I finished Seakeeper's Daughters last evening, just in time as it would be recalled today.    Yesterday I picked up Anderson Cooper's book  The Rainbow Comes and Goes.

In regard to The Seakeeper's.....check out a website for The Federal Writers Project.  It was part of the WPA program and figures into this story with some interesting twists.  My curiosity is always tweaked when something new to me in history is mentioned.

I just finished a most unlikely find, and at this moment, I cannot remember where I saw the title (on some blog, I'm sure), but it sounded interesting:  "Close To Shore" by Michael Capuzzo, published 2001.  Subtitled "A true story of terror in an age of innocence".  The author's note at the beginning states:  "This is a work of non-fiction.  All characters are real and their descriptions, actions and dialogue are based on newspaper accounts, interviews with family members, diaries, medical journals and other historic sources".  Perhaps this is where Peter Benchley got his inspiration for "Jaws".   Set in 1916, there are dozens of historical pieces of information about that time period, i.e., preamble to WWI, etc.  Interesting especially about the "bathing" (Swimming) practices, costumes.  I simply could not put it down.  I was amazed by the absolute lack of information about sharks and the disbelief of the so-called "experts" that sharks would attack humans in the water.  There was so much going on in the world during this time period, that is totally relevant to today (pollution of rivers, creeks).
Not your supreme "literary achievement" but interesting nonetheless.

Tome - "Close to Shore" sounds good!  I can tell that I'll like it, and it's also the kind of book that AJ likes.  I'm going to check both of my libraries, and place it on hold.

mary - the same with "The Seakeeper's Daughter".  I haven't checked the The Federal Writers Project website yet, but it sounds interesting.  I've always been interested in anything having to do with the WPA. 

Funny you should mention the pollution of the waters today,Tome.  At breakfast this am we were talking about a spill in a creek that is close to the Niagara River.   "They" say that it is contained but Al was commenting how back in the '30s and "40s that many people changing the oil in their car would simply pour the old oil down the drain in the street or alley.   People weren't so concerned or aware of the damage.

There has been a large news story recently about the many contaminated sites in our county from industrial waste disposal over the years.  Some of them aren't too far away.  It makes you wonder about your property values and sales possibilities in the future.

You might say pollution today is "minimal" as compared to, say, 1916.  Any and all factories dumped everything into nearby waterways, be it creek or river.  Also, raw sewage was summarily dumped thus!  This book has a whole bundle of little tidbits of history that should be of interest to most of us here!  Even reading the author's Acknowledgements was interesting for all the citations of the various museums and collections of news clippings, etc.  If you can get the book from your library, I recommend it.  I got it in large print, so that helped me a lot.  Not a tremendous amount of pages, even in largeprint, so it's reasonably quick to get through.  It does have a bit of foreshadowing, which adds some tension to the book.

Update on SCFSue: Good news today, that Sue is home from the hospital and is recuperating.   I hope she is able to return to S&F soon. 

I had to take Everybody's Fool, back to the library today, because of the wait list.  I'm back in line again!

My town library did have Close to Shore, so I checked it out and will start reading it tomorrow.  They did not have The Seakeeper's Daughter, but I'm sure the county library system will have it.

Oh my goodness Marilyne!!!     I just decided to read a review of Everybody's Fool and discovered that it is a sequel to one of my most favorite movies. I thought of it when you first mentioned the title but didn't check it out.  Guess I never knew who wrote the first story.    I don't normally buy movies but do have this one.    This is one of those stories that grab the heartstrings because of the likeness of someone close. 

maryc - Yes, Everybody's Fool is a sequel to Empire Falls by Richard Russo.  I didn't realize it either, until I finally recognized the character named "Sully".  He was the one played by Paul Newman, in the TV movie.  I thought Newman, was absolutely perfect in his portrayal of Sully.

I didn't get far enough into the new book, to find out if all of the other characters will be in this story too? Now it will be a long time before my name gets to the top of the wait list once again.  I may check the county library, and possibly will be able to get it sooner.   

Marilyne,   I did watch Empire Falls and enjoyed that one too but Nobody's Fool was the one that I have kept in my (small but select) library of movies.      I could see the similarity of story line from Nobody's Fool to Empire Falls but hadn't really connected them.    It sounds as though Somebody's Fool is set in the same Central NY town as Nobody's Fool.   That is as it says in the review a small almost shuttered but once  thriving town  in NY where there are so many towns like it.    I'm going to have to keep Richard Russo in mind when I'm looking for something to read.     Guess I need to pay attention to the author names a little closer.      

I'm reading "Everybody's Fool" and wondered why Sully's name sounded familiar.  It's been too long since I read "Empire Falls"!!
"Nobody's Fool" is not available on e-book from my library.  Would someone please give me the general plot and characters in that one.

I just watch the first Disc of "Empire Falls" need to get to the other half tonight.  Seems I either read it or saw the movie years ago.  My library don't have Every bodies fool in book form or a DVD. How old is it?

I was thoroughly confused, but I THINK I finally have it straight!   Nobody's Fool, was written in the early 1990's, and made into a movie starring Paul Newman, Jessica Tandy, Bruce Willis.  Everybody's Fool, is the brand new book, which is the sequel to "Nobody's".  Empire Falls, was written in 2001, and made into a movie shortly thereafter.  All three books feature the same characters.  The first two movies starred Newman, as Sully. 

I apparently never read, or saw, Nobody's Fool, so that's why I kept thinking that the new book was a sequel to "Empire", instead of "Nobody".  Are you confused yet? LOL!

Callie - now that we have that cleared up, I'm interested in how you like Everybody's Fool?  I was just getting into it, when it was due back.  However, I'm on the waiting list, so hope it won't be too long. 

Marilyne,   I haven't quite decided, yet.    Maybe that's because I don't remember any of the characters from his previous books.

Coped from the Washington Post's review of Richard Russo books:
(Quote)  How could 23 years have slipped by since Richard Russo published “Nobody’s Fool”? Was is really in some previous century that we snorted and sniffled over the rambling adventures of Donald “Sully” Sullivan, the wisecracking, self-destructive 60-year-old contractor who rarely lets a bar stool cool? It all seems so disorientingly recent. . . . Who’s the fool now?

Even if you didn’t read that ­big-hearted novel, you probably saw the wonderful film version starring Paul Newman and Jessica Tandy â€" both, alas, long gone. Set in the moribund town of North Bath, N.Y., “Nobody’s Fool” demonstrated the full range of Russo’s humor and his ear for the baseline tragedy that runs through these working-class lives. Later, those tones came into exquisite balance in his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, “Empire Falls” (2001), but the characters of “Nobody’s Fool” still hold their own wacky charm, and it’s a delight to join them again in Russo’s sequel, “Everybody’s Fool.”
  (End quote)

Looks as if "Nobody's Fool" may have been the first in the trilogy ??  I didn't see it listed on any book review sites I look at.
Edit:  It is available in hardback from my library - but not on e-book.

Edit #2  :   Just read a synopsis of "Empire Falls" - different location and different main character.  Maybe the "....Fool" books are about minor characters in "Empire Falls"?

Off to settle in out of the 104 degree temperature and continue reading "Everybody's Fool".

Well this was fun!!!     I will add this little tidbit to the mix.    When I was about 12 or so I had a girlfriend/neighbor who had come from Hornell, NY  to Niagara Falls with her family because of jobs in the War effort.    Eventually they went back to Hornell  where they had come from.    I went to visit her one summer after that and Hornell is not far from Bath, NY.   I didn't realize that the movie was set there until we started to watch it.   That's just my little bit of trivia to add to this funny discussion.   In any case,  thank you Marilyne for getting us together with Richard Russo.    He will provide us with some good future reading. 

I would add that Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn were favorites of ours and in fact we were lucky to see them in a play in Toronto years ago.   

Whew!  I'm glad that's all cleared up!

Callie - As you said, "Empire" was in a similar, but different location, and a whole different set of characters. Paul Newman was named Max in "Falls", and was Sully, in "Nobody's Fool".  I plan to get "Nobody's" from the library, and read it before my name comes up again on the wait list for "Everybody's".

maryc - I'll have to look up Bath and Hornell, on my NY map, and see where they're located.  When an author uses a real town in a story, I like to look it up to see exactly where it is. Interesting that you were there when you were young. I wonder what it's like now, compared to back then?

I often think about different towns, and friend's homes, where I visited often as a child. I try to remember details, but I usually only recall the exterior of the house, the layout of the rooms, and the yard, but not much about the interior, furnishings, etc.  Some relatives homes I recall more clearly, because I was there more often I guess.

Nobody's Fool was filmed in the Hudson Valley, New York towns of Beacon, Fishkill, Balmville, Poughkeepsie, and Hudson.[3] The setting for both the book and movie, North Bath, New York, is based on the city of Gloversville in Fulton County.[4]  -Wikipedia

The book is set in No. Bath, NY, but the movie was filmed in the Mid-Hudson Valley where I lived for 26 years.  I recognize so many scenes from that area when I watched the movie.  I lived in Wappingers Falls, in Dutchesss County, which is just a few miles from Beacon---approx. half-way between Beacon and Poughkeepsie.

I hope to get a copy of "Everybody's Fool" soon but the waiting list is very long.  I have a gift card from B&N and I may decide to make a visit to the store which is just a few blocks from me.

Phyllis -  I didn't realize that you lived for such a long time in IBM country!  Was that 26 year time span, when Tom was employed there?  Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to travel to Poughkeepsie or Endicott, with Al, when he would go back for meetings or workshops.  I would love to have visited that area of the state. I've never been to NYC either.

Marilyne, Tom joined IBM in 1956, in Denver, CO.  We lived in Dutchess Co., NY, for a year while he was learning about main frame computers.  Then we moved to Santa Monica office (lived in Culver City) for a year.  When a chance came to transfer back to Dutchess Co. he jumped at it.  We didn't like the L.A. area and missed the mid-Hudson Valley.  We lived there until 1984 when he was transferred here to the Research Triangle Park area (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill).  He retired in 1991 after 35 years with IBM and we decided to stay here in North Carolina.  I still miss Dutchess Co.....we loved it there...but, I understand it has changed so much.  A lot of City people have moved there and commute daily to NYC...about 90 min. by train.  Maybe even shorter now with improvements in railway travel.

Phyll - Al, also started working for IBM in 1956, and retired in 1991.  We were married in '56, and he spent his whole working career in San Jose - so we've lived here forever. Looking back, I wish he had been transferred to another location somewhere, but at the time, I considered myself lucky to stay in one place. Now I see the advantages of having lived in other parts of the country, or world.

It's just 1:30 here, with temps in the 90's, so I plan to stay in and do some serious reading for the rest of the afternoon.  I have Close to Shore, and I'm anxious to get started on it.  Seakeeper's Daughter, and Nobody's Fool, are on hold for me at the library, so I'll pick them up tomorrow. 

I'm  about finished  with A Anderson  Cooper''s book and I wouldn't  give it high point unless you would like to hear Gloria''s story over and over....sorry Anderson!
The library phoneed with my held books so tomorrow I'll  have something new.

Hello on a "not so hot" (meaning 90+ degrees instead of 100+) but very humid Oklahoma afternoon. We are having hard rain showers every once in a while which are keeping the temperature "down" - but making it really really muggy outside.

I'm getting weary of the down-at-the-mouth characters in "Everybody's Fool".  I'm tempted to skip to the last chapter to see how the stories end -but will try to behave and read it like I'm supposed to! 

Maryc,  I agree with you about Anderson Cooper's book, as well as the t.v. documentary about his mother.  I really didn't care.

I read "Texas Monthly" magazine on-line from my library.  The July issue had a featured article about Larry McMurtry.  I had enjoyed the book "Tears of Endearment" and the movie with Shirley MacLaine and Jack Nicholson but didn't realize there was a sequel.  So I'm now reading "The Evening Star".  Not far into it but I think I will like it.

Just finished "The Corsican Caper" by Peter Mayne and think I'll try either or both of the other two "Caper" books.

The heat is oppressive here as well. Ninety-eight right now at 4:00, and the sky is an ugly grayish brown color, thanks to the massive wildfire near Monterey. (Big Sur).  It's about 75 miles from here, but the wind is blowing the smoke directly over us, and it's trapped here in the Santa Clara Valley.  Bad for people with breathing problems or allergies.  Rain? No chance of that happening until November at the earliest.

Callie - I like everything I've ever read by Larry McMurtry. (I think we've had this conversation in the past? LOL)  I'm sure I must have read The Evening Star, but I don't remember it?  I loved Terms of Endearment, but my favorite of his novels is The Last Picture Show.  I watch the movie every time it plays on TCM, and never tire of it.

maryc - I now have The Seakeeper's Daughter, and will be starting it, as soon as I finish Close to Shore, which I'm really enjoying. Although I'm not finished with it, I can tell that I'll be recommending it! 

Glad you're enjoying "Close to Shore", Marilyne.

Callie,    I discovered that the best part of Cooper's book was the last chapter.       He said most of what I was interested in hearing in those pages.   

I started Close to Shore last evening and it seems interesting though a little slow moving at the beginning.    Lots of background and description of the times.   He does paint a clear picture of how things were but  maybe it's because I've been tired that it seems long getting to the real story.   

Tome - Thanks for recommending Close to Shore.  A fascinating and little known piece of history.  I was fascinated, and surprised at how little was known, one hundred years go, about sharks, and the fact that so many brilliant scientists were in denial for so long. 

I really like Michael Capuzzo's writing style. He has visual way of describing each person, place and event, that made me feel like a part of every scene. I love this line: "That morning the ocean was calm and smooth as blue fabric, and waves came spaced at long intervals, like decorative fringes of lace."   

Wow, Marilyne, a good review you gave, and expressed my feelings exactly about the book.  I am sooooo glad you enjoyed it!  I hope maryc will enjoy it that much also.
"Fascinating" was the perfect word to use, and so little known about this event in history.

Tome - AJ is starting Close to Shore, as soon as he finishes whatever it is he's reading.  I'll let you know how it likes it. (I already know he will!)

maryc - So now it's onward to The Sea Keeper's Daughters!  I'm looking forward to it.

I'm still reading Close to Shore and the description of the people and times puts me in mind of a couple books I read a while back.    One was New York by Rutherford and the other was a strange little Time Travel book by Jack Finney called  Time and Again.    Both those books were so very descriptive of those early times in the cities,  like this one that you felt transported.     I know I'm a slow reader and haven't really reached 'The Sharks' part of the story but it is a pleasant walk through the streets of those old time places.    I had to chuckle over the comment about the Dr's daughter disagreement with him over Women's Rights, etc.  As the cover of the book notes, it was indeed an age of innocence and yet don't you sometimes feel that we have just lived several decades of innocence and are on the brink of  revelations that aren't too pretty?

mary - I think that those of us who grew up in the 1930's, 40' and '50's, also lived in sort of an "age of innocence". Just imagine yourself at age 16, suddenly entering the world of today's teenagers!  I know I would have been in total shock!

I've been on a nostalgia trip lately, remembering what life was like back then, because I belong to a Facebook group of people who grew up in my hometown in Southern California.  It's been so much fun, remembering schools, teachers, businesses, city parks, and the many ways we spent our leisure time.  There are over 1,000 people who belong to that group, and so far, I'm pretty sure that I'm the oldest!  I haven't connected with anyone from my old neighborhood, (who lived there back when I did), or anyone from my 8th grade or high school graduating classes.  Most of the people who post there are from the "baby boomer" generation or later. 

Marilyne,  it's the same for me in the Facebook group for my small hometown.  Recently, someone posted a picture of a postcard with a drawing of the high school that was there in 1908.  I "countered" with a photo of the same building from my Dad's photo album - labeled in his handwriting. He was a student there in 1908.

You and I were discussing Larry McMurtry's "The Evening Star".   I'm about 75% through it and not sure I'd recommend it.  Aurora (Shirley MacLaine) and The General (Jack Nicholson) are "aging" and, frankly, I'm finding them both extremely annoying!  Nothing good came of Aurora's grandchildren, either.

I'm about to start "The Glory of Everything", which is a sequel to "The Kitchen House".  Hope it's more cheerful.