By Paul Magriel who had a weekly Backgammon column in the NY Times many years ago. I'll be playing some intense matches over Thanksgiving and I want to brush up on some of the game's subtleties.

It's often restorative to take a break from any activity so enjoy your week, hermetic`!

Best of luck with your matches and I hope you have a really good time.

We'll play some killer matches and he likes to put a little green on the table so family honor (and fortune!) are on the line!

I've been very slow on my reading this year. Going to try to catch up.

https://imgur.com/gallery/ijGPJ

I just never seem to find time to read these days. The Once and Future King is one of my favorite stories.

"The whole world knows and loves this book. It is the magical epic of King Arthur and his shining Camelot; of Merlyn and Owl and Guinevere; of beasts who talk and men who fly, of wizardry and war. It is the book of all things lost and wonderful and sad. It is the fantasy masterpiece by which all others are judged." Yep.

It’s a Harry Bosch novel. I also read his Lincoln Lawyer this week. Both are fast paced but almost as from different authors.

I'm still reading The Black Echo whenever I can find a little time. Someone checked out The Lincoln Lawyer DVD before I could get to it, so I put it on reserve.

Mr. Connelly is evidently quite talented.

When this one is done have Lee Child's "The Midnight Line" on deck followed by Connelly's Latest"Two Kinds of Truth" A Bosch novel

Another Connelly fan! We all really like Lee Child here, too. Welcome aboard.

I have read every Reacher and all of Connelly's stuff plus Robert Parker.......Sandford,Thor,Grisham etc. I read constantly

by Jaroslav Hasek. It's hard to believe I never read this. Svejk is a certified idiot with the papers to prove it; a middle-aged innocent who's seen it all. The Penguin edition has helpful foot notes, so when Svejk reminds us of poor Empress Elizabeth who was stabbed to death with a file the footnote provides the year, 1895, the place, Switzerland as well as the fact that it was an assassination. Svejk has just been found guilty of treason, which he's positive he committed. I really like where this is headed.

This sounds wonderful. Like you, can't understand why I never heard of it before.

Five pages in and I'm done!

I've heard this is an amazing book, though it seems to take readers a while to get through it. Plus, reviews are very mixed. I can't decided whether or not to give it a go. I guess I will put it on my list, towards the end for after I've read all the others on it.

May try again later.

I work third shift and often have time to read. But It hard to read a book that takes a lot of concentration

It seemed like a great concept and i expected to like it going in, but it just didn't happen

I don't want to read it at all.

I may have made it 25.

Big, very dark-humored novel about the travails of a large Cape Cod family, led and controlled by The Mother From Hell: scheming, hateful, lying, constantly setting her children against one another---and yet they all live out their lives in close proximity to her, as if her ill treatment is something they need. Well-written, as you'd expect from Theroux---but if you had a Problem Mama, you may fail to see the humor.

Theroux's The Mosquito Coast so this sounds like another winner. I could see, however, that if someone had a bad childhood due to their mother, this one might not appeal. I'm putting it on my list, though.

I finished "Magpie Murders" and we starting watching "Midsomer Murders (what a hoot!)," both by Anthony Horowitz. Coming in the mail from Amazon today are "The Eyre Affair" and "The Woman on the Orient Express." But I started "A Monstrous Regiment of Women," second one in Laurie R. King's Russell and Sherlock series.

Some really good stuff there. I am delighted to discover my library has several Anthony Horowitz books, and I will def go looking for "Midsomer Murders" on DVDs, or tapes. Sounds like a real treat.

I recently enjoyed The Eyre Affair, and The Woman on the Orient Express sounds terrific.

I just received a used copy of The Beekeeper's Apprentice and am sure looking forward to it. Happy happy.

I wasn't sure I would really enjoy them, but I seem to be whipping through the second one. Have already put a hold on the third book in the series from my library.
When Life is a total mess, stories that have a perfect solution seem to make things better.
Horowoitz has a brand new one out, The Word is Murder, and my husband thoughtfully found one on eBay for me. Midsomer Murders is on Netflix if you have that, hermetic. Talk about eccentric characters!

I QUIT TV about 15 years ago. Now I just have an old Sony television and DVD/VHS player. I wait and read and find shows I think worth watching and buy them used for a few bucks. This, for me, has been a perfect solution. And I do love eccentric characters. These days, for instance, I am finally watching Breaking Bad. Bought it for just a few bucks, much cheaper than subscribing to cable or whatever. Plus I can watch at my leisure. Works for me.

Husband watches golf quite a bit, and I need my Rachel Maddow. Otherwise, it's just good stuff we find on Netflix or Amazon Prime. I do confess to Star Trekking when I'm in the sewing room.

I just finished the second one and I've already reserved the next two at my library. Very absorbing, and helping me get through a medical situation with extreme distraction.

I appreciate what a great distraction reading can be.

It's about the female characters in Shakespeare.

Enjoy.

I used to live in Minnesota.