Pam’s Comments (group member since Jul 12, 2018)

Pam’s comments from the Never too Late to Read Classics group.

We are supposed to hit 99 tomorrow so another hot one! Fortunately, ours friends who throw a 4th of July party are holding it in the morning - continental breakfast at 9am and hot dogs for lunch. Happy 4th to all of our American members! Be safe and stay cool!

Welcome Luís! Glad you are going to join us!

Mbuye and Jen- I’m glad to see you are both interested also! This will be my first book by Amado. I’m interested to see how his writing compares to other Latin American authors.

Annette - Great! I requested a copy through ILL I hope it doesn’t take too long. The book sounds really good to me!

I enjoyed the movie, back in the '80s, but have never read the book. I will try to read it in September. I love that it is set in my home state of NM. I am looking forward to it and have it on my 2024 reading plan. Unfortunately, my reading for Jan-June hasn't gone to plan BUT hoping the next 6 months will be better!

For the months of July and August, we will be reading Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon by Brazilian author Jorge Amado. Originally published in 1958 in Portuguese with an English translation published in 1962, it is a tale of romance set in the small Brazilian town of Ilhéus during the 1920s. The book tells two separate but related tales – one of romance and another of the political struggle between the cacao plantation and the forces of modernization. It is widely considered one of Amado's finest works and has been adapted into 3 different telenovelas and a Brazilian movie. It sounds like a good summer read! Anyone interested in joining in the discussion of this book?

Source: Wikipedia

I picked up a new publication (April 2024) of The Obscene Bird of Night by Chilean author José Donoso. I can across the title while researching Latin American books. There is a small display of Cult Classics at the bookstore that I go to and it's the one display where I always find something of interest! Based on the description, I'm thinking that this book might be a challenge for me but it sounds very interesting.

Wow Lesle! That’s a rough schedule! Hope you get a break soon. I couldn’t handle the humidity that other places experience. When we get over 25% we start noticing the humidity! Monsoon season just started so we will have higher humidity and rain for a few months.

Thanks Luis. I’m not near the fires but it’s a devastating loss for our state. So many people have lost their homes and businesses. Then with the rains, there’s an additional problem with flash flooding.

We have had terrible fires this week near Ruidoso in southern NM. About 1400 structures destroyed and 2 people have died so far. It’s just heart-breaking to see the loss. I’ve talked with 2 of my family members who know people who lost their home. Finally getting some rain, which will help control the fires. A little bit too late, though.

Stay cool and safe everyone suffering from this heatwave!

Thanks everyone for your comments! I was nervous about planning this event since I haven’t planned an event since my wedding. Things just fell into place, though. Even the weather cooperated! It was 100 degrees that weekend, but dropped to the high 80s that day and was raining on other parts of the city. It was nice to reconnect with 2 of my dad’s siblings, one of whom has pancreatic cancer and surprised us by being able to fly out from Florida. It is definitely easier to have a ceremony after some time has passed since you are further along in the grieving process.

We had our Celebration of Life for both of my parents 2 weekends ago. (My mom died in 2021 and my dad 3 months ago.) It went really well and I’m so glad that we did it! We’ve been working on cleaning out his house. I have an arborist here today taking down dead/dying trees and pruning. It’s looking a lot better! I just started getting back to reading after about a 2-3 week break! Things are finally getting back to normal and not so hectic.

Welcome back Anisha!

Oops, I should have said John instead of Mike! Sorry John.

I’m reading The Long Secret (Harriet the Spy #2) by Louise Fitzhugh. I read Harriet the Spy back in the early 70s but didn’t know there was a sequel. Or, maybe I read it and just don’t remember. That’s always a possibility!

Lesle - I had a cool (temperature-wise day) on Monday because it finally rained! But, it’s unbearably hot again. 101 today 🥵!

Leona - I’ve been doing genealogy research since 2000! My (half) aunt was visiting this past weekend and I got her Ancestry DNA file uploaded to MyHeritage while she was here. I was very excited because I needed someone from my dad’s maternal line. So, I’ve spent a lot of time the last few days researching on MH. It is addictive, time-consuming, and very much like solving a puzzle, as Mike said. I quit for about 20 years and have almost given up several times since then with my East European roots but something always pulls me back! I keep feeling like I’m close to breaking through those brick walls.

Montse - I struggle with audiobooks, also! Non-fiction is usually easier for me to listen to. I do have the Don Quixote audiobook on hold though. Expected wait time is 2 weeks. Sometimes I do a combo of reading and listening.

That’s awesome Annette!

Thank you Montse! I am still reading but had to take a reading break the last few weeks. I’ve been really busy planning a Celebration of Life and hosting family members. I’ll free up completely on Wednesday afternoon and can start concentrating on reading again! I’ll try to get caught up.

Welcome Lady! Glad you found us and hope you enjoy reading with the group.