators."
"A meeting was held, a vote was taken, an order was handed down. . . Henceforth, the Boyarsky shall sell only red and white wine with every bottle at a single price."

The porch mysteries

Bob is starting his 9th mystery of porch reading of the summer. So when he announced at 8:30 a.m. that Andrea had been murdered (in chapter 1) I was a little startled. Although I was the librarian, I don't read mysteries or even much fiction. Our daughter supplies them by the sacksful. He's been through all the Maisie Dobbs, and Charles Todd, now roaring through Mary Higgins Clark, and has sampled a few Agatha Christie.
Titles by Higgins Clark read this summer:
No place like home
I’ll walk alone
The last years
Pretend you don’t see her
Daddy’s little girl
Before I say good-bye

Free college tools and courses 2018-2019

There are many free courses on the internet, and I’ve taken 2 from Coursera, one of which I completed (Medical Statistics) and one I didn’t (Gut microbiota).  Today I came across a listing of free courses at Ivy League colleges https://qz.com/1263050/here-are-300-free-ivy-league-university-courses-you-can-take-online-right-now/   at Awareness Watch http://awarenesswatch.virtualprivatelibrary.net/V16N8.pdf and looked through the Harvard listing for the Book in medieval liturgies.

“When we think of liturgy today, we imagine short, formal, congregational events happening periodically within the confines of churches. Medieval liturgy, however, took up many hours of every day, filled the city's largest meeting halls, and even spilled onto the streets. At the center of the medieval liturgy were the books we will study in this course.

In this module of The Book: Histories Across Time and Space, we’ll explore and explain the beautiful service books of the medieval church. No prior knowledge of liturgy or Latin is required, but there will be a lot of both, along with music.”

This course is part of a group of courses called The Book. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=9&v=LwHbfJAYqJw

Sounds very interesting—the big question, do I want to work that hard.  You can go at your own pace in a free course, but when I enroll I want to do well.  Sometimes stretching the mind is painful!

Tolerance vs. Forbearance

"[Forbearance] implies patience, mutual respect, the extension of time, a certain latitude, and perhaps some affection that motivates a person to carry the burden of disagreement. In this sense, forbearance is less a momentary cease-fire than an active extension of concern for one another. "

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2017/august-web-only/healthier-approach-to-disagreement-in-church-begins-with-on.html

From the book, Forbearance: A Theological Ethic for a Disagreeable Church, by James Calvin Davis (Eerdmans, 2017).