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1. Lavinia, by Ursula LeGuin. This was a reread, for one of my book clubs. I'm glad I reread it, because I didn't care for it the first time around. Might have had too much else going on. I appreciated it more the second time around. Here, LeGuin tells the story on Aeneas, but from his young wife Lavinia's point of view. Lavina, the daughter of King Latinus and Queen Amata, has many suitors for her hand, but an oracle warns against her marrying anyone from Latium. Instead, she is betrothed to the handsome Trojan Aeneas, who has found his way to Latium. This starts a bloody war between the Trojans and the spurned suitors, most notably Turnus. Needless to say, the Trojans win. Lavinia is a compelling narrator, as she struggles between what is expected to her while making sure her own voice is heard.

2. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury. I've read this before, but it's been ages. I enjoyed and appreciated it before, but I appreciate it now that I'm older and so much as happened. The story is well-known. Montag is a firefighter, but in Bradbury's fictional world, he is a part of a team that starts fires, not extinguishes them. Specifically, they burn books and even the houses that have sheltered books which, in this universe, are considered too problematic and even too dangerous to be allowed to exist. However, Montag begins to question what he does after a particularly troubling fire, along with a brief acquaintance with a teen girl who thinks in ways Montag has never fathomed. Unfortunately, I fear the messages in this classic novel will always be relevant, even prescient.

Currently reading: Parable of the Talents, by Octavia E. Butler

3. Parable of the Talents, by Octavia E. Butler. A fantastic sequel to the first book. It's hard-hitting, beautifully written and utterly terrifying at times. The book is told from two points of view: the first from Olamina, the narrator of the first book, Parable of the Sower, and the second from her daughter. The daughter's view is fascinating as she describes her mother, the undeniable hero in the previous book, in less than a flattering light. Talents takes place about five years after the end of the first book. Olamina has established Acorn, which is thriving, but their peace and security is threatened by the election of a fanatic who wants to wipe out dissident voices. There's a couple of unexpected twists and the ending, while not happy in the strictest sense, is satisfying in its honesty.
4. Growing Up Bulldog: The Stowbilly Chronicles, by Michael Pollick. This was written by a local author, who shares, in a series of essays, his life growing up in Stow, Ohio. He also includes several of his poems. The essays are highly entertaining and often funny, and the poems are quite good. I really enjoyed this journey into the past.
Currently reading: Flapper, by Joshua Zeitz, and News for the Rich, White and Blue, by Nikki Usher.

5. Hay Fever, by Noel Coward. I saw this play ages ago, and it's a hoot on stage. Looking forward to seeing it again soon. I provided some assistance with this production so I read the script to get a better feel on what was needed. Of course, reading a script could never replace seeing a live production, but Coward's legendary humor can be seen in the script. The story follows the Bliss family. Calling them eccentric is an understatement. Each member of the family has invited a guest to their expansive manor for the weekend, without telling anyone else. Guests who have no idea what they are in for.

Currently reading: News for the Rich, White and Blue, by Nikki Usher, and Flapper, by Joshua Zeitz.

6. Flapper, by Joshua Zeitz. A fairly short and quick read, but stuffed with a lot of information on the era and the people who defined it. What I really liked is how Zeitz connects the dots on why the seemingly sudden shift from the more conservative Victorian and Edwardian to the free-wheeling Jazz Age. The chapters take the reader through the early, middle and end of the Roaring Twenties. Of course, F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald figure prominently as the ones who essentially defined the 20s and the iconic flapper. Also loved learning about Lois Long, the columnist who went by "Lipstick," and stars such as Colleen Moore, who helped define the flapper look and attitude. The book also goes into the evolution of the movie scene, the fashion scene, the start and rise of conspicuous consumerism, and some of the movements that tried to counter this era's emphasis on gin and jazz- obviously with little success. It wasn't until the Great Depression that the flapper and the era that celebrated her faded away. A fantastic read for history buffs.

Didn't finish: Shit, Actually, by Lindy West. I thought the premise was promising: a tongue-in-cheek review of movies, comparing them to The Fugitive, heralded by the author as the best movie of all time, bar none. I got through one and a half chapters before giving up. The first chapter wasn't too bad- if the whole thing had been along this level I probably would have finished at least. But the second chapter, the review on Love, Actually (obviously where the title comes from), descended to puerile and even a bit mean. Don't get me wrong- I don't care for Love, Actually. I saw it once, thought it was OK but not something I'd watch again. But the humor in the book was not to my taste.

Currently reading: A Brief History of Time, by Stephen Hawking, News for the Rich, White and Blue, by Nikki Usher (have about a chapter to go), and I Am Malala, by Malala Yousefzai

7, A Brief History of Time, by Stephen Hawking. This was a challenge, and while this book is short took me a couple months to finish. I did enjoy it, and do recall a good deal of the science from high school. Also, Hawking could be really funny, and he does admit in his book when an idea he had turned out to be wrong. I admit, though, there were parts of this that went over my head, try as I might to fathom them, like string theory.

8. Leaves of Grass, by Walt Whitman. I started reading his poems, a few at a time, as part of my reading series, and finished a couple months ago. Big accomplishment- Whitman was a prolific writer! I can see and appreciate why he is considered so vital to American poetry. I can also see why this book is often challenged in schools (not agreeing with censoring it but I can see where feathers would be ruffled). Whitman ultimately comes across as a patriot and an optimist, confident in the powers of exploration and innovation. As his poems go on, there's an interesting shift from an almost agnostic view to a position that a god exists. All in all, his poetry has aged well (there was only one poem, really, that made me cringe).

9. News for the Rich, White and Blue, by Nikki Usher. This book is so hard to evaluate. Much of it is good- solid, data-based conclusions as to why newspapers and news media is drifting more and more to being accessible only for the "blue" areas and by the wealthy. Usher goes into why the current models (especially the ad-based model) doesn't work anymore, and why most papers are going to struggle on a subscription and online ad model. The best example she gives of a Miami paper that did stellar coverage when Fidel Castro died- their metrics skyrocketed- but their work did not generate a single additional dollar. News for the Rich, White and Blue was a chilling read. Unfortunately, where this work falls flat, is in the chapter on solutions. This makes me wonder how well Usher understands the industry. One solution I agree with: newspapers (and businesses in general) need to have paid internships if they want more diversity in the newsrooms. But several other solutions are deeply flawed. The main ones: drop coverage of smaller events and meetings. Concentrate all efforts of investigative journalism. Rely more on "citizen journalists" who would be paid a stipend to go to meetings, take notes, and send them off to the paper (sort of like a court reporter).

I'll take the second item first: I'd love to see news media do more with investigative journalism. It's badly needed, and that's where the industry tends to shine brightest and make the most lasting impact. The problem? It's also by far the most expensive and time-consuming. A quarter of a million dollars is actually on the low side when it comes to how much doing a deep dive can cost. With smaller papers on squeezed budgets and the larger chains only concerned about ROI, this, unfortunately, is just not going to happen unless a LOT of foundation support crops up.

The first point- about forgetting about the smaller events- was the most irksome. The flaw can be summed up like this: Watergate was a bungled burglary- until it wasn't. No, I did not say that, and I don't recall who did- but it fits.

I've lost track of how many times a mundane meeting wound up being a big story locally, but I don't think I could ever top what happened to a friend and former colleague. He had three stories go viral nationally within about two years. All three also generated a month plus worth of stories that the Almighty Algorithm gods found especially delectable. All three stories stemmed from events that Usher would have advocated not bothering with. To be fair, two of those stories we would have found out about and could have done follow-ups, but it would have involved scrambling to play catch-up. The third and arguably most consequential story? Had my friend not been there to see what transpired and to ask the hard questions before cover stories could be concocted and spin created, we would have never had that story. It would have been neatly swept under the rug, with no way to verify what actually happened.

The reality is you aren't going to find the big stories without shoe leather on the pavement, even for the routine and mundane. If you want to find the big stories, you need to know the communities, the people who make it tick and the issues that will divide them and bring them together. By ignoring the smaller things, you risk missing the forest for the trees.

The third idea- the concept of citizen journalists � is actually one idea I like in theory. It would increase interest (and understanding) of journalism and news coverage. It would get people more involved in their communities. It could bring previously unheard voices to the forefront.

The problem? This was done before.

The idea of Citizen Journalism was all the buzz in the early 2000s. In fact, another friend and former colleague started a non-profit to train citizen journalists and provided a platform for publication. I took his workshops, out of curiosity, and they were solid. His nonprofit produced some great journalism. The problem is, once the grants dried up, it disappeared. So did many other efforts nationwide. Little to nothing remains of this grass-roots effort now. From what I've read about the current attempts to restart this, I doubt it will last. I wouldn't mind being proven wrong, but there are a lot of issues and obstacles that scuttled the first efforts that haven't been addressed in the current day.

Currently reading: I Am Malala, by Malala Yousefzai, All the News That's Fit to Click, by Caitlin Petre, and Killers of the Flower Moon, by David Grann.

10. I Am Malala, by Malala Yousefzai. Wow. This was written some time ago by the young lady who was shot, and nearly killed, by the Taliban. She survived, won the Nobel Peace award, still speaks out for education, especially for girls, and is married now. Yousefzai gives readers a glimpse of the town of Swat, where she grew up- their culture, traditions, routines, foods and overall life.

Their lives get turned upside down when the Taliban move in and enforce strict rules against music, dance, and education for girls (among many, many other horrors). Yousefzai's father ran a school for both boys and girls, despite many pressures to bar girls from attending (part of the reason her school bus was eventually targeted). Her observations are thoughtful and worth reading.

One of them that stuck with me, and I'm paraphrasing because I don't have the book with me, is how people love their shoes, but show little respect for the cobbler, love their shawls and rugs but show no love for the weavers. That translates universally, and shows a big reason why groups like the Taliban and other militant groups form and gain clout. This should be required reading in middle and high schools.

11. Killers of the Flower Moon, by David Grann. I've read a lot of true crime books, but this is arguably the best I've ever read. Fair warning, though: anyone with any sort of conscious will be infuriated by what was done to the Osage. In most true crime stories, the reader generally already knows whodunit, either from the book itself or the fact that the story is already well-known. This is a dark and horrifying chapter of our history that is not well-known, so Grann's treating this more like a mystery works incredibly well. The reader finds out information as the investigators discover it in the first three-quarters of the novel, and then make more discoveries as the author himself uncovers them. That was probably the biggest surprise- in most true crime and mysteries, the last chapter or two is usually just wrapping up loose ends and telling readers where the key people are now, a sort of epilogue. Not here, oh no. In fact, the final chapter probably has the biggest bombshells. The last chapter probably took me the longest to get through because I had to keep stopping to take in what I had read.

Another strong point is the author doesn't just stick with the Reign of Terror, but goes into the many other ways the Osage were swindled and double-crossed out of their money. One of the worst was the "guardianship" edict, where the Osage were deemed uncapable of handling their own money so they were assigned white guardians to oversee their finances. These guardians even controlled how much and on what the Osage could spend- even in matters concerning food, clothing and medicine. Two people actually died as a result of these policies. This is only the tip of the iceberg.

I don't want to give away too many spoilers because part of what drew me into the story was NOT knowing what was going on or what was happening. In summary, the Osage, who had been driven from their original homeland, purchase land with the stipulation that any minerals, mining or oil belonged to the tribe. This was something the government quickly signed off on, thinking the patch of land had little value. Some years later, though, the Osage find out that their land has millions of dollars worth of oil. They go from provincial to being the wealthiest community in the world. Yes, world. But... then members of the Osage start dying, either under "mysterious circumstances," or just plain murder. A young J. Edgar Hoover, head of the newly created bureau of investigation (later the FBI) sends in a team to figure out what is going on.

Grann did an incredible job in researching the past and with his many interviews. While looking into the Reign of Terror, he made several discoveries on his own. We will never know all that happened- too much time has passed, too much truth went to the grave, and too many records have either been lost or were falsified. But while the official 24 people murdered as a result of rampant greed, the actual number of those murdered was probably in the hundreds.

This needs to be required reading in the high schools.

Currently reading: All the News That's Fit to Click, by Caitlin Petre, and Raining Tears, by Laura Freeman.

12. A Child's Garden of Verses, by Robert Louis Stevenson. I read this collection of poetry for my online readings. This is definitely one of my favorites, these poems were so charming and whimsical, for the most part. Mom told me she read me a lot of these when I was really young. I don't recall that but it would explain why I felt sort of nostalgic when I read them. This would be good for pre-K and primary aged students. There is one poem that, shall we say, didn't age well. But the others hold up and reading them made me smile.

13. Raining Tears, by Laura Freeman. A disclaimer: the author is a friend and former co-worker. That said, I really enjoyed this thriller. Detective Sidney Harrison is asked to investigate and quickly wrap up what initially looks like a case of a robbery gone wrong, with police shooting the suspect. However, small but important details surface, and the detective quickly realizes the case is more complicated than she could have realized. The rest of the story deals with how Harrison manages to figure out the real story (something the reader is already privy to, but the hunt as Harrison puts together the pieces is engaging). The characters are well done and interesting, and I finished the book in a few days- hard to put down!

Currently reading: All the News That's Fit to Click by Caitlin Petre, The Chiffon Trenches by Andre Leon Talley, and The 1910 Slocum Massacre by E. R. Bills.

14. All the News That's Fit to Click by Caitlin Petre. This book delves into the impact of metrics and algorithms on the news media. The bulk of this, according to the author, was written nearly a decade ago, so this serves as an interesting time capsule into the earlier days of following metrics and the guesswork into what would get the clicks. Naturally some of this is dated, but that's to be expected. Of course, several years later the questions this book asks have more or less been answered. Still, it's worth a read- Petre goes into not just the impact of the numbers but in how newsrooms function, for better and for worse.

15. The Chiffon Trenches by Andre Leon Talley. I saw the documentary, The Gospel According to Andre and was intrigued by Talley and his life in the fashion and editorial worlds. He sounds like he would have been an interesting guy to have met, a larger than life personality who rubbed shoulders and worked with some of the biggest names in fashion and the entertainment. In addition, his in-depth knowledge of the history of fashion would have made him a fascinating person to know (at least for a fashion history nerd like myself). I found Talley's autobiography a bit disappointing, though. It's not bad, especially for those who want an inside look at the workings of the fashion news industry, which Talley dominated for several years, particularly when he was at Vogue. But it needed a kind if firm editor to polish it up, tweak the organization and help cut down on the repeated information (I lost track on how often he wrote that Karl Lagerfeld was incredibly generous...when he wanted to be). Also, his vacillations between near worship and veiled detestation of some people, particularly Lagerfeld and longtime editor-in-chief of Vogue Magazine, can give the reader whiplash. I suppose one could argue this is just an honest look at Talley's state of mind and his mixed feelings about these highly talented if controversial figures.

16. The 1910 Slocum Massacre, by E. R. Bills. Over two days in July 1910, more than 20 Black people were killed after a white mob went on a rampage due, officially, to rumors and "misunderstandings." This is a terrible incident that is little known about, and has been barely acknowledged in Slocum. The author goes into what led up to the massacre, which officially took 22 lives (although the true death toll could very well have surpassed the Tulsa massacre 11 years later), the court case that resulted, and similar incidents. The lasting legacy is that many Black families fled the slaughter and never came back, and their properties were quickly snapped up by white landowners (which makes the whole claim of "misunderstandings" suspicious). Readers with younger children should be aware that there are several photos included which are disturbing, depicting dead lynching victims. That said, I think these photos need to be shown and am glad the author included them.

17. Poems, by Oscar Wilde. I read Wilde's poetry, from what I found at bartlby.com, as a part of my poetry series. I love Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and The Canterville Ghost. So when I found his collection of poems, published in 1881, I was eager to check them out. They are...OK. I was expecting something sharper, maybe more humorous. His poems are well-written and paint lovely pictures. I especially liked the ones that conveyed ancient Greek mythos. But I found them rather ordinary, stereotypical love poetry that often came off as maudlin, even boring.

18. The Cleveland Connection, by Les Roberts. Fair warning- I know the author and consider him a friend. I'm also a fan of the Milan Jacovich series of mystery novel's Roberts is probably best known for. Strangely, this one I'd never read until now. I'd recommend any of the Jacovich books, which are murder mysteries set in the Cleveland area, but this one was one of the best. Not only did it keep me guessing until nearly the end but went into a part of World War II history I'd never heard. In this story, Jacovich, who is of Slovenian heritage, goes into the Serbian neighborhoods after he is contacted by a family about the disappearance of their elderly father. He winds up meeting several colorful characters from the community. Meanwhile, one of his closest friends, Ed Stahl, a newspaper columnist, is getting death threats after publishing a column on the impropriety of a contract.

19. Because I Could Not Stop for Death, by Amanda Flower. Disclaimer: I know the author. The first in what is looking to be a series of "cozy" mysteries with hard-working Willa Noble, who finds employment with the wealthy and prominent Dickenson family. Shortly after she is hired on as a maid for the Dickinsons, Willa's brother dies under mysterious circumstances. With the encouragement of Emily Dickinson (yes, that Emily Dickinson), Willa starts to investigate what really happened to her brother and what other secrets there are in Amherst. Meanwhile, Amherst and Washington D.C. are full of talk about a possible war. I read this quickly- it was hard to put down. I like how the story and historical events weave together. I did guess whodunit pretty quickly but there were a couple of other surprising twists.

Currently reading: The C.I., by Les Roberts, and The House at Hurds' Corners, by Lynda Durrant.

20. The House at Hurds' Corners, by Lynda Durrant. I picked this up to help with a story I was working on. The titular house is real and still stands not too far from where I live. Durrant tells the story of the house and its first family through the eyes of the only daughter, Mary Frances. I found the story charming. It is historical fiction but Durrant weaves in a lot of history, such as John Brown's work, Johnny Appleseed's travels and Sojourner Truth's famous "Ain't I a Woman" speech at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in Akron. Other local touches and landmarks and also referenced. I think the biggest surprise was how schools operated. I wonder if the school year calendar was only local or more widespread? At any rate, this would be a good read for older grade school and middle school students looking to learn about local history.

21. The CI, by Les Roberts. This one is tough to rate. The core, important factors � the plot and the characters � are solid. The storyline starts fairly simply. Jericho Paich reluctantly tries to help his girlfriend but instead winds up in the clutches of of a malignantly ambitious police officer, Keenan Mayo. Mayo fives Jerry a choice: become a confidential informant or go to jail. Jerry goes to Laird Janiver, his mother's live-in boyfriend. Together, they come in contact with a slew of characters, including an albino crime lord, an inept politician and an enforcer for a powerful family. These stories weave themselves together seamlessly. Most of the characters range from deeply flawed to unredeemable but they were all interesting, and while I may not have liked their actions to a degree I could understand why they were the way they were. The problem was there were several typos and editing mistakes, enough to be distracting. Hope this can get fixed in a second run.

22. A Boy's Will, by Robert Frost. I read these as a part of my poetry readings, getting the poems from Bartleby. They are a series of mostly shorter poems that are loosely tied to a young boy's adventures and life. I found them sweet and fun, for the most part.

Currently reading: Social Media and the Public Interest, by Philip M. Napoli; The Future of the Mind, by Michio Kaku; North of Boston, by Robert Frost; and Love Me More Than Anything in the World, by Mira Furlan.

23. An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving, by Louisa May Alcott. A sweet short story, a bit dated but charming all the same. Truly an "old-fashioned" tale. The story centers on the Bassett family, a large farming family in New Hampshire. The mother is getting ready for a big Thanksgiving feast for the immediate and extended family when the family gets word that grandmother is ill. So the father and mother take the baby and head off as quickly as possible to see grandmother, whom they have been told is fading fast. This leaves the children to their own devices and their ideas on preparing for Thanksgiving. The results are from perfect but are from the heart, and the holiday ends on a happy note overall. Fans of Little Women will probably enjoy this short holiday story.

24. Dracula's Guest, by Bram Stoker. If I recall, this is supposed to be either a prequel or sort of missing early chapter of Stokers famous novel. It's a good read for Dracula fans. The mystery is who the unnamed narrator is (I wonder if it's Renfield?) In this story, an Englishman decides to go on a solo adventure, and soon has reason to regret it. His salvation comes from a rather unexpected source.

25. Thurnley Abbey, by Perceval Landon. I'd love to see this short story turned into a play (if a play doesn't already exist.) The tale is told in a "story within a story" format, which was popular in that time (this was published in 1908). While on a train, the narrator gets an unusual request from another passenger, then is told a story that is both scary and a bit funny. It's hard to tell too much more without giving away spoilers, just that this was an enjoyable read.

26.William Wilson, by Edgar Allan Poe. I thought I'd read everything by Poe, so I was delighted to find this story. It's sad this gem isn't better known because it's so well-written. Here, the narrator, who calls himself William Wilson, admits to being a wanton and a delinquent. While at school, he finds he is classmates with another student of the same age and same name. That's not all they have in common. Wilson finds himself increasingly enraged by this other person with the same moniker. The ending is quite chilling.

27. The Red Room, by H.G. Wells. A visitor decides to spend the night in the infamous Red Room of Lorraine Castle to see what the mystery and legends are all about, and if they are even true. The answer is somewhat open to interpretation. This was a good psychological thriller.

28. The Great God Pan, by Arthur Machen. I can see why this is considered a classic in the horror genre. It's a mystery and a horror novel in one. The novella spans multiple years, starting with a professor trying to figure out a way to see the God Pan (and what he does is reprehensible), and the rest of the story deals with the aftermath and fallout, wrapping up with a chilling ending.

29. The Secret of Goresthorpe Grange, by Arthur Conan Doyle. A funnier, light-hearted spooky tale (although a bit ironic, given Doyle's firm believe in the spiritual world). The new owner of Goresthorpe Grange has found everything he wants in his new abode, save one thing that would make everything complete: the manor needs its own ghost. So a relative of his wife goes to procure someone who promises to find such a resident spook. The results are creepy and hilarious at the same time. The ending can be seen early on but it's still enjoyable.

30. The Thin Man, by Dashiell Hammett. A fun mystery story, popularized by several movies. Nick Charles, a former detective, has been reluctantly pulled into a murder case involving an eccentric inventor's secretary. One thing that struck me is the character of Nick, who is so well-regarded by the police agencies that they are begging him for help. In most private detective novels, gumshoes are treated with anything from mild disdain to outright hostility. Nick is married to wealthy socialite Nora, and their banter make up some of the best moments in the book. The dialogue in general is sharp and tight, filled with witty observances and retorts. Did not guess who the suspect was, although there were a lot of clues throughout (the sign of a good murder mystery). My one nit, though, is there are a LOT of characters to keep track of, and not all of them are easily identifiable. I was thinking more than once "Ok, who is this again?" and one time a character appeared I thought had been one of the ones who died. But if you can keep track of who is who, this is a great, old fashioned detective story.

31. North of Boston, by Robert Frost. I think I forgot to include this one last time. An enjoyable collection of poems/stories by Frost that are loosely connected.

32. Mountain Interval, by Robert Frost. Read for my poetry readings. A collection of short and longer poems, most of them connected to winter and the mountains. Really enjoyed these!

Currently reading: Social Media and the Public Interest, by Philip M. Napoli; The Future of the Mind, by Michio Kaku; and Love Me More Than Anything in the World, by Mira Furlan.

33. After Twenty Years, by O. Henry. I think I've read this one before but it's been a while. A man returns to New York after being out west for 20 years to make his fortune. He's there to fulfill a promise made to his best friend. They do meet but not in a way he expects. Not as funny as many of O. Henry's stories but has the dry humor and unexpected twist that he's known for.

34. A Newspaper Story, by O. Henry. This story follows the path of a daily newspaper as it changes hands, and its articles change several local events. Reminded me a bit of the Tale of the Tainted Tenner.

35. According to their Lights, by O. Henry. A rather unusual story, one highlighting how fortunes can change and the importance of loyalty. Here, two men from different backgrounds but are now down on their luck form a friendship. Then, both are offered opportunities that could restore them to their former status.

36. Springtime a la Carte, by O. Henry. A re-read, and one of my favorites. It's so sweet and funny, especially that last sentence. Our heroine has landed a job typing out menus for a restaurant, but she's yearning for word from her fiancé, whom she has not heard from. There's a happy ending, and how that comes about is hilarious.

37. The Gift of the Magi, by O. Henry. If I have to pick a favorite O. Henry story, this is it. It's probably his best-known, with several adaptations and it's theme of sacrifice replayed in other ways. In this story, Dora is struggling to find a way to get her husband Jim a nice Christmas gift. She succeeds but finds later that her husband made an equally big sacrifice for her.

38. A Call Loan, by O. Henry. When a prosperous man's bank accounting is audited, he faces trouble for making a large loan to a friend based on a "gentleman's agreement." The man who took out the loan is left scrambling to find a way to quickly repay the loan before the auditor comes back. Fun story that ends well.

39. Bertie's Christmas Eve, by Saki. One of the funniest if most irreverent Christmas stories I've ever read. Bertie, a bit of a directionless young man, is sulking during his family's Christmas party because he's being sent off in an effort to introduce him to real work. He gets his revenge on his family when they decide to go out to the barn to see if a legend they've heard � that animals talk at midnight on Christmas Day � is true.

40. Merry Christmas, by Stephen Leacock. Wow. This is an interesting blend of comedy � and there are some laugh-out-loud moments � and tragedy. The story takes place shortly after World War I. An author struggles to write a Christmas story, just not feeling that spirit. He gets a visit from Father Time, with a request for help. Saint Nick, too, has been impacted by the war and needs a hand to restore him to his former happy self. Reading about a Saint Nick with PTSD might be one of the saddest concepts I've ever heard of. But it works as a reminder that tragedy can really hit how we feel about the holidays, especially after something as horrific as war.

41. Christmas at Red Butte, by L.M. Montgomery. A teen is struggling to help keep the belief in the spirit of Christmas and Santa alive for her two young cousins, but it's tough. The family recently lost her uncle, their father and husband, the crops have been poor and debts are climbing. She sacrifices her most precious possession to help the children's dreams come true, and gets something far more precious in return.

Currently reading: Social Media and the Public Interest, by Philip M. Napoli; The Future of the Mind, by Michio Kaku; and Love Me More Than Anything in the World, by Mira Furlan. Almost done with the first two, about half through the third.

42. Babes in the Jungle, by O. Henry. Two swindlers move to New York in hopes of seeking easy marks. In typical O. Henry fashion, things don't end up as they think. Funny story- I wonder if Dirty Rotten Scoundrels was at least partially influenced by this story?

43. An Adjustment of Nature, by O. Henry. This was an odd one. Three friends are happy with their way of life, especially where their favorite restaurant and their favorite waitress is concerned. They wonder if that life will be upended by the appearance of a fourth.