It's Monday 8/5! What Are You Reading?

Hosted by The Book Date

 Life

Another quiet week at home, recovering from COVID. I'm still very restricted, but I definitely saw some slow improvements over the past week, which is very encouraging! And I reached out to my ME/CFS (my chronic illness) specialist in NYC to ask if she or her colleagues knew of anything that might help someone with ME/CFS to recover more quickly from COVID. Much to my surprise, she said yes! She called in a prescription and gave me the name of a combination of amino acids to order. Both won't arrive until the end of this week, but just the hope has helped greatly. So, some good signs and highlights from last week:

• Less time spent lying down (by necessity) and more time sitting up.
• I've managed some brief periods in my usual "office" - the recliner by the window - instead of on the couch.
• Some very slow, short walks around the cul-de-sac in front of our house.
• I recorded two book videos on Thursday ... and didn't "crash" (i.e. worsen) the next day - big victory.
• I left the house Saturday! I was getting a bit stir-crazy, so my husband drove me to our little local natural foods store and the library. It felt good to be out in the world!

Out in the world, visiting our library!

We had horrible heat and humidity here again last week, but I tried to get outside whenever I could manage it. Our screened porch is a nice, peaceful place to read, and we love to watch our bird feeder.

 

Our Surprise Lilies Bloomed!

Reading on the screened porch, enjoying the green

Purple sneezeweed in full bloom!

Feeder is popular on those hot, humid days

Forgot to bring the feeder in before dark and caught the bandits red-handed!

 And my husband built my Little Free Library! Now, I just need to figure out how to paint it. I'm not very artistic, but I love bright colors.

Little Free Library is built and ready for paint!

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On Video

Friday Reads 8-2-24 and Birthday Book Haul! - my brief weekly update of what I am reading and listening to, plus the books I received for my birthday.

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 What We're Reading

After finishing the biggest of my books for #BigBookSummer, Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon, I moved onto the Big Book that's been in my summer stacks for several years: Cloud Cuckoo Atlas by Anthony Doerr. I'd heard this novel is similar to Cloud Atlas, which I loved, and I can see why the comparison was made. This book, like that one, includes multiple narrative threads, from different places and times, from 1450 Constantinople to Idaho in 2020 to a future where Earth has been destroyed and a group of families are traveling on a space ship to a far distant planet to begin again. There are multiple perspectives in the 1450's and modern-day narratives, which makes it even more interesting. The thread that pulls all of these stories together is an ancient Greek story (made up by Doerr) by a real-life author, Antonius Diogenes, that is gradually told throughout the novel, as various characters discover it. I'm about halfway through now, and so far, it is engrossing and original.

 

I am very much enjoying listening to The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune on audio (also a Big Book). Yes, I somehow missed this very popular novel, though I enjoyed Under the Whispering Door. What finally pushed me to read it is that the publisher (Macmillan) reached out to ask if I wanted an early audio review copy of the sequel, Somewhere Beyond the Sea. It's a beautiful, uplifting story of hope and love, about a quiet man named Linus Baker who is a case worker for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth (DICOMY). He is assigned to visit and assess a top secret facility (the title house). Though Linus is a by-the-books man who can quote the department's Rules and Regulations (and often does), what he finds in this home surprises him, opens his heart, and changes his life. I'm loving it on audio.

 

My husband, Ken, is still reading Lonesome Dove (my review at the link). He's enjoying it very much, and it's fun to be able to talk about it with him.

 

I talked to our older son, 29, this weekend, and he said he's still reading book 2 of the Licanius Trilogy by James Islington, An Echo of Things to Come. He started a new job last month and hasn't had any reading time! He's loving his new job so far, but it's keeping him busy; he even worked Saturday this weekend.

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What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, so head over and check out her blog and join the Monday fun! You can also participate in a kid/teen/YA version hosted by Unleashing Readers.

You can follow me on Twitter at @SueBookByBook or on Facebook on my blog's page.

 

 

What are you and your family reading this week?

It's Monday 7/29! What Are You Reading?

Hosted by The Book Date

 Life

I am still down and out from COVID, which hit me a little over two weeks ago. It's a known trigger for my chronic illness, an immune disorder called ME/CFS, so I knew I was in for a long haul. Last time I got COVID, in January 2022 from my father-in-law's nursing home, I was extremely sick for a month, and it took me six months to recover back to my "normal" baseline. I was able to get Paxlovid this time, so I am hoping that will shorten my recovery time, but we'll see. So far, about 16 days in, my sore throat is gone, I still have lots of mucus (never really got congested, just lots of extra mucus in sinuses and chest - sorry for the TMI!). My biggest issue is still--and likely will be for awhile--a complete lack of energy and very little stamina. I am now able to sit up for short periods of time during the day, I managed a few short, very slow walks around the cul-de-sac in front of our house, and I can spend a little more time on my laptop. But I am still living life from my "nest" on the couch!

Last week did include a few high points. I turned 59 on Tuesday, and I enjoyed a nice, low-key celebration with my husband and son. We had a delicious dinner together (I even sat at the table!), they showered me with gifts (including a Little Free Library!!), and I enjoyed their company.

Celebrating my birthday

My husband's going to build me a Little Free Library!

Books for my birthday, too!

We had beautiful weather this weekend, with rare low humidity and temperatures "only" in the mid-80's, so my husband drove me to a local state park where we sat by the river and read our books for an hour. It was lovely there and so nice to get out of the house and spend time outdoors. This was my consolation for having to cancel our two-week camping vacation to Michigan's Upper Peninsula (we were supposed to leave this weekend). I hope to re-plan that trip for next summer.

Beautiful summer day by the river

Reading in the park

Enjoying Big Book Summer by the Water

Sunday evening, we enjoyed the birthday gift my son gave to me: a fun night in! He picked up takeout from a wonderful local restaurant, and we played a new trivia game he gave me for Mother's Day--from the couches and recliners! I love to play games and rarely have the opportunity, so it was a lot of fun. He actually beat both my husband and I in the first game, but I managed to win the second game (one of my answers was Shaggy's (from Scooby Doo) "real name"! ha ha).

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On Video

I got back on Booktube last week!

Friday Reads 7-26-24 - my brief weekly update of what I am reading and listening to

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 What We're Reading

I am almost finished with the biggest of my books for #BigBookSummer, Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon. I'm so grateful for this enormous, epic story to lose myself in! This is book 4 in the Outlander series, and though last summer I said that book 3, Voyager, was my favorite so far, this one is giving it some stiff competition! Much of it is set in America, in western North Carolina in the Great Smoky Mountains, an area we have visited and love for its natural beauty. Jamie and Claire are basically homesteading there, in the wilderness, and I am loving the descriptions of that familiar natural world, as well as the historical details and plot twists inherent in this series. And there have been some big time-travel-related surprises that made me squeal in delight! I only have 30 pages to go and am very upset with Jamie and Claire right now for something they did (especially Claire because it was so out of character), so I hope the characters redeem themselves by the end! This has been a twisty, suspenseful, exciting ride and the perfect antidote for sick days.

I finally started a new audio book, The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune. Yes, I somehow missed this very popular novel, though I enjoyed Under the Whispering Door. What finally pushed me to read it is that the publisher (Macmillan) reached out to ask if I wanted an early audio review copy of the sequel, Somewhere Beyond the Sea. I said yes, figuring I could just request the first book from Libby and listen to it first. There's an 11-week wait! I rarely (never?) buy audio books because I get them from publishers and the library, but I finally bit the bullet and bought this one. It's an intriguing story so far, about a quiet man named Linus Baker who is a case worker for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth (DCMY). He is assigned to visit and assess a top secret facility (clearly, the title house). I only just started it this weekend, but I'm enjoying it so far, even though I don't normally read much fantasy.

 

My husband, Ken, is reading Lonesome Dove. He immediately dove into that amazing novel as soon as he returned from his trip (my review at the link). We are able to read together at night again, and he said he's enjoying it. The crew has just left Lonesome Dove on the cattle drive.

I finally had a chance to ask our older son, 29, last night, and he said he's still reading book 2 of the Licanius Trilogy by James Islington, An Echo of Things to Come since he started a new job last month and hasn't had any reading time! He's loving his new job so far.

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What Are You Reading Monday is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, so head over and check out her blog and join the Monday fun! You can also participate in a kid/teen/YA version hosted by Unleashing Readers.

You can follow me on Twitter at @SueBookByBook or on Facebook on my blog's page.

 

 

What are you and your family reading this week?