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| Hosted by The Book Date |
Life
After several frantic days last week, trying to get all my work done, we escaped to the beach! My husband and I so needed a little getaway after the last few months. I'm still struggling with flu-like symptoms from my immune disorder (though milder), but it was just so nice to get out of the house for a few days! We visited Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, walked on the beach in Rehoboth Beach, enjoyed some wonderful restaurants in both Rehoboth and Lewes, met a friend for lunch, and browsed in one of our favorite bookstores. We hadn't eaten in a restaurant since early November because I'm immune compromised, so that was a real treat--most places were empty on a February weekend! And we relaxed in our comfy Airbnb apartment, just a block from the beach. Here are a few highlights--I'm putting together a short trip vlog later today.
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| Our Airbnb home-away-from-home |
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| Lunch at Go Fish - we've been going there for 30+ years! |
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| Fowler Beach at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge |
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| Lots of shells, crabs & other sea life on Fowler Beach |
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| Cold & windy but the sun was shining! |
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| Browseabout Books in Rehoboth Beach |
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| The sun came out Friday afternoon - I love the beach! |
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| Seagulls on Rehoboth Beach |
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| Sunshine on the beach - my happy place! |
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| We splurged at Harbour in Lewes |
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| Great blue heron & a lesser scaup at the wildlife refuge |
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| Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge |
A few hours after we left the beach, the rain turned to snow, and they got 18 inches down there! That's a LOT for southern Delaware. We got 10 inches at home. While it does look very pretty this morning, the month-old snow in our yard had finally melted when we got home yesterday. We're ready for spring!
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| Snow mostly melted yesterday at noon! |
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| And ... it was back by 8 am this morning! |
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| Winter wonderland |
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Mardi Gras Readathon Wrap-Up - some fun facts you may not know about Mardi Gras, plus what I read for the Mardi Gras Readathon and my thoughts on their readalong book, Little French Bistro.
The Name 5 Tag - To celebrate my 5th anniversary on YouTube, I created a new original tag that I hope will be a lot of fun for other Booktubers. This video starts with a bit of history on when, why, and how I started my channel in 2021.
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Last night, we finished the first season of Ponies on Peacock, and wow! We loved this new show, set in Moscow in the 1970's. Two young American women, Bea (played by Emilia Clarke) and Twila (played by Haley Lu Richardson) are living in Moscow while their husbands work in the embassy there. In the first episode, their husbands are both killed in a plane crash, they find out they actually worked for the CIA, and the two women propose that they step in to take over as spies in Moscow. Their ulterior motive is find out what really happened to their husbands. These two inexperienced, naive young woman (Twila doesn't even speak Russian) are thrown into the chaos and danger of the Cold War. The two lead actors are outstanding in their roles, there is ample suspense but also a great sense of humor, and the 70's soundtrack is fabulous. The last episode ended with some stunning twists, and we can't wait for season 2!
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I finished reading The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride and loved it just as much as Deacon King Kong (click and scroll down for my review), my #2 book of last year! It's about a poor neighborhood called Chicken Hill, a real place, in Pottstown, PA (very close to where we live), starting in the 1920's. A Jewish family runs the title store, in a community of mostly Black families. Like Deacon King Kong, it's an intricate story of a neighborhood of diverse people who have been brought together by circumstance and who rely on each other and become a community. Another similarity is the cast of quirky characters. In McBride's novels, even minor characters are fully fleshed out. It's warm and poignant, funny at times, covering both the joys and sorrows of life with vibrant, colorful language. I was intrigued to discover that much of the history, geography, and musicians in the novel are real, and the historical detail is excellent. I really enjoyed it and will definitely read more of McBride's work.
Now, I am reading White Teeth by Zadie Smith, another pick for Black History Month and my first by Smith. Wow, another outstanding novel that has everything! (I also read James this month.) It's about two men from two very different backgrounds who become friends because of their trials together during WWII; the women they marry; and their collective children. Archie is a white British man who is very middle-of-the-road about everything in life. His war buddy, Samad Iqbal, is a Muslim originally from Bangladesh who fought for the British during the war. Samad is thoughtful and philosophical, so sometimes Archie's lack of an opinion drives him crazy, but the two are lifelong friends. In the 1970's, late in life, they both marry. Samad to his arranged marriage partner (he had to wait for his bride to be born!), and Archie to a tall, beautiful 19-year-old Jamaican woman who wants to escape her strict religious family. Their children grow up together. I am absolutely loving this delightful novel so far. The writing is bright, playful, and vibrant, the characters are unique and fully-drawn, and I can't wait to see what happens next in Archie's and Samad's families.
I had only a little over a week to listen to my book group's pick for this week, The Rose Code by Kate Quinn, but I'm making good progress because it is so engrossing. It's about three young women working as code breakers on Enigma at Bletchley Park during WWII. Each comes from a very different background: debutante Osla; determined Mab, brought up in poverty but looking for a wealthy husband; and introverted Beth, a very sheltered 25-year-old from the local village brought up in a strict religious household who turns out to be the best code breaker in the Park. As with all of Quinn's novels, it is outstanding so far, with a propulsive plot, colorful characters (based on real-life people), and fascinating historical detail.
My husband, Ken, is reading Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run by Paul McCartney, edited by Ted Widmer, a Christmas gift from me. Like me, he usually reads just one book at a time, but he decided to try reading nonfiction during the day and fiction at bedtime.
At night, he's reading a novel, The Deep Sky by Yumi Kitasei, another gift from me. It's a sci fi thriller about a crew on a spaceship called The Phoenix whose mission is to save humanity from Earth's environmental collapse. "After a lethal explosion kills several crew members, the survivors, led by the half-Japanese, half-American protagonist Asuka, must uncover the saboteur among them while dealing with themes of identity, belonging, and the emotional toll of leaving Earth behind." I read about this novel first in BookPage and have heard good things about it. He says it's very good, a mystery in a sci fi setting.
Last I heard, our son, 31, has been reading Sorcerer's Edge by David Hair, book 3 in the Tethered Citadel trilogy. He loved the first two books in the series, and we got him this one for Christmas.
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What are you and your family reading this week?
