Life
Why does time seem to speed up just when you need more of it? That's how it always feels at this time of year, when I realize that I once again did not get an early start on all of my holiday to-do's! So, last week was mostly the annual rush to get things done. I scrambled to do my shopping on Cyber Monday (and beyond); because of my illness and this continuing relapse, I do almost all of my shopping online. I got most of it done last week, with just two more people to buy for and a stop at my local indie bookstore this week (my one in-person stop) to order books. Books make the best gifts! I've also been rushing to upload photos from the year to Snapfish, so I can make/order the annual photo books, calendars, and ornaments. And I updated my address list and printed labels this weekend, though we haven't yet started signing and mailing cards.
I am still spending most of my time on the couch, though we did get a few days where the temperature hit 50 (or close enough), so I am trying to enjoy every minute on the back deck that I can!
 |
Might have been pushing the weather but the sun was out!
|
 |
My view from the deck
|
 |
I did get out for one very short walk!
|
__________
On the Blog
Two Great Teen/YA Graphic Memoirs - I reviewed two graphic memoirs, Layers by Pénélope Bagieu, a coming-of age memoir told in sixteen stories, and Dreamer: Growing Up Black in the World of Hockey by Akim Aliu, about racism in both youth and pro hockey and what the author is doing to improve things for today's kids.
__________
On Video
Friday Reads 12-1-23 - my brief weekly update on what I am currently reading, as last week I finished up my Nonfiction November books.
__________
What We're Reading
I finished We Are Never Meeting in Real Life
by Samantha Irby, a collection of essays, for my last Nonfiction November book. I've been hearing about Irby
for years, and my husband gave me this one for my birthday. She doesn't
pull any punches! Her essays are honest, poignant, and funny. Some are
on topics I can't really relate to, like dating in the modern world, but
other topics are universal. And I was surprised to learn that she also
has a chronic immune disorder, Crohn's. It's not a focus of her writing
here, but as with any chronic illness, it's an integral part of her
life, so it affects everything. She can be very blunt, especially when it comes to bodily functions and sexual encounters! I enjoyed the wide range of essays here.
On audio, I finished listening to The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World
by Melinda Gates. It''s all about her charitable work, focused on improving the lives of girls and women, here in the U.S. and
around the world, with a special focus on availability of birth control
and education, two aspects that she learned had a profound effect on
women and on their communities. She includes lots of stories about girls
and women all over the world (which are pretty eye-opening), as well as
data and research and how her foundation tries to help, plus her own personal stories. It's a fascinating and inspiring book.
And by the time I finished those, it was already Friday, and my book group meets this Thursday to discuss Homecoming by Kate Morton, which is over 500 pages! I doubled up and got both the print book and the audio from the library to help me read faster. I haven't read a Morton novel since The Forgotten Garden in 2011, and this novel has a similar structure, alternating between different characters and timelines to weave together a full story. Here, on Christmas Eve 1958 in Australia, a mother and her four children are found dead at a riverside picnic, and in 2018, a woman in London rushes home to Australia when her beloved grandmother is hospitalized. Family secrets and mysteries are slowly revealed. I was a bit confused at the beginning, but now things are starting to come together, and I'm engrossed in the story. Wish me luck in finishing by Thursday!
My husband, Ken, is still reading Holly by Stephen King, a new novel featuring the character Holly Gibney. She's working for the Finders Keepers detective agency that she and Bill Hodges started and working on a strange case of multiple disappearances in a small midwestern town. I love what King said about Holly, that she was supposed to be a minor walk-on character in Mr. Mercedes, but he couldn't get her out of his mind. She also appeared in Finders Keepers and End of Watch (the Bill Hodges trilogy), plus The Outsider, and now she has her own book. I can't wait to read it myself!
Our
son, 29, finished reading Brandon Sanderson's just-published The Sunlit Man, which takes place in the Cosmere universe my son loved in the Mistborn series. For
his birthday last year, I
signed him up for Sanderson's big Kickstarter, and this was the fourth
book he received. It's a gorgeous embossed hardcover, and he said it was phenomenal!! Now's he's moved onto another Sanderson novel, The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England, which was the second of the "secret project" Kickstarter books that he wrote during the pandemic. This one sounds like fun!
Love that you are able to do most of your shopping online. I do as much that way as I can too. I really need to read the last Bill Hodges book so I can read Holly. I already read The Outsider out of order so I don't have to read that one thank heavens.
ReplyDeleteOnline shopping is a necessity, but I've gotten pretty good at it! Easier to find good deals for sure :) I also read The Outsider before Mr. Mercedes. End of Watch (Bill Hodges #3) was excellent, with a big finish. My husband is really enjoying Holly. Hope you enjoy it, too!
DeleteI don't blame you for spending time on the deck even when it's only about 50. Fresh air and the outdoors is definitely great for the mind and body! I don't think I've ever read any of Kate Morton's books although Forgotten Garden had been on my list at one point.
ReplyDeleteYes! I love being outdoors - long stretch of cold, wet days this week, and I'm missing my deck time :) I finished Homecoming yesterday, and it was excellent - the last 100 pages was filled with surprising twists and secrets - even after I thought I had it all figured out!
DeleteThanks so much for the heads up about these graphic novels. I've added then to my try and read in 2024 list. I do a lot of online ordering too. We live in a small town. I will probably see if I can find stocking stuffer stuff locally, but there isn't much. I feel less guilty about it when I remember being young and we ordered just about everything from Sears and Eatons.
ReplyDeleteExcellent graphic memoirs - hope you enjoy them, too. Same here - I did manage to get out of the house briefly this week just here in town to pick up some stocking stuffers.
DeleteHope The Homecoming is progressing, I have it on my shelf to read. Her books do follow a pattern the way the story is revealed, I usually do a slow read on them so I can get to grips with it. You are doing well with your shopping, I need to get some done, but I hate shopping.
ReplyDeleteI finished Homecoming last night and really enjoyed it - a bit confusing at first, but wonderful the way everything comes together - those last 100 pages were filled with surprising twists!
DeleteAck! I am so far behind in my blog commenting! I don't like this feeling.
ReplyDeleteI love that you braved the deck in multiple layers of clothing. You don't want to know how warm it is in SoCal right now. My daughter is loving it.