52 Comments

This episode is jam-packed! "Could summer get more exciting?" 😂

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Haha thank you!

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Love that these authors responded. Lauren’s analysis is particularly good. So great that someone else has already conducted an even more involved study of this topic. I love people. Kills me that your neighbor put “propagate” in all caps.

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Everyone is so funny, right? I'm hoping to meet up with my neighbor in person again for the next update. She's a real delight and a very singular lady.

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Good neighbors are gold. Love your writing, Anne.

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BRB, writing "The Beekeeper's Daughter" so I can become a household name.

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So funny—that really DOES sound like a best-seller!

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After reading three posts, I’m hooked! Such fun and enlightening stuff here, and now I have some books to check out. I also will be eagerly anticipating the decapitation!

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Maybe I can film it!

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It will be a horror flick: The Ruthless Decapitation of the Rubber Plant starring RP, Ann, and Anne

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I forgot to mention---I’m SO hooked I just became a paid subscriber. Keep writing!

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Oh wow! Thank you Holly! Don't forget to send you address to get your thank-you item in the mail!

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Those large teddy bears are the WORST. They shed everywhere eventually.

Also, I’m going to think very carefully about my book titles since the market is so crowded with clones. On the other hand, I better get into the market first! 🙃

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You should make a data viz chart for these titles! Like this one, my favorite: https://popchart.co/collections/prints/products/grand-taxonomy-of-rap-names

How about all the "the girl with the..." titles? What does this say about young women, btw?

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WOooo yes! Sounds like a great job for the CAFÉ ANNE intern. Where is she?

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Are most of these titles in relation to a male parent? I see the mermaid’s daughter, but most of them might be about defining girls by their father’s deeds.

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I thought about that Dee! Not having read the books, I can't say. But it does seem that most of them are historical fiction and refer to occupations that were largely male-dominated so yes, I imagine that's often the case.

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38 now! Oh wait.

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Not sure this one counts...

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Or that one! This could go on forever...

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Wowee 37 comments already! Daughter FTW!

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Next time you'll have to do an examination on titles with "Winter"--another big pleaser. According to a Goodreads list, there's 417, so not to upstage you, but....

I admit that I entitled one of mine own with this seasonal delight, "Winter Fortress" but there's also

The Long Winter

The Winter's Tale

The Lion in Winter

The Winter of Our Discontent (the most dour title in history)

I could go on, but consider yourself prompted for your next dispatch on overdone titles!

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So interesting! I wonder how winter compares to spring, summer, autumn and fall? Somewhere there is a searchable database of book titles so we don't have to go manual on Goodreads....

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There’s also The Butcher’s Daughter, a NY restaurant specializing in vegetarian/vegan food

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Good one! Of COURSE the Butcher's Daughter would be vegan!

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The Torturer's Daughter must be really popular! You listed it it twice (first and last) in the "Bad Dad" paragraph!

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Jeeze, my inner darkness is showing. Will fix. Thank you!

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BTW, love that you're reading everything by George Orwell. If you're interested in reading about George Orwell too, I highly recommend a book by Thomas Ricks called "Churchill and Orwell: The Fight for Freedom." It's a fascinating dual-biography.

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I read Paul Johnson's super succinct Churchill biography earlier this year and it got me super interested, so this sounds like a fantastic folllow-up. Will check it out for sure!

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Excellent idea to email the authors! Loved their responses. Also, this post has me rethinking my entire approach to fiction. I’m going to write a book with this title construction. It’ll be a bestseller for sure!

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The Newsletter Writer's Daughter!

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Yes, that’s it! Or, maybe A Series or Normal Situations Involving People Who Are Someone’s Daughter. No wait, that some like a tortured translation of The Newsletter Writer’s Daughter.

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So much as usual to bang around in my head with this issue.

(1) while your trash heap sources may be reliable, these are starting to look a little staged. Makes me wonder about my judgement though as I'm not sure there actually are people who stage garbage heaps. Finally Karen M's photo is so crazy! Why is it so important in NYC to have barbers that are certified and licensed while people are mashing potatoes with an indoor outlet on the outside of the building? NYC needs more electrical inspectors and less barber inspectors. Tell that to your colorful mayor.

(2) The daughter books was fun. However, I am now depressed that later this year in my history bookclub we are reading "The Daughters of Yalta" -- ugh.

(3) Regardless of the poll results, I still think there are tons of dead stalks from YOUR overwatering. I think you gotta repot that plant and let the one stalk enjoy less competition and more space! Even corn needs 8" between stalks!

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(1) If people are staging trash heaps, isn't that even better?

(1b) If you are irritated by barber inspectors, get this—NYC now has undercover officers going around to bust cafes and convenience stores handing out plastic straws. You can only supply a plastic straw ON REQUEST, otherwise $60 fine!

(2) Who picked "The Daughter's of Yalta"? Revolt I say!

(3) I KNOW the dead stalks are my fault. I am an unfit mother for sure. That's why I gave it up for ADOPTION. But yes, I will be sure to advise Ann to free up some room for our lone survivor. BEFORE SHE BEHEADS IT.

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You are comprehensive AND funny.

(1) I think staged trash heaps are certainly good for you. I guess after thinking about it what is the harm if people are having fun.

(1b) I AM irritated by barber inspectors. After 10+ years of getting my dog groomed at the same place he was refused service recently. Turns out since he has a heart defect (from birth) they now don't want the liability of grooming the dog unless there is access to emergency services. Maybe I have to create a new profile for him and go with don't ask don't tell. They added ambulances here many years ago at high school football games, maybe dog groomers are next. Perhaps barbers should ask us if we are hemophiliacs in case they nick us. Jeez. As for the plastic straws, that is the dumbest thing I heard today. Even worse, monkey see, monkey do. I saw that the MN Legislature is considering such legislation here. Ugh. https://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/SessionDaily/Story/15187#:~:text=You%20may%20have%20noticed%20more,unless%20the%20customer%20requests%20one.

(2) That will be a book I will have to labor through. This is the consequence of democracy as we are firmly in the camp of one reader, one vote in our bookclub. I would think since it was the meeting of very old and cranky men, the better book would be "The doctors of Yalta". I'm guessing FDR, Stalin & Churchill did not practice healthy habits.

(3) Don't be too hard on yourself. If my friend's wife doesn't know much about rubber plants, an intrepid freelancer cannot be expected to know how to raise tropical plants in Brooklyn. As I recall Ann is from Sri Lanka and hence is probably pretty familiar with tropical rubber plants. You should film the beheading and capture the ooze of the rubber when she does the deed. A multi-media extravaganza that you can post on TikTok.

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I googled The Farmer's Daughter so you don't have to.

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Oh you made me look! They've used it for EVERYTHING!

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