Some people felt the earthquake, I felt nothing. Yay! for library cards. In this day and age, I think it’s so cool how we can now check out books. How nice, little libraries everywhere. I have War And Peace, mine doesn’t look like yours but it certainly appears as thick, my goodness! Happy reading. 😊 Flossy

When Milan Kundera died, he was the last of the three living writers most important to me. I'd met Gore Vidal and Carlos Fuentes, hoped to meet Kundera, but even if I got to Paris in time, I don't think I could've met him. Like yourself, I read The Unbearable Lightness of Being in the 80's. A friend of mine gave me a copy. And I saw the film, which introduced me to Juliet Binoche. For a couple of decades The Unberable Lightness of Being and Italo Calvino's would sell out at used bookstores. I knew because I'd check my sections in my weekly visits to them to see what was new and what had moved. Young people enoyed those books. I noticed a change after 2010, though, when the books would remain on the shelves. In time, on the remainder shelves for a dollar. Kundera and Fuentes were good friends. Kundera wrote an introduction to Terra Nostra and Fuentes often talked about him in his essays. Vidal wrote that Fuentes had been kind to his mother.

First of all, I don't think you can go wrong with Franzen. I have read Corrections (as well as his other works) and liked it. You really have a wonderful haul there. I always like to hear the descriptions of what you're reading because you cover a lot of backlist offerings. I seem to be drawn more to those books that were published a while ago over the new releases. I hope you will not have any dangerous aftershocks. Stay safe, Jim.

I dnf’d Clarke’s earlier novel, but one day I might try Piranesi. It definitely sounds interesting. I got stymied somewhere in Vol 2 of Proust, REALLY want to get back to it one day!! I read most of Sarton’s diaries at the end of my PhD studies, they were strangely comforting during a not very comforting time. I have Little Library envy; I only have two sort of in walking distance and the closest one is often full of weird not very interesting things. I think my Penguin Clarissa would give your Penguin War & Peace a run for your its money in terms of thickness! I taught Major Barbara WAAAAAY back in the day at UMass Amherst in a Comp Lit Gen Ed course on “Good & Evil”. It was always harder to find “good” examples of “goodness” that would work for our students than examples evil. I really enjoyed The Corrections!

Some great finds there, Jim! We just had another aftershock about an hour ago--almost as strong as the original quake this morning. This is kind of scary. Some roads split open and a few water main breaks not far from me....