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| Hosted by The Book Date |
| Last week was a bit crazy. My chronic illness was flared up to begin with, then we lost power Tuesday evening, and it was out for over 24 hours! It was "only" 82 Wednesday (but still humid), but the forecast was for 90's Thursday, and the power company estimated our power wouldn't be back on until Friday afternoon. I had just found a room available at a hotel for Thursday evening when the power came back on - whew! We did both sleep on couches on the first floor Tuesday night because it was too warm upstairs, so I slept poorly, which made me feel even worse. By Thursday, I was starting to improve a little, so we kept our appointment to check out the rehearsal dinner venue for our son's wedding, then we ate lunch there. The wedding is now less than 3 weeks away! I also chose my dress and found shoes so making progress. |
We had a wonderful weekend with both of our sons home for most of it, plus our daughter-in-law-to-be and our grandpuppy. Our older son came home from NY, and we all enjoyed spending time together. Luckily, I felt better on Saturday because we did a lot of cooking! We just relaxed at home all day and enjoyed catching up, with lots of laughter, as always. Chester was full of energy all day, but he finally wore out by evening.
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| Sleepy Chester |
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| When he gets tired, her becomes boneless dog! |
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| Sleepy puppy heading home |
Sunday, we made breakfast for our sons, then the four of us (five with Chester) took a short walk along our favorite creek. The temperatures and humidity finally dropped, and it was a lovely, comfortable day. It was so nice to spend time outdoors after the hot summer (it's not over yet but this is a nice respite). Chester is just learning to swim and had a blast going in and out of the creek. He does a great doggie paddle!
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| So happy to all be together! |
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| Great doggie-paddling! |
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| Chester loved jumping in the creek |
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| Beautiful day along the creek |
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| Lovely hike along the creek |
Our son left this morning (trying to beat the NY traffic). It was so good to spend time together. And we'll all be together again in 3 weeks!
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September Reading Plans - My pile of possibilities for RIP XXI (Readers Imbibing Peril - my 11th year!), Shorty September, and Series September. It will be fun to fly through some short books after Big Book Summer!
August Reading Wrap-Up - the 5 books I read last month, in print and on audio, including both fiction and nonfiction and my favorite audio of the year so far!
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I've been reading my last book for Big Book Summer 2026 (which I'll finish today) and my first for RIP and Series September: Burn by Nevada Barr. This is part of her wonderful Anna Pigeon series, about a National Park Ranger where each mystery/thriller is set in a different national park. These are usually outdoor thrillers in natural setttings, but this novel is very different from the others in several ways. It's set in New Orleans, where Anna is on vacation (she is also on leave from her job for both mental and physical recovery). The National Historic Park in the French Quarter is mentioned at the beginning, but this is a very dark, gritty urban novel. Anna Pigeon is always encountering violence and murder in these novels, but this one tackles an even darker subject: child sexual slavery (not under-age teens but children). At the start of the novel, a mother in Seattle comes home to find her children missing, and when she goes across the street to check with the neighbors (and her children's best friends), her house explodes and burns to the ground. Much to her surprise, the firefighters carry out two small, dead, badly burned bodies (and that of her husband), saying the girls were still in their beds ... though she knows they weren't. Her search for her daughters takes her to New Orleans, where she eventually crosses paths with Anna. As always with Barr's novels, Burn is fast-paced, action-packed, and gripping; I've read this 470-page book in about a week and stayed up much too late many nights reading it. There are no graphic descriptions of what happens to the children, but it is a tough subject, and I sometimes had to take a break. The author says she wrote this novel because this is something that happens in the real world that more people should know about. It certainly opened my eyes.
I finished My Friends by Fredrik Backman on audio, and I absolutely loved it! Backman's novels are always great on audio, and this one is my favorite so far. It centers on a teen girl, Louisa, who is about to age out of foster care at age 18 and has just lost her best (and only) friend, Fish. Her most cherished possession is a postcard her mother sent her, many years ago, before she died. On the front is a beautiful painting. Most people think it's a painting of the sea, but Louisa sees more. She sees the three teen friends on the pier, laughing, and knows that it's really a painting about them. She hears the painting will be auctioned locally and sneaks in so she can see it in person. But things never go smoothly for Louisa, and that act is the beginning of a wild adventure for her, where she ends up actually meeting one of the people depicted in the painting. Though they are both loners and completely different from each other, Louisa and the man begin to talk, and he tells her more about the painter and his teen friends (Louisa was right about the painting). I loved the character of Louisa: she is enthusiastic, kind, and talks a lot when she's nervous (which is most of the time), but she has been through some terrible things in her short life. I wish I could tell you more about the other main character, but I don't want to spoil anything because this novel is an absolute delight as it unfolds. Backman is at his best here: hilariously funny, heart-breaking, and heart-warming. It's a novel about friendship and found family but also about life and loss, joys and sorrows, and how early friendships influence the rest of your life. I never wanted it to end! It was outstanding on audio.
My husband finished reading Thunderhead by Neal Schusterman, book 2 in his Arc of a Scythe trilogy. It's a fabulous YA science fiction thriller trilogy that I just finished this summer. He is now reading 52 Pickup by Elmore Leonard. He enjoys Leonard's noir thrillers, and a friend on Booktube recommended this one, so I gave it to him for Father's Day.
Our son, 32, said he is still reading Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson, book 5 of his famed Stormlight Archive series. He said he loves the way that Sanderson weaves connections among all of his Cosmere books. He hasn't had a lot of reading time lately because of work, but he also admitted that a new video game his brother gave him has been occupying his limited free time!
Our daughter-in-law-to-be is reading Dust, by Hugh Howey, book three in his Silo series that began with Wool, after finishing Shift, book two (my reviews at the links). I'm happy she's enjoying this series as much as we did, and she and our son are now on season 2 of the TV adaptation, Silo, and are loving it! My husband and I are currently watching season 3. After hearing all of us talk about it this weekend, our older son said he wanted to see the TV show ... but first wants to read the books! I love when books make their way through our whole family.
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