 |
| Hosted by The Book Date |
Life
Last week was busy, with lots of time with family and friends! Fortunately, I am still feeling pretty good, with decent energy and no flu-like immune symptoms. I don't know if it's the new medication I started two months ago, the increased dose of thyroid meds finally kicking in, or the several supplements I changed two weeks ago. Whatever it is, I'm hoping it lasts! 🤞
My husband returned from his golf week in his Oklahoma hometown Monday afternoon. Tuesday, I was finally able to visit my elderly book buddy, after her son let me know that she's been in a nursing home since the end of May (why I couldn't get through to her). It was good to see her, and I think she enjoyed the company. Wednesday, we met our son and daughter-in-law-to-be and her parents at the country club where their wedding will be held, to sample the different menu options for the reception. The food was all delicious, and we enjoyed spending time together.
Thursday evening, I got together with a friend I hadn't seen in 14 years! Our sons have been close friends since middle school, and her son always visits when he's in town, but she and I hadn't seen each other since the boys' high school graduation (they're 32 now)! I brought takeout over, and it was wonderful to see her again and catch up.
My husband and I spent some time Saturday and Sunday beginning to clear out the basement (it's a big job!). The contractors finally finished rebuilding the walls and ceiling after mold remediation, my husband was home, and I finally felt well enough to help. We sorted through a lot ... and had a lot of trash and recycling! We also found some precious memories among his dad's stuff and our sons' stuff. This adorable duo (Biscuit and Spotty) were our younger son's constant companions as a child, and I found them in a box of his memorabilia, wrapped up just like this in his equally beloved Snoopy blanket. I love that when he stored them away, he cozied them up together in the blankie!
Our nephew was visiting Delaware this weekend. He went to a comedy show with our son (his cousin) Friday night, then puppy-sat Chester while they went out of town for a wedding. He and Chester came over for brunch on Sunday. It was great to see both of them and to catch up with our nephew.
We love having Chester visit! 
Our nephew playing with Chester 
So good to see our nephew!
And, I finally got my laptop back yesterday! It was a rough week, and I have a lot to catch up on now. I'm glad to have it back!
__________
The Booktuber's Habits Tag - An inside look behind-the-scenes at my Youtube channel and how I create, film, and edit videos.
Weekly Reading Wrap-Up - Great novels for Big Book Summer for the whole family!
__________
.jpg)
I watched another TV series while my husband was away, season 2 of The Four Seasons, a Netflix remake of the 1981 movie starring Alan Alda and Carol Burnett (Alda made a cameo in season one of the show!). It's about 3 couples who vacation together each season. Tiny Fey plays Kate, who is married to Jack (played by Will Forte). Steve Carrell plays Nick, and his wife, Anne, is played by Kerri Kenney. Colman Domingo plays Danny, whose partner is the Italian Claude, played by Marco Calvani. Kate, Jack, Nick, and Danny all went to college together and have been friends since then. Of course, things don't always go smoothly for the lifetime friends and their partners. Over the course of two seasons (so far), there is marital strife, a divorce, a move, a death, and much more. Tina Fey is one of the writers and creators of the remake, so it has her trademark warmth and humor, dealing with some serious issues but also with plenty of laughs. It's about life, especially as you age. I enjoyed season two even more than season one, and I'm looking forward to the third season!
__________
I finished reading Never by Ken Follett for Big Book Summer (my biggest this year at 800+ pages). Wow. My husband and I have always loved Follett's thrillers (many of them historical thrillers), and he's also well-known for his historical epics. This novel is something a bit different: a political thriller set in modern times. The premise can be summed up in the words of the U.S. President in the novel, Pauline Green: "Every catastrophe begins with a little problem that doesn't get fixed." The novel begins by focusing in on several little problems across the globe: a disappearing lake and violent jihadists in Saharan Africa, a young woman in the CIA stationed in Chad trying to stop jihadists (who are using Chinese weapons), a Chinese man in charge of their international spies whose contact in North Korea says they are getting close to a crisis, and Pauline herself, trying to tackle all those little problems before they can grow into a catastrophe. Throughout the novel, the web of intrigue and tension grow rapidly, as the dominoes start to fall, revealing just how closely every part of the globe is connected. My husband read this book first and told me it was chilling in its relevance to the real world. I agree wholeheartedly! It's terrifying because each of these little things absolutely could happen. If you're looking for a light escapist read ... this isn't it! It is a sobering look at our modern world and how everything could fall apart, but it's also a fast-paced, gripping thriller with plenty of suspense that I finished in record time.
On audio, I was stuck for my next read. I had audios downloaded onto my laptop, which was inaccessible last week, and the 6-8 big book audios I'd requested on Libby all had long waits. I chose an author I always enjoy, with a huge backlist and lots of big books: Jodi Picoult. Then I sorted through all of her books available immediately on my library's Libby catalog on audio, checked the page count, and chose The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult. It's an intriguing look at the choices we make in life and the paths we choose (or don't choose). Dawn's plane makes a crash landing, and many people die. Dawn is one of the survivors and after a medical check, the airline offers the survivors a plane ticket to anywhere they want to go. The logical thing would be for Dawn to fly back to Boston, to her husband and daughter. But when she thought she was about to die, she was surprised that she instead thought about Wyatt, the handsome archeologist she worked with in Egypt. Dawn gave up her beloved career in Egyptology and never finished her PhD when life intervened, but now she's suddenly wondering about the path she gave up. The narrative unspools in two distinct threads: one where Dawn returns to her family in Boston and one where she flies to Egypt to resume her work, finish her PhD, and see Wyatt. So far, it's an intricate, thoughtful story about choices and death. I'm enjoying it very much.
My husband, Ken, started reading Dead Man's Walk by Larry McMurtry (my review at the link - scroll down) when he returned home from his trip. This is the first prequel to Lonesome Dove (and first book in the 4-book series), about how Gus and Woodrow got their start in the Texas Rangers, as very young 19-year-olds. I loved it in June, and he's been looking forward to reading it.
Our older son, 31, is still reading Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson, book 5 of his famed Stormlight Archive series, and loving it! He said he loves the way that Sanderson weaves connections among all of his Cosmere books. This one is 1344 pages long, so he said he'll read a "short" book next, under 600 pages! It's always Big Book Summer for him! He'll be visiting this weekend for my birthday, so I'll catch up with him.
Before our sampling dinner for the wedding last week, our daughter-in-law-to-be texted to ask if I could bring book 3, Dust, by Hugh Howey to dinner! She finished reading Shift, book two in his Silo series that began with Wool (my reviews at the links). I'm happy she's enjoying this series as much as we did, and she was excited to hear there's an excellent TV adaptation (we just started season 3). She had some time off work last week so wanted to jump right into the next book.
__________