Carl > Recent Status Updates

Early foster history . . . eastern street kids packed off to the West to new homes. Children? Unpaid workers? Not clear. Orphan trains . . . get off in a town, have people look them over and select . . . not selected, then off to the next town.

17 year-old orphan train kid murders two in Wyoming. Not exactly cold, more casual about it all. National trial sensation.

Hung . . . at 17.

Similar tale of young man, killer, sentenced to life in prison for murder of fellow worker when he was 19. Killed in U-district as she tries to get him to sign up to be an Amway salesperson. To him, she's just a fool. In prison, he sees pattern of arrested, incarcerated foster kids. Investigates, forms groups, writes government leaders, does more to bring this relationship of crime/foster homes to the forefront.

Rowe, Seattle writer, uses stories of individual wards of the state to examine the failings of the system. Marianne, murderer at 16, sentenced to 20 years in prison at 19. Abused by father; mother drug addict and neglectful; adopted and then unadopted; kills and robs 21 year-old. She says he raped her, but what rape exactly means to her is not clear.

Dorothy and Fred having tough times. One child has died, followed by a miscarriage. Fred had an affair, broke it off, but they sleep separately. Dorothy heads off to the store to shop for dinner, meets a friend, rushes home to cook. ON the radio she hears of the escape of a monsterman, dangerous creature. She looks up--there he is. Instead of being a monster, he quickly becomes her lover. Odd but engaging.

40 women kept prisoner underground somewhere. They don't know why they are prisoners or where they are. Guards watch them constantly but don't interact. Main character is "the child." Her arrest is probably a mistake. The women share the experiences of adult life; she can share nothing as she has only known this life. Double victim.
Handmaid's Tale comes immediately to mind.

Saw the movie with Boris Karloff recently so decided to reread this. Needless to say, the book is much more interesting than the movie. Some odd plot holes (where is the monster for two years?) but is still excellent. Servant girl, innocent, after she is convicted "confesses" to the crime. Written wen MWS was 20 or so. Amazing.

Natural history sections are wonderful, very informative about a subject I never gave a thought. RWK, unfortunately, does not wear her virtue lightly. She is the paragon of virtue when it comes to respecting nature and the wild.

Father dies. He learns of family wealth which was substantial 15 years earlier. (Yearly expenditure of $110,000.) Fortune has declined since then, bad investments and his mother's outrageous allowance ($40,000 per year in 1910)

Life at Princeton. Infatuation with girl back in Minneapolis. He thinks he loves her, but comes to realize he has simply given her qualities that he'd like to love in a girl. She is creature of his imagination. Lots of drinking parties . . . and finally a car crash and a dead classmate. Amory fails exam at end of sophomore year making him ineligible for distinction as upperclassman.

Amory part of traveling comic troupe connected to Princeton. Descriptions of meetings with upper class girls who are faster than their parents know . . . reminds me in some ways of Downton Abbey as a peak into an entirely different world of wealth and privilege.

So far, this epitomizes the entitled, white male privilege critique. Amory is born rich, is a snob, expects things to fall his way, and they do. Alcoholic mother, but she plays such a small part in his upbringing it hardly matters.

Ambitious thriller. Crime is background to investigation of rural Virginia.

Charles poor student who becomes doctor through memorization, not comprehension. First wife, older, loses her money and then conveniently dies. He has been treating Emma's father for a broken leg (simple setting, luckily for him) and he falls in love with Emma. With first wife dead, marriage comes quickly.
Plot moves masterfully; descriptions wonderful; characterizations great.

Escaped serial killer bumping off various enemies. The criminologist he spoke with (Paige) is working with FBI Christopher to catch him. They go to possible victim's homes, someone shows up, not Adam the Killer. Formulaic, to put it mildly, as Paige then blames herself for not predicting the next victim. I'm guessing Adam will grab Paige at the end, and either she or Christopher will bump him off.

Irish kid Queens, Gibson, Rockaway Beach, visits to Manhattan. 1970's. Nasty older brother; depressed mother; okay father. Grandfather on one side murdered (bad debts).
Melancholy
I'm listening on Audible, read by the author . . . not crazy about his reading as it sometimes borders on parody of smart guy. Suspect I'd like the book more as a read . . .

Murder at BnB on inaugural night. Five suspects. Lacey Doyle, antique shop owner and amateur sleuth, is out to prove the police wrong. Enjoyable so far, if a bit predictable. The old male police detective is stubborn and not open to Lacey's help. The younger female detective is much more amenable. Lacey's boyfriend is oblivious to the ways in which he inflames her jealousy. Male = dumb, stubborn, wrong.

Finished first story. Excellent atmosphere. Strange family in the mountains, with strange son . . . is his grandfather his father? Where did he come from. He grows to an abnormal height abnormally fast, is brilliant, is dangerous. Head off to libraries to get magical incantations from forbidden books. Returns to hillside . . . who is he calling to? For what vile purpose.
Ending reminiscent of War of Worlds

Not sure why this is so famous. It's fine, but fine doesn't usually garner a Pulitzer. Plot: Bridge of San Luis Rey collapses after centuries of use. Five die. Question: Is there any meaning in these deaths? Only way to find out is to examine the lives. End result is a series of longish short stories that end, for each of the protagonists, with the collapse of the bridge.

Terrific book. Minute by minute account of shift of one nurse in an oncology department. One patient scheduled for dangerous drug infusion; another with perforated intestine that the oncology dept did not suspect. Third looks to be heading home. Fourth arrives for more treatment--reputation as a pain in the ass precedes her. Interplay of patients-doctors-nurses-interns-fellows All fascinating, well written

Debreczeni was a reporter before he was transported to the camps, and his ability to remember and report is incredible. A very hard read because it rings so true about something that seems unreal. It's a great book, but I'll be glad to be done with it.

Three major characters, post WWI, are now coming together as East Africa (sort of) rebuilds. Feels more like the characters are there to give the history rather than them being true characters. Old-fashioned novel in many ways . . . not much interior dialogue, psychology

Merdle is going to lead all of our characters back into poverty. Clennam's mother's secret is in the hands of the dastardly Rigaud/Blandois, a Frenchman. Amy Dorrit and her uncle retain their sense of self, though the sister and father have moments when they drop their insane pretentiousness. Father Dorrit is developing dementia. Biggest mystery is why Amy continues to fawn all over him as he's insufferable .

East Africa from late 1890's to 1920s
German controlled area--Zanzibar, Tanzania
Orphaned girl, her brother, soldier with Germans as three main characters.

Dorrit's are riding high; Rigaud might bring them down. Great characters.
Clennam and Amy Dorrit perfect, but Clennam's mother is hiding something, Pancks is Sherlock Holmes of sorts, Rigaud is the devil, Clennam's first girlfriend, now obese, is cringe-worthy

On and on.

Dorrit now rich. Pompous, unbearable. Dastardly Frenchman has some mysterious information. Little Dorrit retains her good nature. Grand tour of Europe

Jillian on codeine, suspended license, driving others car. Megan being unpleasant; Randy about to dump her; long boring sequence regarding J helping with church party

Jillian works at colonoscopy doctor's office . . . one son . . . holding things together, but barely . . . license suspended, driving anyway, car impounded

Megan at same office . . . younger by a decade . . . heavy drinker . . . depressed . . . boyfriend Randy is a bit of a mystery . . . how does he put up with her . . . Dislikes Jillian . . . expects J to implode, something she might very well do

Debtor's prison . . . pompous father . . . Amy Dorrit hired by strange widow with a guilty secret . . . her son befriends the Dorrit's . . . strange, violent Frenchman who seems unrelated to the plot so far

Typical Dickensian characters throughout

real attempt to unify the essays. Comment--"You could read them backwards." Believer in the power of writing coming from short passages, so his style fits his thoughts on reading . . . lectured around the country . . . met Coleridge, Wordsworth in England -- not much sympathy developed, but lifelong friendship with Macauley. 2nd wife poked fun at him with writings intended only for family.

Left safe post as Unitarian . . . first wife dies of TB . . . marries again . . . writer, lecturer . . . cool personality . . . first son (Waldo) dies of scarlet fever . . . grief at times, cool at times . . . friendship with Thoreau who is younger by many years . . . friendship cools . . . Thoreau dies of TB . . . writing style--journal, indexed, pulls sentences out on "Nature" for example. Plunks them down.