Kayaking

 

I had a hard time getting my kayak out of storage but now it is out.

The lovely lotus blossoms are abundant on Lake Winona. The only other places I have seen them are at Como Park and on the Mississippi in Cottage Grove.

Today was a fine day to be out on the water. I saw Canadian geese, bald eagles, tree swallows, a great blue heron, a muskrat, two turtles (one was a rather large softshell turtle), many fish. As I kayaked along I could see people walking or biking on the path.

The boat sticker says 2023 so I had better get that updated pronto.

The Burgess Boys

I am a big fan of the writing by Elizabeth Strout. I was very happy to find a book by her at the library that I hadn't read before. This one is called The Burgess Boys. The Burgess boys, James and Bob, along with their sister Susan, grew up in Shadow Falls Maine. Now the brothers live in New York City and work as lawyers. Their sister lives in their family home in Maine. One day she calls her brothers and asks them to come home because her son, Zach, is in a world of trouble. He impulsively took a pig head and rolled it in the door of a building. He didn't know that this building was a mosque. He didn't know his behavior was culturally widely inappropriate. Some people in Shadow Falls are disappointed that so many Somali people are moving to Shadow Falls. This wonderful story is about family bonds and immigration. 

First Ladies

Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray are the co-authors of First Ladies. The story revolves around the unlikely friendship of a black activist by the name of Mary McCloud Bethune and Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Eleanor and her mother-in-law invited Mary McCloud Bethune to a luncheon at their home in New York City. She is the only black person in the room. Eleanor was unaware that other white women at this luncheon would refuse to dine with a black woman. Bethune knew how it was going to go down but she went anyway thinking racism is their problem, not hers. When Franklin gets elected to be the President, Eleanor and Bethune start working on civil rights together. Eventually Bethune gets hired to work at the White House. Eventually the two women start sharing family secrets and are there to support each other through thick and thin. This is a very good book. 

Isaac's Song

 Isaac's Song is an historical fiction coming of age novel set in Missouri and Chicago. Isaac's father does not approve of his inclinations. His father wants him to enjoy manly things like sports and woodworking. Isaac isn't like that. Isaac's mother has a drinking problem that gets so bad his father moves out. Isaac and his father did get along when they took a road trip to his father's boyhood farm. He learned much information about his father on that trip. After graduating from high school Isaac moves to Chicago for university. There he finds himself. He still holds huge amounts of anger for his father. A therapist suggests he go back to his boyhood home in Missouri. When he does he finds ten or so letters from his father who wrote them as he was dying. After processing the letters the anger abates. His therapist recommends he start writing about his memories and this proves to be a useful method. This was a very good book to read about gender norms and racism.

I Shouldn't Even Be Doing This

 Bob Newhart is the author of I shouldn't Even Be Doing This And Other Things That Strike Me As Funny. In it he talks about his parents and his siblings. He has three sisters. He grew up outside of Chicago. He attended all Catholic schools. He got a degree in business management. He started to go to law school but dropped out before he finished. He got drafted into the Army but managed to stay out of Korea.  He lived with his parents to save money. His father owned a plumbing business but Bob didn't want to get into that. He started doing stand up comedy on the west coast. Eventually he made recordings of his funny stories. He has a dry sense of humor and speaks with a stammer. He played a psychologist on The Bob Newhart show. Suzanne Pleshette played his wife. That ran for six years. Years later he played an innkeeper in Vermont. There he had a different wife. In the best ending in television history they turned the set around to reveal Bob in bed with Suzanne. She says he can't have Japanese food before bed ever again.

Homeseeking

 Karissa Chen is the author of Homeseeking, an historical fiction novel that starts off in China. Suchi is 7 when she first hears a boy playing the violin. Next he is in her class at school. For the first day in school students are supposed to bring a lunch from home, The violin playing boy, Haiwan, probably didn't know that. Suchi gives him half of her lunch, As they grow up together and Suchi spends time in Haiwan's home, they fall in love. Haiwan is trying to get into a musical academy and he spends hours a day practicing on his violin. Just before graduating from high school, he joins the military so that his older brother won't have to go and leave his wife and daughter. Suchi is heartbroken. Both Suchi and Haiwan marry other people. He leaves his violin with Suchi and a note that asks for her forgiveness. Sixty years later Haiwan is walking around Los Angeles and he hears his name called out. There stands Suchi looking at him. They agree to meet for breakfast and that is where she gives him his violin back. This is a story about love and familial sacrifice and the power of longing over distance and time.

Tidal Treasures

Kay Correl is the author of Tidal Treasures. Jenna, an investigative journalist in San Francisco made a mistake that resulted in a man being imprisoned for two years for a crime he did not do. Jenna decides to quit her job and move to an island off of South Carolina. She buys a house sight unseen and starts to fix it up. Her sister disagrees with her decision to move so far away from her. Jenna hires a contractor named Nash to help with electrical and plumbing repairs and to paint the outside of the house. Under a floorboard Jenna finds a metal box full of love letters from the 1920's. She tries to figure out who wrote them. She realizes some secrets are better off left unsolved. 

Collecting Prairie Coreopsis Seeds

 

Today I drove north and west to the Weaver Dunes Nature Conservancy site. With the help of 14 other people we walked through the prairie (and the poison ivy) collecting seeds. We even found a ground cherry which I thought was pretty cool. One guy found two snake skins that had been shed quite a long time ago. We had nice cool weather for our work. One family brought two kids under the age of five and I liked that. One kid found part of a deer antler. This is a remnant prairie. When the DNR does butterfly surveys they come here because of all the butterfly varieties that are found here. This is a really special place.

The Art Of Saying Goodbye

Ellyn Bache is the author of The Art Of Saying Goodbye. The story revolves around five suburban woman, Iona, Paisley, Julianne, Ginger, and Andrea. Paisley is the lift of the party. She invites her neighbors and their husbands and their children to her house for food and drinks and games. Iona feels out of place because she is thirty years older than the rest of them. Julianne is a nurse with a psychic ability to diagnose patients by feel. When Paisley comes in for a pre-operative examination Julianne touches Paisley's belly and knows she has cancer. As the other women cope with Paisley's upcoming death from metastasized pancreatic cancer they come to realize the importance of female friendships and not to take life for granted. When they learn of Paisley's diagnosis they each tie a huge white ribbon on a tree in their yards. At the funeral these white ribbons decorate the top of Paisley's casket.  

Big Chief

 Jon Hickey, a Native American author wrote his debut novel called Big Chief. A young law school graduate named Mitch Caddo. He is an aspiring political fixer returning to the land of his Anishinaabe ancestors. He is helping a childhood friend, Mack Beck, the tribal chief of the Passage Rouge nation in northern Wisconsin. He is also the chief of the  Golden Eagle Casino and hotel. He is up for reelection and an activist named Gloria Hawkins may well beat him. On the eve of the election violence breaks out. Mitch's mentor and father figure dies in a plane crash. The very interesting story is about power, corruption, family ties and a search for belonging.

Tales Of A Female Nomad

Rita Goldman Gelden is the author of Tales Of A Female Nomad. At age 48, on the verge of divorce, and both of her kids in college, Rita sold her belongings and started to travel. She did not accept alimony. She makes some money writing children's books. First she went to Mexico and lived there for a few years. She has lived in Indonesia, Borneo, Bali, New Zealand, Canada, Thailand and the Galapagos Islands. Sometimes her kids would visit her. Sometimes friends would come to visit. She learned to speak Spanish and Indonesian. She trusts people and she makes friends. Very interesting book.

How To Sleep At Night

Elizabeth Harris is the author of this comedic book, How To Sleep At Night. Ethan and Gabe are a loving couple. They hired a woman to bear their daughter, Chloe. Ethan's and Gabe's political leanings have drifted apart. Ethan asks Gabe if he will support him in a run for Congress as a Republican. Gabe doesn't want this to happen but since he loves his husband he can say no. In a nearby town  a suburban housewife named Nicole feels like an accessory to her husband's life. She loves her two children but if bored with her life. She gets in contact with a lover she was with in college named Kate (who is Ethan's sister). Nicole and Kate have an affair. This novel is about romance, sibling love, and how people change over time.

 

The Lost Pilor

I read another historical fiction book. This one is called The Lost Pilot and it was written by Benjamin Johncock. Jim Harrison is a talented pilot with the U.S. Airforce. He flies over the Mojave desert. He and his wife, Grace, yearn for a child. A fertility specialist tells her she is unfertile. To their surprise she does become pregnant. When it comes time to deliver the baby their truck won't start because it is too cold. They travel to the hospital on a motorcycle. They name the baby girl Florence but he often calls her duck.  When she was a baby she often made sounds like a duck. Tragedy strikes. Jim copes by throwing himself into his work. They move to Houston so he can train as an astronaut. This puts a strain on their marriage. The decisions they have made together are both hopeful and hurtful. This is a memorable novel about hurt and being brave in the face of that pain. 

Ape House

 Sara Gruen is the author of Ape House. Isabel Duncan is in charge of seven Bonobo apes. These Bonobos know how to sign and understand American sign language.  Isabel is a scientist at the Great Ape Language Lab. There are animal rights activists protesting that the Bonobos are not being well taken care of but that is not the case. A journalist, John Thigpen, working for a newspaper in Pennsylvania, speaks with Isabel and gets to see the Bonobos. Before coming he brought them 3 backpacks of gifts to ensure the Bonobos will want to see them. Soon after he leaves to file his story the door opens and an explosion happens seriously injuring Isabel and freeing the Bonobos. Once out of the hospital she is bound and determined to get her Bonobos back in her care. John Thigpen helps her discover where they are and how to get them back. The Bonobos are thrilled to see Isabel again. Fascinating story.

The Paris Express

 The Paris Express is a historical fiction novel by Emma Donoghue. Based on a true story, the book details who was on a train heading to Paris. There were people from Russia, Pennsylvania, Algiers, Ireland and Cambodia. A secretary tries to convince her boss about the possibility of moving pictures. A medical student suspects a girl on the train may be dying. The engineer is best friends with his buddy who shovels in the coals. A young anarchist has a terrible plan. As the train gets closer to Montparnasse station, the brakes fail. The train is going too fast for this part of town and there is no way to stop it. The book does a great job exploring the glamour, the politics, chaos and speed of 1895.

We Do Not Part

Years ago I read a book written by Han Kang called The Vegetarian. Today I read We Do Not Part. This is a historical fiction book set in South Korea. Two women met at work and often traveled together for work. Kyuhnga gets a call from her former work partner, Inseon. Inseon lost some fingers in a wood working accident. She is in the hospital. She wants Inseon to travel to Jeje Island to feed and water her bird. The birds need food and water today or it will die. Inseon travels first by plane and then by bus to get to Inseon's house. A winter storm is slowing her down. The bus puts chains on the tires and Kyuhnga makes it to Inseon's town. But now it is dark and 3 feet of snow have fallen and Kyuhnga isn't sure she is going to make it. She does make it. When Inseon returns to her home both friends investigate the mass killings that went on in Korea. This is a beautiful story about the importance of remembering and of friendship. 

I'll Be Right Here

Amy Bloom is the author of I'll Be Right Here. This is a historical fiction novel that starts in Paris and ends up in New York City. Samir is the older brother to his sister Gazala. They are orphans. They get separated. After World War II Gazala immigrates to New York City where she becomes friends with two sisters, Alma and Anne.  Samir surprisingly joins Gazala. These four friends make a family together. They annoy each other and cheer each other on.  As the decades go by they have more things to worry about and to celebrate. This made for an interesting story.

Tracks

 Today I read Tracks, a memoir of a trip by Robyn Davidson. In her early 20's she moves to Alice Springs to learn how to train and be around camels. Her goal is to take a trip with camels from Alice Springs to the ocean on the south west side of Australia near Perth. She doesn't have much money. She gets a job at a restaurant who will allow her to sleep in the back overnight. She finds a camel trainer. He is so incredibly rude to her that she quits him after a year. Another camel trainer learned that she managed to stick it out for a year. He is so impressed by that he finishes her training and gets her two camels. Those camels die. A photographer friend of hers suggests she write to National Geographic to sponsor her trip. She does get sponsored by the magazine and takes off with four camels and a dog. For nine months she travels mostly alone. Her photographer friend meets her 4 times. For some time she traveled with an elderly Aboriginal man which is nice because she doesn't get lost as much. Australia has feral camels roaming. This spells trouble during the mating season. She ends up having to shoot several male camels to death. When they reach the ocean the camels are freaking out at the sight of all this water. The camels run and dance and swim in the sea. She takes them to a camel sanctuary to live out the rest of their lives and travels away. Interesting story.

Boat Tour

This afternoon I went on the Winona boat tour. We saw 6 bald eagles, 3 deer running, and a mink swimming across the river. We saw a gaggle of geese and a waddling of Mallards.

Our tour lasted 90 minutes.

We headed up river towards the town of Fountain City. Here we are approaching lock and dam 5A.

This used to be parked next to the U of M in Minneapolis. Now someone in Fountain City bought it and intends to rent it out for weddings or other gatherings.

 

The Life Cycle Of The Common Octopus

 Emma Knight, an author from Toronto, wrote the book The Life Cycle Of The Common Octopus. This story is about a pair of high school girlfriends who decide to go to Uni in Scotland. Penelope and Alice are the friends.  Penelope's father went to Edenborough for Uni also. She knows her parents are keeping something from her so she goes to Scotland to find out what the secret is. This story is about campus life, travel, sexual awakenings, and the value of friendship. The story has nothing to do with octopus.

Beautiful Nights

Nina George is the author of Beautiful Nights. I read her other book The Little Paris Bookshop. In this story Claire is fed up with her husband because of his many affairs. Claire is an esteemed professor of human behavior. As she, her husband, and her son, Nico, prepare to leave for a holiday on the Brittany coast, Nico asks a question. Can he bring his girlfriend along? Nico wants to marry this girl. This girl isn't sure she wants to be with him.  When vacation time is up, Nico and Clair's husband leave while Claire and the girl stay on. This book was okay but I didn't like it as much as The Little Paris Bookshop. 

The Larger Queen Of Minnesota

Last summer I heard J. Ryan Stradal speak at the Winona public library. Today I read The Larger Queen Of Minnesota. This is the second book I have read by him. The first book was Saturday Night At The Lakeside Supper Club. The author grew up in Hastings and is a big fan of supper clubs. This was a good book. This was a good book about two sisters who grew up on a farm. When the parents die, the proceeds of the farm go to one sister only. That sister grew up determined to make good beer. She went to Macalester to study chemistry. She and her husband did make good beer. The other sister got married, had two children, and worked at a nursing home baking pies. Her pies were so delicious people from outside the nursing home started coming in to eat pie. Eventually the couple moved to a suburb of Minneapolis. Her husband died. When her daughter and son-in-law died in a car accident she took in her granddaughter. Her granddaughter ends up in the beer making business too.

Orange World

 Orange World is a collection of short stories written by Karen Russel who also wrote Swamplandia. In one story a young man, living with his mother, has a job collecting peat. He finds a girl's body in the bog and takes her home and falls in love. In another story a young pregnant woman makes a deal with the devil to protect her baby. In exchange, at 4:30 a.m. she has to go outside, lie on the sidewalk, and breastfeed the devil who lies in the gutter. This book has some crazy stories that I could never dream up.

Doggone Bones

Today I went on a ten mile bike ride. In the middle of the ride I sat on a bench alongside Lake Winona and read Doggone Bones by Carolyn Haines. This is a mystery novel set in Mississippi. A local pet activist's dog went missing and she hires Sarah to find her. Soon another dog goes missing. Then Sarah's dog and her best friend's dog go missing. Are all these missing dogs taken by the same person?  This was an entertaining book to read on a nice August afternoon.

 

 

Red White And Royal Blue

 I joined a book club at the local library. This book club focuses on banned books. The book we discussed today was Red White And Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston. Casey is a young author who lives in New York City. The book starts in Washington, D.C. The United States has a female Latino President. Alex is her son. Alex has a sister and these two hang out with the daughter of the Vice President. Alex and his family travel to London for a royal wedding. Alex and Prince Harry tumble into the wedding cake smashing it to the floor. To make up for this faux pas Alex and Harry schedule photo shoots together to make it seem like they like each other. Will Alex's work on the campaign help his mother get reelected? There were 3 people besides me in the discussion. One is a heterosexual man and he wouldn't like this book. Another was a woman who was ill today. Most people liked the book. I gave it a 7 with a 10 being the most liked score.

Not In My Book

 Katie Holt is the author of Not In My Book, a novel written about two warring writing students. Aiden, the male lead is in a writing conference with Rosie, the female lead. Aiden is a fan of literary fiction. Rosie is a fan of romance books. Aiden makes sarcastic remarks about Rosie's writing. She makes biting comments about his work. Their war on words is disrupting the class. The teacher threatens to expel them. Neither Rosie nor Aiden want that. For a last chance the teacher tells them to cowrite a story together. This is one of those relationships where initial hatred of each other is love in disguise. Their teacher and the entire classroom realized Rosie was in love with Aiden and Aiden in love with Rosie.

 

 

My Life As A Villainess

 Laura Lippman is the author of My Life As A Villainess. This is a book of 16 essays about her childhood, her education, and the influences on her career as a journalist. She writes about marriage and motherhood, aging, sexism, accomplishments and regrets. She is a very talented writer who normally writes crime novels.

 

 

The Californians

 The Californians, a book written by Brian Castle, spans 100 years in California. One hundred years earlier Klaus Aaronsohn, a Jewish German immigrant, reinvented himself as a silent film director by the name of Klaus Stiegl. He becomes a famous movie director. His granddaughter, Di Stiegl grows up in Palm Springs. She becomes a successful artist in New York City. In 2014 Tobey, a college dropout currently working as a waiter, looses all his belongings in a Northern California wildfire. He steals three of Di Stiegl's paintings from his father to fund a new beginning for himself. This was an interesting story to read.