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Life
Happy Monday, Reading Friends!
It was a quiet week mostly at home here. I haven't seen any friends in weeks, so I tried mightily to invite friends for dinner this past weekend. Unfortunately, everyone I texted or called was either traveling, about to travel, or wrapped up in other stuff. So, it was just my husband and I most of the week, with our son running in and out. We lost power Monday night in a terrible storm. Our power was out for 10 hours, and we were the lucky ones! There are still trees down and roads closed in our area. We also got lucky that the storm cooled things down, so it wasn't too bad sleeping that night. Our son is a sales manager for a company that makes battery-powered tools, lawn & garden tools, and other stuff, so we made use of his many battery-powered lights and fans. And pro tip: always get a grill with a side burner! We were in the middle of making dinner when the power went out.
Finishing dinner on the grill's burner 
Freaky orange sky just after the storm
I don't know if you were aware but last Thursday was National Lazy Day! We both had pretty busy, productive days, but when my husband suggested getting take-out instead of cooking and cleaning up, I agreed. We splurged on huge burgers and delicious fries. I've been on a very restrictive diet due to chronic illness issues for the past two months, so this was a treat!
Celebrating National Lazy Day, August 10!
This weekend, we wanted to do something fun on Sunday. It was too hot and humid for a hike, so we went to the movies! I talked my husband into seeing the Barbie movie with me. He was a very good sport, especially since his name is Ken! We relaxed in recliner seats with popcorn in the cool theater, and we both enjoyed it. It's smart, sharp, funny, and a whole lot of fun. And it is definitely aimed more at adults than kids!
Sunday morning movie!
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On the Blog
Fiction Review: The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck - this outstanding classic was even better than I remembered from high school! Gripping, thought-provoking, heart-breaking, and even humorous.
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On Video
July Reading Wrap-Up - not a lot of quantity last month, with Big Book Summer, but a whole lot of quality! What I read and listened to last month (and what my husband read, too).
Friday Reads 8-11-23 - my brief weekly update
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I am still reading The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles and loving it! His previous novel, A Gentleman in Moscow, tied for my #1 book of the year in 2021, and this one is entirely different but also excellent. It's the story of two brothers in Nebraska in 1954: 18-year-old Emmett and eight-year-old Billy. Emmett was just released from a juvenile work farm after accidentally killing someone, and their father has just died. Their mother left when Billy was just a baby, so they are on their own now. Since their small town has a long memory and many still blame Emmett for the death of the other boy, they decide to take Emmett's Studebaker and drive to California. Billy is a precocious kid who reads a lot, and he wants to drive the Lincoln Highway. As you might expect, things don't go quite according to plan. I am fully immersed in their world, and the characters all feel real. This is my very first Buddy Read with a Booktube friend, Nikki of Red Dot Reads, and I am loving this approach! We're leaving voicemail messages for each other after each of the ten sections, and we both agree this is enhancing our experience and enjoyment of the novel. It's like a book group for two ... with a friend who lives on the opposite side of the globe!
I finished listening to The Secrets Between Us by Thrity Umrigar, a sequel to the best-selling The Space Between Us, and it was just as wonderful as the first book. Now, I am listening to a middle-grade historical novel, Lines of Courage by Jennifer Nielsen. I enjoyed Nielsen's excellent novel, A Night Divided, about the Berlin Wall, so I've been looking forward to this one. Lines of Courage takes place in Europe during WWI and focuses on five young people, ages 12-15, each struggling with different aspects of the war in different countries, whose lives cross in unexpected ways. It's excellent so far, very good on audio, and I am learning a lot. I've read so many books--fiction and nonfiction--about WWII but almost nothing about WWI.
My husband, Ken, is reading the much-anticipated new novel from Justin Cronin (author of The Passage and its sequels), The Ferryman. It is about a utopian island in the midst of a deteriorating world. Island residents live a long life, but when their health drops to a certain point, they board a ferry to a separate island known as the Nursery, where their bodies are renewed, memories wiped clean, and they start life fresh. The focus here is on one ferryman who is himself beginning to decline, must accompany his own father to the Nursery, and worries about what is next for himself. It sounds fascinating, and I know what a great writer Cronin is. Ken's enjoying it so far.
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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?
I'm so sorry about the big power outage, Sue! Thank goodness it wasn't too hot and you had supplies, because 10 hours without power could definitely be unpleasant. It's frustrating you didn't get to connect with any friends, but I'm glad you made the most of your alone time with a delicious meal and a visit to the Barbie movie! It's wonderful you're getting to read The Lincoln Highway with another blogger—that sounds like such a fun way to spend time. Thanks so much for the wonderful post, and I hope your week is more power-outage-free than this last one!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Max - our outage wasn't bad - we were the lucky ones! Loving The Lincoln Highway - the best part is 8-year-old Billy - what a great character!!
DeleteNice assortment of books. I inadvertently read a couple of big books this year since I read almost exclusively on my Kindle and don't know how long a book is when I start it. It turns out that 2 of my June books and 2 of my July books had more than 500 pages. We'll see how August goes but the longest so far has been 416 pages. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteHey, that's great, Kathy - unexpected Big Books are always fun! 416 pages counts, too!
DeleteGlad you're feeling better! I'd gotten through almost two months without coming down with anything, so I guess I was due! Thursday was our wedding anniversary (38th) and when we realized our original plan to go to the beach for lobster rolls was going to get rained out, we decided to meet after work at a restaurant with a covered patio (not on the beach), but by then I was feeling too sick to go out, so we had takeout lobster rolls and fries at home and ended up celebrating Lazy Day without even knowing it!
ReplyDeleteBeing home sick gave me time to get through another Big Book Summer audiobook -- A Gathering of Shadows (512 pages) by V. E. Schwab, the second in the Shades of Magic trilogy. I'd read it in print, but forgot that it ended on a cliffhanger. However, I have two other audios borrowed from the library already that I need to start before I go on to the third book in the trilogy!
Glad everything is okay after the storm!
ReplyDeleteI need to catch up on my Jennifer Nielsen reading--her books always captivate me!
Happy reading this week :)
Yes, she's a good writer - this one is engrossing!
DeleteGreat idea for the lazy day! What a horrible storm, so much crazy weather. Interesting to hear you liked Barbie, it certainly has made waves around the world. Great place to go in the summer heat. One day I just might get to the Lincoln Highway.
ReplyDeleteOh, Kathryn - The Lincoln Highway was SO good! I think you'd like it - just a delightful story.
DeleteNo power for 10 hours is such a drag! I am glad you had battery operated tools to get you through.
ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed the Barbie movie. Not a "great film," but lots of fun.
Yes, I agree - just pure fun!
DeleteThat sounds like quite a storm! Losing power makes us all realize we all are on our modern conveniences. I just got a copy of Lincoln Highway and am eager to read it, and I still have to read Gentleman from Moscow.
ReplyDeleteOh! A Gentleman in Moscow was excellent - one of my favorites. The Lincoln Highway was entirely different but also outstanding. Hope you enjoy them both!
DeleteI liked The Lincoln Highway, although not as much as A Gentleman in Moscow, and I realized later it was because I am not that much of a Mark Twain fan, which I think was his inspiration for this book. I am very intrigued by Towles who grew up in the next town over from me and our mothers were college classmates. All of his books are great for discussion.
ReplyDeleteReally? I didn't get any Twain vibes, but I think this was a more complex novel, with all the different characters. I felt like the novel was the Hero's Journey of the stories in Billy's book. That is so cool about your connection with Towles! And I agree - both are great for discussion.
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