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Life
I know this weekly update is getting pretty boring, but I am still stuck in this relapse of my immune disorder, still with flu-like aches every day, and typing this from the couch, lying flat. The good news is that I have had some better days mixed in with the worse ones (today is a bad one). I am still experimenting with my medications and looking for something that helps, but the ups and downs--as always--seem pretty random, something my very logical mind isn't happy with!
It's snowing outside right now, the first real snow we've had here in Delaware in a couple of years. It's very pretty, looking out the windows, and cozy inside.
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| Still, clear sky last night before the storm |
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| Our feeder is busy this morning, with the birds all fluffed up! |
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| Pretty snowfall from our back deck |
My husband and I enjoyed our usual quiet New Year's Eve. I love our traditions: staying home together, having a delicious dinner (filet mignon with roasted Brussels' sprouts), watching two movies, and counting down as the ball drops on TV. It is always a big victory for me to make it till midnight!
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| Happy New Year! |
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Next Exit - this unique movie combines drama and comedy set against a science fiction backdrop; while the premise sounds dark, it is actually a warm, uplifting movie about hope, meaning, and connections. We both enjoyed it. My review and a trailer at the link.
And be sure to check out Sheila's annual First Book of the Year post at Book Journey! See if you can spot me :)
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Christmas Book Haul! The Books We Gave and Received for Christmas - including a bit about each one and why they were chosen
Friday Reads 1/2/24 - Last Books of 2024 and First Books of 2025
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I decided to stop writing TV and movie reviews in October last year ... but I still want to tell you about the great shows and movies we discover! As evidenced by last week's movie review - I couldn't help myself. But I really don't have the time/energy to devote to full reviews, so instead I am adding this short section to my Monday post.
We enjoyed these two movies on New Year's Eve and thought both were excellent:
Win Win - This funny, heartwarming drama starring Paul Giamatti is all about family, with a twisty plot, a good guy who does something bad, characters to cheer for, and a happy ending. It's available for under $4 on many streaming platforms (we watched it on Amazon).
Thelma - I've been meaning to watch this one ever since it was released in June! It's the hilarious and heart-warming story of an elderly woman, played by June Squibb, who gets scammed and sets out on a mission to get her money back. She's great in the role, and it's a very entertaining movie. Available free on Hulu or for a fee on other platforms ($4.99 on Amazon).
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My first book of the new year is Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May. It's a memoir in which the author describes one particularly difficult winter for her family, using "winter" both literally and figuratively, explaining that everyone encounters a personal winter at some point(s) in their lives. She uses the months from September through March as jumping off points to discuss topics like metamorphosis, light, dark, slumber, survival, and more. This is the perfect book for me right now, as I am in the midst of my own personal winter with this relapse, as I hibernate in our home with snow and cold outside. I'm a little past the halfway mark now, with lots of passages tabbed!
On audio, I just started listening to The Briar Club by Kate Quinn, my book group's pick for January. I've heard great things about this book, and I enjoyed Quinn's The Diamond Eye. She has a talent for historical fiction, taking real-life people and events and building rich, full stories around them. Unlike some of her others, this novel is not based on a real person, but it centers on a real time and place and the world events that defined it. The focus here is on the Briarwood House, a rundown boarding house for women in Washington, DC, in 1954. I've only just started it, so I'm getting to know the widely different cast of women living in the home, as well as the cranky, strict woman who runs the house, and her children, Leah, and 13-year-old Pete. It's great so far, with in-depth characters set against the backdrop of the paranoia of the McCarthy hearings and the beginning of the Korean War.
My husband, Ken, is reading The Searcher by Tana French, a birthday gift from me, though he is still spending more time watching football than reading (he's a big fan of college football and an Oklahoma State alum)! We are both huge fans of Tana French and have loved her Dublin Murder Squad series, including In the Woods, The Likeness (my favorite), Faithful Place, and Broken Harbor. This is the start of a new series, featuring a retired American police detective now living in Ireland. He says it's great so far.
Let's see ... a week ago, our son, 30, was rereading Marshal Arcane, book 15 of the Spellmonger series by Terry Mancour, so I am guessing he has moved onto book 16, Preceptor by now (or will soon!). I'm hoping he can come visit next weekend for his brother's birthday, but his work schedule has been tough.
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You can follow me on Twitter at @SueBookByBook or on Facebook on my blog's page.
Hopefully you will find the right medication combo. It can be so tricky sometimes. Mr. Barb and I were just talking a few days ago about how we love our low-key traditions the best. We stayed in New Year's Eve, played with our pups, made snacks for the evening and watched the Twilight Marathon on SyFy until we were getting ready for the ball to drop. Then everyone, including the pups, slept in the next day.
ReplyDeleteI've got Briar Club on my TBR shelf. I really do like Kate Quinn so am looking forward to it.
ReplyDeleteMy friends in Maryland and Virginia are having snow days today. Stay safe and warm!
Hi Sue, sorry to hear you are still in a 'winter.' My GP tells me that I will probably be on antibiotics until surgery in February. Being sick all the time really sucks. Afternoon naps are my favourite thing.
ReplyDeleteI too like Kate Atkinson's books.
I love how the cardinals look in the winter snow, so pretty!! Wintering sounds intriguing and helpful and I'm also curious about that Kate Quinn title! Happy New year :)
ReplyDeleteHere's what I'm reading:
https://darkshelfofwonders.com/imwayr-music-monday-10/
Wintering sounds perfect and I have The Briar Club on my wish list. I'd listen to it too as her books are very enjoyable that way. I heard on our news that lots of USA getting snow and so is Ireland so I guess the cold has come in. We've had cold summer days. Wind that has really knocked all my vegies about. It is not boring to hear how you are still living with your immune disorder. Hope you get some up times soon but as you say there seems to be no logic in it.
ReplyDeleteWintering sounded good to me, too! It's about a 25-week wait for the ebook from the library, so maybe I'll look for the print copy. I just read Winter Solstice: An Essay by Nina MacLaughlin, which was short, but very powerful.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you've been down for the count! I feel very lucky now that I got sick the week before Christmas, and although I missed out on a few events, I felt better in time to enjoy the holidays. A lot of my coworkers were on vacation but were sick all through the holidays.
I like the new Tana French series. I listened to The Searcher and The Hunter on audio. I love the Irish accents!