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Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings.
A Good, Good Life
Hey friends, I’ve missed you all since the week before! I’m still catching up from all I’ve missed; I’ve got a ton of laundry to do, work I haven’t done, and a couple weeks’ worth of blog visiting and commenting! Please bear with me while I get myself caught up!
As for my friend’s visit, it was awesome! We had lots of fun and did a lot of stuff (and I had to take a couple of days to rest from all the activity I was not used to!) – I took her to the zoo of course, and to the annual big book sale in Calgary, signed her up for our public library tour – she’s a friend from my online book club so she was thrilled with all the book-related activities, I promise!
She was also very happy to meet my cats, the pictures above were all taken by her. They had fun hanging out with her although they were wary at first. We also did some tarot readings, had long chats and some really big laughs, enjoyed a few meals together. It was a great time and I was sad when it was time for her to leave. There were tears! 😭
All the happy things:
It was so nice to hang out with my friend! This is actually the first time we met in person after years of hanging out online, and it was just a joy!
I grabbed lots of great books from the book sale!
I have always loved the zoo and the library, but I have a new appreciation for them, and other local fixtures, after seeing them through a visitor’s eyes.
There have been more walks around the neighborhood with the husband on nice days.
And another dance party while cleaning the kitchen together!
I made more cookies!
My book haul! There were several more, but these are the ones I’m excited about and I hope to read them sooner rather than later.
The Books
Books I read last (two) week(s):
Funny Story by Emily Henry – I think this might have become my favorite of Emily Henry’s books. I loved the banter, and it made me laugh out loud several times. It was just so fun to read.
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver – I loved this book but for very different reasons. It’s heavy and difficult to read emotionally, but it was very good, and I feel like this is one I’d come back to and find new things to take away.
Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid – Another favorite from TJR. One of my top TJR books is Malibu Rising, and we first meet Carrie Soto there in a cameo. We get to know her better in this book and I’m definitely a fan.
The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth – My book club buddies were talking about this book and I couldn’t resist buying into their hype. I’m glad I did because it was really good. I finished it very quickly.
The Woman In Me by Britney Spears – I grew up with Britney and really enjoyed her music. It’s horrifying to find out all the ways she’s been used and exploited because of her success. I have so much respect for her strength. I know I couldn’t have handled half the things she went through.
What Happened To Nina? by Dervla McTiernan – This had been on my radar for a while and I finally finished it. It’s such an interesting look at the things we’d do for our loved ones. How far would you go? I think the social horror aspect of it is what scares me most.
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo – Many of you recommended this book after I finished reading Clap When You Land, and I’m glad you did because it was so good. I loved Xiomara’s voice and listening to it on audio, narrated by the author, made it all the more powerful.
Artificial Condition by Martha Wells – Just finished today! I’ve been waiting a long time for the audiobook and it’s worth the wait, but I feel so impatient to read them all, so now I have a dilemma – read them all quickly on ebook? Or wait for the audiobooks to be available, one by slow one? 😩
Books I’m reading:
The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley – On a physical copy. This is a reread. Robin McKinley is one of my favorite childhood authors but for some reason I only rated this one two stars at the time. My book buddies have told me unequivocally that I’m wrong and it’s great, so I’m trying it again. To be fair, it’s been so long I don’t remember anything about it at all, so I might agree with them and shake my head at my younger self’s bad take.
Hello Stranger by Katherine Center – On ebook. I’ve been meaning to read it for months! It was on my TBR before The Bodyguard, but I finished that some time ago so I thought I should finally get to this.
Why Does He Do That? by Lundy Bancroft – On audiobook. I’ve seen a lot of recommendations for this book on some subreddits and it came up recently while I was browsing Libby’s catalog, so I thought I’d read it. It’s been pretty eye-opening so far but I’m only 20% in.
Finish all the books I’ve already started, but I think I also have to catch up on some book reviews, and updating my books read on Goodreads and The Storygraph. I feel like I’ve also lost sight of some of my reading challenges, so I’m going to try to get back on track and focus on the books I wanted to read.
How was your week? I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!
Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is Authors I’d Love a New Book From
I’m not sure that I have ten authors for this list. There are definitely a few I’d love more books from, but in general, there are so many authors I love whose works I haven’t finished reading yet, so I feel like it’s unfair to want more books when I haven’t finished the ones they’ve already written!
Authors I’d Love a New Book From
Madeline Miller – She’s at the top of the list because I desperately need more myth retellings, and from her because she writes them so well!
Yangsze Choo – This might be unfair because she just published a new book this year, The Fox Wife, but I’ve already finished it, and I need more!
George R.R. Martin – I know some people have given up on him, but I haven’t. I’m still holding out hope that we’ll see A Song of Ice and Fire finished. Also, I think he might still be publishing other books, but I really need new books for the ASOIAF series specifically.
Stephen P. Kiernan – He’s an underrated author, and I’ve loved all his books I’ve read! He’s got one new book published last year that I haven’t read yet, but I would still love more books from him so that I can have a whole bunch of them to look forward to.
Taylor Jenkins Reid – I haven’t read all her books yet, but she’s just an author I love who needs to also provide me with a whole bunch of new books to look forward to!
Christopher Pike – One of my favorite authors from my childhood years, but he also writes adult novels and I loved them. He hasn’t published anything new in years, and I really wish he would!
Suzanne Collins – The Hunger Games is one of my favorite books and I think she needs to write more. So much more!
Have you read any of these authors? What did you think of their books? Would you read more from them?
Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is Favorite Book Quotes
What a perfect time to have this topic! I’ve been making my way through The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie and there’s just a whole treasure trove of quotes and catchphrases I love! I’m not sure that I can limit it to only ten, to be honest, but I’ll try!
I’ve only just finished the first two books, but a lot of the catchphrases from the first book make it into the second one, and I hear they continue on to the third, so I’m just including all three books for the sake of the topic.
Top Ten Book Quotes from The First Law Trilogy
“You have to be realistic about these things.”
“Once you’ve got a task to do, it’s better to do it than live with the fear of it.”
“If you say one thing for Logen Ninefingers, and one thing only, say he’s a killer.”
“Broken hearts heal with time, but broken teeth never do.”
“Every man has his excuses, and the more vile the man becomes, the more touching the story has to be.”
“You have to have fear to have courage.”
“Treat a man like a dog and sooner or later he’ll bite you,”
“You carry on. That’s what he’d always done. That’s the task that comes with surviving, whether you deserve to live or not. You remember the dead as best you can. You say some words for them. Then you carry on, and you hope for better.”
“No one cares about the past any more. They don’t see that you can’t have a future without a past.”
“It was a fact, he was only now beginning to realise, that the conversation of the drunk is only interesting to the drunk. A few glasses of wine can be the difference between finding a man a hilarious companion or an insufferable moron.”
“If a man seeks to change the world, he should first understand it.”
“Everything frightens me, and it’s well that it does. Fear is a good friend to the hunted, it’s kept me alive this long. The dead are fearless, and I don’t care to join them.”
Have you read The First Law Trilogy? What did you think of it? Or would you read it?
Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings.
The Day We Find Love Once Again
I won’t be doing a Sunday Post next week because a friend of mine will be visiting during the weekend and I probably won’t be able to get on the computer. The good news is that I’ll probably have a lot more to share on my Sunday Post the week after! I’ll miss you all next week though.
Last week was mostly uneventful except for a wonderful time spent downtown with the husband the one day the weather was nice. We visited a few old haunts, a bookshop, and tried a new restaurant. We got the chicken wings platter, a salad, and onion rings. Everything was delicious, but it was ridiculously overpriced and I’m not sure if it’s worth the price. It was still a very nice date, though!
I’m still getting used to the walking desk and being on the treadmill while I’m on the computer. I realized that I haven’t been spending as much time working on the computer because I’m trying to avoid the motion sickness, but it’s good because I still have to use the computer and it forces me to be more mindful of what I’m doing on the computer and how much time I spend on it while also getting in some exercise when I’m on it. Win-win-win, right?
All the happy things:
So happy that the audiobook for Funny Story by Emily Henry is finally available to borrow! I have been waiting and anticipating so long!!
Not sure if it counts because I was going to write it after the fact and not before, but I’m very happily anticipating my friend’s visit!
I was able to spend some time crocheting and I finished a couple of small projects! They’re in the wash right now, but I’ll post pictures next week (the week after)!
The Books
Books I read last week:
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou – It’s a short book, but powerful, and painful at parts. I’ve been wanting to read it for a while and I’m glad I finally did!
Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie – This is the second book in The First Law Trilogy, and it’s been such an immersive experience. I’d love to immediately move on to the third book but I’m waiting on my reading buddies to get their copies.
Books I’m reading:
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver – I’m at 80% of the audiobook and really loving it. I haven’t read David Copperfield so I had no idea what to expect. I’m also looking forward to reading David Copperfield soon after.
Funny Story by Emily Henry – I’ve got the ebook but I’ve been waiting for the audiobook because Julia Whelan narrates it and I love her! I finally got the audiobook today and I’ve started listening despite not having finished Demon Copperhead yet!
I’m not expecting to be able to read much this week since my friend will be visiting, but I’m hoping to finish Demon Copperhead and Funny Story for sure, and maybe a couple of shorter, easy reads. Any recommendations?
How was your week? I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!
It’s Time Travel Thursday! Hosted by Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog, this is where you get to take a look back at what you were reading this time last year (or the year before or the year before that…) and get to relive those bookish memories!
This time in 2023 I was reading:
The Book of Koli by M.R. Carey
My thoughts:
I started and stopped reading this book so many times because it was quite difficult to get into in the beginning, but I kept trying because a friend whose book recommendations I trust gushed about it so much. Once I finally got into it, I was *in* it. It was so hard to put the book down and I just needed to know what happens next. I love that there were so many interesting elements to the story, like the sentient, carnivorous trees, and the tech that is way more advanced than what we know. I found the interpersonal relationships fascinating, their beliefs and way of life, the way they learned – the tech, the intrigue, how things worked. There’s so much to this book, on so many levels! I love it!
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
This time in 2022 I was reading:
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
My thoughts:
Such a fun romantic read! I like that this one is a bit different, but I also got a bit annoyed with the lack of communication about Charlie not moving back to the city and not just straight up telling Nora. Libby’s lack of communication was also very annoying. I do like the push-pull and sexual tension with Nora and Charlie. It was written so well! I’ve read a few Emily Henry books and I’ve always enjoyed them. They’re just really easy to read and fun.
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
This time in 2021 I was reading:
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
My thoughts:
It has been a while since I watched the movie so there are a lot of details I’ve forgotten and can’t compare with the book. However, I really enjoyed the book itself – the telling of it and the way everything unfolded. There were moments of frustration and disbelief, and definitely also fear and wonder.
There’s a lot of details about the dinosaurs that I feel like we now take for granted because Jurassic Park has been in our pop culture for quite a while now, but I can’t help but wonder, if I was reading it for the first time in the time it was written, would I be asking more questions about the characteristics of the dinosaurs? Would I be more curious and skeptical about their behaviors?
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
This time in 2020 I was reading:
A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas
My thoughts:
I really enjoyed this book and series. Charlotte “Sherlock” Holmes is definitely not what I expected but I love her, and I love the whole concept of how Sherlock came to be because of her character needing to carve out a living for herself. I read up to book 5, if I’m not mistaken, but I haven’t read the latest books so perhaps it’s time to catch up and reacquaint myself with Charlotte.
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Overall Comparisons
All 4 stars and above! I was having a great time this time in the years before. Once again, I love that they are all such different books and yet I enjoyed them all. It’s also fun to revisit because I remember really loving The Book of Koli and the other books in the series, as well as the Charlotte Holmes series.
I am currently reading The First Law series and loving it so far, so I believe it will be fun to look back on this time again next year and add another series I love to the list!
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? What were you reading at this time in history?
Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is May Flowers
I went broad with the topic this week and got as many different varieties of flowers as I could. Not a lot of variety with the genres though, there’s a lot of historical fiction here. I don’t appreciate this topic adding so many new books to my TBR, by the way. 😭
Top Ten Flowery Books
White Chrysanthemum by Mary Lynn Bracht – I’d never heard of this book but it sounds so good and right up my alley. It’s historical fiction about Korea under the Japanese occupation, and there are two timelines. I need this!
One Hundred Daffodils by Rebecca Winn – This is a memoir that I was initially not interested in, but it actually sounds interesting and I can’t help but be curious.
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – I’ve read only one other book by this author and loved it and have been meaning to read more.
Sunflowers by Sheramy Bundrick – Vincent Van Gogh as a character? I am very, very intrigued. This is fiction but I’m curious to read this fictional account of Van Gogh’s life.
Peony in Love by Lisa See – I have several of the author’s books on my TBR, including this one, and I have yet to read them. I really want to, eventually!
Jasmine by Bharati Mukherjee – I always love the story of an underdog taking on the world and coming up on top. I’m not sure if it will end well, but I am taken in by the description.
Under the Magnolias by TI Lowe – This one is set in the 1980s in South Carolina. I don’t necessarily seek out historical fiction, but I find that I do love a lot of them and can’t help wanting to read more!
Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach – The tulip mania has always been a curiosity for me and I’d love to read more about it. This one is also historical fiction.
The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley – Another author with multiple books on my TBR list. I really need to read them some time!
Oleander Girl by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni – This one sounds interesting to me as well. It’s set in India and apparently in the 2000s, but not far enough back to be considered historical fiction I’m sure.
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?
Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings.
And I Would Walk 500 More
Last week was a total contrast with the week before, weather-wise. The weather was so nice two weeks ago and I walked so much outside, but last week it rained/snowed pretty much the whole week and I didn’t go outside at all. I did manage to get some exercise indoors though. I paced while reading, and I set up my computer on my walking desk so I was doing blog stuff while on the treadmill too, which is great!
Except that I got a bit of motion sickness and I had to take a lot of breaks.
I had wanted to post more, write some book reviews, but didn’t feel up to it with the motion sickness. I also had a lot to catch up on with replying comments and visiting blogs, and I’m still catching up, but I think I’m getting better doing longer sessions on the treadmill/computer, and I’m sure it will get easier once I get used to it. It’s a chore setting up the computer, so I can’t just switch it out when I get tired of walking and want to sit. I mean, I can, but it’s a whole lot of work. And I want to get used to this because I think it’s better for my health in the long-term.
It’s getting better already, see! I’m writing this post while at my walking desk!
In other news, husband and I finished watching Formula 1: Drive to Survive, and I finished watching Blown Away. We are now watching Physical: 100 Season 2 together, and I’m continuing with my 911 watch.
I also got caught up on laundry, yayyy, but of course it never really ends. And I took a break on cooking last week and husband cooked instead. He sautéed some salmon belly which was simple, but oh so delicious!
All the happy things:
We had our final check-in for The Count of Monte Cristo readalong and had a wonderful discussion that went almost 3 hours!
I managed to finish The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie in time for the book discussion and we had another great discussion for it, plus, I ended up really loving it and now I’m obsessed and have started reading the next book!
I organized my work space – cleared some old papers, threw away stuff I no longer needed. More to go, but it’s a great start.
The bad weather didn’t get me down because I still managed to walk a lot – indoors, but it still counts! I’m getting into the habit of pacing while I read and walking on the treadmill while working on the computer, and honestly, it doesn’t come naturally and I get tired easily, but I’m looking at the long term benefits.
The Books
Books I read last week:
The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande – I thought it was cool that a whole book was dedicated to the importance of having checklists. For the regular layperson like me, checklists are usually just part of the tools I use for convenience and keeping myself organized, and it has also saved me some stress many times, but in aviation, construction, and medicine, it can be the difference between life and death. I think checklists are worth implementing in any situation you can think of though, and I think the book is definitely worth reading.
Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton – I didn’t expect such a heavy subject matter, but I think it was an important story to tell and I appreciate the author being vulnerable and telling her story. It’s given me a different perspective about the oil sands industry, and about male-dominated industries in general.
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel – This is my in-person bookclub’s BOTM for May, and I’d usually not read the BOTM so early, but I borrowed the book from the library before it was chosen for the BOTM, and I decided to just go ahead and finish it anyway. I might do a quick recap before the book discussion as a refresher.
The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie – I just finished this book yesterday and I loved it! It was the highlight of the week! I had such an immersive experience reading it, plus having discussions about it immediately after. I’m still processing, or rather, I’m still half in the world of the book and I’ve already started on the next book, so I feel like I’m still immersed. Totally leaning into it!
Books I’m reading:
Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie – Just started but already excited about reading more!
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou – I’m reading this on audio. It’s only 3 hours and I’m already halfway through. It’s breaking my heart a little.
I’m so obsessed with The First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie that I might try to finish the second and third books this week. Let’s see if I can do that!
How was your week? I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!
It’s Time Travel Thursday! Hosted by Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog, this is where you get to take a look back at what you were reading this time last year (or the year before or the year before that…) and get to relive those bookish memories!
This time in 2023 I was reading:
Happy Place by Emily Henry
My thoughts:
This book gave me all the feels. I love that it’s a different take on fake dating, from the other side of the relationship, which changed a lot of the dynamics. And I love the whole found family aspect of it as well. It made me laugh, it made me cry – both happy and sad tears – because it was also really bittersweet. People change and grow, sometimes they grow apart, sometimes they find a way to grow together. I love that.
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
This time in 2022 I was reading:
Assassin’s Quest by Robin Hobb
My thoughts:
This is the 3rd book in The Farseer Trilogy. I loved the author’s Liveship Traders series, and I wanted to like this series too, but there were some things that happened in this book that I couldn’t get over at the time and I DNF’d the book. I also didn’t like the protagonist very much because he’s so whiny and seems more like an anti-hero, but unlikeable protagonists don’t really bother me in general as long as they are interesting. I may possibly try this again eventually.
My rating: ⭐⭐/5
This time in 2021 I was reading:
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
My thoughts:
There was a chapter that mentioned simplifying and dumbing down the philosophies/concepts being discussed, I think it was titled Life and Death and Quantum something something, and that kind of summarizes the whole book for me.
I like the ideas behind this story, the theme of the book. It’s a story meant to comfort, motivate, inspire, and I think it would have worked very well as a fable. But as a full-length book it was boring, repetitive, preachy… and I felt like I was being talked down to. There were a lot of “wise-sounding quotes” that felt pretentious; the kinds that sound profound but say nothing.
I really wanted to like this book, and I even started out wanting to give it a 3-star rating, but the more I think about it, the less I think I like it, so I’m going with a 2-star rating.
My rating: ⭐⭐/5
This time in 2020 I was reading:
The Institute by Stephen King
My thoughts:
I listened to this one on audiobook. I love most of Stephen King’s works and I especially enjoy the really long books. This one was 19 hours on audio and apparently approx. 800 pages.
It looks like I had some hits and misses at this time in the last few years. They are all also very different books with very different vibes. To be fair, the books with the good ratings were written by two of my go-to authors – Emily Henry, and Stephen King. I’ve only read one other Matt Haig book that I was lukewarm about, and while I loved Robin Hobb’s Liveship Traders, I’ve only read two of her series. I am open to reading more of Robin Hobb though, and trying this one again too.
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? What were you reading at this time in the past?
Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is Petty Reasons You’ve DNF’d a Book.
I don’t know if I’d call all my reasons “petty”, but some of them are definitely mean! Some of these dnfs happened recently, and some of them are really old dnfs that I don’t even remember – I copy/pasted my thoughts from reviews/notes I wrote.
Top Ten Petty Reasons I’ve DNF’d a Book
Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi – I loved the first book in this series and I really wanted to like this one too, but one of the love interest in this story gave me the ick, and I just couldn’t continue the journey with them. I think I dnf’d around the halfway point.
A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal – I dnf’d this very early, within the first few chapters. The writing was difficult to read and it didn’t keep my interest.
Caraval by Stephanie Garber – I read all the way to 95% of the book, I believe, but I was annoyed with it the whole way and just got angrier and angrier as I read because I expected it to get better and it never did. I can’t say what the final straw was because it’s so close to the end and may be a spoiler, but at that point, I was just done.
Imperial Woman by Pearl S. Buck – I’ve mentioned this book before in Books I Love to Reread; it’s the one book I love that I’ve reread many times but never finished. It counts as a petty dnf for this list, because my reason is that the last few pages just didn’t seem necessary.
Death by Dumpling by Vivien Chien – I dnf’d this once a long time ago, forgot completely about it, came across the series again and thought it sounded fun, tried reading it again, and dnf’d again. I really wanted to love it and get into the whole series, but I don’t think it’s for me. Both times dnf’d early in the book – I went a bit further the second time because I wanted to make more of an effort to like it.
Taking Chances by Molly McAdams – My exact notes were; “Nope, sorry. So bad within the first 50 pages that I don’t even want to waste my time reading the rest of it.”
The Atlas Paradox by Olivie Blake – The characters were messy and unlikeable and inconsistent.
Splintered by A.G. Howard – I love going through my old notes and seeing how mean and petty I was; “I decided not to finish the book. It got really annoying and I really didn’t like the characters much at all.”
Innocent Mage by Karen Miller – “I had high hopes for this book, but the deeper I got into the book, I just started getting bored. Nothing was going on, everything was just telling, not showing. The characters started getting on my nerves, with all the waiting, waiting….”
Alienated by Melissa Landers – “In one word: shallow.”
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?
Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings.
So Much Walking
Last week I found the perfect route to walk around my neighborhood, and as of this writing, I’ve walked it six times already! It also helps that the weather has been lovely. It looks like there’s going to be some rain this week, but I will do my best to go for walks when the weather is nice.
I also did a lot of cooking last week but forgot to take pictures except for a couple of them; steamed black bean pork ribs, and romaine lettuce cooked with fermented bean paste. They were both really yummy!
There was also miso soup, mapo tofu, gailan in oyster sauce, napa cabbage stir-fry, onion omelette, and I don’t remember what else. I’m so glad I’ve been walking a lot because I think I’d start putting on a lot of weight if I keep eating all these yummy food!
As for TV shows; we finally caved and resubscribed to Netflix again and we’ve been catching up on the shows we loved. I’m watching Formula 1: Drive to Survive Season 6 with my husband, and Blown Away Season 4 on my own. I love both these series so much and I guess I couldn’t resist when there were new seasons!
This weekend I’ve got two book discussions! I just had my in-person book club meeting Saturday morning for The Kite Runner, and the final check-in for The Count of Monte Cristo is happening Sunday morning! The discussion for The Kite Runner gave me a lot to think about, the book is just really good, and one of the other book club members got me interested in reading Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns as well.
I’m also looking forward to the discussion of The Count of Monte Cristo – there’s already been some discussion in the chats that incited some passion, and I’m excited for more of the same for the live discussion!
Overall, I’ve been in a weird mood. I told my husband there were times last week when I felt proud and productive for all I’ve managed to get done – the walks for my health, the reading and book reviews, the cooking, etc. But then I look at the things I didn’t get done – the laundry, organizing my library, half-done projects, and so many things I initially planned for that I’m not even close to starting, and I feel… antsy. I want to get them all done, and I know I have to sort of pace myself, work on my time management and energy. I don’t know if I’ll have to give up on some stuff, but I prefer not to. I’m just taking things one at a time and focusing on the good stuff.
All the happy things:
I managed to catch up with all my book reviews!!
I’m truly estatic for my new walking route – it’s so conducive to audiobook listening and I’ve just loved my walks!
I finally finished books that have been on my TBR for ages!
Two book club discussions in a single weekend! (And another one to look forward to next weekend!)
The food!
The Books
Books I read last week:
The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff – A 3-hour audiobook that went quickly, but what a joy to read! I feel like this is one I’d like to come back to over and over again.
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini – So good, so heartwrenching, so many feels! It’s just so well-written!
Slewfoot by Brom – It’s better than The Child Thief, and I love the illustrations, but at the end of the day, I don’t think this author is for me. I’m glad I got it read though!
Blitz by Daniel O’Malley – I read this halfway and had to return it, and finally got it back again and finished it! I expected to see more of the characters we met in the first two books, but this story is about brand new characters and we don’t see much of the past characters. It’s still good as a story in itself though!
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara – This has been on my TBR for years! I kept putting it off because of the dark subject matter and not being in the right frame of mind to go there. I finally decided to get it over with, and I’m so glad I did because it’s really worth reading!
Books I’m reading:
The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande – A physician friend recommended this book to me more than 10 years ago, and I’m finally reading it now. I’m about 80% in.
Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton – This is a graphic novel, and I’m really interested in it because I live in the Oil Sands province. I’m about 100 pages in.
The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie – I’m only 2% in on this one, but I’m supposed to finish it in a week! 😭
I meant to read The Blade Itself last week, but I got distracted by other books, and now I’m not sure if I’ll be able to finish it in time for the discussion this upcoming weekend. It’s a longer book with a bigger cast of characters, I’ve been told, but I’ll try to finish it in time!
How was your week? I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!
