Kidzdoc Reads Black Male Writers for Our Time in 2019, Chapter 2

This is a continuation of the topic Kidzdoc Reads Black Male Writers for Our Time in 2019, Chapter 1.

This topic was continued by Kidzdoc Reads Black Male Writers for Our Time in 2019, Chapter 3.

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1kidzdoc
Edited: Apr 10, 2019, 8:25 pm

A mini-biography of Ishmael Reed, one of the Black Male Writers for Our Time:

📖Born in Chattanooga 2.22.38
📖Moved to Buffalo with his family during the Great Migration
📖Attended but did not graduate from the University of Buffalo (now SUNY at Buffalo); awarded an honorary doctorate degree from SUNY at Buffalo in 1995
📖Moved to NYC in 1962, where he cofounded the East Village Other, an underground newspaper, and became a member of the Umbra Writers’ Workshop, a collective of young black writers
📖Moved to the West Coast in 1970 to become a Professor of Creative Writing at UC Berkeley, where he taught for 35 years
📖Currently a Distinguished Professor at the California College of the Arts
📖Prolific novelist, poet, essayist and playwright, who has written 11 novels, six collections of poetry, 10 collections of essays, two travelogues, and eight plays
📖Creator of the Before Columbus Foundation, the sponsor of the American Book Awards
📖Finalist for the National Book Awards for Fiction for Mumbo Jumbo, and for Poetry for Conjure, both in 1973; Conjure was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry
🎼Noted lyricist, whose works have been performed by leading jazz musicians such as Albert Ayler, David Murray, Carla Bley, Lester Bowie, and Cassandra Wilson
🎼Jazz pianist and former leader of the Ishmael Reed Quintet
📖His most recent novel, Conjugating Hindi, was published in April, 2018 by Dalkey Archive Press. His most recent non-fiction publication, The Complete Muhammad Ali, was published in 2015 by Baraka Books of Montreal
📖Website: http://www.ishmaelreed.org

Currently reading:

Black Deutschland by Darryl Pinckney
Murmur by Will Eaves
Don't Call Us Dead: Poems by Danez Smith

January:
1. Happiness by Aminatta Forna
2. The Queen of Harlem by Brian Keith Jackson
3. My Struggle: Book Three by Karl Ove Knausgaard
4. The Most Beautiful Bookstore in the World, Part 1 by Livraria Lello
5. The Most Beautiful Bookstore in the World, Part 2 by Livraria Lello

February:
6. An American Odyssey: The Life and Work of Romare Bearden by Mary Schmidt Campbell
7. Survive FBT: Skills Manual for Parents Undertaking Family Based Treatment (FBT) for Child and Adolescent Anorexia Nervosa by Maria Ganci

March:
8. Spring by Karl Ove Knausgaard
9. Heart: A History by Sandeep Jauhar
10. Hardheaded Weather by Cornelius Eady
11. Mind on Fire: A Memoir of Madness and Recovery by Arnold Thomas Fanning
12. Amateur: A True Story About What Makes a Man by Thomas Page McBee
13. Juice! by Ishmael Reed
14. The Face: Strangers on a Pier by Tash Aw

April:
15. Indian Instant Pot Cookbook by Urvashi Pitre
16. The Moor’s Last Stand: How Seven Centuries of Muslim Rule in Spain Came to an End by Elizabeth Drayson
17. Second Lives, Second Chances: A Surgeon's Stories of Transformation by Donald R. Laub

8kidzdoc
Edited: Mar 27, 2019, 8:57 am

2019 Wellcome Book Prize longlist:

*Amateur: A True Story About What Makes a Man by Thomas Page McBee ✅
Astroturf by Matthew Sperling
Educated by Tara Westover
Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
*Heart: A History by Sandeep Jauhar ✅
*Mind on Fire by Arnold Thomas Fanning ✅
*Murmur by Will Eaves
*My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
Polio: The Odyssey of Eradication by Thomas Abraham
Sight by Jessie Greengrass
*The Trauma Cleaner by Sarah Krasnostein
This Really Isn’t About You by Jean Hannah Edelstein

*shortlisted book

9kidzdoc
Edited: Mar 27, 2019, 3:29 am

Books to read in March:

Amateur: A True Story About What Makes a Man by Thomas Page McBee✅
Don't Call Us Dead by Danez Smith
Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
Hardheaded Weather by Cornelius Eady✅
Heart: A History by Sandeep Jauhar✅
Juice! by Ishmael Reed
Mind on Fire by Arnold Thomas Fanning✅
Summer by Karl Ove Knausgaard
The Trauma Cleaner by Sarah Kranostein

10kidzdoc
Edited: Mar 1, 2019, 2:55 pm

Hmm. I goofed a bit, and have one extra message to fill. In honor of the artist Romare Bearden, whose biography I finished on Tuesday, here is an image of one of his more famous works, The Street (1964):

11kidzdoc
Edited: Mar 1, 2019, 2:56 pm

Bom dia! More pastéis de nata, anyone?

12Ameise1
Mar 1, 2019, 2:36 pm

Happy new thread, Darryl.

13figsfromthistle
Mar 1, 2019, 2:49 pm

Happy new thread!

14kidzdoc
Edited: Mar 1, 2019, 2:58 pm

>12 Ameise1:, >13 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Barbara and Anita!

15katiekrug
Mar 1, 2019, 3:03 pm

Happy new one, Darryl!

16kidzdoc
Mar 1, 2019, 3:18 pm

>15 katiekrug: Thanks, Katie! I hope that you're feeling better and resting comfortably today.

17katiekrug
Mar 1, 2019, 3:23 pm

I'm working. We have a Board meeting coming up, and Board meetings are my (job's) raison d'etre, so I'm crazy busy. I have an appointment with an orthopedist Monday morning, where topic #1 will be whether I can travel to Cairo the following week. What a pain in the... shoulder ;-)

18kidzdoc
Edited: Mar 1, 2019, 3:46 pm

>17 katiekrug: Oh, no! I hope that you can make it to Cairo. Pack lightly!

ETA: After thinking about it I just posted the following message on your thread: "I think I would be most worried about a repeat shoulder dislocation in the short term, before the area has had a chance to fully heal. God forbid if that was to happen during a long flight, as you might not be able to find someone who can't put it back into place, and even if you did it would probably be excruciatingly painful without strong analgesics."

19johnsimpson
Mar 1, 2019, 4:17 pm

Happy new thread Darryl mate.

20kidzdoc
Mar 1, 2019, 4:20 pm

>19 johnsimpson: Thanks, John! I hope that your upcoming weekend is a good one; please give my best to my cooking buddy Karen.

21johnsimpson
Mar 1, 2019, 4:27 pm

Hi Darryl, sadly your cooking buddy has been laid low for most of the day with a migraine, lucky she caught it early and although she has gone back up to bed she looks a lot better than first thing this morning. Karen is hoping to go back to work tomorrow and I will go and do a bit of banking, call in to the antique fair at Queen Elizabeth Boys Grammar School and then must get back and do the downstairs housework before Karen comes home.

Hope you are well mate and that your weekend is a good one, I will pass on your regards to your cooking buddy mate, love and hugs to you from both of us.

22richardderus
Mar 1, 2019, 4:34 pm

>11 kidzdoc: *gobble*munch*slobber*

Delicioso! Posso ter mais?

23ronincats
Mar 1, 2019, 4:35 pm

Happy New Thread, Darryl!

24ChelleBearss
Mar 1, 2019, 7:16 pm

Happy new thread!

25tangledthread
Mar 1, 2019, 8:45 pm

Happy new thread, Daryl! I also have Heart: A History on March reading list.

26RidgewayGirl
Mar 1, 2019, 8:50 pm

Happy new thread, Darryl. I like the photo in >2 kidzdoc: more than the ones at the top of your previous thread because it makes clear that there is no shortage of talented black male authors doing good and innovative work. I've just ordered a copy of Marlon James's new novel for my husband after hearing James talk about it.

27benitastrnad
Mar 1, 2019, 10:36 pm

I just started a new book last night and it the end of a work week with too much going on in it. I have put in 5 days of 12 hours each and I am beat. Tomorrow I bake my annual Mardi Gras King Cakes. I need two of them this year. One for my wine club and one for a birthday gift.

28connie53
Mar 2, 2019, 3:50 am

Happy new thread, Darryl.

29drneutron
Mar 2, 2019, 9:01 am

Happy new thread! I’m sure I’ve read some Ishmael Reed, but LT swears I haven’t. So maybe I’ve forgotten to enter something way back when. *sigh* Another for The List.

30kidzdoc
Mar 2, 2019, 11:13 am

>21 johnsimpson: I hope that Karen is feeling better today, John. Her dessert photos on Facebook look fabulous, and I'm sure that she makes great savory dishes as well. I hope that you have a productive and enjoyable Saturday.

>22 richardderus: Sim, senhor. Obrigado!

>23 ronincats:, >24 ChelleBearss: Thanks, Roni and Chelle!

>25 tangledthread: Thanks! I look forward to your thoughts about Heart: A History.

31kidzdoc
Mar 2, 2019, 11:25 am

>26 RidgewayGirl: Thanks, Kay! That NYT article was very useful, as it highlighted several authors who I wasn't familiar with, and others who I have heard of or read but haven't explored their works fully. I'll likely also buy Black Leopard, Red Wolf soon.

>27 benitastrnad: Hi, Benita. My partners and I routinely work 60-70 hours a week during our busy season, so we're also beat on weekends, regardless of how old we are, especially since most of us don't sleep well when we're on clinical service.

I'd love to learn how to make King Cake. One of my partners lived in New Orleans for several years, and she makes a mean one.

Speaking of NOLA I'll have to post a photo and instructions for the alligator sauce piquante that I made earlier this year, but I'll do that for the tortilla de patatas that I made for dinner for my parents and myself last night.

>28 connie53: Thanks, Connie!

>29 drneutron: Thanks, Jim! I have several books written by Ishmael Reed, but I don't think I've read any one of them. I'm reading Juice! now, and I'd like to get to Mumbo Jumbo, his most famous novel, later this year.

Ah. Now that I think about it I have read one of Reed's books, Blues City: A Walk in Oakland, which was very good.

32kidzdoc
Edited: Mar 2, 2019, 12:22 pm

Earlier this year I came across a recipe for tortillla de patatas, a Spanish omelette which is a classic dish in that lovely country. Torta is Spanish for cake, and, despite what those of us who live in the Americas are used to, a tortilla española is an egg cake, or omelette, and tortilla de patatas is a Spanish omelette with potatoes. Some Spaniards add onions (cebollas) to the tortilla, as I did. The first time I made tortilla de patatas it was a bit undercooked and didn't look all that appealing, but the second one I made for dinner yesterday looked and tasted much better:

Here's the recipe, courtesy of Spanish Sabores:

Ingredients:
1 kilogram (about 2 pounds) of potatoes
Salt and pepper to taste
8 large eggs (free range if possible)
1 onion (I use a Vidalia sweet onion)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Instructions:
*Peel the potatoes and rinse them under cold water.
*Slice the potatoes into thin slices, I prefer about ½ centimeter (some prefer thicker)
*Pat the potato slices dry and put them into a large bowl, sprinkle with salt, and mix well.
*Heat a ½ inch of high quality extra virgin olive oil in a large frying pan at medium low heat.
*When the oil is hot, add the potatoes and add more oil if necessary until all are covered.
*Cook the potatoes for 20 minutes at a low heat (they may break apart, that is okay).
*While the potatoes are cooking, beat the eggs in a large bowl and season with some salt and pepper.
*Slice the onion as thin as possible (julianne style) and fry in a separate frying pan for about 10 minutes until they begin to caramelize (stir often).
*When the onions are caramelized, drain off any excess oil and add to the egg mixture.
*When the potatoes have been frying 20 minutes, remove them with a slotted spoon into a strainer and allow to cool off while any excess oil drips away.
*After a few minutes, add the potatoes to the egg mixture and stir well.
*Let the egg mixture sit for about 20 minutes.
*In the same pan where you fried the potatoes, remove all the oil (you can reuse it!) and over a medium low heat add the egg mixture.
*Over a low heat, cook the eggs for about 6-8 minutes per side.
*When you are sure that the bottom is cooked and you want to flip the tortilla, take a large plate and put it over the pan and flip quickly! Some egg will likely slip out-- it'll be messy-- but that's okay!
*Finally, slide out of the pan onto a serving plate and let cool a little before diving in.
_____________________________________________

I also looked at a YouTube video by the Spanish chef Omar Allibhoy to see how it should be made: https://youtu.be/JceGMNG7rpU

Last night's version turned out nearly perfectly, and it was comparable to the tortillas des patatas that I've had in Spain. The caramelized onions and potatoes lend a natural sweetness to the tortilla, which is supposed to be soft and a bit runny in the middle, as mine was. It's usually served as a tapa and can be eaten during any meal. Barbara and Caroline also make it, but they add other ingredients, and the next time I make it, probably next week, I'll plan to add baby spinach to it to make a tortilla de patatas con espinaca. Very highly recommended!

33Cait86
Mar 2, 2019, 1:30 pm

Glad to see you back, Darryl! I am so tempted to make that tortillas des patatas recipe today, as "research" for my trip to Spain this Friday!

34johnsimpson
Mar 2, 2019, 4:01 pm

>30 kidzdoc:, Hi Darryl, Karen was fine this morning and went to work, luckily it was only a short shift of five hours. When she got back from work she put a puff Pastry top on the Chicken and Ham pie and with the spare pastry she made some Jam Turnovers and both were fabulous mate.

Hope you are having a good Saturday and we both send love and hugs mate.

35kidzdoc
Mar 2, 2019, 4:41 pm

>33 Cait86: Hi, Cait! Please let me know how you do like the tortilla once you make it. Have a great time in Spain and Portugal!

>34 johnsimpson: I'm glad that Karen was free of her migraine headache today, John. Your supper sounds great!

I look forward to meeting the two of you, hopefully sometime in the spring.

36lauralkeet
Mar 3, 2019, 7:40 am

>32 kidzdoc: When my daughter did a semester abroad in Granda, Spain a couple of years ago, she lived in the home of a very kind and lovely Spanish woman. The home stay program included meals and Julia's host mom made tortilla every single day. On the plus side, she liked it and learned how to make it. On the other hand, she got a little tired of it by the end of the term.

37msf59
Mar 3, 2019, 7:47 am

>32 kidzdoc: Looks fantastic!

Happy Sunday, Darryl. Happy New Thread! I was not familiar with Ishmael Reed. Thanks for sharing. Can you recommend any of his poetry? How is the Eady collection? I like that cover. Reminds me of the Midwest.

38richardderus
Mar 3, 2019, 9:46 am

>32 kidzdoc: I do so love Spanish tortilla...though I leave the skins on new potatoes and use those...and for a variant, try making it with Vidalias!

39banjo123
Mar 3, 2019, 3:39 pm

Happy new thread, Darryl! Looks like you are getting some good cooking in.

40jnwelch
Mar 3, 2019, 5:02 pm

Happy New Thread, buddy! I think you'll enjoy Black Leopard, Red Wolf when you get to it.

41scaifea
Mar 4, 2019, 6:40 am

Happy new thread, Darryl!

42Oberon
Mar 4, 2019, 2:13 pm

Happy new thread! Since I am shallow and callous (and because it will probably be the only time all season that I will have such an advantage) I wanted to be sure and point out that Atlanta United is 0-1 while the Loons are 1-0.

43FAMeulstee
Mar 4, 2019, 4:45 pm

Happy new thread, Darryl!

44Caroline_McElwee
Mar 5, 2019, 5:19 am

>1 kidzdoc: I picked up a copy of Ishmael Reed's Mumbo Jumbo at the library last night, so plan to read it in the next month. He is a new writer to me Darryl.

45laytonwoman3rd
Mar 5, 2019, 10:43 pm

>11 kidzdoc: Sim, por favor!

46kidzdoc
Mar 6, 2019, 9:18 am

Woo...it's Wednesday, and the weekend is here! I'm off until Monday, but I have quite a few tasks to complete in the next five days, so I'll be moderately busy, but I should have time to finish the three books I'm currently working on. I had less free time last week than I thought I would when I visited my parents, so very little reading was done.

>36 lauralkeet: Yep. From what I understand tortillas de patatas are eaten several times a week if not daily by many Spaniards. I love them, but not every day! Having said that I will make another one this week.

>37 msf59: Thanks, Mark! Tortilla de patatas is very tasty, despite its few ingredients, and I'd highly recommend giving it a try. I would think that at least one restaurant in Chicagoland would serve them, although none of the three Spanish restaurants in Atlanta that I've been to do.

I haven't read any of Ishmael Reed's poetry so far. Hardheaded Weather is good, although a bit mundane, as it's mostly about a middle aged couple buying a rundown house in central New York as a second home. It reads quickly, and I'll certainly finish it by the weekend.

>38 richardderus: I had never had a tortilla española before my first visit to Spain, and was quite surprised when I first saw a slice as a tapa in a restaurant in Barcelona. I like your idea of using unpeeled new potatoes; I'll probably do that when I make it this week. I strongly prefer to use Vidalia sweet onions in all of my recipes, which I never have any problem finding in Atlanta, except when red onions are specifically called for. Do you mean a tortilla de cebollas, with no patatas, or a tortilla de patatas con cebollas, using Vidalia sweet onions?

I also need to make another caramelized onion, mixed mushroom and Gruyere cheese quiche in the near future, which I haven't done in awhile. That may be my favorite recipe. I'll also make another batch of Irish lamb stew on St Patrick's Day.

47kidzdoc
Mar 6, 2019, 9:53 am

>39 banjo123: Thanks, Rhonda! You're right, I have been cooking up a storm since the beginning of the year, to the point where I skipped my usual Sunday cooking routine because my freezer was nearly completely filled with 30-35+ individual containers of homemade food, along with frozen meat, seafood and vegetables. This is what my main freezer compartment looked like three Sundays ago, after I hadn't made anything for nearly a week:

It doesn't look much different now, as I also had five containers of cooked food in the freezer in the kitchen of my group's office space. Several of my partners and close nurse friends have offered to come over and help me address this problem by heating up and eating this prepared food.

I think it's fair to say that my ~~addiction to~~ love for cooking has supplanted reading as my favorite hobby! I know of several other men who do the same thing, and are far more accomplished cooks than I am, so I'm in good company.

>40 jnwelch: Thanks, Joe! I think that Marlon James is coming or did come to Atlanta to talk about Black Leopard, Red Wolf, but IIRC I couldn't or wouldn't be able to see him speak, because of my work or travel schedule. I found out yesterday that Mitchell S. Jackson, one of the Black Male Writers for Our Time, is giving a talk at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Center tomorrow night about his latest book. The center is about three miles from where I live and the talk is free, so I'll go to it.

>41 scaifea: Thanks, Amber!

Cilanto is gross. Hmph.

48kidzdoc
Mar 6, 2019, 10:09 am

>42 Oberon: Hmph. There was absolutely no need to go there, Erik. Our mutual friend Madeline, a loyal D.C. United supporter, was far more gracious and less shallow in celebrating her club's victory over Atlanta United. Having said that...congratulations to the Loons!

>43 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita. I plan to do far more reading this month, but I'll never come close to your prodigious output!

>44 Caroline_McElwee: Excellent, Caroline! You'll read Mumbo Jumbo before I do, so I look forward to your thoughts about it.

>45 laytonwoman3rd: Muito bom, senhora!

49kidzdoc
Mar 6, 2019, 10:28 am

I intend to post at least one recipe and one or two book reviews for the remainder of the week, in order to catch up. I'm still groggy from Monday, as I didn't get home until 1:30 am after my flight from Philadelphia to Atlanta arrived very late, didn't get to bed until 2:30 am, and had to wake up at 6:00 am, so I'll post a recipe first and write one or two book reviews later today. First is the Alligator Sauce Piquante that I made early last month, using a recipe from the famed New Orleans chef Emeril Lagasse:

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions
3/4 cup chopped green bell peppers
3/4 cup chopped celery
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
4 bay leaves
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons bleached all-purpose flour
4 cups seeded and chopped plum tomatoes
3 cups Chicken Stock or
canned low-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Emeril's Red Pepper Sauce or other hot pepper sauce
1 1/2 pounds alligator meat, cut into 2-inch strips
1 1/2 teaspoons Creole Seasoning
1/2 cup chopped green onions (green and white parts)
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Perfect Rice, hot

DIRECTIONS:

Heat 1/4 cup of the olive oil in large heavy nonstick pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Stir in the onions, bell peppers, celery, salt, crushed red pepper flakes, cayenne, and bay leaves. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft and lightly golden, about 5 minutes. Add 3 tablespoons of the flour and cook, stirring, to cook the flour without browning, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, chicken stock, Worcestershire, and pepper sauce. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low.

Place several pieces of alligator meat at a time on a work surface covered with plastic wrap. Cover the meat with plastic wrap and pound with a meat mallet until 1/4 inch thick. Cut into 2-inch strips.

Combine the remaining 1/2 cup flour and the Essence in a medium bowl. Dredge the alligator pieces in the seasoned flour, shaking off any excess.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of the meat and fry until golden brown, turning once, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a platter. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in the skillet and repeat with the remaining alligator.

Add the meat to the sauce. Increase the heat under the sauce to medium-high and bring to a gentle rolling boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the meat is tender, about 2 hours. Remove and discard the bay leaves.

To serve, spoon the rice into soup bowls, top with the meat and sauce, and garnish with the green onions and parsley.
_________________________________________

This recipe turned out great; the alligator was tender and melted in your mouth, and the peppers gave it a nice kick. I shared it with one of my partners and a respiratory therapist at work who I exchange cooked food with, and they both loved it. I bought two more alligator fillets from my local Publix supermarket a few weeks ago, and I'll make this again this week.

50SqueakyChu
Edited: Mar 6, 2019, 10:51 am

>42 Oberon: Erik, you missed me. DC United is also 1-0. We're all in this together aren't we? I hope my team does well this year, but it's also fun to root for your teams (but ONLY when mine is not facing them). Here's to a great year for all three teams! Bottoms up! Congrats on the Loons' victory!

>47 kidzdoc: I love your freezer compartment. Isn't it great to have all those meal options from which to choose? I do that, too, but it never gets quite that full of prepared food as my husband likes to eat last night's dinner again for breakfast the following morning. I tend to keep all kinds of grains and nuts in my freezer, stored just the way you have your meals stored. I LOVE my upright freezer which came with our house when we bought it in 1978!

51kidzdoc
Edited: Mar 6, 2019, 10:49 am

>50 SqueakyChu: Yes, good luck to all three clubs, and cheers to the resurgence of club soccer in the US!

ETA: I'll definitely see Atlanta United play at home on April 20th against FC Dallas. Several friends are going to the March 17th match against the Philadelphia Union, but that one falls in the middle of a 13 out of 15 day work stretch, so I'll probably skip it.

52SqueakyChu
Mar 6, 2019, 10:54 am

>51 kidzdoc: I'm waiting for warmer weather to attend our soccer games. I can't wait to go back. It is so much fun to see the games in person. Where do you (and Erik) sit? I like to sit sort of in the corner to the side of one goal. There's where the team enters and exits the games. We usually can get reasonably priced tickets for those seats and also get a chance to see some goals rather close up (at least on one end of the field)!

53richardderus
Mar 6, 2019, 11:01 am

>46 kidzdoc: I meant patatas con cebollas, although the tortilla de cebollas is tasty...though (being me) I add black olives to it.

I don't remember if I've recommended The Secret of Vesalius to you yet...Jordi Llobregat's 1888 Barcelona World's Fair-set historical thriller...next time you're in London you should browse it.

54kidzdoc
Mar 6, 2019, 11:49 am

>52 SqueakyChu: Sounds good, Madeline. We're fortunate in that Atlanta United plays in a domed stadium with a retractable roof, which can be opened and closed in less than 15 minutes and makes it possible to hold sporting and other events there all year round. The first Atlanta United match I attended in 2017 was played with the roof closed, due to cool weather, whereas the one we attended last year was on a warm autumn day, when it was open.

Children's offers discounted tickets to most Atlanta United matches, as the team's owner, Arthur Blank, one of the co-founders of Atlanta based Home Depot, is a huge supporter of our system. So, we usually sit wherever the discounted tickets are available. I sat in a 200 (middle) level seat in the corner of one goal in 2017, and last year we sat in the 300 (upper) level, which was opened due to high ticket demand. For these first matches the discounted tickets are on the 200 level, either directly behind or just to the side of one of the goals, and, I think, just above the sections in the 100 level where the most rabid Five Stripes supporters sit.

Due to the high popularity of the team ticket prices have gone way up since the club's initial campaign in 2017. I bought a $25 ticket in 2017, whereas the discount tickets for the first two games are $59 and up.

It's amazng how Atlanta United has brought together the locals of and the transplants to the city. All of us are loyal supporters of the team, regardless of where we came from, and it's common to see parents of hospitalized kids wearing caps, T-shirts, warmup jackets and hoodies with the AUFC logo, nearly as much as UGA (University of Georgia) or Atlanta Braves gear, although only locals wear those items.

>53 richardderus: Patatas con cebollas should be very good, especially with Vidalia sweet onions. I wholeheartedly agree with the addition of olivadas negras!

I don't remember you recommending The Secret of Vesalius to me. I'll add it to my wish list, and be on the lookout for it. Thanks, bro!

55SqueakyChu
Edited: Mar 6, 2019, 1:08 pm

>54 kidzdoc: The only thing I can say about our relatively new Audi Field (with no roof), is that it's a dedicated soccer field. Soccer is the only sport that's played on it. I did feel so sorry for our freezing players the other day. However, everyone (players and fans alike) was so hyped up for that game, I doubt if anyone even felt the cold and the biting rain!

I am thrilled that soccer has taken off in such a big way (finally!) here in the U.S. When my husband Jose came to this country and assistant-couched younger boys in soccer, he thought it would take about 20 years for soccer to "catch on" in the U.S. He came here in 1974, so it took a bit longer. Now we finally reached the stage where some of our American players are even making the Premier European leagues (although I'm happy that Lucho Acosta didn't quite make it there this year). For his sake, though, I'd like to see him get there eventually as I am a big fan of his. I would miss watching him play here, though.

56kidzdoc
Edited: Mar 6, 2019, 4:46 pm

>55 SqueakyChu: Audi Field looks absolutely gorgeous, and appears to be a great venue to watch a soccer match.

Atlanta United plays its home matches at Mercedes-Benz Stadium because its owner, the aforementioned Arthur Blank, also owns the NFL's Atlanta Falcons, who also play there. The new stadium was built under pressure from the NFL commissioner, who vowed that Atlanta would not host a Super Bowl in the future if it didn't upgrade the Georgia Dome, which was built in the mid 1990s IIRC, or build a new stadium to replace it. The new stadium was planned when the announcement that Major League Soccer had awarded a franchise to Atlanta, under the ownership of Mr Blank, a highly regarded and respected figure in the city. He wisely provided equal billing to both teams, as each have their own facilities within the stadium, and Atlanta United isn't a poor sister to the far more established Falcons, who have been here for over 50 years. The Five Stripes were a hit from the beginning, as the first match, held at Georgia Tech's Grant Field, since the new stadium wasn't ready yet, was a near sellout with almost 55,000 fans in attendance, and the team's better than expected performance on the pitch kept the interest of the typically fair weather Atlanta fans. I'd love to see a poll of residents of metro Atlanta to find out which of the five professional sports team (MLB, MLS, NFL, NBA and WNBA) is the most popular, but I would bet that Atlanta United would rank first, or only second to the Atlanta Braves, our baseball club that has also been here since the team moved from Milwaukee in the mid 1960s.

I'm curious about the popularity of the other MLS teams in their cities. I don't know how popular the Philadelphia Union are, especially since their stadium is well south of the city, in Chester, PA (depending on the flight path I can often see the stadium from the air whenever I fly from Atlanta to Philadelphia), but the club would be far behind the other four professional teams, all of whom play in the South Philadelphia sports complex that is easily accessible via public transportation (Broad Street subway) or by private vehicle. The stadium that the Philadelphia Union play in would be a major haul from my parents' house, probably a 40-50 mile one way drive, whereas I can take the metro to Mercedes-Benz Stadium and arrive in 20-25 minutes, counting the walk from one of the stations to the stadium.

I just checked; Talen Energy Stadium is 42 miles south of my parents' house, and it would take just over an hour to get there, in good traffic.

57BLBera
Mar 6, 2019, 5:21 pm

Happy newish thread, Darryl.

58RidgewayGirl
Edited: Mar 6, 2019, 5:29 pm

>47 kidzdoc: There is something fundamentally nurturing and restorative in making good meals, especially when we're able to do so, not because it's a chore, but because we enjoy it. I recommend reading The Potlikker Papers by John T. Edge for a look at how food influences us and the varieties of Southern food. I'm still thinking over portions of it. I've got The Cooking Gene by Michael Twitty on my tbr with the plan of approaching the same subject from a slightly different angle.

59SqueakyChu
Edited: Mar 6, 2019, 8:04 pm

>56 kidzdoc: I'm one of very few DC United fans that I know. Here people tend to go for all the others sports teams before they go for soccer. From what I hear, DC United used to have a very devoted following among the Hispanic population in the DC area. I'm told they no longer follow DC United because most Hispanics here are from El Salvador, and DC United no longer has any players from El Salvador. The former DC United fans that I know now follow and cheer for Barcelona! :D

60kidzdoc
Mar 7, 2019, 6:16 am

>57 BLBera: Thanks, Beth.

>58 RidgewayGirl: I couldn't agree with you more, Kay. For me cooking is a very pleasurable and productive activity, and not a chore at all, and I find it to be relaxing and, as you said, restorative. I love to share what I make with others, both the food itself and the recipes I use.

Thanks for those book recommendations. IIRC one of my partners is going to lend me The Potlikker Papers after she finishes it, and I'll be on the lookout for The Cooking Gene.

>59 SqueakyChu: That's a shame that DC United isn't more popular, at least within your social circle; that is definitely not the case for me, or the people I work with. All Children's employees were recently given T-shirts for Spirit Day, which feature a round "Children's United '19" logo and five light and dark grey stripes, which is an obvious reference to our championship soccer club.

DC United should have a very successful season, and hopefully that will bring attention to the club, and sellout crowds to Audi Field. After week 1, ESPN FC ranked DC United as the top club in MLS.

On the other hand, Atlanta United had another disappointing performance yesterday, losing on the road to Monterrey 3-0 in a CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal match. That loss means that they haven't scored a goal in two consecutive matches, and the club's slow start out of the gate isn't a good sign for new head coach Frank de Boer, who is a disciple of possession football, a style very different from the more wide open attack that Atlanta United played under former head coach "Tata" Martino. de Boer's squads are typically slow starters, so this isn't that surprising (although disappointing and worrisome), but if they don't play well in their next match against FC Cincinnati, an MLS expansion club, the heat will definitely be on the new coach and the president of Atlanta United.

61kidzdoc
Mar 7, 2019, 8:36 am

I posted this photo on Amber's thread, but I should do so on mine as well. This is a picture of me standing alongside our upstairs neighbor, whose name I think is Marika, a German woman who moved to my home town of Jersey City, New Jersey with her husband, an American serviceman who was stationed in West Germany. She was one of my favorite babysitters, and she had the best beehive in the neighborhood (I love beehives!). This photo was probably taken in 1964 or 1965, shortly after we moved from a different neighborhood in the city. Great tmes...

62tangledthread
Mar 7, 2019, 8:59 am

Hi Daryl,
I'm about halfway through Heart: a History It's a very easy read. I would say it's written at about an 8th grade level of reading. It is not poorly written, just simpler than something Siddhartha Mukherjee might write. He has some interesting perspectives.

So far the value seems to be sharing the rapid progress made in cardiology over the past 30 years. It's encouraging to me since I now have my very own cardiologist and will be meeting his electrophysiologist colleague in a week or two.

63kidzdoc
Mar 7, 2019, 9:29 am

>62 tangledthread: Thanks, tangledthread. I'm glad that you're enjoying Heart: A History, although I'm disappointed that it isn't as mature a read as the two books written by Siddhartha Mukherjee, The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer and The Gene: An Intimate History. I'll almost certainly read Dr Jauhar's book next month.

I'm also under the care of a cardiologist, after I was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation and been hospitalized twice for it. Fortunately my condition has been controllable with oral medications, although I came close to requiring electrical cardioversion the second time I was hospitalized.

64The_Hibernator
Mar 7, 2019, 10:40 am

I have Heart: A History on reserve at the library, and there's quite a long waitlist. But I'm eager to get to it.

65Sakerfalcon
Mar 7, 2019, 10:59 am

>61 kidzdoc: That is a great photo! Clearly your taste for stylish hats goes back a long way!

66kidzdoc
Edited: Mar 7, 2019, 7:11 pm

Finally...a book review!

Book #7: Survive FBT: Skills Manual for Parents Undertaking Family Based Treatment (FBT) for Child and Adolescent Anorexia Nervosa by Maria Ganci

My rating:

The pediatric hospitalist group I work for provides care to dozens of children each year who require inpatient care of eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder, which affect approximately 30 million people in the United States at some point in their lives and has the highest mortality of any mental illness, as one person in this country dies every 62 minutes as a result of an eating disorder, according to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Eating Disorders (https://anad.org/education-and-awareness/about-eating-disorders/eating-disorders-statistics/), from organ dysfunction due to the effects of prolonged starvation, or from suicide. Eating disorders were thought to be illnesses that mainly affected Caucasian female teenagers and young adults from middle and upper class families, but, thanks to an increased awareness of these conditions by pediatricians, family practitioners, other health care providers, parents and the lay public, they are being recognized more frequently in boys and young men, preteens, and in people of all ethnic backgrounds.

Those who are fortunate enough to survive serious cases of eating disorders may be left with permanent sequelae of the condition, including an increased risk of osteoporosis and stress fractures in women, potentially fatal cardiomyopathy and heart rhythm abnormalities, increased risk of infertility and bearing low birth weight babies, decreased cognitive function due to brain shrinkage when the body is starved of nutrients, chronic kidney disease, permanent digestive abnormalities, and hormonal dysregulation, particularly involving the thyroid gland and reproductive systems.

Children are admitted for inpatient care of eating disorders to the hospital I work in if they are medically unstable, with low resting heart rates, low resting blood pressures, significant blood pressure changes, dizziness or fainting spells with standing, or electrolyte abnormalities that indicate that they are at risk of multisystem organ failure. Once a child meets criteria for inpatient admission she or he is admitted to our service, unless they are critically ill and require stabilization in our PICU (Pediatric Intensive Care Unit). A team consisting of a pediatric hospitalist, a psychiatrist, a clinical nutritionist who specializes in eating disorders, the patient's nurse, a case manager, a social worker, and a child life specialist is assigned to the patient, and within one weekday a care conference is held, in which all members of the team and the child's parents participate to discuss the team's findings and recommendations, and to obtain input, guidance and approval from the parents.

Shortly after admission to hospital the parents are provided a copy of the book Survive FBT: Skills Manual for Parents Undertaking Family Based Treatment (FBT) for Child and Adolescent Anorexia Nervosa by Maria Ganci, a registered clinical mental health social worker and child & adolescent psychoanalytic psychotherapist, and one of the founding members of the Specialist Eating Disorders Program at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, Australia. The goal of hospitalization is medical stabilization of the patient, but the harder part comes after discharge, when the child is transferred to a dedicated inpatient eating disorders facility, or is discharged to the care of their parents to participate in an outpatient program. In either case, family based treatment is the core ingredient in the successful recovery of all patients afflicted with eating disorders.

In Survive FBT, Ms Ganci provides invaluable advice to parents of children caught in the grasp of an eating disorder, based on research, experience and input from the families she has worked with during her career, in a direct and clear manner that is easy to read and understand. She mentions that most parents describe their attempt to cure a child with an eating disorder at home as the most difficult thing they have ever experienced, which dozens of parents have mentioned to me as well, and this book is an essential guide to helping them navigate this difficult and, for them, uncharted terrain. Ms Ganci also provides resources to these parents, and helps them understand and appreciate that their struggles are not unique or unusual.

I found Survive FBT to be very helpful to me in my approach to managing patients with eating disorders, and I'll use the lessons that Ms Ganci taught me when I converse with these children and their parents. This book should be required reading for anyone who interacts with people afflicted with eating disorders or their families.

67kidzdoc
Mar 7, 2019, 1:23 pm

>64 The_Hibernator: Sounds good, Rachel. I hope that you're able to acquire Heart: A History soon.

>65 Sakerfalcon: Thanks, Claire!

68SqueakyChu
Edited: Mar 7, 2019, 3:38 pm

>60 kidzdoc: Wow! I hope things improve for “our” Atlanta United soon. Do you think their poor start has something to do with Miggy being gone?

>61 kidzdoc: What a wonderful picture!!!

>66 kidzdoc: Great write-up about the book and its subject, Darryl. Fortunately, my one friend who suffered from an eating disorder when younger is now healthy, happily married, and the mom of a school-age son. We had been shocked when she had been hospitalized, but for her the outcome was thankfully good.

69tangledthread
Edited: Mar 9, 2019, 11:18 am

This message has been deleted by its author.

70The_Hibernator
Edited: Mar 7, 2019, 2:22 pm

>66 kidzdoc: That looks interesting. Anorexia nervosa runs in my husband's family, and my stepson is already "malnourished" to the point of needing feeding therapy. I often wonder whether his hunger cue hormones are off kilter since he'll take one bite and then say he's full. One time, he didn't eat or drink for two days, and he started having symptoms of a racing heart, lightheadedness, and nausea. It's scary to see kids doing that to themselves, isn't it? I suspect part of it is also a self-harm inclination (every once in a while he says that hurting himself makes him feel better - not sure where a 6 year old comes up with that. And for some reason it's always me that he says such things to, never his mom or dad. So at first they thought I was being silly when I told them he keeps saying he wants to kill himself.)

Anyway, this book looks like it is about kids who are much farther along the malnourishment pathway than M. Out of curiosity, does it talk about the changes in hunger cues in malnourished people? Or is it more of a psychological approach to therapy?

71Caroline_McElwee
Mar 7, 2019, 2:30 pm

>61 kidzdoc: that's a great photo Darryl.

72lauralkeet
Mar 7, 2019, 6:46 pm

Darryl, I think I have you to thank for tonight's dinner, Lamb and Mushroom Pasta? It's been some time since I made it, but tonight it was just the thing. And there are leftovers, which might be lunch tomorrow or might go in the freezer for a quick dinner some other time. So good. Thanks!

73kidzdoc
Mar 7, 2019, 7:46 pm

>68 SqueakyChu: Same here, Madeline. I think it's too early to say, but Miguel Almirón's departure is likely affecting the flow of the offensive attack, but the club is now having to play a different style of football due to their new head coach, Frank de Boer. Many of us were skeptical about de Boer's hiring, and felt that the new coach should have come from Latin America, or at least embraced the play that made the team wildly popular and highly successful in its first two seasons. Hopefully the team can find its way against FC Clincinnati this weekend.

Thanks! I'm glad that I was able to find that great photo.

I'm glad that you liked my review of Survive FBT. My first exposure to it was a fellow African American student at Tulane University in New Orleans, who suddenly decided to stop eating and lost a shocking amount of weight. The AfrAm student community at Tulane was a very small and close knit one, and we were all worried about her, but we didn't know anything about eating disorders in 1980 and didn't know what we should do. I remember that most of us sat together in the main university dining hall, and one day we encouraged her to eat a decent meal, which was successful at the time, but probably made things worse afterward, as she apparently ate even less after our intervention. She withdrew from university shortly afterward, and I don't know what happened to her after that.

Those of us of a certain age won't forget what happened to the great singer Karen Carpenter, who died as a result of anorexia nervosa in 1983, at the age of 32 and the height of her career. I remember going to work the day after her death was announced; I worked in a department of a quality control laboratory with three women, and all of them started crying. Her death was a painful shock to the country, but it led to a far greater public knowledge and appreciation of anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders.

>69 tangledthread: Wow. Atrial fibrillation, is, I believe, the most common cardiac arrhythmia, and it becomes increasingly prevalent with age. My father has it, but I'm not aware of anyone else who does, although a first cousin of mine had heart problems and suffered sudden cardiac death when he was in his early 20s.

74kidzdoc
Edited: Mar 7, 2019, 8:14 pm

>70 The_Hibernator: Wow. Your six year old stepson certainly doesn't fit the classic pattern for anorexia nervosa, but he clearly needs help, ASAP.

Survive FBT does describe the pathophysiology of anorexia nervosa, including the changes in hunger cues sent by the malnourished brain. The Kindle version of it is $7.99, and it's a quick but very informational read.

>71 Caroline_McElwee: Thanks, Caroline.

>72 lauralkeet: Yes, I did make a Mediterranean lamb & mushroom pasta in 2016 or 2017, during an icy weekend in Atlanta when I decided to stay inside and looked for a recipe that used the ground lamb and mushroom I had in my refrigerator and freezer. I should make this again soon, since I have a pound of ground lamb in my freezer, although I plan to make another batch of Irish lamb stew for St Patrick's Day, the weekend after next.

I'm about to eat a late dinner of crispy-skinned sockeye salmon, Birds Eye mashed cauliflower, and sautéed baby spinach, with a glass of Spanish red wine.

75kidzdoc
Edited: Mar 7, 2019, 8:22 pm

(Warning. Shameless product endorsement ahead.)

Mmm! I tried Birds Eye Original Mashed Cauliflower for the first time tonight; I had intended to buy cauliflower rice, but purchased mashed cauliflower instead. I'm not a fan of frozen vegetables, so I was very skeptical about how this would taste. I was very pleasantly surprised; the cauliflower has a nice consistency, though not as good as homemade mashed potatoes, of course, and it's nicely seasoned, so I only added freshly ground black pepper to it. This 12 oz package produces two servings, and the mashed cauliflower has half of the carbs of an equivalent amount of mashed potatoes, so I'll buy this product on a regular basis from now on.

Has anyone else tried frozen mashed cauliflower, from Birds Eye or other companies? Even better, does anyone make mashed cauliflower themselves?

76The_Hibernator
Mar 7, 2019, 8:39 pm

>74 kidzdoc: Yeah, if M develops anorexia nervosa, it would be with a bunch of other co-occurring issues. He has ADHD and depression, though his depression got a lot better when he went on ADHD meds. And don't worry - he's getting help for the depression. I just wish he would share his personal concerns with his father and mother as well as me. Because, as I said, it took a while for them to take me seriously when I said he was saying he wanted to kill himself. But I guess it's easy to ignore problems in your own child simply because you don't want to admit they exist. I was coming in from the outside of the family circle, so I was better able to say "hey, M has a problem and needs help."

I'll check out the book, thanks.

>75 kidzdoc: I love cauliflower. Maybe I'll try that out.

77Caroline_McElwee
Mar 8, 2019, 4:16 am

>75 kidzdoc: I don't thnk we get their mashed cauliflour here Darryl, and frankly that is one vege I've never thought to mash, will put that right soon.

78kidzdoc
Mar 8, 2019, 4:41 am

>76 The_Hibernator: I'm glad that you're there to and are willing to help M, Rachel. I'd love to know what you think of Survive FBT after you read it.

Mashed cauliflower won't completely replace a chunky batch of homemade mashed potatoes, but it's a tasty and acceptable substitute, IMO.

>77 Caroline_McElwee: Karen, John Simpson's wife, also mentioned that she had never seen mashed cauliflower in the UK. I'll have to let her know that I tried and enjoyed it yesterday.

There are some good looking recipes for homemade mashed cauliflower online, including this one: https://cafedelites.com/mashed-cauliflower/. I'll buy a cauliflower head when I go to the supermarket later today, and give this a try later today or tomorrow.

79ChelleBearss
Mar 8, 2019, 6:47 am

>61 kidzdoc: That's a great photo!

>75 kidzdoc: I don't think we have cool products like that here. I've tried making mashed cauliflower with fresh veg and also using the frozen cauliflower rice. The fresh worked out well and everyone liked it. The frozen was very watery and bland tasting.

80kidzdoc
Mar 8, 2019, 9:11 am

>79 ChelleBearss: I'm glad that you liked the photo, Chelle!

I'm told that Trader Joe's frozen cauliflower rice is quite good. However, one of my partners who cooks as much as I do makes it herself and says that it's easy to do. She's a fabulous cook, so I think I'll follow her lead.

81richardderus
Mar 8, 2019, 10:08 am

I believe there's a breakfast-deprived soul around about these parts:

82kidzdoc
Mar 8, 2019, 10:23 am

>81 richardderus: Whee! That'll do nicely. Thanks, bro!

83streamsong
Mar 8, 2019, 11:15 am

Because of the super low carb diet I was on, I've tried cauliflower in lots of different ways.

Homemade cauliflower mashed 'potatoes' are lower in carbs than the packaged sort, but you need to play with the ingredients to make them non-bland. I think I used things like garlic and onion powder, beef or chicken broth or Better than Bouillion and chopped scallions.

I use the frozen cauliflower rice as I would precooked rice. My favorite is fried rice made with cauliflower. I don't cook it before hand and I use lots of seasonings.

My favorite cauliflower sub is chunks of it used (I use the frozen cauliflower) for 'potato' salad. I can't distinguish it from regular potato salad, which is a weakness of mine.

I've also been buying frozen pizzas with cauliflower rice crusts. I like them well enough, but they are not quite the same. I haven't tried making my own crust, although I've seen recipes out there.

84kidzdoc
Edited: Mar 8, 2019, 12:35 pm

>83 streamsong: Thanks for your suggestions, Janet! I don’t think I’ll make mashed cauliflower this weekend, now that I think about it, but I may make cauliflower rice, or buy the frozen version of it from Trader Joe’s on Sunday.

85torontoc
Mar 8, 2019, 2:37 pm

I make a sautéed cauliflower with ginger and tomatoes( the cauliflower is broken into florets and steamed first.)
I have had a pizza with a cauliflower crust- it is very tasty.

86kidzdoc
Mar 8, 2019, 3:09 pm

>85 torontoc: Thanks, Cyrel; that sounds good.

87PaulCranswick
Mar 8, 2019, 8:36 pm

I'm not the biggest of cauliflower fans, Darryl although it is grown in abundance in the Yorkshire farming country I grew up in.

One dish that Hani cooks for me is chicken with leeks whereby she sautees the chicken strips (lightly coated in flour and egg mixture if I'm honest) together with the leeks until soft. A liberal dash of oyster sauce and a wholesome meal appears. Had it on the day following her homecoming.

Have a great weekend.

88justchris
Mar 8, 2019, 9:01 pm

>75 kidzdoc: I haven't tried any of the frozen products. However, I have been adding cauliflower to my diet for similar reasons. It's not really a veg I like, though it is fine as a potato substitute. The first time I tried mashing it following a recipe, I ended up wit a too-liquid puree. Very disappointing. But I have persisted.

>83 streamsong: Will have to look around for this cauli rice mentioned. I just downloaded a recipe for cauli crust pizza to try out. Haven't gotten around to it yet.

Darryl, I just tried making hunter's stew from The Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen cookbook in my Instapot tonight. I sauteed the bison, then the leek, mushrooms (mix of lions mane and shiitake), juniper, sumac and oregano; then I switched it to slow cooker mode, adding the stock, reconsistuted dried mushroom medley (chanterelles and morels in particular), and mushroom liquid. I also added carrots to have some color and nutrients. I set the slow cooker program to 4 hours and went to work.

I was excited to come home and try it out. I was surprised the smell of cooking meat didn't fill the front hallway. I dished up a bowl and was even more surprised that the carrot rounds were crunchy. I figured it out--the slow cooker program was on the low setting, which is equivalent to "keep warm" on a slow cooker. I should have adjusted it to the normal setting. So I didn't actually have it cooking away while I was at the office. I have it cranked up and cooking now, but overall, a little disappointing. Sigh. It's a learning process.

All of the recipes that I've tried from the little Instapot cookbook have turned out fine, and some were excellent.

89lauralkeet
Mar 9, 2019, 7:11 am

I haven't tried mashing or ricing my cauliflower, but I've managed to move beyond "steam and drench in butter" with this: Pan-Roasted Cauliflower with Garlic, Parsley, & Rosemary. It's very flavorful.

90kidzdoc
Mar 9, 2019, 10:07 am

>87 PaulCranswick: I love cauliflower, Paul, whether raw or cooked, fresh or frozen, steamed or grilled. I had no idea where it is grown in the US, and the world, so I just looked it up. The People's Republic of China is the largest grower of cauliflower, followed by India, with the US a distant third. Ninety percent of all cauliflower here is grown in California, with the majority of it coming from Salinas County, south of the San Francisco Bay area.

Hani's chicken & leeks sounds tasty. I see what she makes on Facebook and Instagram, and we tease each other about what each of us makes, although I'm definitely not in her league as a cook. I have two more alligator fillets in my freezer, and I'll make another batch of Cajun alligator sauce piquante tomorrow.

>88 justchris: Kudos on adding cauliflower to your diet, Chris, although I'm sorry that you don't like it more. I went to my local Publix this morning, and I did find Birds Eye riced cauliflower, and I'll have it over chicken korma when I make it, probably next weekend.

Hunter's stew sounds great! I love bison, although I've had it very infrequently. Sorry to hear about your snafu, but hopefully the stew turned out well.

I haven't looked at any recipes in the mini cookbook that came with my Instant Pot. I'll only used it three times in the past three months, but I'll use it more often in the future.

>89 lauralkeet: Ooh...that looks great, Laura! I'll definitely give that recipe a try. Thanks!

When it gets warmer I plan to try the Chilled Cucumber, Cauliflower and Ginger Soup that is in Ottolenghi Simple, which looks very enticing.

91kidzdoc
Mar 9, 2019, 10:47 am

Mmm. This Curried Cauliflower Rice Kale Soup looks tasty.

92PaulCranswick
Mar 9, 2019, 10:49 am

>90 kidzdoc: She's a great cook, Darryl, but some of your own creations don't look half bad either.

93kidzdoc
Mar 9, 2019, 11:09 am

>92 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul!

94magicians_nephew
Mar 9, 2019, 4:14 pm

sort of blows my mind that you can get mashed cauliflower from Bird's Eye.

My mother worked and so we rarely saw fresh veggies but Bird's Eye and the Green Giant were frequent visitors to our table

95avatiakh
Mar 9, 2019, 4:52 pm

>8 kidzdoc: I just read one from the Wellcome 2019 longlist - Mind on Fire: a memoir of madness and recovery, it was quite good, a really good opening prologue which draws you right in. I came across it on an Irish Times best of 2018 list where authors recommend books they've been reading and Fanning's book came up a number of times.

>83 streamsong: I make cauliflower many ways but haven't tried the cauliflower fried rice which I'll try this week for my vegetarian son. I have a few cauliflower soup recipes that work for us.
Last year I made this Australian masterchef masterclass recipe a few times with small changes such as leaving out the currants - Matt Preston's whole roast cauliflower with tarator and chickpeas
I liked the idea of steaming the whole cauliflower in the microwave. If you give up on the rest of the recipe at least you can serve up the cauli for dinner.

96banjo123
Mar 9, 2019, 5:05 pm

Roasted cauliflower is popular in our house, and easy. Usually just florets, roasted with olive oil, garlic and salt. We did try a whole roast cauliflower last night, and it was pretty, but not that tasty. It was from the How Not to Die cookbook, and maybe just a little too healthy. We might try again with a different sauce.

97SqueakyChu
Mar 9, 2019, 9:19 pm

I just get hungry reading your thread, Darryl...

98scaifea
Mar 10, 2019, 8:20 am

>91 kidzdoc: Oooh, I think I may try that one, too...

99benitastrnad
Edited: Mar 10, 2019, 1:14 pm

I will add my endorsement for the Potlikker Papers by John T. Edge. (Mentioned in post #58.). I read it a few weeks ago and enjoyed it. It is a food history of the South from then end of WWII to the present. Edge is the head of the Southern Foodways Alliance based in Oxford, Mississippi and the book is well worth the time to read it. I was amused as it barely mentions Barbeque (I think there might be part of one chapter on it) but has great chapters on food and culture from all over the South. And it gives lots of space to all the foods and cooks - including present day trendsetters in the rising metropolitan areas of the South.

100justchris
Mar 10, 2019, 7:54 pm

>91 kidzdoc: Yum! That looks wonderful.

>96 banjo123: I found a roasted cauli recipe I really like. It's roasted with fresh turmeric. Turns out really well.

>58 RidgewayGirl: and >99 benitastrnad: Potlikker Papers looks like a good read. I recently finished Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time, and that sounds like a good follow-up to it. I've read interviews by Twitty, and I'd probably like The Cooking Gene too. Reading about food and food traditions never gets old.

101Familyhistorian
Mar 10, 2019, 9:44 pm

Mmm, cauliflower. It is a staple of our diet but I have never had fried cauliflower rice. Fried rice with cauliflower in it, I have had. I have also had cauliflower wings which are available in many of the restaurants around here.

102Berly
Mar 11, 2019, 1:16 am

>75 kidzdoc: I don't always have the time to make it on my own, so I am going to have to look for that frozen package--Thanks. (Nice warning on the shameless product endorsement--LOL)

>91 kidzdoc: And now I have to try cauliflower rice, too!

But if you want to make c-mash on your own here's my recipe...

Ingredients
1 head of cauliflower
3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons light sour cream
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
freshly ground black pepper
snipped chives

Instructions
Separate the cauliflower into florets and chop the core finely.
Bring about 1 cup of water to a simmer in a pot, then add the cauliflower. Cover and turn the heat to medium. Cook the cauliflower for 12-15 minutes or until very tender.
Drain and discard all of the water (the drier the cauliflower is, the better) and add the milk, butter, sour cream, salt and pepper and mash with a masher until it looks like "mashed potatoes." Top with chives.

>95 avatiakh: I just found Mind on Fire when I was cataloging this weekend--maybe I should move it up the list.

Darryl, Have a great week!

103jnwelch
Mar 11, 2019, 1:20 pm

Hiya, Darryl. Thanks for that review up in >66 kidzdoc:. I didn't know eating disorders affected so many people (30 million in the U.S.) and were associated with that high a mortality rate (about one death an hour here!) What a wide range of physical problems you have to address at the hospital.

104ronincats
Mar 24, 2019, 5:18 pm

Happy Birthday, Darryl!! Hope you have a good one, especially at work!

105tangledthread
Mar 24, 2019, 5:47 pm

Happy Birthday, Daryl! As promised, I've finally written my review of Heart: A History. It's up on the book page.

Hope all is well with you and your family.

106johnsimpson
Mar 24, 2019, 5:56 pm

Happy Birthday Darryl, hope you are having a good one mate.

107jessibud2
Mar 24, 2019, 5:59 pm

Adding my congrats for your birthday, Darryl! Hope you have celebrated.

108Caroline_McElwee
Mar 24, 2019, 5:59 pm

Adding birthday greetings Darryl. I hope you had the day off and did pleasant things.

Btw, I made some cauliflower mash yesterday, and enjoyed it.

109msf59
Mar 24, 2019, 6:47 pm

^I hope you are having a great birthday weekend, Darryl. I am sure you are cooking up a feast.

110SqueakyChu
Mar 24, 2019, 6:48 pm

Happy birthday, Darryl! May it be a fun-filled one.

111Familyhistorian
Mar 24, 2019, 7:47 pm

Happy birthday, Darryl. I hope you have a great day!

112drneutron
Mar 24, 2019, 8:15 pm

Happy birthday!

113mahsdad
Mar 24, 2019, 9:48 pm

Happy Birthday Doc!

114banjo123
Mar 25, 2019, 12:19 am

Happy birthday!

115jnwelch
Mar 25, 2019, 3:31 pm

Happy Belated Birthday, Darryl! I remembered on FB, but forgot to say it here in your book-home.

116magicians_nephew
Mar 25, 2019, 5:59 pm

Belated Cheers on your Birthday Darryl. It's a right treat to know you

117kidzdoc
Mar 26, 2019, 11:41 am

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I'm now officially off from clinical duties for the rest of the week, after being on service for 13 of the past 15 days; fortunately I wasn't called in on yesterday's backup shift, so I was able to spend most of the day sleeping. I'm still groggy as heck, and I'll probably need to catch up on sleep today and possibly tomorrow before I start to feel human again. I just finished having breakfast at 11:30 am after sleeping off and mainly on all night and most of the morning, which goes completely against my usual early bird nature.

I had intended to fly to Philadelphia today to visit my parents for the rest of the week, but I was utterly exhausted yesterday, and I've decided to stay in town instead, to catch up on sleep, run errands, and get some good reading in, although I'm too gassed to read for pleasure at the moment. I'll probably take another nap soon, and hopefully by this evening I'll get back to the books.

118SqueakyChu
Mar 26, 2019, 11:52 am

>117 kidzdoc: Rest up, Darryl. I'm thinking of doing another Philly trip with my husband and Barbara the weekend of May 11 (Mother's Day weekend). If perchance, you'll be in Philly then, perhaps we could meet up, maybe even with Deborah and Katherine. Nothing definite now, but keep it in mind.

Sorry (but not really) about your MSL team's recent loss to mine. What a disappointment for Atlanta United over their first three games. I keep on rooting for them! Now that I can't even watch my own team due to FloSports, I'm always eager to watch other games. I like the USMNT so far except for Bradly and Zardes. I'm tired of them. Let's go with younger players. I LOVE Arriola as he's also my fave player from Dc United.

Looking forward to see what's your next food item on your cooking menu...

119kidzdoc
Edited: Mar 26, 2019, 12:22 pm

Thanks for keeping my thread warm, y'all! Catching up...

>94 magicians_nephew:

sort of blows my mind that you can get mashed cauliflower from Bird's Eye.

Right, Jim. I think of that company as selling more basic frozezn vegetables, such as peas, string beans and (ick) mixed vegetables.

I did find Birds Eye Riced Cauliflower when I went to Publix earlier this month, so I'll use it this week, probably served over Chicken Korma, using the recipe in the Indian Instant Pot Cookbook:

My mother worked and so we rarely saw fresh veggies but Bird's Eye and the Green Giant were frequent visitors to our table

My mother stayed at home to take care of my baby brudder and I for most my childhood, and cooked most of the meals, although my father has been and remains more than able of holding his own in the kitchen, dating back to his high school days and especially in college; he had to put himself through university after his lousy mother used up all the money he had saved and given to her from working during his high school years, and he supported himself by driving a taxi in Washington, DC on nights and weekends and cooking and making sangria, along with his roommate, for rent parties to pay for tuition, books and a place to live. IIRC we had mostly fresh vegetables purchased from supermarkets in Jersey City and Manhattan, along with ones from my maternal grandparents' garden in the rear of their house in the Bronx. After we moved to the Philadelphia suburbs in the mid 1970s we always had a vegetable garden, and had even more fresh vegetables from it, along with ones from the nearby markets and farms in Bucks County. Lately my parents are eating far more frozen vegetables, but I hardly have any; all I have at the moment is the frozen mashed and riced cauliflower and frozen corn on the cob, which are about the only vegetables that I like frozen as well as fresh.

>95 avatiakh: I read Mind on Fire: A Memoir of Madness and Recovery earlier this month and I also enjoyed it, Kerry. I've also finished Heart: A History, and I'm a quarter of the way through Amateur: A True Story About What Makes a Man, which is also good.

Thanks for posting that roasted cauliflower recipe! I'll give that a try soon. I can finally see space in the back of my freezer and refrigerator, so I can start cooking again.

>96 banjo123: I'm definitely a fan of roasted cauliflower, Rhonda. There are several enticing recipes in Ottolenghi Simple that I'd like to try soon, especially the Chilled Cucumber, Cauliflower, and Ginger Soup, which I'd like to try this week.

120kidzdoc
Mar 26, 2019, 12:35 pm

>97 SqueakyChu: I just get hungry reading your thread, Darryl...

Ha! Sorry, Madeline.

>98 scaifea: Have you tried the Curried Cauliflower Rice Kale Soup recipe, Amber? If so, what did you think of it?

>99 benitastrnad: Thanks for your review and ringing endorsement of The Potlikker Papers, Benita. I'll look for it this week.

>100 justchris: Mmm...roasted cauliflower with fresh turmeric sounds tasty. I should be able to find turmeric root at Publix or Whole Foods.

Thanks for mentioning Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time, Chris. I'll be on the lookout for it.

>101 Familyhistorian: One of my newest partners, who is vegan and a fantastic cook, frequently makes riced cauliflower from scratch, and says that it is very easy to do so. I'll give it a try next month.

121kidzdoc
Mar 26, 2019, 12:51 pm

>102 Berly: Thanks for the mashed cauliflower recipe, Kim! I'll give that a try next month.

>103 jnwelch: Good morning, Joe! Thanks for your comments about my review of Survive FBT. Eating disorders remain a little understood and very serious and deadly mental health condition, which can be incredibly difficult to treat. The daughter of a good friend of mine struggled with it for years, which required multiple hospitalizations and several ICU stays, but she is now on the road to recovery, thank God.

Thanks Roni, tangledthread, John, Shelley, Caroline, Mark, Madeline, Meg, Jim, Jeff, Rhonda, Joe and Jim for your lovely birthday greetings! I worked from 7:30 am to 6:30 pm on Sunday, so I didn't properly celebrate my birthday that day, but having this week off is a more than sufficient "gift", even though I earned it.

>108 Caroline_McElwee: I'm glad that you maked and enjoyed mashed cauliflower, Caroline. Did you use the recipe that Kim posted in >102 Berly:?

>109 msf59: I didn't cook a thing last week, Mark, as I had to work all seven days, but I did make Irish lamb stew, using the recipe that Caroline (cameling) shared with me several years ago, and colcannon for St Patrick's Day, both of which turned out great. I'll post the recipes here shortly, along with the eggplant rollatini I made a couple of weeks ago.

122kidzdoc
Mar 26, 2019, 1:05 pm

>118 SqueakyChu: Hi, Madeline! Unfortunately I'm working the weekend of May 11-12, so I won't be able to come to Philadelphia then. I'll be off the entire month of June again this year, and I'm thinking of spending most if not all of it with my parents. If so I'll drive there instead of flying, so I'll have my SUV with me, and a weekend trip to Maryland to meet you and our Fearless Leader Jim would be doable, and very desirable.

Atlanta United are awful so far! No wins, one loss and two ties is not how the rabid local fans expected to start the 2019 campaign. I'll probably see my first match next month, as several friends from work are planning to see the April 20 match against FC Dallas. I'm not as excited to see them play the mind numbingly boring style that the new coach, Frank de Boer, is insisting that they play, so I'm waiting to see if he will relent and let them play the attacking style of football that has made them wildly successful and popular in their first two seasons before I put down $59 for a ticket.

I'm sorry that corporate greed is keeping you from watching DC United matches at home. Are you planning to see them soon? (Ooh, if I drive to Philadelphia in June maybe we could see a DC United match together?)

I'm completely addicted to tortilla de patatas, so I plan to make a tortilla de patatas con cebollas y espinacas y hongos later this afternoon, if I wake up enough, or tomorrow. I'll probably make another batch of alligator sauce piquante, or possibly try the alligator with white beans recipe that Jim shared with me recently. I'll also try the Chicken Korma recipe from the Indian Instant Pot Cookbook, and probably make one or two vegetarian recipes, including the Curried Cucumber, Cauliflower and Ginger Soup from Ottolenghi Simple that I mentioned earlier.

123kidzdoc
Edited: Mar 26, 2019, 1:31 pm

Three weekends ago I tried a new recipe, Eggplant Rollatini, courtesy of the Italian-American chef Pasquale Sciarappa, which tasted great:

Eggplant Rollatini

Ingredients:
1 eggplant
1 lb. fresh ricotta
1/2 cup pecorino cheese, shredded
1 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 egg
handful fresh parsley, chopped
salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste
24 oz. tomato sauce
1 tsp. olive oil

Instructions:
*Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
*Begin by coating a baking sheet with olive oil.
*Slice the ends off of the eggplant. Holding the eggplant vertically, cut lengthwise thin slices. Place the eggplant slices onto the baking sheet and bake in the oven for about 4 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool off before rolling.
*To make the cheese filling, in a bowl, mix the ricotta, pecorino cheese, 1/2 of the mozzarella, parsley, egg, black pepper, and salt.
*Next, spread a ladle of sauce evenly on the bottom of a baking pan.
*Once the eggplant has cooled off, place a spoonful of the cheese filling at the wider end of the eggplant slices and then roll the eggplant over itself. Place the eggplant roll with the loose end on the bottom of the pan so it does not unroll while baking. Continue these steps until the baking pan is full.
*Cover the top of the eggplant rollatini’s with another layer of sauce. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
*After 30 minutes, remove from the oven and sprinkle the rest of the mozzarella cheese on top and place back into the oven for about 5 minutes to let the cheese melt. Remove from the oven and serve while still hot.
________________________________________

The biggest challenge I had in making this recipe was slicing the eggplant evenly; as a result I only had 10 usable slices, instead of 12-14. A friend suggested using a mandolin to make even slices, so I'll order one this week. Other than that this rollatini is easy to make, and very tasty!

Here's a video of Pasquale Sciarappa making eggplant rollatini: https://youtu.be/h5lmWZsK4gk

124kidzdoc
Edited: Mar 26, 2019, 1:50 pm

I made another batch of Caroline's Irish Lamb Stew on St Patrick's Day:

Caroline's Irish Lamb Stew

Ingredients:
Leg of lamb (cut into mediumish chunks)
~~Half a stick of butter~~ (I leave this out)
Olive oil
1 onion (diced)
baby carrots
2 tbps flour
Beef broth
3 - 4 Marrow Bones (lamb if you can get them, otherwise beef will do)
Half a can of Guinness
Yellow potatoes, cut into large pieces
salt & pepper to taste
Chopped fresh flat parsley

Instructions:
*Season lamb with salt & pepper and set aside.
*Melt butter with the olive oil, add lamb and brown. Remove the lamb and set aside.
*Add the carrots and onions, and saute until softened. Add the flour and stir. Pour in the broth and Guinness and bring to a boil.
*Transfer to a slow cooker, add the lamb, potatoes and the marrow bones and cook on slow for about 8 hours.
*Sprinkle with parsley just before serving. Serve with hot crusty bread.
____________________________________

I used 3 lb of baby Dutch yellow potatoes cut in halves or thirds, and 2 lb of baby carrots. This made a ton of stew, which barely fit into my 6 quart slow cooker, so I'll enjoy this for quite a while.

125kidzdoc
Edited: Mar 26, 2019, 4:57 pm

I also made Colcannon on St Patrick's Day, after seeing a recipe for it from Bon Appétit's Facebook thread. I had never heard of or had it before, but it looked appealing, and tasted even better.

Colcannon

INGREDIENTS:

5 medium Yukon Gold potatoes (about 1¾ pounds)
Kosher salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
2 leeks, white and pale-green parts only, sliced in half lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 cups (packed) shredded savoy cabbage (from about ¼ large head), divided
1¼ cups milk
½ cup heavy cream
Freshly ground black pepper
1 scallion, thinly sliced

RECIPE PREPARATION:

Cover potatoes with water in a small pot; season with salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat and simmer until a paring knife slides easily through the flesh, 30–40 minutes. Drain, let cool slightly, and peel.

Meanwhile, melt 4 Tbsp. butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add leeks and cook, stirring frequently, until very soft, 8–10 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until garlic is fragrant and leeks are just beginning to brown around the edges, about 3 minutes longer. Add 1 cup cabbage and cook, stirring constantly, until wilted. Add milk and cream and bring to a simmer.

Add potatoes and remaining 1 cup cabbage, then coarsely mash with a potato masher. Season with salt and pepper.

Transfer colcannon to a large serving bowl. Top with remaining 2 Tbsp. butter and sprinkle with scallion.
_______________________________________

Wow. This is definitely my favorite way to have mashed potatoes, although it isn't exactly heart healthy. Highly recommended!

126Caroline_McElwee
Edited: Mar 26, 2019, 7:03 pm

>125 kidzdoc: Oh yes, I do like a good colcannon from time to time Darryl.

In my mashed cauliflower, I had some leeks and garlic. I did a sort of pull together dish based on one my BiL does, using the cauliflower mash instead of potato mash, so his is cooked leek and a couple of cloves of garlic stirred into mash, with a little grated cheese, put into an oven proof dish, then depending on size, make little dips in the mash, and break eggs into them. Season, then put a generous helping of grated cheese on top. Put in the oven for 20-25 minutes. If you wanted to make it healthier/or are vegan, I guess you could pop another root veg mash on top, instead of cheese.

127kidzdoc
Mar 26, 2019, 4:58 pm

>126 Caroline_McElwee: I'm now eager to try colcannon in a restaurant, after making the recipe from Bon Appétit.

Your mashed cauliflower sounds delightful, Caroline!

128SqueakyChu
Edited: Mar 26, 2019, 10:12 pm

>122 kidzdoc: Wow! A Maryland meetup sounds like a plan! A DC United game is a wonderful idea as well! We need to include norabelle414 as she is always part of our meetups down here.

All of us eat well, don't we?! Haha! Today for supper I made cold sesame noodles from a recipe from a cookbook I took out of the library today. I looked at the picture and decided that was going to be our evening meal. The recipe was good, but I have a favorite one that I actually like better. No pictures because we ate it all up! :D

129kidzdoc
Mar 27, 2019, 8:32 am

>128 SqueakyChu: A Maryland meetup sounds good! I'll have a better idea after I visit my parents next month. My father seems to be a bit hesitant to agree to my plan to spend the month of June with him and my mother, not because they don't want me there, but presumably because they want to see me travel and relax, and not sacrifice my time off for them. If they tell me to travel abroad then I won't drive to Philadelphia, and since they now only own one operating vehicle I'd probably pass on a meetup in MD.

I'm glad that you enjoyed your dinner. I'd have to see a photo or a link to a recipe to grasp what you put in your noodles. I decided to finish up leftovers in my refrigerator instead of cooking something new, especially since I was groggy all day, so dinner was three pieces of eggplant rollatini and grilled asparagus.

130kidzdoc
Edited: Mar 27, 2019, 8:54 am

I missed last week's release of the Wellcome Book Prize shortlist:

Amateur: A true story about what makes a man by Thomas Page McBee
Heart: A history by Sandeep Jauhar
Mind on Fire: A memoir of madness and recovery by Arnold Thomas Fanning
Murmur by Will Eaves
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
The Trauma Cleaner: One woman’s extraordinary life in death, decay and disaster by Sarah Krasnostein

Unfortunately the one book I refuse to read, My Year of Rest of Relaxation, was chosen for the shortlist. I loathed Eileen, and this novel may be even more distasteful. Its main character is a rich, beautiful, spoiled and utterly unlikable young woman living in the Upper West Side of Manhattan in the year 2000 who is miserable and depressed, and decides, with the help of a wacky psychiatrist, to take enough prescription medication to dull her "pain" by sleeping for one year while living off of her inheritance. Oof; I think I'd rather read a biography of the trump children.

I finished Amateur early this morning, so I've now read half of the shortlist, and would rank them this way:

1. Mind on Fire (4-1/2 stars)
2. Amateur (4 stars)
3. Heart: A History (4 stars)

I'm only a few pages into The Trauma Cleaner, so hopefully I can finish it by the weekend. Murmur will be published in the US on April 9th, so I'll finish the shortlist minus the Oshfegh well in advance of the prize ceremony on May 1st. I'll write reviews of the three shortlisted books I've read this week.

131drneutron
Mar 27, 2019, 11:41 am

Hey, wait! I'm hoping I can join in a Maryland meet up!

132kidzdoc
Mar 27, 2019, 11:47 am

>131 drneutron: You're definitely invited, Jim! That goes without saying.

133kidzdoc
Mar 27, 2019, 12:02 pm

Happy belated 100th birthday to Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who was born on the same day as Rhian (SandDune), Cait (Cait86) and me. The Beat poet, cultural icon, and co-founder of City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco, my favorite bookshop, celebrated his birthday by releasing a newly written novel, Little Boy, which is a semi-autobiographical look at his life, the world he grew up in, and his view of our current democracy (spoiler alert: he thinks that his beloved city and the country as a whole are going to the dogs). The poet Robert Pinsky reviewed this book in The New York Times last week:

Lawrence Ferlinghetti Celebrates His 100th Birthday With a Novel

134kidzdoc
Edited: Mar 27, 2019, 2:03 pm

The Man Booker International Prize 2019 Longlist was announced earlier this month:

Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi (Oman), translated from Arabic by Marilyn Booth (Sandstone Press)

Love in the New Millennium by Can Xue (China), translated by Annelise Finegan Wasmoen (Yale University Press)

The Years by Annie Ernaux (France), translated by Alison Strayer (Fitzcarraldo Editions)

At Dusk by Hwang Sok-yong (South Korea), translated by Sora Kim-Russell (Scribe)

Jokes for the Gunmen by Mazen Maarouf (Iceland and Palestine), translated from Arabic by Jonathan Wright (Granta)

Four Soldiers by Hubert Mingarelli (France), translated from French by Sam Taylor (Granta)

The Pine Islands by Marion Poschmann (Germany), translated by Jen Calleja (Serpent’s Tail)

Mouthful of Birds by Samanta Schweblin (Argentina and Italy), translated from Spanish by Megan McDowell (Oneworld)

The Faculty of Dreams by Sara Stridsberg (Sweden), translated by Deborah Bragan-Turner (Quercus)

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk (Poland), translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones (Fitzcarraldo Editions)

The Shape of the Ruins by Juan Gabriel Vásquez (Colombia), translated from Spanish by Anne McLean (MacLehose Press)

The Death of Murat Idrissi by Tommy Wieringa (Netherlands), translated by Sam Garrett (Scribe)

The Remainder by Alia Trabucco Zerán (Chile and Italy), translated from Spanish by Sophie Hughes (And Other Stories)

The shortlist will be announced on April 9th, and the winner on May 21st.

135jnwelch
Mar 27, 2019, 2:07 pm

>133 kidzdoc: Personally, I think you look better in a beret. But that's not bad for 100.

>134 kidzdoc: Jeez Louise, this time I haven't read a single one of them. Pitiful.

136charl08
Mar 27, 2019, 4:13 pm

>134 kidzdoc: Looks like a fascinating list: I've requested Jokes for the Gunmen and The Years, and have a copy of The Shape of the Ruins out already.

137SandDune
Mar 27, 2019, 4:59 pm

>130 kidzdoc: I enjoyed The Trauma Cleaner and I definitely want to get around to Amateur: A True Story about what makes a man and Mind on Fire.

138benitastrnad
Mar 27, 2019, 7:45 pm

While planning a Maryland meet-up remember that the ALA Annual Conference is in Washington, D. C. from June 20 - 25, 2019 and we are planning an LT meetup for the folks in the area. Usually LT provides free passes to the exhibits and we meet at some specified place for food and beverages after a long day of roaming the aisles looking for free, or low cost, books.

139SqueakyChu
Edited: Mar 27, 2019, 9:31 pm

>138 benitastrnad: Keep me posted about any Maryland meetup. I did make it to one ALA convention in which I met Tim and Abby. That sure seems like along time ago, though!

ETA: Yep! It WAS a long time ago. That was back in 2010. Yikes!

140drneutron
Mar 27, 2019, 9:42 pm

Me too. I’m definitely looking to go to ALA.

141RidgewayGirl
Mar 28, 2019, 7:57 am

>134 kidzdoc: I've read only one of those. I do know that I'm going to skip the Can Xue. She's too experimental for me.

142kidzdoc
Edited: Mar 28, 2019, 9:11 am

>135 jnwelch: Lawrence Ferlinghetti looks damned good for 100, beret or not. I've seen him enter City Lights at least twice in the past decade, as I was talking with Scott, one of the bookshop's longtime employees; Scott is an African American man who, at the time, was one of two guys who frequently opened the store, and he always played experimental jazz from the CD player behind the cashier's desk. Mr Ferlinghetti was very sprightly, and zipped past as he made his way upstairs, where the Poetry Room and offices were located.

Unfortunately I hardly ever go to San Francisco any more, as its allure has worn off for me. The city has become far less diverse and friendly, as entitled upper middle class and wealthy millennials are taking over the city and pricing out longtime residents.

I haven't read and don't own any of the MBIP 2019 longlisted titles yet. However, I have read books by Can Xue, Annie Ernaux, Samanta Schweblin and Juan Gabriel Vásquez, and I own at least one book by Olga Tokarczuk. I've read several of Ernaux's and Vásquez's books and would count them amongst my favorite writers, so I'll plan to read The Years and The Shape of the Ruins, at least.

I'm far more fond of the revamped Man Booker International Prize, which has replaced the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize, than I am of the current Man Booker Prize format. The MBIP, as far as I know, selects the best translated literature available in English translation and published in the UK, regardless of publisher or country of origin, whereas the Man Booker Prize seems to have an inherent bias that favors large publishers whose authors have published the most Booker longlisted novels; I strongly suspect that these same publishers put a huge amount of pressure on the Booker judges to select their authors' books. The inclusion of American writers was another bad move in my opinion, as it diluted and oversaturated the potential field with mediocre books, such as the unnameable longlisted novel about the rich and unhappy Upper West Side dentist who was in the midst of an identity crisis. As a result of these two changes books written by authors from smaller publishers and countries outside of the UK and the US are being passed over for more popular and better selling authors, and the Booker Prize to me seems more like a popularity contest than a reflection of the best novels written in English.

I'll continue to serve as administrator for the Booker Prize group in LT, but I'm happy to hand the reins to anyone who wants to take over, as I'm no longer interested in following this prize. I'd much rather spend my limited free time reading the MBIP and Wellcome Book Prize longlists.

BTW, The Man Group will no longer sponsor the Booker Prize after this year, which is potentially a good thing, especially if the prize returns to its old inclusion rules and eliminates American authors.

Booker prize trustees search for new sponsor after Man Group exit

No more Americans? What a new sponsor could mean for the Man Booker prize

143kidzdoc
Mar 28, 2019, 9:19 am

>136 charl08: On the surface those three books are the ones that interest me the most, Charlotte. I've all but completely decided to visit London in the second half of May, so I'll look for those and other MBIP longlisted books while I'm there.

>137 SandDune: I'm glad that you enjoyed The Trauma Cleaner, Rhian. I'll get to it later this week, or early next month. I'll write reviews of Amateur and Mind on Fire shortly.

>138 benitastrnad: Thanks for mentioning the ALA Annual Conference, Benita. Admittedly I'm not all that interested, as I'm obviously not a librarian, and buying a ton of books that are unknown to me is not very appealing, as I'm trying to downsize what I have and I already own hundreds of books that I want to read ASAP!

144kidzdoc
Mar 28, 2019, 9:28 am

>139 SqueakyChu:, >140 drneutron: The ALA conference will be a hard sell for me, unfortunately.

>141 RidgewayGirl: Agreed, Kay. I've read two of Can Xue's books, Five Spice Street, which I absolutely hated, and Vertical Motion, which was far less experimental and actually enjoyable. I'd have to find out more about Love in the New Millennium before I agreed to give it a try.

Hmm...I should check to see if the longlist for the Best Translated Book Award, the US equivalent of the Man Booker International Prize, has been posted...no, not yet.

145SqueakyChu
Mar 28, 2019, 10:48 am

>144 kidzdoc: The only reason I went to the last ALA conference was to meet and chat with Tim and Abby. I really wasn't interested in the rest of the conference. Admittedly, it was quite easy for me to hop aboard a Metro train from my house to get to the conference and return home afterward.

146kidzdoc
Mar 28, 2019, 10:56 am

>145 SqueakyChu: Okay...I could see myself doing that. I'd much rather pop in for a quick meet up rather than spend all day at a conference, especially given all the other attractions that Washington has.

147SqueakyChu
Mar 28, 2019, 11:16 am

>146 kidzdoc: I actually went home thereafter! :D It was totally worth the trip, though. As you know yourself, meeting LT folks in real life is simply wonderful! :)

148kidzdoc
Mar 29, 2019, 4:05 am

>147 SqueakyChu: Absolutely!

Books to read in April:

Black Deutschland by Darryl Pinckney (Black Male Authors for Our Time)
Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi (Wellcome Book Prize longlist)
The Moor's Last Stand: How Seven Centuries of Muslim Rule in Spain Came to an End by Elizabeth Drayson (Iberian History)
Murmur by Will Eaves (Wellcome Book Prize longlist)
Olio by Tyehimba Jess (Black Male Authors for Our Time)
Second Lives, Second Chances: A Surgeon's Stories of Transformation by Donald R. Laub (LT ER book for March)
The Trauma Cleaner: One Woman's Extraordinary Life in the Business of Death, Decay and Disaster by Sarah Krasnostein
Where the Line Bleeds by Jesmyn Ward (AAC author for April)

If it comes next monh I'll also plan to read We Cast a Shadow by Maurice Carlos Ruffin, my LT ER book for December, (Black Male Authors for Our Time)

149Sakerfalcon
Mar 29, 2019, 7:48 am

Hi Darryl, It will be great to see you if you make it to London in May! I will be in Vienna with Lucy from 14-18, but around after that.

What did you think of the Samanta Schweblin book that you've read? I'm curious because her story collection is the one that appeals most to me from the MBIP list.

150msf59
Mar 29, 2019, 8:11 am

Happy Friday, Darryl. I am sure you are enjoying your time off. I am sure there is plenty of cooking and reading going on. Thanks for posting the Booker long list. I think I will wait for the short one. Grins...

Ooh, looking forward to your thoughts on Olio. It is an amazing achievement.

151BLBera
Mar 29, 2019, 8:29 am

Happy belated birthday, Darryl. Ellen and I have decided to delay reading of Frankenstein in Baghdad for a couple of months. We'll keep you informed. It looks like you do have reading you can do. :)

152kidzdoc
Mar 29, 2019, 9:00 am

>149 Sakerfalcon: Hi, Claire! I made flight and hotel reservations yesterday, and will be in London from 16-26 May. I'll be in closer touch this weekend. I reserved a service apartment in the same building that I stayed in last September in Notting Hill, so that I could cook at least some meals. I promised Bianca that I would show her how to make tortilla española, which we both ate at least every other day when we were in Spain. I'd be happy to show you how to make it as well. Tortillas are tasty, but they require some practice, especially when it comes time to flip them!

I read Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin...but I don't remember much about it. The main character, if I recall correctly was a woman who woke up from a coma in a hospital in a city that wasn't her own (holiday destination?), and narrated a nightmarish story about young people in the village. I gave it 3 stars, so I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either. I'd be willing to give her new book a try.

>150 msf59: Happy Friday to you, Mark! Yes, I'm glad to be off from clinical service for a week. As usual there has been more cooking than reading, but I should finish at least two more books by Sunday.

I'm glad that you enjoyed Olio; IIRC Joe liked it as well.

153kidzdoc
Mar 29, 2019, 9:02 am

>151 BLBera: Thanks, Beth. I look forward to reading Frankenstein in Baghdad with you and Ellen later this year.

154RidgewayGirl
Mar 29, 2019, 9:25 am

>148 kidzdoc: I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on Black Deutschland when you get to it.

155kidzdoc
Mar 29, 2019, 9:32 am

>154 RidgewayGirl: Will do, Kay. The reviews on LT haven't been favorable, but the story line is of interest to me.

156streamsong
Mar 29, 2019, 10:42 am

>134 kidzdoc: Thanks for the Mann Booker International Prize longlist, Darryl. The only one currently available in my library system was Mouthful of Birds. I decided to give it a whirl, even though I know it didn't resonate with Mark.

I'll be interested to see what you read from the list.

Your April reading looks challenging and interesting!

157kidzdoc
Mar 30, 2019, 6:20 am

>156 streamsong: You're welcome, Janet. Most of the MBIP longlist hasn't been published yet in the US, so I'll wait until I visit London in May to look for most of them. The one book that interests me the most is available here, The Shape of the Ruins by Juan Gabriel Vásquez, who is my second favorite living Latin American writer after Mario Vargas Llosa. I received a $25 gift card from Barnes & Noble for Christmas, so I'll use it to purchase this book.

I'll have far more time to read for the next five months at least starting in April, as the number of hospitalists assigned to see patients drops from eight to six, so we all work far fewer shifts in those months. Hopefully I can get to all of those books, and one or two more.

I'm nearly halfway through Juice! by Ishmael Reed, which is superb to this point. I should finish it by this evening.

158kidzdoc
Apr 1, 2019, 9:12 am

Happy Monday, everyone! I'm glad to see April 1st come, as my work schedule becomes much lighter; the number of daytime hospitalists on service decreases from eight to six, and my intense winter workload drops significantly from March through October. I'm on service 16 days this month, although four of those days are backup shifts where I may not have to work if our census is low and no one calls out sick. I've also finished some work related activities that needed to be completed by the end of March, including my CME (continuing medical education) credits, and I'll have much more time to read, write reviews, and participate in this group, and in Club Read.

I'll work four night shifts (ugh) this week, starting today, but my schedule for the rest of the month is much nicer.

My first quarter reading wasn't bad, all things considered, although I read exactly 100 fewer books than Anita did!

Best books of the first quarter (listed in the order in which they were read):

Happiness by Aminatta Forna
My Struggle: Book Three by Karl Ove Knausgaard
Survive FBT: Skills Manual for Parents Undertaking Family Based Treatment (FBT) for Child and Adolescent Anorexia Nervosa by Maria Ganci
Mind on Fire: A Memoir of Madness and Recovery by Arnold Thomas Fanning

I've only reviewed one book so far this year, so I'd like to write reviews of the other books by the end of this month, and keep up with reviews for the remainder of the year.

159RidgewayGirl
Apr 1, 2019, 9:43 am

I'm glad you've reached the calmer part of your year. You deserve a bit of R&R!

160kidzdoc
Edited: Apr 1, 2019, 10:55 am

Book #13: Juice! by Ishmael Reed

My rating:

O.J. says that he wants to go to Nicole's graveside and commit suicide by blowing his brains out with a Magnum. Part of me says yes, yes, please do. But this is a brother. Am I so concerned about my own safety that I wish a brother who is a suspect in a murder of a blonde kill himself rather than put the rest of us in jeopardy by our being associated with him? Giving the enemy ammunition to harass us with their demonic media equipment forever. Naomi Campbell is right. When they do O.J., they're doing us.

Sure, it's The Juice on trial, but his trial becomes a ritualistic mock lynching of all black men, the same way that Willie Horton was used to signify on the brothers.

This biting and witty satire about the 1995 O.J. Simpson murder trial and the reaction to it by the U.S. media is narrated by Paul "Bear" Blessings, a middle aged African American cartoonist employed by KCAK, an alternative television station in NYC that has recently been purchased by a new owner and run by his son, who has replaced the station's former progressive programming with hosts who are more appealing to a conservative audience of viewers. Bear is kept on staff mainly to appease the station's critics, who accuse the new ownership of discrimination and fanning the flames of hatred against racial and religious minorities and women. The station's most popular program is Nigguz News, which portrays the worst elements of African American culture, to show its viewers what black people are really like.

Bear and his fellow members of the Rhinosphere, a group of African American professional artists, are outraged by the coverage of the trial by the media, particularly its prejudicial treatment and condemnation of O.J. (whose nickname is The Juice), who is portrayed as a rich and uppity black man who has committed two unspeakable crimes: marrying a beautiful white woman (and, even worse, a blonde), and viciously murdering her. In response, Bear draws a satirical cartoon (shown on the book's cover) in which he portrays O.J. as a quarterback about to receive a football from a woman who is meant to represent the U.S. media, to demonstrate that O.J. is running plays for the trial obsessed radio, television and newspaper broadcasters and columnists. However, one of his conservative colleagues at KCAK, a Hispanic woman whose popularity is based on her rants against her fellow Latinos, is aghaist when she first sees it, as she interprets it as O.J. sodomizing a white woman, and Bear is condemned by the new ownership and put on probation.

Bear continues to follow the O.J. murder trial obsessively, as he recognizes that all black men are, in essence, also on trial, and are being held guilty by association with him. His narrative provides an excellent summary of the details of the trial, along with prejudicial comments made by well known members of the media, along with its aftermath after O.J.'s acquittal. Reed makes the case that this post-trial outrage led to the rise and popularity of right wing media outlets such as Fox News, which commenced operations in 1996, and of conservative talk radio personalities such as Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity, along with the Telecommunications Act of 1996 that allowed companies to own more stations and for some programs to become nationally syndicated and exposed to a wider audience. He also demonstrates that the fallout from the O.J. trial explains the harsh, prejudicial and hypocritical treatment of Barack Obama by the right wing media during his eight years in the White House, who continue to largely ignore and overlook the current president's innumerable moral sins and personal shortcomings.

Juice! is one of the best satirical novels I've ever read, and it is a great introduction to Ishmael Reed. I'm ashamed that it took me this long to get to one of his novels, but I'll read the other books I own by him in the near future, starting with Mumbo Jumbo, his most acclaimed work.

161kidzdoc
Apr 1, 2019, 10:50 am

>159 RidgewayGirl: Thanks, Kay!

162kidzdoc
Apr 1, 2019, 1:13 pm

On the culinary front I did a fair amount of cooking last week, but only tried one new recipe, Browned Butter Gnocchi with Mushrooms & Spinach. I have two packages of potato gnocchi that are past their "best by" dates, and since I bought two packages of spinach at Publix on Saturday (which was one of this week's BOGO sales) along with cremini mushrooms I searched online for recipes that had all three ingredients, and chose this one.

Browned Butter Gnocchi with Mushrooms & Spinach

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons pine nuts
1/2 cup butter
12 ounces variety of mushrooms, sliced
1 (16-ounce) package potato gnocchi
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
5 ounces spinach, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

How To Make:
*Spread pine nuts in a single layer in 12-inch skillet. Turn heat to medium-low; cook, stirring frequently, 5-7 minutes or until fragrant and golden brown. Immediately transfer them to a plate.
*Melt butter in same 12-inch skillet over medium heat. *Continue cooking, watching closely, 5-7 minutes or until butter foams and turns golden brown. Immediately remove from heat. Pour butter into small bowl, scraping bottom of pan to get all the brown bits.
*Pour half of butter back into 12-inch skillet, making sure brown bits remain in bowl. Heat pan to medium; add mushrooms. Sauté, stirring frequently, 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.
*Meanwhile, cook gnocchi according to package directions.
*Add garlic to mushrooms; cook, stirring often, about 1 minute or until fragrant. Stir in salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low.
*Stir in spinach; cook until just wilted.
*Stir cooked gnocchi into mushroom mixture. Add remaining browned butter including butter bits and lemon juice; stir. Top with toasted pine nuts. Serve immediately.
_________________________________________

This was a quick and easy recipe to make, which tasted good. It calls for way too much butter, and 1/4 cup is a sufficient amount. It also has far more toasted nuts than are necessary, and 1/2 tbsp or 2 tsp are plenty. I'll probably use olive oil instead of browned butter the next time I cook this, which will make it far more heart healthy.

163SqueakyChu
Edited: Apr 1, 2019, 2:21 pm

>162 kidzdoc: Mmmm! That looks good!

164Berly
Apr 2, 2019, 12:36 am

>158 kidzdoc: Liking your 1st quarter best books--I have Happiness in the soonest TBR pile and I already read Mind on Fire. Hurray for the lighter work schedule: couldn't come soon enough. Enjoy.

165kidzdoc
Apr 2, 2019, 12:02 pm

>163 SqueakyChu: It's tasty, but it won't knock your socks off.

>164 Berly: Thanks, Kim. I hope that you like Happiness as much as I did. Aminatta Forna is one of my favorite living writers, and she is certainly deserving of wider recognition. (Uh...it may help if I actually review her books!)

166FAMeulstee
Apr 2, 2019, 4:58 pm

>158 kidzdoc: I am glad your work schedule will be easier, Darryl, although night shift doesn't sound easy to me.

I read exactly 100 fewer books than Anita did
LOL, still every book read counts!

167kidzdoc
Apr 2, 2019, 5:21 pm

>166 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita. I hate working nights, but last night wasn't all that bad, and hopefully these next three shifts will be even better. Mondays tend to be the worst days of the week, as kids who were sick all weekend and didn't see their pediatrician or go to an emergency department, urgent care center or clinic tend to present on Mondays even sicker than they were on Saturday or Sunday.

Yes, every book does count! My initial goal is to read at least 50 books this year, and hopefully hit the 75 books mark for the first time in a couple of years, so I'm on pace to reach 50 so far.

168SqueakyChu
Edited: Apr 3, 2019, 11:39 am

Hi Darryl, I stopped by here to rant again because you (and Erik) will both understand. My husband and I wanted to attend the DC United game this weekend at Audi Field, but the tickets are just about sold out...and the few remaining undesirable seating areas (including standing room only...which is precluded by my husband's arthritic knees) are too expensive for us to now easily afford. As you know, 3/4 of the games are not even televised because they are only being streamed on FloSports to which I do not subscribe (another expense I don't want on our fixed income). Is this the price (no pun intended) of success? It's really hard to be a fan of a team I can barely ever watch. :(

*end of rant*

*feeling disappointed*

169SandDune
Edited: Apr 3, 2019, 3:20 pm

Darryl, your post on Facebook yesterday reminded me that I have been meaning to buy a biography of Paul Robeson for some time, so I have ordered No Way But This by Jeff Sparrow. Paul Robeson had a connection with my home town. In 1957 he was invited to sing at the Miners' Eisteddfod that was held every year at the Grand Pavilion in Porthcawl, where I'm from originally, and about two minutes walk from where my Mum lives now. As his passport was withdrawn he could not attend, but a live transatlantic link was set up (very high tech for the time) and he was able to perform in that way. Here's some of the original recording:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=H1hLPRnmAjw

170RidgewayGirl
Apr 3, 2019, 5:45 pm

This has nothing to do with anything, but the Decatur Book Festival is less than 150 days away. I've been looking forward to this year's festival since September of last year.

171Familyhistorian
Apr 4, 2019, 1:44 pm

>143 kidzdoc: I've all but completely decided to visit London in the second half of May. Now that is interesting Darryl. I will be in London around that time too. It would be great to meet up!

172kidzdoc
Apr 5, 2019, 8:23 am

Woo! I finished with my week of (four) nights earlier this morning, and I'm now off until Wednesday. I've only slept for a litle over two hours since I returned home just after 2 am, so I'll probably crash shortly and sleep until mid afternoon. I didn't have time to do much reading, but I'm nearly a quarter of the way through The Moor's Last Stand: How Seven Centuries of Muslim Rule Came to an End by Elizabeth Drayson, a so far excellent history of the Muslim conquest of most of the Iberian Peninsula, save for what is now Asturias in northwestern Spain, from 711 to 717, the centuries long Reconquista, during which the Christians (cristianos) slowly but progressively recaptured the peninsula from the Muslims (moriscos), the increasingly brutal and violent reign of the Muslim sultans of Spain, and the eventual downfall of Abu Abdallah Muhammad XII, who was called Boabdil by the Castilians and was the last emirate of Granada, as he surrended to Ferdinand and Isabella in Granada on 2 January 1492 and spent his remaining days in Morocco.

I just had breakfast and I'm nodding off, so I'll catch up here and go back to bed. Actually I'll catch up later, as I can't keep my eyes open...

173kidzdoc
Apr 5, 2019, 3:10 pm

I'm now awake after a four hour "nap", although I'm getting sleepy again after having lunch and will probably take another snooze shortly.

>168 SqueakyChu: Argh. That's terrible, Madeline. On one hand sports clubs benefit greatly from TV revenue, which can provide the teams with millions of dollars allow them to have sufficient resources to sign talented players to huge contracts, and make the clubs more successful, which will increase fan attendance and television viewership even more. However, ticket prices for sporting events have increased dramatically, and it's becoming more difficult for average families to be able to afford or want to spend that much money to see their favorite teams in action, especially if their home field has relatively limited seating, as is the case with Audi Field (seating capacity 20,000) and most MLS venues in comparison to Atlanta United's Mercedes Benz Stadium (seating capacity 71,000). During Atlanta United's inaugural season in 2017 Children's offered employees discounted tickets for most matches, at $25 per ticket. This season those same tickets have more than doubled, and now cost $59 each. A family of four would likely pay well over $300 on tickets, parking, food & beverages and, if they chose to do so, their team's gear in one of the clubhouses. Many families such as these would probably conclude that their hard earned dollars could be spent more wisely on other activities, especially if the team is playing poorly, as Atlanta United currently is, with two losses and two ties in their first four matches. A group of friends from work is going to the match in two weeks, and I was originally hesitant to go, due to the way they were playing, but I decided to fly to Philadelphia and visit my parents that weekend before I purchased a ticket, which made my decision to go a moot one.

I do hope that you get to go to at least one D.C. United match this year.

>169 SandDune: Excellent, Rhian! I look forward to your thoughts about No Way But This. I have read one biography about him, Paul Robeson: A Watched Man, which I enjoyed, and in that book that transatlantic performance was mentioned prominently.

Paul Robeson is arguably the best known real life graduate of Rutgers University, my undergraduate alma mater, which was founded in 1766 and is one of the nine colonial colleges (Harvard, Yale, William & Mary, Princeton, Columbia, Pennsylvania (Penn), Brown, Rutgers and Dartmouth), the oldest ones in the US, as each of them began operating before the Revolutionary War. He graduated from Rutgers in 1919, seventy years before I did, although he wasn't the first African American graduate; James Dickson Carr graduated from Rutgers in 1892 and, like Robeson, he earned a law degree from Columbia University, although Carr spent his career as a prominent and highly regarded lawyer in NYC.

Thanks for posting that audio recording of excerpts from Robeson's performance.

>170 RidgewayGirl: That has everything to do with everything, Kay! Thanks for the reminder; I'll request to have that weekend off from work, so that I can attend the Decatur Book Festival in September. I usually work during Labor Day weekend, although thankfully that wasn't the case last year, so if I don't ask for it off I probably wouldn't be able to go to the festival.

>171 Familyhistorian: Great news, Meg! I'll be in London from 16-26 May. If you're there then we should definitely meet up, and hopefully introduce you to at least some of our British friends from LT. I normally create a Facebook Messenger thread to discuss meet up plans whenever I go to London, and I'll keep you in the loop on what we decide to do. One event I'm interested in is Naomi Wolf's talk about her new book Outrages: Sex, Censorship and the Criminalization of Love, which will take place at 20 May at 7 pm at Logan Hall on the campus of University College London, close to Russell Square in Bloomsbury:

In 1991, following the publication of her controversial bestseller The Beauty Myth, Naomi Wolf became an international celebrity, and the leading light of what was to become the third wave of feminism. Her latest book Outrages, based on her doctoral research at Oxford University, explores the pervasive, still continuing and sometimes surprising repercussions of The Obscene Publications Act of 1857. Swinburne, Walter Pater, the Rossettis and Oscar Wilde all feature in a gripping analysis of how the state sought to exercise surveillance over the printed word, and of how artists and writers sought, ingeniously if not always successfully, to evade that surveillance.

For the first event of her UK tour, and her only London event, Wolf will be in conversation with the literary journalist Erica Wagner, who has written of Outrages ‘With precision and sensitivity, Naomi Wolf traces how the state came to police the private sphere; she brings into the light the lives of those whose resistance to this brutality was a beacon for the future. It is a remarkable, revelatory book’.

Tickets cost £10.70, and I think I'll purchase one no later than tomorrow, as I imagine that they will sell out quickly.

174SandDune
Edited: Apr 5, 2019, 3:55 pm

>173 kidzdoc: I would be interested in seeing that Talk by Naomi Wolf. I'll check my diary but I don't think I'll be doing anything on that date.

175SqueakyChu
Edited: Apr 5, 2019, 7:36 pm

>173 kidzdoc: Okay, Darryl. I caved! I signed up for a year of FloSports! How could I not? I have to see my home team play! You should have seen my husband Jose and I try to figure out how to get streaming onto our TV. It was hilarious. First I had to get a Roku box (after I learned what it even was!). Then we had to figure out how to program everything onto our TV and set up accounts on our desktop and download the phone app. I was so proud that we did it that I told our kids right away. They were hysterical laughing at our pride at joining in the 21st century with a streaming service. My younger son said, "Mom. It's not that hard. All you have to do is program the TV and sign up for the service." That's easy for HIM to say. He's 35 years YOUNGER than I am! Now that we're all set for streaming, the upcoming games are all on cable TV. Go figure! :D

The cheapest seats we could find for this coming game were $79 each. They weren't great seats, either. My husband didn't think it was worth it.

We'll make it a point to get to at least one game.

176kidzdoc
Apr 6, 2019, 6:39 am

>174 SandDune: Great, Rhian! I hope that you can make it. I just purchased a ticket (£12, including taxes and fees), using the link on my Facebook timeline, which can also be done via this link from the London Review Bookshop: https://www.londonreviewbookshop.co.uk/events/2019/5/outrages-naomi-wolf-and-eri...

>175 SqueakyChu: Well done, Madeline! I don't use a streaming service, so you and your husband are ahead of me.

177kidzdoc
Edited: Apr 7, 2019, 11:16 am

I had quite the surprise when I retrieved a box from Amazon earlier this week. I had ordered The Shape of the Ruins by Juan Gabriel Vásquez, along with Survival Supervivencia by the Nuyorican poet and former Rutgers professor Miguel Algarín, who co-founded and is currently the executve producer of the Nuyorican Poets' Café in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, one of my favorite night spots when I worked in the city (a friend who also worked at NYU Medical Center was a puertorriqueña who wrote and performed poetry there). The box was far heavier than I expected, and I thought, "What the heck did I order?!" I found The Shape of the Ruins on the top of the opened box, along with a sizable smaller box, to my surprise, which contained ten copies of The Moths and Other Stories by Helena Maria Viramontes. Fortunately there is an Amazon pick up and return center on Georgia Tech's campus, less than a mile from where I live, so I'll return these unwanted books next week.

That reminded me of the time that I ordered an egg bagel with cream cheese from a deli in Midtown Manhattan on my way to work, from a Middle Eastern employee who spoke very little English. After I placed my order he looked at me wide eyed and said, "Ech beggle, crim chiz?" I replied, "Yes, egg bagel with creem cheese." He asked me at least two more times, "Ech beggle, crim chiz???", and I said, with increasing exasperation, "YES, egg bagel with cream cheese!" He worked behind a tall counter that I couldn't see over, for an inordinate amount of time, and finally handed me a bag that had eight bagels with cream cheese. I said, "NO, I wanted an egg bagel with cream cheese!!!" He smiled and said, "Yah, ech beggle, crim chiz!" I shook my head and walked out, muttering to myself, "Only in New York...".

178ChelleBearss
Apr 6, 2019, 11:14 am

>177 kidzdoc: Oy, hope you didn't get charged for all 10 copies!

179SqueakyChu
Edited: Apr 6, 2019, 11:24 am

>176 kidzdoc: I don't use a streaming service, so you and your husband are ahead of me.

It was only out of desperation!

Big game today for us. We're playing LAFC, the only yet undefeated club in the Western division. The game is sold out. It sure would have been fun to be there today, though. The weather is gorgeous! Vamos, DC United! :D

You know I'm rooting for Atlanta United, too. DC United rose from the cellar as soon as I started following them so I have high hopes for Atlanta United. I miss Miggy, though! :( I follow my favorite players as well as my own club. I adore Zack Steffen, the GK for Columbus. I forgave him for beating Bill Hamid in the playoffs in 2018. :D

180johnsimpson
Apr 6, 2019, 4:27 pm

Hi Darryl mate, I hope all is well with you and that you are doing some amazing cooking. Hope the weekend is going to be good for you and send love and hugs to you from both of us dear friend.

181PaulCranswick
Apr 7, 2019, 7:11 am

>133 kidzdoc: Happy belated to all of you! What an august day!

>134 kidzdoc: I've seen The Shape of the Ruins in the bookstore here but none of the others.

Have a great weekend, Darryl.

182kidzdoc
Edited: Apr 7, 2019, 1:49 pm

>178 ChelleBearss:. No, Chelle. I was charged $6.05 for the Miguel Algarín book that I didn't receive; the 10 books by Helena Maria Viramontes would have cost a total of $102! Hopefully this error can be corrected when I visit the Amazon@Georgia Tech center next week.

>179 SqueakyChu: I'm sorry that D.C. United were shutout by LAFC. I didn't watch the match, but I read that Wayne Rooney was sent off early in the second half, although the match was apparently well in hand for Los Angeles well before then.

Yikes...I just noticed that Atlanta United is in last place in the Eastern Conference. Unless they turn it around soon, or fire their coach, it's going to be a very long season.

>180 johnsimpson: Cheers, John! I did make a huge batch of chicken korma in my Instant Pot yesterday, and I have now perfected my method of cooking tortilla española, as I made a tortillita de patatas con cebollas y espinacas y hongos (small potato tortilla with onions, spinach and mushrooms) this morning. I didn't go grocery shopping today as I usually do on Sunday mornings, so I'll probably only make cauliflower rice to go with the chicken korma. I'll post all three recipes later today or tomorrow.

A new Whole Foods Market opened on the street I live on in Midtown Atlanta on Friday, which is the largest branch in the Southeastern US, with three stories, multiple bars, cafés and restaurants, and goodness knows what else. I drove past night coming home from a night shift early Friday morning, a few hours before its grand opening, and I've never seen a supermarket that large! My neighbor, who is one of the emergency department physicians at Children's, and her husband went on Friday, and I'll pay a visit one day next week, probably on Tuesday when I go to the nearby Amazon@Georgia Tech center.

In the first photo, if you walk along the street where the cars are for roughly 1/2 mile you'll get to the high rise building I live in.

Give my best to Karen; I hope that both you and she are feeling well.

>181 PaulCranswick: Thanks for the birthday wish, Paul! Rhian, Cait and I will all probably outlive Lawrence Ferlinghetti, but I wouldn't bet the farm on that happening. I hope that you had a good weekend as well (I assume that it's now Monday in KL).

183SqueakyChu
Apr 7, 2019, 5:42 pm

>182 kidzdoc: It was a grueling match, but LAFC deserved to win. They played so much better. With Rooney's red card, we had no chance at all of doing anything. I actually think it does my team good to play against a much better team. They have to learn how to adjust to actually score and defend. I'm very sad about the injury to Joseph Mora, our longtime dependable left back, who is excellent. He sustained a fractured jaw and a concussion in the previous game. He was replaced by McCann (formerly of Atlanta United), but it wasn't the same. When Rooney was forced off the field, a new person came in as the striker. Somehow you miss the presence of others on whom you always depend. There's a game on Tuesday night which will be the first one I'll be trying to stream. Wish me luck with the streaming! :D

184kidzdoc
Apr 7, 2019, 6:43 pm

>183 SqueakyChu: Thanks for the analysis of the D.C. United vs LAFC match, Madeline. Hopefully they will have a better result on Tuesday.

Since Wayne Rooney received a red card in yesterday's match is he able to play on Tuesday?

Atlanta United plays at New England tonight. Hopefully the Five Stripes can break through and earn their first win of the season.

185kidzdoc
Edited: Apr 7, 2019, 6:44 pm

Oops, double post.

186SqueakyChu
Apr 7, 2019, 8:59 pm

>184 kidzdoc: Nope. Rooney's out for Tuesday. :(

My husband has been practicing using the streaming service. We are going to have to try to log on early to be sure we catch the whole game and don't mess up with the login! :D

Rooting for the Five Stripes for tonight!

187kidzdoc
Apr 7, 2019, 9:09 pm

>186 SqueakyChu: I thought that a player sent off for a red card in one match is automatically disqualified for the following one.

Silly me. Atlanta United’s next match isn’t until next Saturday.

188SqueakyChu
Apr 7, 2019, 11:09 pm

>187 kidzdoc: Right. Rooney was red-carded during Saturday's game and is disqualified for this coming Tuesday's match.

Atlanta United’s next match isn’t until next Saturday.

I was wondering about that!

189banjo123
Apr 8, 2019, 12:09 am

Glad you have some time for R & R, Darryl!

190connie53
Apr 8, 2019, 6:27 am

Hi Darryl, Sorry I missed your birthday! And to my surprise I see that our birthdays are just one day apart.
So a very very belated birthday wish for you and a big hug!

191jnwelch
Apr 8, 2019, 8:38 am

Congrats on the new ginormous Whole Foods, Darryl. They're reporting here that Amazon is finally widely lowering costs at WH; the high prices were basis for the big "Whole Paycheck" criticism before. And Prime members supposedly get an extra discount.

192kidzdoc
Apr 8, 2019, 9:18 am

>188 SqueakyChu: I admittedly haven't been paying as close attention to Atlanta United this season, due to their slow start and mind numbingly boring play, and didn't realize that they were off this week.

>189 banjo123: Thanks, Rhonda!

>190 connie53: Thanks, Connie, and Happy Birthday to you, too!

>191 jnwelch: Thanks, Joe; I look forward to my first visit to the new Whole Foods Market, either this week or next. There is another Whole Foods less than two miles from home that I shop at occasionally, and prices have come down significantly since Amazon took it over, especially if I look for sales and use my Amazon Prime discount.

I probably won't go to the supermarket today, as I'd rather use up the vegetables that have been in my refrigerator for a week or two. I just made an omelet with sautéed spinach and cherry tomatoes, with finely diced shallot and habañero pepper, which was very tasty and spicy. I have lots of spinach, asparagus and tomatoes, both refrigerated and canned, along with feta and other cheeses, which I think would go well in a salad or pasta dish. I'll use my whole cauliflower to make cauliflower rice, to serve with the huge batch of chicken korma that I made on Saturday.

I'll finish The Moor's Last Stand this morning, and resume reading Black Deutschland this afternoon. We're supposed to get thunderstorms this afternoon and evening, so I'll probably stay inside again until tomorrow.

193msf59
Apr 8, 2019, 9:52 am

Morning, Darryl. Happy Monday. I am sure you had a fine weekend. I know you like international authors, so I will mention that I am reading and enjoying The Goose Fritz by a young Russian author. I read very little Russian literature, so it is nice to try something a bit different.

194kidzdoc
Apr 8, 2019, 10:03 am

>193 msf59: Happy No Work Monday, Mark! Is there a better day of the work week? No Work Friday comes close, but falls short, IMO.

Thanks for mentioning The Goose Fritz, a book I hadn’t heard of. I look forward to your opinion about it.

195kidzdoc
Apr 8, 2019, 2:06 pm

Book #16: The Moor's Last Stand: How Seven Centuries of Muslim Rule in Spain Came to an End by Elizabeth Drayson

My rating:

This meticulously researched and very well written book is a compelling biography of Abu Abdallah Muhammad XI, better known in the western world as Boabdil, the last ruler of the Emirate of Granada, whose surrender to King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile on January 2, 1492 marked the end of the Reconquista and the final chapter in the over 700 year rule of most of the Iberian Peninsula by Muslims from North Africa, dating back to the first invasion of what is now southern Spain by Berbers of the Umayyad caliphate in 711. Boabdil has been widely portrayed over the centuries as a weak and ineffectual leader at best, a pawn of the Christian king, and a traitor to his people at worst, who was thought to have conspired with the relentlessly advancing army of Ferdinand and Isabelle for his own gain, while condemning the Muslim Granadans to Christian rule and the ultimate expulsion of true believers from Spain. However, Drayson uses original sources to demonstrate that the young Boabdil, though not a flawless sultan, grieved for his people and the loss of the last Muslim stronghold on the peninsula to the King and Queen, surrendered to them to avoid an all but certain slaughter that would have cost thousands of lives, and was severely hampered by his treacherous father and uncle, along with the cunning and calculating King.

The Emirate of Granada was created in 1230, and was centered in the Alhambra, the palace and fortress that was built on the ruins of a former 9th century compound on a hilltop overlooking the city and the nearby elevated Albaicín, the Moorish Quarter of the city of Granada. The 250+ years of the emirate were mostly ones of prosperity, although the rulership was marked by increasing instability due to frequent changes in leadership, as the sultans were frequently overthrown and murdered by their closest relatives, including their own sons and fathers. Boabdil's father, Abu l-Hassan Ali, preceded him as sultan, and proved a constant threat to him when he became the leader of the Granadans in 1482, along with his uncle El-Zagal, who both sought to depose and kill the young ruler. Boabdil's mother, Aixa, who was discarded by her husband for a young Spanish woman who he captured, was his only reliable source of support within the family. After he embarked on an unwise expedition to the Christian town of Lucena in 1483 to demonstrate his strength to his people and was captured in an ambush, Boabdil's power was greatly diminished, as he had to agree to harsh conditions to gain his release, which included a substitution of his son for himself as a prisoner of Ferdinand and an agreement of loyalty to the King. Ferdinand used Boabdil cunningly and expertly toward his own goal of reclaiming Spain for the papacy, and manipulated the younger man against his father and uncle, which ultimately weakened the emirate and led to its progressive demise at the end of 1491, leaving Boabdil with only two choices: surrender to the Christians, or fight with weakened and demoralized troops against overwhelming forces who were adept at the latest fighting technologies, with the certainty that he and his people would be slaughtered en masse by the ruthless invaders.

Boabdil left the city shortly after the conquering forces entered, lived briefly in exile in Andalucía, the former al-Andalus, and left the following year to spend the remainder of his days in Morocco.

Drayson examines and evaluates the numerous accounts and depictions of Boabdil and the fall of Granada, in history, literature, poetry, and the arts, and through her research she portrays him more fairly and favorably, and provides the reader with a far more complete picture of this intelligent, complicated and troubled man.

The Moor's Last Stand is an outstanding work of scholarship, which provided me with a much fuller understanding of the last sultan of Granada, and the end of Muslim rule in Spain. My only regret is that this book was published after my visit to Granada, Sevilla, Ronda and Arcos de la Frontera three years ago, but reading it has made me much more eager to return to Andalucía in the very near future, with a new sense of awareness and inspiration to learn more about the Moors in Spain.

196lauralkeet
Apr 8, 2019, 7:25 pm

>195 kidzdoc: That looks really interesting, Darryl. I learned a lot during our visit to Granada last year, but really only scratched the surface.

197kidzdoc
Edited: Apr 8, 2019, 8:02 pm

>196 lauralkeet: Thanks, Laura. I had read a fair amount about Granada and Andalucía before Bianca and I went there in 2016, but what I read scarcely mentioned Boabdil, and portrayed him quite badly. I'll definitely go back to Granada soon, but not in the summer; the high temperatures ranged from 37 to 42 C (98-107 F) when we were there!

ETA: I bought my copy of The Moor's Last Stand from Daunt Books in London. It doesn't seem to have been published in the US yet, although you can a purchase reasonably priced paperback version from Amazon and The Book Depository.

198RidgewayGirl
Apr 8, 2019, 8:47 pm

>197 kidzdoc: There's always a bit of added value to a book purchased as part of a trip or from someplace special.

199kidzdoc
Edited: Apr 8, 2019, 8:57 pm

>198 RidgewayGirl: Right, Kay. Daunt Books is my second favorite bookshop, after City Lights in San Francisco, and, needless to say I love to visit that city and see LT friends there.

200banjo123
Apr 9, 2019, 1:13 am

Adding The Moor's Last Stand to my wish list. Such an interesting topic. Did you read The Ornament of the World?

201scaifea
Apr 9, 2019, 5:29 am

Hi, Darryl!

We have two *huge* Whole Foods here in Columbus and I haven't been to either one since we moved back. I keep meaning to and then just, well, don't. We have a Prime membership, too, and I didn't know we'd get a discount. Maybe soonish, we'll get there...

202kidzdoc
Apr 9, 2019, 6:39 am

>200 banjo123: Thanks, Rhonda! I haven’t heard of The Ornament of the World, but its analysis of the harmonious intersection of Christian, Jewish and Muslim cultures in medieval Spain is of great interest to me, so I’ll be on the lookout for it.

>201 scaifea: Hi, Amber! It helps that the new Whole Foods Market is now the closest supermarket to me, as I could walk there or take a drive of less than five minutes. I’ll now probably wait to go until first thing Sunday morning.

203kidzdoc
Edited: Apr 9, 2019, 6:57 am

Tuesday morning humor:

204vancouverdeb
Apr 9, 2019, 10:43 am

Darryl, I was reading your discussion about alligator meat on Paul's thread and I had find out if we had any up in Vancouver. And yes, we do, along with Kangaroo meat. I don't think I'll be rushing out to purchase any, but it is here. They even have mallard duck. Oh yuck. We have a Whole Foods or two in the Vancouver area too.

205kidzdoc
Apr 9, 2019, 11:16 am

>204 vancouverdeb: Interesting. Save for Alaska, Vancouver would be about as far away from Louisiana and Florida as anyplace in North America! Can you buy alligator and kangaroo meat in markets there?!

Several years ago Fliss (flissp), Rachael (FlossieT) and I had dinner in a pub in Cambridge after Fliss and I saw a Saturday matinée performance of a play in London. Fliss and I both had “croc and roo”, crocodile and kangaroo meat on sticks that was partially grilled then transferred to hot volcanic rocks for us to continue to cook to our liking, which was more interesting than good. The far more sensible Rachael ordered grilled cherry tomatoes and halloumi, and looked at us as if we had lost our minds when we ordered croc and roo and offered to share it with her.

For the record, duck is absolutely divine.

206magicians_nephew
Edited: Apr 9, 2019, 1:21 pm

Naomi Wolf's Promiscuities was a deep and uncomfortable (for this male) view of how men sometimes see women and how women sometimes see themselves.

I've only heard her on the radio - i'm envious of you hearing her speak live.

207kidzdoc
Apr 9, 2019, 2:31 pm

>206 magicians_nephew: I haven't read anything by Naomi Wolf yet, I'm ashamed to say, so I look forward to attending her talk and reading her newest book.

208kidzdoc
Edited: Apr 9, 2019, 2:45 pm

The shortlist for this year's Man Booker International Prize has just been announced:

Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi (Oman), translated from Arabic by Marilyn Booth (Sandstone Press)

The Years by Annie Ernaux (France), translated by Alison Strayer (Fitzcarraldo Editions)

The Pine Islands by Marion Poschmann (Germany), translated by Jen Calleja (Serpent’s Tail)

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk (Poland), translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones (Fitzcarraldo Editions)

The Shape of the Ruins by Juan Gabriel Vásquez (Colombia), translated from Spanish by Anne McLean (MacLehose Press)

The Remainder by Alia Trabucco Zerán (Chile and Italy), translated from Spanish by Sophie Hughes (And Other Stories)

The prize winner will be announced on May 21.

I'll get started on The Shape of the Ruins next week, and look to see if any of the other titles are available stateside. I'll try to read all six books by the end of the summer.

ETA: I bought the Kindle edition of The Pine Islands, and paperback editions of the other four books from Amazon. I may be able to finish the shortlist in advance of the prize ceremony.

209Berly
Apr 9, 2019, 7:45 pm

>165 kidzdoc: Guess what? I have been busy cataloging my books and I have a copy of Happiness waiting to be read on my very own shelves! (This is exactly why I am trying to organize. LOL)

>182 kidzdoc: How did I not know that Amazon bought Whole Foods?!

>195 kidzdoc: Wow, what a cool book! Great review, Darryl.

>203 kidzdoc: Love his humor!

>205 kidzdoc: I have never tried "roo" nor am I seeing an opportunity to try it in my immediate future. It is not typical Portland fare.

>208 kidzdoc: Thanks for the list.

Oh, and Happy Tuesday. : )

210vancouverdeb
Edited: Apr 9, 2019, 8:50 pm

* coughs* Err, Darryl, Vancouver is very cosmopolitan, we are not the outpost of Alaska :-) Personally I've never eaten Kangaroo, Gator or Crocodile, etc as I am content with chicken breasts for the most part. But yes, about 3 or 4 miles from me you can purchase all of those meats and more , though I would not know if they are frozen or fresh. There are canjun and creole restaurants here, and they serves gator etc. Vancouver has a very large percentage of Chinese, and apparently crocodile is a desirable meat . There are also the TNT Chinese grocery shops that dot the city and what all they carry, I don't know. I am a very tame / non - foodie eater. Pacific Exotic Meats is the name the store near me that bills itself as carrying gator and crocodile etc. Kangaroo seems popular too.

I shop mainly at Safeway and another BC based shopping grocery store called Save On Foods. We do purchase most of our meat from a nearby butcher, and I look away at the exotic meats that are on offer. But yes, according to google the public can purchase all manner of meats around Vancouver.

211kidzdoc
Edited: Apr 9, 2019, 11:15 pm

>209 Berly: Hooray! I hope that you like Happiness as much as I did, Kim. Aminatta Forna has moved into my top echelon of living contemporary authors, ones who have written at least three books that I've liked (3.5 stars or higher) and whose newest books I would buy automatically without waiting for others to give me their opinion about them. Let's see...here's an off the top of my head list of them, in no particular order:

Aminatta Forna
Kamila Shamsie
Jesmyn Ward
Sarah Moss
Hilary Mantel
Javier Cercas
Juan Gabriel Vásquez
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
Haruki Murakami
Toi Derricotte
Natasha Trethewey
Karl Ove Knausgaard

I'm probably missing some names, and others fall short of the three book criterion, such as Ali Smith, Tan Twan Eng, Tash Aw and Amitav Ghosh, but that is a solid list of my favorite living writers.

I'm glad that you liked my review of The Moor's Last Stand, although it's quite lengthy (it's fitting with many reviews in Club Read, though).

What? Roo is not a standard in Portland restaurants?! 😎 I was certainly surprised to find it when Fliss, Rachael and I went to The Geldart (http://www.the-geldart.co.uk) in Cambridge several years ago. I looked at the pub's web site, and saw that their specialty meats cooked on hot rocks also include ostrich and zebra, in addition to crocodile and kangaroo. I'd love to try ostrich; zebra, not so much.

I'll definitely mention the MBIP longlist this week and next. I'll be in London on the date of the Prize ceremony, May 21st, although I suspect it will be a private and pricey event. If there is a public shortlist author reading the previous day I may try to go to it.

Happy Tuesday to you as well!

212kidzdoc
Apr 9, 2019, 8:56 pm

>210 vancouverdeb: Ha! I'm not implying that Vancouver isn't cosmopolitan, Deborah, not at all! I'm just surprised that you can purchase kangaroo meat there, which I think would be very hard to find in Atlanta, Philadelphia and most major US cities. Hmm...then again you are on or close to the Pacific Ocean, so it could make more sense that you can purchase kangaroo and crocodile meat there. Getting alligator meat in a Louisiana style restaurant there wouldn't be as surprising to me as finding it in a specialty meat market, although I would say the same for Philadelphia and other US cities outside of the Deep South.

213vancouverdeb
Apr 9, 2019, 9:45 pm

Yes, indeed, Vancouver is right on the Pacific Ocean. So yes, I imagine that makes a big difference. It's a " happening place" here. LOL!

214PaulCranswick
Apr 9, 2019, 10:45 pm

Isn't it amazing how kangaroo can skip so far from its normal habitat!

Rohinton Mistry
Timothy Mo
MG Vassanji

would be on my list of automatic buys.

Given my magpie tendencies though I could say that about so many authors.

215kidzdoc
Edited: Apr 9, 2019, 10:51 pm

>213 vancouverdeb: If I had to choose one city to visit in North America that I haven't been to yet I would go with Vancouver.

>214 PaulCranswick: Nice choice of authors, Paul. Rohinton Mistry and Timothy Mo fall just short for me, as I've only read two books by each of them, and I haven't read anything by MG Vassanji yet.

216PaulCranswick
Apr 9, 2019, 11:54 pm

>215 kidzdoc: Of course Darryl, Mistry, is the most lauded of the three but I am a bit frustrated with him as he hasn't released anything since Family Matters more than a decade and a half ago.

217Berly
Apr 10, 2019, 12:56 am

>215 kidzdoc: Of course you meant Portland. Right?

From your list and meeting your 3 books 3.5 rating, I could qualify Jesmyn Ward and Haruki Murakami. I like some of the other authors as well, I just have't read three of them yet!

218benitastrnad
Edited: Apr 10, 2019, 3:22 pm

You simply must read Ornament of the World by Maria Rosa Menocal! It was on my Best of the Year list back in 2014 when I read it. It has become controversial with some authors (especially Spanish historians) taking a dim view of her "rosy" picture of Moorish Spain. It is well written and flows easily. It should provide some great background cultural history and be pleasant reading.

219Familyhistorian
Apr 10, 2019, 8:23 pm

>176 kidzdoc: Thanks for posting the link to the Naomi Wolf talk. I've booked my ticket.

220kidzdoc
Apr 10, 2019, 8:41 pm

>216 PaulCranswick: Actually I'll have to ad Rohinton Mistry to my top novelists list, as I've read A Fine Balance, Family Matters and Such a Long Journey. I agree with you about being frustrated that he hasn't written anything new in over a decade. I'm also frustrated that Hilary Mantel still hasn't finished The Mirror and the Light, the final book in the Cromwell Trilogy, and I would love to read Tan Twan Eng's upcoming novel ASAP.

Hmm...the touchstones are being especially troublesome this evening.

>217 Berly: Portland is on my list, mainly because a dear friend of mine, who, like me, received her bachelor's degree from Rutgers, went to Pitt for medical school, where we were classmates, is a pediatrician, and is a solid liberal, lives there.

>218 benitastrnad: Thanks for that ringing endorsement of Ornament of the World, Benita. I'll be on the lookout for it when I go to London next month.

>219 Familyhistorian: Fabulous, Meg! I'll check with my other London and SE England friends to see if any of them are interested in going, and hopefully Rhian can make it. I had intended to set up a group thread on Facebook Messenger this week when I was off to discuss meet up plans, but failed to do so. I'll get on that this week, and keep you in the loop.

221Familyhistorian
Apr 10, 2019, 9:57 pm

>122 kidzdoc: That would be great, Darryl. I’m looking forward to meeting you and whoever else shows up!

222justchris
Apr 10, 2019, 10:26 pm

>160 kidzdoc: Very nice review of Juice!. I was very thankful to be out of the country during the trial because from abroad it sounded like a public torture ritual enacted over a year with enforced attendance by the entire US population. I can well believe the argument that this was a major contributing factor to the rise of conservative talk radio (as the beginning of a trajectory that led to the Trump presidency).

>195 kidzdoc: Also a very nice review. I'll have to look for this one as al-Andalus is a particular interest of mine, though my focus is eleventh century not fifteenth century. Plus, I hope to spend time in Spain next year and should get going on learning more background (and developing a detailed itinerary).

>200 banjo123: I have Ornament of the World on my bookshelf but haven't gotten around to reading it yet. I have heard the criticisms and think they have some validity.

Sure, the multicultural and multireligious convivencia was a thing, but there were very pragmatic economic reasons for such tolerance by the Muslim rulers. The tolerance and goodwill vs intolerance and harassment/discrimination ebbed and flowed throughout the period of Muslim rule (or Christian, for that matter), depending on the ruling personalities, political landscape of the moment and other context-specific details during different eras.

But I'll stop there. I could go on for hours. I am quite the hobby enthusiast on the topic of medieval Iberian history.

223banjo123
Apr 11, 2019, 1:31 am

I am not enough of an Iberian history buff to be able to critique Ornament of the World; but I found it was interesting. I read it last year when we visited Spain and Portugal, and thought it enhanced my understanding of things I saw.

Also, was there a mention of Cordoba? It's pretty easy to do a day trip from Sevilla, La Mezquita is fascinating and we had a great meal at Casa Mazal, in the Jewish quarter.

224benitastrnad
Apr 11, 2019, 1:23 pm

Through happenstance I watched an old episode of Rick Steves travel program. He was traveling through Andalusia. He did a very good job of showing how the cathedral in either Cordoba or Granada (I can't remember which one - but it is the one with the stripped interior) was built inside of the Grand Mosque. Parts of the inside were retooled to meet Christian specifications and purposes. He made a good point of explaining how conquerors build their places of religious worship and governmental activity right over or remake the places that were there before them. His guide showed how the previous architecture was incorporated into the Spanish architecture. It was simplified, but it made things easy to see and understand.

225SandDune
Edited: Apr 11, 2019, 1:30 pm

Darryl, just to let you know when I checked my work diary I've discovered I have a Finance Committee Meeting on that evening, so won't be able to attend the Naomi Wolf event after all. I'm disappointed at that - we usually have those meetings a little earlier in the month so I thought it would have been OK.

226justchris
Apr 11, 2019, 3:44 pm

>224 benitastrnad: That's Cordoba, once the capitol city of Muslim al-Andalus.

227streamsong
Edited: Apr 12, 2019, 11:45 am

>208 kidzdoc: Thanks for the International Booker short list. There are several I would like to read, partly to work on my Global Reading Challenge. (Celestial Bodies from Oman! How fun!) I'll be looking forward to your thoughts on them. I'm currently reading Mouthful of Birds from the long list. Some of the stories are amazing. Some leave me wondering what I missed. She reminds me of Saki.

I've had Ornament of the World on Planet TBR for several years. I've meant to read it for several challenges, but so far no go.

>211 kidzdoc: Your list of favorite authors is interesting. I noticed long ago on LT that my author cloud is different than many other people's clouds. My cloud is very broad, but not deep - ie many authors, but not many books read for many authors. And those that do have many books are usually series that I read for light relief, or books favored by my Mom or shared by other family members.

I picked up 5 books at the library this week and the pattern holds. 4 new-to-me authors and a light YA series for a bit of comic relief (Hah! It's a GN).

Of the few authors that I have that would meet your criteria, I would say:

Margaret Atwood - dystopias, novels, poetry, Hogarth Shakespeare - enjoyed them all although I have not read all she has to offer - I know it's cool to hate on Maggie, but then, I am not cool :)
Sherman Alexie - although I know he's out of favor now for his behavior
Louise Erdrich

I'm also looking forward to The Mirror and the Light and more by Tan Twan Eng.

228Oberon
Apr 12, 2019, 6:17 pm

>195 kidzdoc: Dropping by to note that you put The Moor's Last Stand on my wish list too. I also have Kingdoms of Faith on my Audible account to get to so that will be plenty of Iberian history.

229jnwelch
Apr 12, 2019, 7:00 pm

Hey, buddy. You asked whether we'd met Rachel and Fliss. Nope, darn it. IIRC, we "almost" met Rachel at the London Review of Books bookshop, but she wasn't there that day?

Natasha Trethewey: she has a new and selected collection out that I plan to read: Monument: Poems New and Selected.

230kidzdoc
Edited: Apr 13, 2019, 11:34 pm

Happy Saturday, everyone! I'm off for the weekend, and I'm on backup call four on four of the next five weekdays. Our inpatient census was completely out of control in the first three days of the week, but it dramatically plummeted on Thursday and especially Friday. With any luck I won't have to work any day next week.

I finished one book this week, Second Lives, Second Chances: A Surgeon's Stories of Transformation by Donald R. Laub, which was my LT Early Reviewers book for March. It was quite good, and I'll review it shortly. Yesterday I started reading The Shape of the Ruins by the Colombian author Juan Gabriel Vásquez, my favorite active Latin American novelist, which is centered on the assassination of the Liberal Party leader Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, the leader of a populist movement in Colombia, in 1948, and the subsequent riots (Bogotazo) and decade long political unrest (La Violencia), that followed, which led to the death of at least 200,000 Colombians and affected the country for many decades afterward. I've only read 30 pages but it's outstanding so far, and it would seem to be a worthy candidate for this year's Man Booker International Prize.

I plan to try two new recipes this weekend, Feijoada Brasileira, a modified version of the traditional Brasilian black bean and pork stew that substitutes turkey or chicken sausage and smoked turkey neck bones that a brasileiran colleague and fellow foodie at work shared with me last month, which is cooked in the Instant Pot, and served alongside rice and collard greens, and Alligator with White Beans, the recipe that Jim posted on my thread earlier this year.

231jessibud2
Edited: Apr 13, 2019, 11:45 am

>230 kidzdoc: - Hi Darryl. I haven't read the Colombian author but I was quite impressed with an interview I heard not long ago on the CBC radio program, Writers & Co. Here is a link, if you are interested. I love this program because the host interviews such interesting authors and such a wide variety, too!

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/writersandcompany/juan-gabriel-v-squez-on-how-colombia-...

Scroll through other interviews if you want. I am positive you will find more that catch your interest, too! (there is a recent one with Sarah Moss)

232Cait86
Apr 13, 2019, 1:55 pm

>211 kidzdoc: I really enjoyed reading your list of favourite living authors, and the ones that others have added since your post. I agree with you on Kamila Shamsie, and I have books by Aminatta Forna and Jesmyn Ward on my TBR, plus I'm also waiting on Hilary Mantel's third Cromwell novel. The rest of the authors you list are ones I'm looking forward to discovering!

233kidzdoc
Apr 13, 2019, 3:57 pm

>221 Familyhistorian: That sounds perfect, Meg! Hopefully we can meet up for dinner before or after Naomi Wolf's talk.

>222 justchris: Thanks, Chris! The murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman and O.J. Simpson trial occurred when I was in medical school, so I and my classmates were too busy to follow the case that closely, although it was all but impossible to hear at least something about it. There were some very awkward conversations amongst us, along with several heated arguments, with pro-O.J. and anti-O.J. camps that were sharply defined by racial and/or gender lines, and I, as an African American male, felt as if I was being judged and tried, as if I was guilty of or an accomplice to the trial. It's not uncommon that racial and religious minorities in this country regularly feel a sense of shame when someone from their community commits a heinous crime, and a sense of relief when the perpetrator is not one of their own, which Reed elicits expertly in Juice!.

I'm glad that you like my review of The Moor's Last Stand, and I hope that you read it.

>223 banjo123: Córdoba is high on my wish list. I'll look to go there when I return to Andalucía, perhaps as early as next year.

234Caroline_McElwee
Apr 13, 2019, 4:02 pm

How are your parents doing Darryl?

Good to see you have a bit more down time ahead.

235kidzdoc
Apr 13, 2019, 4:16 pm

>224 benitastrnad: Thanks, Benita. I found a short (four minute) video on YouTube by Rick Steves about Córdoba:

https://youtu.be/7YvNMDy_h3g

The city wasn't mentioned often in The Moor's Last Stand, and, for that matter, neither were any others.

>225 SandDune: I'm sorry that you won't be able to join us for Naomi Wolf's talk, Rhian. Hopefully we can still meet up next month, or later this year; I'm hopeful that I can visit in September when Debbi & Joe are there.

>226 justchris: Ah. I didn't know that Córdoba was the capital of al-Andalus; I would have assumed that Granada would have been the seat of government. I'll definitely visit the city during my next trip to Spain, perhaps one that includes visits to Granada, Sevilla, Córdoba and Madrid between October and March (hmm, maybe even this year).

236kidzdoc
Apr 13, 2019, 4:41 pm

>227 streamsong: You're welcome, Janet. I look forward to diving into the MBIP longlist over the next two months. The Shape of the Ruins is just over 500 pages, so I may not finish until next week, or even later if I have to work for most of the week. I'm quite groggy and sleepy today, so I may not get as much reading done as I had hoped to.

My crème de la crème list of favorite living authors is small, but I have a huge number of favored authors just beneath, some of whom will eventually make their way to the top, such as Edwidge Danticat, Patrick Chamoiseau, Jamaica Kincaid, Kate Atkinson, Colson Whitehead, Marlon James and Tahmima Anam, along with the others that I mentioned.

I've only read one book by Louise Erdrich, but she's a good possibility of joining my favorite author list. I still haven't read anything by Margaret Atwood, so I'll have to start reading the books written by her that I own.

>228 Oberon: Sounds good, Erik. I look forward to your thoughts about Kingdoms of Faith; I hadn't heard of it before.

>229 jnwelch: That sounds about right, Joe. IIRC we were planning to meet Rachael for lunch or tea at the London Review Cake Shop, as she is on the staff of the London Review Bookshop a couple of hundred feet away, but she was either tied up in meetings or didn't go to work that day. I'm sure that you'll eventually meet her and Fliss, either in London or Cambridge.

Thanks for letting me know about Natasha Trethewey's new poetry collection; I'll look for it next week.

237Berly
Apr 13, 2019, 4:57 pm

Darryl, you have to read some Atwood!! I have read 7 of hers and all but 1 were four and five stars. And I have read 10 Erdrich with very similar results. They don't really fit under your thread header, but sometimes you just have to branch out, right? ; )

Hope you have a great weekend and a work-free next couple of days.

238kidzdoc
Edited: Apr 13, 2019, 5:29 pm

I just saw that the Kindle version of Tahmima Anam's third novel, The Bones of Grace, costs only $5.99, so I purchased a copy of it. She's a Bangladeshi author whose two previous novels, A Golden Age and The Good Muslim, were very good. I loved The Good Muslim, so I'll probably read The Bones of Grace soon.

>231 jessibud2: Many thanks, Shelley! I'll listen to the Juan Gabriel Vásquez interview this weekend, and the Sarah Moss interview sometime next week.

>232 Cait86: Thanks, Cait. I look forward to your thoughts about those authors. Which ones would you consider your favorites?

>234 Caroline_McElwee: Thanks for asking, Caroline. My parents are hanging in there, and I'll see them soon, as I'll fly to Philadelphia next Saturday.

Back to >229 jnwelch: In addition to being the first LTer I met in person, when we had lunch at the London Review Cake Shop in 2009, and a good friend, Rachael is my single most reliable source of new books, now that Rebecca (rebeccanyc) from Club Read is no longer with us. Although we don't read the same things she has an almost perfect knack for recommending books that she thinks I'll love, and warning me from buying ones that I won't. She's responsible for my love of the work of Sarah Moss, Kate Atkinson, Jane Harris and others, and I've thoroughly enjoyed several books she's given to me, particularly The Axeman's Jazz by Ray Celestin.

Whenever we meet in London we almost always have a quick tea at the London Review Cake Shop, and normally I arrive 10-15 minutes early and already have an armful of books by the time she comes from her office. If I haven't purchased them she looks at what I'm about to buy, and expresses opinions about them if she's read or is familiar with them, in the manner of a wife who approves or disapproves her husband's potential purchases. One year she saw one book in my arm, Vauxhall by Gabriel Gbadamosi, a coming of age story about a mixed race boy growing up in London, which sounded very interesting to me. She suggested that I not buy it, as she said that I wouldn't like it. She walked away for a couple of minutes to look at books, but I decided to buy it anyway (again with the husband analogy). When we had lunch she noticed that I had purchased it, and called me "incorrigible". I read it...and I didn't like it. I admitted that to Rachael when we met in Cambridge during my next visit, and she rightfully fussed at me, as did Fliss, IIRC. (Fliss always fusses at me.) LTers are so mean!

239kidzdoc
Apr 13, 2019, 5:28 pm

>237 Berly: Yes, dear! I'll get to books by Atwood and Erdrich ASAP. (After just remembering being fussed at by Rachael and Fliss I will pay attention and listen to my LT friends.😎)

240Berly
Apr 13, 2019, 6:07 pm

>239 kidzdoc: Now you're talking!

241Berly
Apr 13, 2019, 6:09 pm

BTW--How do you get the emoji to show up? Best I can do is : )

242kidzdoc
Apr 13, 2019, 6:26 pm

>240 Berly: 😂

>241 Berly: That’s easy if I use my iPad or iPad Mini, work iPhone or personal Samsung Galaxy mobile phone to post messages, as I only have to select an emoji from the keyboard. I now rarely use my Windows laptop, so I’m not completely sure how easily it would be to use emojis in that platform.

243Berly
Apr 13, 2019, 8:07 pm

Well, using my iPhone, now that’s just cheating! 😂👍

244Cait86
Apr 13, 2019, 8:56 pm

>238 kidzdoc: Using your stipulations of living authors whose books I have enjoyed at least three, and whose new books I would immediately buy, my list is: Margaret Atwood, Emma Donoghue, Lawrence Hill, Sadie Jones, Heather O'Neill, Michael Ondaatje, Kamila Shamsie, Ali Smith, and Sarah Waters. Taking away the "enjoyed at least three" rule, and I'd add Louise Erdrich, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Jane Smiley, and Eleanor Catton.

245kidzdoc
Edited: Apr 13, 2019, 10:07 pm

>243 Berly: 👍🏼 (Your thumb is a bit yellow. Are you getting enough sun?)

>244 Cait86: Nice list, Cait! Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie should get to my top tier soon. I've only read one book by Eleanor Catton and Louise Erdrich, but they are also potential crème de la creme candidates.

246justchris
Apr 13, 2019, 10:37 pm

>233 kidzdoc: Yeah, after I posted that I figured I was showing my white ass as someone who could be relieved to not deal with the media drama of the trial exactly because I never have to feel that I am on trial by proxy or that my whole group is on trial, and I get why it felt that way on your end, because we do tend to perceive monoliths on the bottom of the power hierarchy and individuals deserving of the benefit of the doubt at the top of the power hierarchy (at least in terms of race). I'm glad(?) that Reed is able to capture that tension and relief that comes whenever a crime is being reported and you worry about who the suspect/perpetrator will be. Thanks for the kind reply and sharing your perspective and the emotional toll involved.

247justchris
Apr 13, 2019, 10:57 pm

>235 kidzdoc: Yep, Cordoba was the capitol of al-Andalus, while Toledo was the capitol of Visigothic Spain before that.

When the Muslim Caliphate collapsed around 1030, the territory broke up into 20+ petty kingdoms called party-states or party-kingdoms (this is what the Spanish word "taifa" means). Effectively city-states named after their capitol city power centers. Granada was one of those.

And by the 11th century, the Christians had expanded outward from their tiny little Asturian holdout in the Pyrenees among the Basques back out into the lowlands to the point of having a half dozen or so Christian kingdoms too. During that period, it was a whole lot of rulers vying for territory, political power, cultural dominance, etc. It's considered the golden age of Sephardic and Islamic culture in the peninsula, with lots of innovation and a real flowering of many arts as the various royal courts tried to outshine each other. There wasn't necessarily a sense of overarching religious identity, and various rulers made and broke alliances based on a lot of factors, which rarely were defined by the faith of ally or enemy.

When Aragon conquered Toledo in 1085, it was a profoundly important symbolic event that really crystallized the whole concept of the Reconquest and a very us-vs-them religion-based focus to the international politics of the peninsula. It panicked the Muslims who then invited the fundamentalists from North Africa to help them out to their ultimate chagrin. Which further cemented the religious nature of the conflict and had the effect of two magnetic poles aligning all the metal filings.

The final decisive battle between Muslims and Christians was Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212. Granada was simply the last remaining Muslim party kingdom that wasn't swept up by the Christians during the 200 years of Reconquest. The Alhambra is an inward turning elegiac architectural and artistic masterpiece in the last remaining holdout of Islam in the 1300s as the rest of al-Andalus, that garden of earthly delights lauded for centuries afterward in Islamic writing, was lost to them. And of course, even that last refuge was violently reclaimed in the 15th century. And then Spain tried to erase/deny 700 years of cultural impact for the next 400 years.

Books like Ornament of the World are a somewhat recent counterweight to more than a century of scholarship that had a glaring blind spot. This is an exciting time to be involved in medieval Iberian studies.

But hey, you didn't ask for a lecture. Can you tell this is my hobby interest?

248justchris
Apr 13, 2019, 10:58 pm

>230 kidzdoc: Please share the recipe for the Feijoada Brasileira once you've tried it. Sounds delectable! A friend who spent a year in Brazil as an exchange student made it for me once, and I loved it.

249kidzdoc
Edited: Apr 13, 2019, 11:16 pm

>246 justchris: Right, Chris. For some time I naïvely thought that I was the only one who felt this way whenever a particularly awful crime was committed. Later I naïvely thought that only African Americans felt that way until I spoke with Muslim friends and colleagues at work after 9/11. The current POTUS and the deep hatred his candidacy and presidency brought out has made things substantially worse for people of color and religious minorities, especially those who wear head dressings such as yarmulkes, turbans or the hijab that openly display their faith, but mark them for potential assaults by bigots. After trump was elected I worried about my Muslim and Jewish physician colleagues at and outside of work, especially one of my former Muslim female partners who was the sweetest and most lovable person on the planet but was smaller and slighter than most middle schoolers. The horrific murders of nine African American churchgoers in Charleston, SC and the 11 members of a synagogue in Pittsburgh last year that several of my medical school classmates attended makes me fearful that I’ll be the target of a Southerner like Dylann Roof who is still fighting the Civil War, and sadly I have become far more distrustful of white Americans, especially ones who look like uneducated rednecks, and I now feel far safer outside of the United States than within it.

250kidzdoc
Edited: Apr 13, 2019, 11:34 pm

>247 justchris: Thanks, Chris! I may not have asked for a history lesson, but I greatly appreciated it. I love European history, especially if it involves places I’ve visited, and the histories of Spain and particularly Portugal, where I’m thinking of retiring in the next few years, is even more interesting to me. There aren’t many things that make me happier than visiting a historical museum or historical site, going on a historical tour, or reading about the history of a country and its people, especially if they are in the minority.

>248 justchris: I’ll gladly share Tatiana’s recipe for Feijoada Brasileira with you and everyone else. There’s a high likelihood that I’ll make it tomorrow, as I plan to go shopping tomorrow morning unless Atlanta is under a severe thunderstorm warning or tornado watch or warning. From what I read it’s typically served for Sunday lunch or dinner, so it’s appropriate for me to cook it tomorrow.

I’ve hit 250 posts, and have reached the (Richard) Derus Line which indicates that a new thread is required. It’s nearly midnight, so I’ll do that sometime tomorrow.

251kidzdoc
Apr 14, 2019, 11:14 am

New thread here!

This topic was continued by Kidzdoc Reads Black Male Writers for Our Time in 2019, Chapter 3.

Kidzdoc Reads Black Male Writers for Our Time in 2019, Chapter 2

Talk75 Books Challenge for 2019

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69tangledthreadEdited: Mar 9, 2019, 11:18 am

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71Caroline_McElweeMar 7, 2019, 2:30 pm

72lauralkeetMar 7, 2019, 6:46 pm

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77Caroline_McElweeMar 8, 2019, 4:16 am

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29drneutron
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34johnsimpson
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36lauralkeet
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38richardderus
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39banjo123
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42Oberon
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53richardderus
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57BLBera
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58RidgewayGirl
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59SqueakyChu
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62tangledthread
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64The_Hibernator
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65Sakerfalcon
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67kidzdoc
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68SqueakyChu
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69tangledthread
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70The_Hibernator
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71Caroline_McElwee
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72lauralkeet
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