Monday, February 08, 2021

It's Monday 2/8! What Are You Reading?


How is everyone on this Monday morning? It's very cold here, and we got more snow here this weekend, but at least the sun is shining. According to the forecast, this is the last we'll see of sunshine for the next week!

We had a fun weekend, though I didn't get much done. That's OK; sometimes you need to just relax and have some fun. My health is much improved on some new treatments (and more to come), pretty much back to my "normal" baseline with chronic illness which suddenly feels--after a terrible past year--pretty darn good! So, we took a short hike on Saturday on some local trails we'd never been on before. I'm in a local Women's Hikers group on Facebook that a friend started, and I'm amazed by all the great places to hike so close to us that we've never even heard of before (we've lived here for 30 years)! 

 

It was also "warm" enough (above 40 F!) to have an outdoor visit with my father-in-law, who is 95. We were all bundled up, but we had a bit of sunshine, and he so enjoys getting out and doing this. My husband sees him every day, but his dad is really getting sick of being stuck inside and not being able to come to our house. He gets his second shot next week - yay!

 

And, of course, we topped off our weekend with the Superbowl. If you don't live in the U.S., you might not be aware of how big a deal this is here! Neither my husband nor I much cared who won last night, but it's fun to get into the group celebration spirit. We made our favorite snacks for dinner, enjoyed the ads, and chatted with friends on Facebook about the whole thing. My personal favorite ads were two in the beginning for Most Entertaining--Sesame Street for DoorDash (one of my all-time favorite SS songs!) and the Scott's one which was filled with hilarious celebrity cameos, including John Travolta doing the dance from the prom scene in Grease with his daughter (I had to rewatch it on Youtube to catch everything)--and for powerful emotion, the one with Bruce Springsteen in Kansas about meeting in the middle. The game? eh.

 

In fact, we turned the game off a few minutes early and went upstairs to read! Here's what we've all been reading this week:

I finished and thoroughly enjoyed The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz, one of the older books on my TBR bookcase. It was published in 2007, and I've been wanting to read it for well over a decade! The Spellman family runs a P.I. business, with mom, dad, older sister, Izzy, and younger sister, Rae, all involved (brother David is a lawyer). The novel is written from Izzy's point of view, with a heaping dose of humor in among the cases and investigations. Izzy has a lot of issues, though she's no longer quite the mess she was when she was younger. Still, most of her relationships are very short-lived (for some reason, men don't like their girlfriends to stake them out and run credit checks on them), until she meets one guy she really likes. In fact, she likes him enough that she lies to him about what she does for a living. Of course, this approach will eventually blow up in Izzy's face, and at that point, she decides to leave Spellman Investigations, though her parents want her to work on one last case. This fun, fast-paced, witty novel was just what I needed! It's the start of a series.

Waiting for my book group book to come in at the library, I squeezed in a very short book, The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. It's actually a play, and my first Wilde read. My husband gave it to me for Christmas. The play was described by a critic of the time (1895) as "a trivial comedy for serious people," and that is still an apt description! It's a silly but smart farce filled with puns, quotable lines, mistaken identities, and other fun. The basic plot is about two different men, each of whom makes up fake friends/family as an excuse to travel and escape their ordinary lives. So, John leaves his estate in the country to visit his pretend wild brother named Earnest who lives in London (and then pretends to be Earnest while in the city), while Algernon often leaves the city to go to the country to visit his "sick friend," Bunbury. As you can imagine, hijinks ensue, especially when each of the men falls in love while using the false name Earnest! It was a lot of fun and lots of laughs.

I finally gave up on waiting for the library (my requested book has shown "in transit" for over two weeks now, and our state is only 150 miles long!) and bought the e-book so I could read before book group on Thursday. This month's selection is The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert, a nonfiction book. Scientists agree there have been 5 mass extinctions since life began on Earth, based on the fossil record. Many also agree that we are now entering into a sixth. I was worried this book might be dry, but ... wow. I am only on chapter 2 of 13, and it is already fascinating ... and yes, terrifying, too. Chapter 1 is about huge numbers and entire species of amphibians disappearing all over the world; I had no idea this was going on! In chapter 2, she is going much further back in time to the mastadon and reviewing the history of how humans first began to identify bizarre-looking fossils and finally came around to the idea that extinction was a thing.

I finished listening to a YA novel on audio called Furious Thing by Jenny Downham. I loved her earlier novel, Unbecoming, so much that I chose it as my Best Teen/YA Book Read in 2016. Lexi is 15 and is constantly told that she misbehaves and has a bad temper. She is filled with anger that often comes out at the worst times. If only she could change herself so that her stepfather would like her, her mother would love her like she used to, and maybe she'd even have friends. The only person she can talk to is her stepbrother, but now he's off at school. Lexi works hard to transform herself, pushing her anger down deep. Yeah, you know how well that's going to work! Downham has a talent for writing strong, well-developed characters and for digging deep into issues affecting many people, and this novel is no exception. There is so much more to it than first meets the eye. It was very good, with an excellent ending.

Now, I am listening to The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich, an author I always enjoy. She is a Native American author who writes novels about Native American people, families, and their lives. In this case, her latest novel is based in history and the life of her own grandfather. Did you know that in 1953 Congress passed a resolution to disband and abolish all tribes, take all land from Native Americans and "relocate" them to urban areas? I didn't, and the historical backdrop here is stunning and horrifying. But, as always, Erdrich focuses in on one Indian community, a group of families, and what happened to them at that time because of that push from Congress. I also love that Erdrich always reads her own audiobooks, so the accent and cadence of her speech is authentic (this novel is about the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, of which she is part). So, far, it is immersive and engrossing.

My husband, Ken, is reading one of his Christmas gifts, taking a break from his usual thrillers to read Erik Larson's latest nonfiction book, The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz. As the subtitle indicates, this book is focused on the year-long bombing campaign that Hitler waged on London during WWII, with a focus on Churchill's leadership of the British people during this horrific period. He seems engrossed in it already and has begun reading me interesting tidbits (always a good sign with nonfiction). Did you know that Churchill had a black cat named Nelson? Ken is enjoying it so far and already learning a lot.

 

Our son, 26, took his dad's advice and read a book he lent to him when he was home recently: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George R.R. Martin, a prequel to the A Game of Thrones series. This one book compiles the first three prequel novellas that Martin wrote, which take place a century before the events in A Song of Ice and Fire, the first book in A Game of Thrones series. It's about a young, inexperienced knight named Ser Duncan (Dunk, for short), and his small squire, a boy named Egg. My husband and son both love The Game of Thrones (books and TV series!), and he is enjoying the book like his dad did.  

Next, our son re-read Spellslinger by Sebastien de Castell so that he could read book 2 of the Spellslinger series, Shadowblack. The series is about a mage named Kellen who loses his magic and goes on a quest to reclaim it. In the second book, he is forced to live as an outlaw. The description says this series is "bursting with tricks, humor, and a whole new way to look at magic." No wonder our son likes it!

 

 

Blog posts from last week:

Movie Monday: Blow the Man Down - amusing movie about the dark underbelly of a quiet Maine fishing village

Fiction Review: Not the End of the World by Kate Atkinson - fun, quirky collection of short stories with some fantasy woven into real-life stories

Middle-Grade Review: A Home for Goddesses and Dogs by Leslie Connor - a warm and funny story of love, loss, and finding your place in the world.

Summary of Books Read in January - my reading year is off to a great start!

What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, so head over and check out her blog and join the Monday fun! You can also participate in a kid/teen/YA version hosted by Unleashing Readers.

You can follow me on Twitter at @SueBookByBook or on Facebook on my blog's page.   

What are you and your family reading this week?

 

 

18 comments:

  1. Nice list! I'm so glad to hear you're feeling better. I read "The Importance of Being Earnest" a few years ago and loved it. "The Night Watchman" and the George R.R. Martin book looked really interesting, too.

    My post: https://steppingstonesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2021/02/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-5.html

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    1. Thanks! I am late replying but hope you enjoyed your books this week!

      Sue

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  2. We got snow this past week, too. In fact, the temps were so low that they did a late start for all schools from Kindergarten through college. I don't know if we'll be getting above the teens for a few days. Eeek! The Sixth Extinction sounds fascinating! I'll have to see if we have a local copy. I really hate it when books are in transit for a ridiculous amount of time. Ugh! This week, between audiobooks, I've been reading Christina Soontornvat's All Thirteen about the famous cave rescue in Thailand. I'm learning so much about caves, diving, and the Thai culture. Have a wonderful reading week, Sue!

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    1. The Sixth Extinction was an amazing book, Shaye, and something everyone should read! But also really well-written and engrossing. I've been hearing a lot about All Thirteen, and that sounds fascinating, too.

      Hope you've been enjoying your books this week!

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  3. It's funny, I never even realize when the Super Bowl is or who is playing until the day before. I am so happy that your FIL got his second shot and can soon come to your house for a visit. That will be so wonderful!

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    1. ha ha We pay attention to football until the Saints are no longer in the running :) Unfortunately, Tampa Bay beat them in the semi-finals this year - we were SO close to another Saints Superbowl!

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  4. Since the Saints weren't playing we skipped the Superbowl and went to look at house floats.

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    1. Ha! That's what I was just explaining to Helen, above! We used to live in NOLA, so we were rooting for the Saints as always! We got SO close this year! The pics I'm seeing of house floats are so awesome!!! People went all out - though I'd expect nothing less :)

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  5. Ohhh! I loved The Spellman Files and all the books that come after it, but I listened to them on audio. I keep trying to get people at the library to try this series, so I'm glad you tried it at the right time for you! Glad you're doing so well, too! My husband and I don't pay attention to the Super Bowl, but I know Tom Brady did well from Facebook friends. He used to play for "our" team!

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    1. I'll have to look for some more Spellman books - it was a lot of fun!

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  6. I am not much of a football person (I barely know the rules, to be honest), but my family did watch the Super Bowl—though I spent the whole time reading. (Seems in character!) If those snacks on the tray in the photo are pigs in blankets, we had those too, and they were so delicious! I'm glad your health is better (fingers crossed it stays good), and congrats on your father-in-law's vaccine! Furious Thing sounds excellent, as does The Night Watchman—I am unfortunately quite uninformed about the horrors done to Native Americans. Thanks for the great post!

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    1. ha ha yes, of course! Pigs in a blanket are essential Superbowl food!

      All of Louise Erdrich's novels are wonderful, moving, warm, and authentic. If you really want to learn about Native American history in the US, though read An Indigenous People's History of the U.S. - fascinating and horrifying - I learned so much! here's my review: https://bookbybook.blogspot.com/2020/02/nonfiction-review-indigenous-peoples.html

      One of my top Nonfiction books read last year!

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  7. I’m glad you are feeling better and have been able to get out.
    I’ll watch the Superbowl ads on YouTube eventually, but couldn’t care less about the game.

    Wishing you a great reading week

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    1. Unless the Saints are playing, it's just an excuse to celebrate for us! A good cure for the winter doldrums :) And the ads were great!

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  8. Glad to read that you are feeling better. We are experiencing a cold spell here, but I still made it out for my walk today. The worst was walking into the wind. I need a balaclava! My husband watched the game and I read beside him...
    I just picked up The Sixth Extinction from the library today, although I have so much other stuff to read first...

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    1. Oh, Cheriee, The Sixth Extinction was SO good - well-written, engrossing, and fascinating.

      Hope you enjoyed your books this week and kept warm!

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  9. Good to hear the new meds are being helpful. Nice to get out in the outdoors too. Yes no wonder your FIL has cabin fever. Will be so good when your vaccines are working. I think it takes a couple of weeks for them to kick in? I know Superbowl is big in the States. It's fun to have big sporting events like that, that the almost whole country gets into.

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    1. Yes, Kathryn - two weeks after the 2nd dose for the vaccine to be in full effect, but we still need to wear masks, stay 6 feet apart, wash hands frequently, etc. They're not sure yet but think that vaccinated people (or those who've had it) can probably still spread it if they're exposed. So, life won't go back to normal for a while yet. You are so lucky to live in NZ!!

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