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Welcome to Colloquium!

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I founded Colloquium in 2005. In addition to being a constant reader and dedicated book reviewer, I’m a musician and retired attorney. I enjoy making music with the Lodi Community Band and Stockton Concert Band, and spending time with my two grown sons, two nephews, & nieces-in-law. My greatest joy is being "Grandauntie Janie" to Quinn Eileen and Raven Maxine. I've been a proud San Francisco 49'ers Faithful for more than 40 years, & when I'm not at home in Lodi, California, you'll most likely find me on Maui, my "happy place."

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Currently Reading
~ Upcoming Author Chats ~
- August 24, 2026, 3:00 p.m. PDT: Ethan Joella, author of The Top of the World
- September 2, 2026, 3:00 p.m. PDT: Andre Hardy, author of Burn the City Down
- September 9, 2026, 2:00 p.m. PDT: Carol Hoenig, author of The Liberation of Jane Carter
- September 23, 2026, 1:00 p.m. PDT: Justine Brashear, author of We Close Our Eyes
- October 7, 2026: 12:00 p.m. PDT: Virginia Trench, author of Mr. Disappear
- October 23, 2026: 10:00 a.m. PDT: Hannah Rose Lyon, author of The Lord's Fire
- November 4, 2026: 10:00 a.m. PST: Catherine Hokin, authorof The Man She Had to Save
- November 12, 2026: 12:00 p.m. PST: Tara Goedjen, author of Please Enjoy Your Stay
To schedule an Author Chat, contact JHSiess.
Recently Read

Janie Hickok Siess' Bookshelf: Recently Read

The Missing Ones

by A.R. Torre

Sacrament: A Novel

by Susan Straight

Nash Falls

by David Baldacci

Three-Fifths

by John Vercher

Best Offer Wins

by Marisa Kashino
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2026 Reading Challenge

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Musician | Book Reviewer | Retired Attorney

Finally got the exterior of the Hickok Homestead repainted a few weeks ago! I love the way it turned out, especially the new front door!

Next: Landscaping the small area where the door was removed.

I`m also having cement poured in the area in front of the gate because there is no way to hook a sprinkler line into that spot. The grass would need to be replaced & that section watered by hand. Not happening!

Next spring I will be reconfiguring the backyard.

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Absolutely thrilled with the way the Hickok Homestead renovation has turned out! Still waiting on blinds for the sliding glass door & shutters for the picture window in the living room. Getting everything tidied up (so much dust everywhere) & organized. I`m confident my parents would approve. My mother would love all the counter space in the kitchen!

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This is a sight no one has seen since 1982!

The renovation of my beloved childhood home is underway! #1Son, Robert, is working hard, prepping for the contractor to work some magic. He`s ripping out carpets, tack strips, & baseboards, and peeling off wallpaper. Not to mention cleaning out closets & cupboards. Lots of purging taking place.

Look at those gorgeous hardwood floors! But no, I`m not going to leave them exposed, in part because, as is visible in the last photo, they aren`t in all of the rooms. My parents added about 675 square feet to the house 43 years ago. In the family room, you can see the outline of where my bedroom used to be before it was converted.

It`s going to be beautiful again when this project is complete. I think Kenny & Ethel, the parental unit, would be proud. I know they`d be tickled about Robert`s involvement!

I still have to decide what colors to paint the exterior. 🤔 The dreadful beige & green have to go.

Now, if I could just get those pesky home flippers to stop calling, texting, emailing, & snailmailing me with ridiculous lowball offers to buy the house, I`d be a happy woman. 🤦‍♀️ It`s not for sale! Not now & not ever . . . at least as long as I`m sucking air into my lungs!

#HickokHomestead #Family #HomeRenovation #HomeImprovement

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I didn`t intentionally abandon this account. 🤦‍♀️ But my energy is usually focused on @jhscolloquium, where I post about books & authors.

And life just happens . . . sometimes lobbing totally unexpected plot developments at us. More about that to follow.

In the photo, I`m with some of my favorite people on the planet -- my boys & my grandnieces. Quinn is 10 & Raven will be 7 in September! They`re headed to 5th & 1st grade this week.

Matthew is still an Accountant with the State of California, Department of Social Services, & Robert is assisting me with a total renovation of the Hickok Homestead on Crescent Avenue. More about that in subsequent posts, too.

📸: Nephew #1, Paul McKelvey

#GrandauntieJanie #QuinnEileen #RavenMaxine #Family #FavoritePeople #MissingJudyMcKelvey #HickokHomestead

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🎄 Delta Drama Peeps Annual Christmas Party🎄

It was epic, but we missed Michael Grenie so we had a video call with him! Hope to see him soon. ❤️

#Friendship ##Priceless #Christmas2023 #DeltaDramaPeeps

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🎄Whine Club 🎁

Our monthly Whine Club with our annual gift exchange fell on my birthday this year!

📸: @jea955 & @linda.sunday.hansen

#WhineClub #Christmas2023 #Friendship #Priceless

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🎄Christmas 2023🎅

Some things old (my mother`s animated carolers & her silly little elf atop her clock) & something new (my tree -- because I gave Matthew my tree for his new house).
We got in the spirit right after Thanksgiving this year!

#Christmas2023 #Retired #TisTheSeason🎄

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Enjoyed a cozy evening with Matthew at Boo Manor watching @breakingbad again. He has decorated for Christmas and it`s very cozy & homey. He loves Christmas and is enjoying his first holiday season in his first home! 🎄🎁

#Christmas2023 #HappyHolidays #BooManor #Matthew #Family #Retired #RetirementDoesNotSuck #SavorTheMoments #Priceless #BreakingBad #BingeWatching

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Their new single has been released to raise funds to help the people of #LahainaTown.

#MauiStrong #LahainaStrong #Maui #DoobieBrothers #MichaelMcDonald #MickFleetwood

https://youtu.be/PXdWmNjWFbg?si=0TuXgOwLNECRBsGU

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Relaxing afternoons & spectacular sunsets. 🌴🌺🌊😎

#Vacation2023 #Maui #MauiStrong #LahainaStrong #Retirement #RetirementDoesNotSuck

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There`s no place I`d rather be to cheer on our @49ers!
💛❤️🏈❤️💛🏈💛❤️🏈❤️💛

Maui nō ka ʻoi! 🌺🌴🌊

#Maui #Vacation2023 #LahainaStrong #MauiStrong #Retirement #RetirementDoesNotSuck

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Matthew and I had a great time when we stayed in Makena last month. But I`m so happy to be back at my favorite spot again. I`m staying on the 12th floor, as I have numerous times, enjoying this panoramic view from the lanai. Yes, it is different now as those of us visiting are sharing space with a large number of employees & Lahaina residents for whom this resort is their home for the time being. And it was heartbreaking to drive through Lahaina Town for the first time since the fire, especially when I got to the area along the Bypass where almost 100 crosses stand, one for each victim. I just passed through, but this transformed Maui is the everyday reality for its people. I can`t help contemplating why such a beautiful, spiritual place & its citizens have to endure such destruction & tragedy. Of course, there are no answers. But aloha is more than a word; it is a belief & way of life. The word has been coopted commercially & socially, & gets thrown around casually, but it means presence (alo) & breath (ha). It is a profound concept when you ponder it. Aloha will carry Maui & its people through this time of grief, mourning, & manifesting a different future than was contemplated, just as everyone I have encountered has welcomed me with warmth & appreciation. In this ever-changing yet unchanging view from my lanai, I see & feel Maui`s unbreakable spirit, & am grateful to be able to savor it & this indescribable beauty yet again.

Maui nō ka ʻoi! 🌺🌴🌊

#Maui #Vacation2023 #Kaanapali #LahainaStrong #MauiStrong

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It`s a great time to visit Maui because local businesses need tourism to survive! And every business owner & employee thanked us for proceeding with our trip & supporting their efforts to help not just themselves, but their ohana, many of whom are now residing with them & looking for jobs.

The aloha spirit at the Kula Lodge & Restaurant is amazing. They do not yet have clearance to use the water, but did that stop them from serving delicious food? Nope! The loco moco was outstanding, served in a paper bowl with plastic utensils and an ice cold bottle of water! They are bringing in barrels of fresh water to cook the items on a limited menu, & wash pots and pans. They even put big water bottles with pumps in the restrooms for guests to wash their hands & are offering stays in their quaint, charming lodge at steeply discounted rates for guests who don`t mind a sponge bath! The staff are all upbeat, friendly, delighted to be working . . . and making it work.

Over at the Maui Tropical Plantation, the Mill House is now Cafe O`Lei. The Maui onion soup is delicious & the setting beautiful, although this photo of the hillside & fields shows the effect of the ongoing drought on Maui. My photos from previous visits feature a lush, green hillside & crops growing in the fields. But as Californians know, the rain returns -- eventually -- and the grass & vegetation turn green again.

I asked Matthew to snap a photo as I was driving of just one of the many fields around the Kahului airport where a total of approximately 10,000 rental cars are sitting idle that would normally be navigated all over the island by happy tourists. The cars have been sitting in what were once pineapple and sugar cane fields, but those industries are long gone. Now Maui relies on tourism & construction to keep its economy running.

We stayed in south Maui & never ventured to the west side out of respect for Lahaina town & her people.

Maui nō ka ʻoi! 🌺🌴 I can`t wait to get back to the island. My body lives in Lodi most of the time .. . . but my soul resides on Maui.

#Maui #MauiStrong #MauiTropicalPlantation #Vacation #Vacation2023 #I❤️Hawaii #KulaLodgeAndRestaurant #Retirement #CafeOlei

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We usually get takeout from Miso Phat in Kahana, but we`re staying in Wailea this time & not venturing to the west side. There was no wait at the Kihei location, which we had never visited before!! The sushi was just as yummy!! And had a glass of Lodi wine -- Michael David -- with it. 🍇🍷🥢🐟🐠🐡🐙🦀

#Vacation #Vacation2023 #Maui #MauiStrong #I❤️Hawaii #Retirement #RetirementDoesNotSuck #IDeserveIt #IEarnedIt #Sushi #MisoPhat #MisoPhatKihei #NoFilter

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The view from our table at Mama`s Fish House. Spectacular! And Matthew enjoying it after the meal.

#Vacation #Vacation2023 #Maui #MauiStrong #I❤️Hawaii #Retirement #RetirementDoesNotSuck #IDeserveIt #IEarnedIt #RetirementCelebration #PromotionCelebration #MamasFishHouse #NoFilter

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We finally celebrated my retirement, as well as Matthew`s two promotions and purchase of his first home, at Mama`s Fish House! We used the generous gift certificate presented to me at my retirement party on 10/29/21. Mahalo to my wonderful staff & colleagues! 🌴🌺🌊

#Maui #MauiStrong #Vacation #Vacation2023 #Retirement #RetirementDoesNotSuck #RetirementCelebration #I❤️Hawaii #IDeserveIt #IEarnedIt #MamasFishHouse #PromotionCelebration #NoFilter

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Last night, we enjoyed a delicious, fun dinner at Monkey Pod!
The squash ravioli appetizer melted in my mouth.
Then I relaxed on the comfy lanai for another dazzling sunset.

#Maui #MauiStrong #Vacation #Vacation2023 #I❤️Hawaii #Retirement #RetirementDoesNotSuck #IEarnedIt #IDeserveIt #NoFilter

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We had a lovely brunch at Nalu`s where Poke served as our host! He is apparently 28 years old & quite a talker. It was not crowded at all, & the food was yummy!

#Maui #MauiStrong #Vacation2023 #Vacation #Retirement #RetirementDoesNotSuck #IDeserveIt #IEarnedIt #NoFilter

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Perfection.

#Maui #MauiStrong #I❤️Hawaii #Vacation2023 #Retirement #RetirementDoesNotSuck #IDeserveIt #IEarnedIt #NoFilter

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Aloha kakahiaka!

@49ers football in paradise!

#Priceless!

#Maui #MauiStrong #Vacation #Vacation2023 #I❤️Hawaii #Retirement #RetirementDoesNotSuck #IDeserveIt #IEarnedIt #NinerGang #Niners #49ers #49erfaithful #FTTB🏈 #NoFilter

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