Paradise Is a Kind of Library

[Source: canva.com]

Hello and welcome to a high of 80, get-out-there-and-make-the-most-of-it Saturday here at the Wannaskan Almanac. Today is August 24th, aka the day Pluto got declassified and the waffle iron was patented in the U.S.

You don't need me to tell you that the end of summer is breathing down our necks. Fall sports have begun, class schedules have been received (and amended), school shopping in our house is nearly complete, and The Oldest is picking out outfits for her senior pictures as I write this.

If you're feeling even a smidge of desperation to cram in a few more things before August bids us adieu, you're not alone! Just one more book! Just one more movie! Just one more bike ride, boat ride, horseback ride, or whatever it is you hope to ride - GO FOR IT.

Here are a few book recommendations in case you're looking for that kind of speed of entertainment.

I'm super late to the party on this obvious hit, but if you haven't read A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman yet, check it out right away. Better yet, listen to the audiobook and hear the curmudgeonly, yet inevitably lovable, Ove come to life. The cat is hysterical.

Book club just finished reading a crime thriller,  It's Always The Husband by Michele Campbell. This is a smooth, fast-paced read that really kept me guessing right up to the end. I'm not sure if that says less about me or more about the book, but, regardless, I enjoyed it. Book club's September pick is nonfiction, Dopesick, by Beth Macy.

I'm right in the middle of another Nickolas Butler book, The Hearts of Men. The prose is absolutely exquisite, so if you're a reader who likes to study craft, i.e. the art in action, this is a good one to pick up. This is literary fiction stuff, an epic tale of two men, as they journey life through the Boy Scout lens.

A book I'm looking forward to is William Kent Krueger's newest standalone, This Tender Land, due out September 3rd. If you thought Ordinary Grace was a winner, the talk around Readersville is this one is even better. And to back up that claim, this book is the Indie #1 Next List Pick for September (per the American Booksellers Association) as well as a September Library Reads selection (per LibraryReads.org.) Click on the title and order a signed copy! (Tell 'em Kim sent ya.)

Perusing the September Library Reads list, I noticed Meg Cabot's contemporary romance, No Judgments also made the list. I think it takes a certain amount of courage and conviction to have a title like this because, I would imagine, the first thing readers are going to wonder is if the title isn't missing an extra "E." Anywho, I got a free copy of this book back in June in NYC (Thanks, Mikayla!) and it is in my TBR stack along with my birthday present, Lake Success by Gary Shteyngart (Thanks, family!) and two non-fiction books: a signed copy (Thanks, Cathryn and Jill!) of Queen of the Mountaineers: The Trailblazing Life of Fanny Bullock Workman by Cathryn Prince and Dreyer's English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style (Thanks, John!) by Random House’s copy chief Benjamin Dreyer.

Ach! What to read first?

If I'm not worldly enough for you, per the weekly BookBub newsletter, here are some additional book recommendations from famous authors. (They aren't so shabby reads themselves.)

• John Grisham: Consumed by Hate, Redeemed by Love by Thomas A. Tarrants
• Debbie Macomber: All the Flowers in Paris by Sarah Jio
• Jodi Picoult: Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center
• Bob Mayer:  A Bridge Too Far by Cornelius Ryan
• Trish Loye: Sweep of the Blade by Ilona Andrews

Got a book recommendation? Comment below!

Happy Reading!

Kids' Corner 

The WAKWIR is apparently playing video games - er - recovering from Cross Country camp, as are his fellow athletic siblings. The 7-year old bought a new Lego Treehouse set with a birthday gift card and the Toddler is looking forward to going to half-day pre-school, while his mom is thrilled to score one day of daycare on Fridays.

On This Day

Historic Highlights (credits)

2006 - Pluto is Declassified as a Planet
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) declassified Pluto as a planet and classified it as a dwarf planet. According to the IAU definition, a dwarf planet is neither a planet or a natural satellite. It is ‘a celestial object orbiting a star that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity but has not cleared its orbit of space debris’. Discovered in 1930 by American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh, Pluto is the largest but second-most massive dwarf planet in our solar system. The most massive dwarf planet orbiting our sun is Eris.

1991 - Ukraine gains its independence
The Eastern European country gained independence from the Soviet Union after a failed coup to remove Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev. The country’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, passed the Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine and put the decision out to the public as a referendum. August 24 is celebrated each year as Independence Day in Ukraine.

1949 - NATO is Established
The North Atlantic Treaty, which established the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), an intergovernmental military alliance, came into effect on this day. The Treaty, which was signed on April 4, 1949 in Washington DC, created a collective defense system, where an attack on one member is considered an attack on all the other signatories. Initially, the treaty was signed by 12 countries - Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, United Kingdom, and United States. Today, membership has increased from the original 12 to 28.

1869 - The Waffle Iron is Patented in the United States
Cornelius Swartwout, a Troy, New York resident invented and received the patent for the waffle iron, a device used to cook waffles. His design for the waffle iron included two plates of iron connected together with hinges. Users could pour waffle batter on one plate and place the other plate on top and cook the batter over an open fire or on a wood-burning oven. This day is often celebrated as National Waffle Day in the United States.

1814 - The British Burn Down Washington
British troops under the leadership of Major General Robert Ross occupied Washington D.C. and burnt down the city, including the Presidential Mansion and the Capitol building. President Madison and members of his government fled the city and took refuge in Brookeville, Maryland. The British had occupied the city for only 24 hours when a massive storm forced the troops to retreat, following which the Americans regained control of the capital.

Happy Birthday to You!🎶 

1957 - Stephen Fry, English comedian, actor, journalist, author

1945 - Vince McMahon, American wrestler, promoter, producer, actor

1929 - Yasser Arafat, Palestinian engineer, politician

1899 - Jorge Luis Borges, Argentine writer

1759 - William Wilberforce, English politician, philanthropist

Remembering You

2015 - Justin Wilson, English race car driver

2014 - Richard Attenborough, English director

1983- Scott Nearing, American writer, educator

1946 - James Clark McReynolds, American lawyer, judge

1943 - Simone Weil, French mystic, philosopher


Pack a book, find a cozy spot outside, and make it a great Saturday!

Kim