Mary Bannister (MaryB)
@maryb2004.bsky.social
If you repost me I’ll probably block. Retired M&A lawyer. Lifelong learner. Reader. Favorite Authors: Dorothy Dunnett, Louise Erdrich, AS Byatt, Iain Pears, Robertson Davies. New France history buff.. http://alonewitheachother.blogspot.com
Pinned
Warning: if you follow thousands of users and 90% or more of your posts are re-posts of someone else then if you follow me I will block you. I am not interested in being reposted to the masses.
Watching the new season of Finding Your Roots. I miss Who Do You Think You Are, they made the people go out and meet the researchers. This show just presents everything to the people, like it’s easy to do genealogy.
January 7, 2026 at 1:02 AM
Watching the new season of Finding Your Roots. I miss Who Do You Think You Are, they made the people go out and meet the researchers. This show just presents everything to the people, like it’s easy to do genealogy.
I feel old.
50 Years ago today I released Frampton Comes Alive, 50 years, wow! Thank you all for making it the huge success it became.
January 6, 2026 at 5:24 PM
I feel old.
@abbaetha.bsky.social see instructions below. It’s a closed feed and Jacob will admit you. When you use the hashtag it will show up in the feed.
THE MONTH OF DICK 2026 IS COMING IN JANUARY
Get ready!
1. Follow the feed: bsky.app/profile/jaco... and ask me to add you
2. Download the planned reading sequence (source doc here bit.ly/4p4oYwA)
3. Get yourself an edition (book, free e-book, whatever)
4. Notify your bosom friends
5. Whale tattoo?
Get ready!
1. Follow the feed: bsky.app/profile/jaco... and ask me to add you
2. Download the planned reading sequence (source doc here bit.ly/4p4oYwA)
3. Get yourself an edition (book, free e-book, whatever)
4. Notify your bosom friends
5. Whale tattoo?
January 6, 2026 at 1:39 AM
@abbaetha.bsky.social see instructions below. It’s a closed feed and Jacob will admit you. When you use the hashtag it will show up in the feed.
My first book of the year was The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovitz. This was the last of the 2025 Booker Prize shortlist books and I very much enjoyed it. #Booksky
The Rest of Our Lives
Book reviews, TV reviews and general culture discussion
alonewitheachother.blogspot.com
January 5, 2026 at 10:37 PM
My first book of the year was The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovitz. This was the last of the 2025 Booker Prize shortlist books and I very much enjoyed it. #Booksky
Mapple’s version of the Jonah story is much more exciting (and more detailed) than the King James Version. Someone should have commissioned him to do a whole new translation. 🐳
January 4, 2026 at 8:52 PM
Mapple’s version of the Jonah story is much more exciting (and more detailed) than the King James Version. Someone should have commissioned him to do a whole new translation. 🐳
St. Louis people chime in.
This feels like an insane thing to ask right now, but it is sneaking up on me:
SAINT LOUIS: Where do I stay and what do I do over a weekend in late February? Give me your best food, divest bars, and other matters of consequence. There for the Charlotte FC season opener away to St. Louis.
SAINT LOUIS: Where do I stay and what do I do over a weekend in late February? Give me your best food, divest bars, and other matters of consequence. There for the Charlotte FC season opener away to St. Louis.
January 4, 2026 at 7:55 PM
St. Louis people chime in.
I've been thinking of changing things up a bit in my book blogging. We'll see if it really works for me. #booksky
2026 Blog Ideas
Book reviews, TV reviews and general culture discussion
alonewitheachother.blogspot.com
January 3, 2026 at 4:13 PM
I've been thinking of changing things up a bit in my book blogging. We'll see if it really works for me. #booksky
3d day of the year and I’m already muting words for my own sanity.
January 3, 2026 at 3:09 PM
3d day of the year and I’m already muting words for my own sanity.
So far my internal ear is hearing Ishmael and the other characters loud and clear. Which is a good sign for me.
I don’t see a movie in my mind when I read, just general images. But I saw an opera version of Moby Dick at the Met last March. “Call me Ishmael” were the last words of the opera. 🐳
I don’t see a movie in my mind when I read, just general images. But I saw an opera version of Moby Dick at the Met last March. “Call me Ishmael” were the last words of the opera. 🐳
January 2, 2026 at 6:44 PM
So far my internal ear is hearing Ishmael and the other characters loud and clear. Which is a good sign for me.
I don’t see a movie in my mind when I read, just general images. But I saw an opera version of Moby Dick at the Met last March. “Call me Ishmael” were the last words of the opera. 🐳
I don’t see a movie in my mind when I read, just general images. But I saw an opera version of Moby Dick at the Met last March. “Call me Ishmael” were the last words of the opera. 🐳
I’ve never read Moby Dick before but of course I knew the famous first line. I didn’t expect the first three pages though. Maybe I should battle depression by going to sea. Or maybe Melville has defined why I love vacationing at a Minnesota lake. 🐳
January 2, 2026 at 5:27 PM
I’ve never read Moby Dick before but of course I knew the famous first line. I didn’t expect the first three pages though. Maybe I should battle depression by going to sea. Or maybe Melville has defined why I love vacationing at a Minnesota lake. 🐳
I read 130 books in 2025. Most were fiction although a few were poetry and non-fiction. More than half of my fiction reads were mysteries because they are my comfort read and 2025 required a lot of comfort. But I also read a lot of good literary fiction.
Here is my 2025 Reading Wrap Up. #booksky
Here is my 2025 Reading Wrap Up. #booksky
My 2025 Reading Wrap Up
Book reviews, TV reviews and general culture discussion
alonewitheachother.blogspot.com
January 2, 2026 at 3:57 PM
I read 130 books in 2025. Most were fiction although a few were poetry and non-fiction. More than half of my fiction reads were mysteries because they are my comfort read and 2025 required a lot of comfort. But I also read a lot of good literary fiction.
Here is my 2025 Reading Wrap Up. #booksky
Here is my 2025 Reading Wrap Up. #booksky
I’m already one day behind on the BlueSky Moby Dick month long January read-along. I need to get cracking today. 🐳
January 2, 2026 at 3:02 PM
I’m already one day behind on the BlueSky Moby Dick month long January read-along. I need to get cracking today. 🐳
Please judge, just bear with me.
Black bear living underneath California house shows no sign of budging as homeowner mulls legal action
Black bear living underneath Altadena house shows no sign of budging as homeowner mulls legal action
The 550-pound black bear has taken up residence in the crawlspace underneath Ken Johnson's home in California for a month.
www.cbsnews.com
January 2, 2026 at 1:35 AM
Please judge, just bear with me.
Mrs. Frozen Custard. “As a young woman, she worked as a car hop at the custard stand, where she thought Ted must like her—after all, he always dropped her off last when he drove the car-hops home after work.”. She and Ted and Ted Drewes Frozen Custard. #STL icons.
Dorothy "Dottie" Jane Drewes - View Obituary & Service Information
Share Memories and Support the Family.
www.stlfuneral.com
January 1, 2026 at 7:15 PM
Mrs. Frozen Custard. “As a young woman, she worked as a car hop at the custard stand, where she thought Ted must like her—after all, he always dropped her off last when he drove the car-hops home after work.”. She and Ted and Ted Drewes Frozen Custard. #STL icons.
Hmmm. Not sure I want an electrically intense year.
The first time I ever encountered this word was reading AS Byatt’s Possession in one of the poems a character writes.. “And is love then more/than the kick galvanic …”
The first time I ever encountered this word was reading AS Byatt’s Possession in one of the poems a character writes.. “And is love then more/than the kick galvanic …”
January 1, 2026 at 7:05 PM
Hmmm. Not sure I want an electrically intense year.
The first time I ever encountered this word was reading AS Byatt’s Possession in one of the poems a character writes.. “And is love then more/than the kick galvanic …”
The first time I ever encountered this word was reading AS Byatt’s Possession in one of the poems a character writes.. “And is love then more/than the kick galvanic …”
It was such a spotty reading year for me mostly due to and my inability to concentrate. But I've culled my favorite books out of the list of books I finished in 2025 and put them into a blog post.
Here's hoping 2026 will be better for my reading concentration. #booksky
Here's hoping 2026 will be better for my reading concentration. #booksky
My Favorite Books of 2025
Book reviews, TV reviews and general culture discussion
alonewitheachother.blogspot.com
January 1, 2026 at 6:44 PM
It was such a spotty reading year for me mostly due to and my inability to concentrate. But I've culled my favorite books out of the list of books I finished in 2025 and put them into a blog post.
Here's hoping 2026 will be better for my reading concentration. #booksky
Here's hoping 2026 will be better for my reading concentration. #booksky
I spent New Years Eve in an area with spotty internet coverage, which was actually kind of nice. And I finally was able to experience the traditional La Guignolee, which made the French ancestry part of me very happy.
Happy New Year Everyone!
missourilife.com/la-guignolee...
Happy New Year Everyone!
missourilife.com/la-guignolee...
Discover La Guignolée, a New Year's Eve tradition - Missouri Life
Explore this unique New Year’s Eve tradition, probably the oldest continual tradition of European origin in Missouri. Called La Guignolée and pronounced gee-oh-
missourilife.com
January 1, 2026 at 6:41 PM
I spent New Years Eve in an area with spotty internet coverage, which was actually kind of nice. And I finally was able to experience the traditional La Guignolee, which made the French ancestry part of me very happy.
Happy New Year Everyone!
missourilife.com/la-guignolee...
Happy New Year Everyone!
missourilife.com/la-guignolee...
People don’t know what they are missing. I read 130 books this year. Recap coming in a few days.
NEW: How many books did you read this year? If it was more than 2, congrats: you read more than the median American.
Read on for way more @today.yougov.com polling from me on America's book-reading habits in 2025. 1/
Read on for way more @today.yougov.com polling from me on America's book-reading habits in 2025. 1/
December 31, 2025 at 7:42 PM
People don’t know what they are missing. I read 130 books this year. Recap coming in a few days.
My December reading is finished and I read mostly mysteries including the new Ann Cleves which I enjoyed and the latest John Banville, which I didn't. I also read Whale Fall by Elizabeth O'Connor (which I loved). And I finally finished Don Quixote!
Thoughts in my blog post. #booksky
Thoughts in my blog post. #booksky
December 2025 Reading
Book reviews, TV reviews and general culture discussion
alonewitheachother.blogspot.com
December 31, 2025 at 3:17 PM
My December reading is finished and I read mostly mysteries including the new Ann Cleves which I enjoyed and the latest John Banville, which I didn't. I also read Whale Fall by Elizabeth O'Connor (which I loved). And I finally finished Don Quixote!
Thoughts in my blog post. #booksky
Thoughts in my blog post. #booksky
Louise Erdrich has a book of short stories coming out toward the end of March. I‘m not really a short story reader but … Louise Erdrich! #booksky
December 30, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Louise Erdrich has a book of short stories coming out toward the end of March. I‘m not really a short story reader but … Louise Erdrich! #booksky
Loved Doc Martin. Had no idea there was a US version.
So I am that very rare person (at least for another week or two) who can say that I watched the US remake of DOC MARTIN--Fox's BEST MEDICINE-- before seeing a moment of the original. Well, I've now seen the first episode of the UK series and... I like them both! Plots are remarkably similar, btw.
December 30, 2025 at 12:26 AM
Loved Doc Martin. Had no idea there was a US version.
I tend to follow people who like books but the amount of book posting these last weeks of the year seems to have doubled.
December 28, 2025 at 11:18 PM
I tend to follow people who like books but the amount of book posting these last weeks of the year seems to have doubled.
These two are so cute.
youtu.be/SpX9zqU9YI8?...
youtu.be/SpX9zqU9YI8?...
Mary Steenburgen and Ted Danson’s Closet Picks
YouTube video by CRITERION
youtu.be
December 27, 2025 at 5:51 PM
These two are so cute.
youtu.be/SpX9zqU9YI8?...
youtu.be/SpX9zqU9YI8?...
I listen to Currently Reading religiously, Backlisted most of the time, and What Should I Read Next sometimes.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/27/a...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/27/a...
7 Podcasts for Bookworms
www.nytimes.com
December 27, 2025 at 3:54 PM
I listen to Currently Reading religiously, Backlisted most of the time, and What Should I Read Next sometimes.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/27/a...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/27/a...