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Montague Bookmill in Montague, Massachusetts

 

Morning Tea

Just now (this afternoon) finished reading Liz Cheney's book. By far and away, the most important thing she had to say (although everything she said before led up to her statement) are her final words:

"Every one of us . . . must work and vote together to ensure that Donald Trump and those who have appeased, enabled, and collaborated with him are defeated.

This is the cause of our time."

About Time

Just finished reading Rooney's book. A curious work that uses "the history of clocks to look at capitalism, the exchange of knowledge, the building of empires and the radical changes to our lives brought by industrialization." Along the way, he introduces or, in some cases, re-introduces his readers to all kinds of time-keeping devices, including sundials, hourglasses, water clocks, time-finding telescopes, time signals, pocket watches, and, yep, even wristwatches.

Handwriting

 

Speaking (or writing!) of handwriting. I bought this workbook a year or so ago and have really enjoyed practicing some of the author's suggestions. Published in 2021 by Simon & Schuster, it includes "dozens of practice pages to help you create beautiful cursive letters and distinctive hand printing." It also includes recommendations for such things as flourishes, loops, and letter variations. 

Hail!

 

Finished Lazarus' book a couple of days ago. Some familiar stories here, namely Theismann's injury, Riggins' ground game, Art Monk's productivity, etc. But there also were some unfamiliar stories, like Dexter Manley's battle with drug addiction, Gibbs' return after retiring, and Jay Schroeder's trade to the Raiders.

Now what will the renamed Commanders do after this season's over? Will Sam Howell or Jacoby Brissett be back? Will Rivera be back? Speculation is rife.

Gray Day

 

Finished reading O'Neill's book last night. It's his account of the role he played in exposing and arresting Robert Hanssen, the American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent who spied for Soviet and Russian intelligence services against the United States from 1979 to 2001.

Three Ordinary Girls

 

Brady's book is deeply disturbing and dredged up all kinds of old questions I've had over the years about violent versus non-violent forms of resistance.

Spies

 

I've been into spies for some reason lately. One thing I've learned from this is that the Russians have been in the game for a lot longer than either the United States or Britain. I've also begun to better appreciate why Western democracies are so much more vulnerable than their authoritarian counterparts . . .

The Fight of Our Lives

 

 

 

I was back at my library yesterday when I spotted these books on the bottom shelf reserved for recent publications. Even though I'm already deeply engrossed in another book, Howard Blum's In the Enemy's House, I nevertheless also picked up Mendel's The Fight of Our Lives: My Time with Zelenskyy, Ukraine's Battle for Democracy, and What It Means for the World. So many books! So little time!

Ice and Stone

 

I can't believe I missed posting this one, by far and away the most gripping book I've read over these past few months. It reminds me very much of Ernest Shackleton's epic journey in the Antarctic, only this saga took place on the opposite end of the earth. I wouldn't even dream of spoiling your reading by saying any more; so I'll just share this: 

"Winds were whipping up and it was getting very cold by early afternoon. Bartlett told everyone to hurry with the shelters. They should warm themselves by the big fire, try to dry their wet boots and clothing and otherwise keep moving. Bartlett surveyed the island and the surroundings, an empire of ice and stone."

Diary Keepers

 

"For this book, I intentionally chose not to excerpt the best-known diaries . . . by Anne Frank, Etty Hillesum, Abel J. Herzberg, or other worthy diaries . . . More diaries, more perspectives, help us to get a far better sense . . . . I was seeking a range of perspectives, not many but various. I wanted to juxtapose and balance voices from the occupation period and provide a rounded view of the war." -- Nina Siegal

Lie/Lay

 

The answer to one of life's most perplexing problems, thanks to Ellen Jovin's "Rebel with a Clause".

Conspiracy

 

Started reading Meltzer and Mensch's book this past Tuesday. We're well into the plot by now with spies spying on spies who, in turn, are spying on still other spies. In the meantime, the authors are doing a rather masterful job at reminding us of how and why WWII progressed the way it did.

Rebel with a Clause

 

Started reading Jovin’s book yesterday and it’s already a lot of fun. This, for example: “In New York, a fashionably dressed young woman told me, ‘I am an obsessive lover of footnotes,” then pulled out her phone and showed me a photo of her foot with ibid tattooed on it. I had met my first footnote fetishist!” — Rebel with a Clause by Ellen Jovin

Servants of the Damned

 

Finished reading Enrich's book last night. I was so green to the subject that--for several pages--I thought Jones Day was an individual. Only gradually did I become aware that Enrich is referring to the now infamous law firm responsible for--among other things--defending Donald Trump, Purdue Pharma, R. J. Reynolds, Exxon, and the list goes on and on and . . . on, giving me a renewed appreciation for one of the author's opening quotes from the January 2004 edition of American Lawyer magazine: "From handguns to tobacco, Jones Day defends the powerfully damned and the damned powerful."

Tunnels

 

I've "tunneled" through about half of Mitchell's book now and I'm not about to quit before I'm done. Of course, the subject is of deep interest to me because of my own experiences passing back and forth across the Berlin Wall in the 1970s. Mentions of Checkpoint Charlie, Friederichstraße, VoPos, all bring back vivid and even life-changing moments for me, but I also appreciate the details Mitchell brings to light here surrounding how Easterners attempted and, in some cases, actually succeeded in escaping the GDR. Very much worth your reading, especially considering Vladimir Putin's attempt to drag us all into the past.

The Pox and the Covenant

Interesting conclusion to Williams' book: "The inoculation controversy shows us that we cannot blithely continue to make the simplistic and wrong assumption that religion has been an impediment to the progress of modern science and reason throughout the centuries. Moreover, the idea of a conflict between science and religion is a product of the dogmatic and shrill voices on both sides that demonize their opponents and garner media attention. Unexpectedly, an episode from Puritan Massachusetts helps us to debunk those who would pit science against religion."

The Year That Broke America

 

Finished reading Rice's book. The cover actually describes the contents very well, showing how Rice weaves together several seemingly disparate stories into a single narrative, namely the year that broke America. That year being 2000. There is much here that any of us who lived through that period know very well: the Bush vs. Gore election and subsequent controversy, Trump's first forays into politics, plus events that frankly had receded into the dusty corners of my mind, namely Janet Reno's handling of the Elián Gonzalez case and, for instance, the sequence of events leading up to 9/11.

So, did all these events "break" America? Obviously not. Any country that can go through all of the above and still survive Covid is, in my opinion, doing well. Nevertheless, it serves us well to remember how we got to where we are and for that we can be grateful to authors like Andrew Rice for reminding us.

The Dancing Plague

 

Thanks for yesterday's comments! They were very interesting, especially since I was leaning in the same directions. But I finally chose to read John Waller's book, which turned out to be something different than what I was expecting. I'll not give away the story, for the sake of those of you who might also want to read it. All I will say is that Waller's writing style kept me engaged throughout and, as good nonfiction should do, caused me to reflect more deeply on somewhat similar and more contemporary "dancing plagues."

Nonfiction

 

My local library, like many libraries, promotes various books by genre, setting them out on tables. These were just a few of the titles on the nonfiction table. Which one would you choose to read?