Books
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The Neapolitan Novels
Is it pretentious that I chose the Italian covers for these novels? Maybe. Anyway, it’s time to talk about the Neapolitan Novels, by Elena Ferrante. Many of us read the first book in the series, My Brilliant Friend, for Engie’s Cool Bloggers Book Club in February. Some of us adored it, some tolerated it, some wished they had taken that time to deep clean their bathtub. I’m in the adored it category, so I went on and read the other three books in the series, The Story of a New Name, Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay, and The Story of the Lost Child. I also listened to them…
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Miscellaneous Monday
This is going to be one of those random posts, just things I’m thinking about. (I mean, that is the name of my blog, right?) First I will dip my toes into politics a bit, and say that I am feeling MUCH more hopeful about the possibility of no Trump presidency than I was a couple of weeks ago. Ever since Biden’s horrible debate, I’ve been so stressed out. I think he’s been a very good President, and doesn’t get enough credit for his accomplishments. I honestly doubt that he could put in another 4 years, though, it’s a hell of a job. But we have a whole system set…
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Monday Meme
I know, a cartoon and a meme are not the same thing, but I liked this cartoon and decided to share it. Want to get caught up? This sign is on one of our local walks. There’s construction ahead, and somehow, they think it’s important for us to know that the sidewalk is close. Very close. Maybe a foot and a half? (I did terribly on the spacial section of the ASVAB way back when, so don’t really ask me about distances, and if you need help packing your moving truck, I’m probably not your gal.) Do you make wishes? I sometimes do. I make a wish if I blow…
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Friday 5 – Beware the Ides of March
I’m late on this, I intended to post yesterday so you could see the funny meme on the correct day. But the day got away from me, as they so often do. Pretend it’s Friday, OK?
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Miscellaneous Monday
Lest you worry about my whereabouts, I decided to post something today. But what? How about some randomness? I noticed the sign above on one of my morning walks recently. In the unlikely event that you’re unfamiliar with the Monty Python skit, you can watch it here. This is my favorite tulip tree in our area. This house has a much bigger one in the front yard, with darker colored blossoms, but this one charms me. I love the way they keep it shaped. One of our local public art pieces, nicknamed ‘Fountain Head’ was taken away for restoration the other day. Not my picture, I saw it on our…
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Friday Five
It’s been a busy week around here! Here are a few things that are going on. Look at this Big Dumb Cup. My friend Neva gave it to me for Galentine’s Day. It holds 32oz, so I will not be dehydrated. I like having it at my desk. One of my bloggy friends (I forget whom) recently read Land of Milk and Honey, by C Pam Zhang. Based on your recommendation, I listened to it this week while out taking walks, cooking dinner, that kind of thing. I liked it a lot. The writing was lyrical in many places, which is interesting in a dystopian novel. Here’s the blurb from…
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Miscellaneous Monday
Today’s post is just a bit of randomness. Before we dive in, the picture above is from Tug Dogs, an amazing dog training company a couple of hours from here. I first heard about them from BARK, the Keeshond rescue that connected us with both of our darling dogs, Mulder (2015-2023) and Genevieve (1998-2012). One thing they do at Tug Dogs is to take in dogs that have behavior issues, diagnose the issues, and help the dogs to feel safe and secure, so they can help them to understand how to live happily in a confusing human run world. I follow them on Facebook, and the funny picture above was…
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Recent Reads
It’s been almost 2 months since I posted about my Recent Reads, so it’s time to catch you up. My book consumption habits are mostly audio books, as the only time I really read a physical book lately seems to be at bedtime, whereas I listen to audio books while taking my morning walk or while cooking dinner. I sometimes even listen while running errands, which gives mixed results, as if I get distracted, I miss things and have to rewind a bit. Anyway, here are the books I’ve read or listened to in December and January. Format – 1 physical library book, 1 physical book that I got for…
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Recent Reads
After I Do – Taylor Jenkins ReidAfter reading Maybe in Another Life, I was interested in trying another book by its author, Taylor Jenkins Reid. After I Do is the story of a marriage in trouble, and begins with the young married couple (Lauren and Ryan) deciding to separate for a year. Their resentments and frustrations with each other have taken over, and they want some time apart to see if they can figure out a way to come back together. I liked this book, it was engrossing and I felt for Lauren. I wasn’t as fond of Ryan, but we don’t see much from his point of view, so…
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S is for Self-Care
Back in September, my BIL took Ted and me down to Paso Robles to do some wine tasting. On our way down, sitting in the back seat, I listened to an episode of the Ezra Klein podcast with author and psychiatrist Pooja Lakshmin. Ezra was out on book leave at the time, so the host was Tressie McMillan Cottom, and they were discussing Lakshmin’s new book, Real Self-Care. Lakshmin says that the externalization of self-care and the wellness industry haven’t done anything to actually reduce stress in our lives, and that what is needed is real internal work, as well as societal change. She argues that there is nothing wrong…
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R is for Reading
Most of my reading lately has been Blogs, because NaBloPoMo. I have managed to read 3 books, mostly thanks to my Audible and Libby apps. Jo Becker has every reason to be content. She has three dynamic daughters, a loving marriage, and a rewarding career. But she feels a sense of unease. Then an old housemate reappears, sending Jo back to a distant past when she lived in a communal house in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Drawn deeper into her memories of that fateful summer in 1968, Jo begins to obsess about the person she once was. As she is pulled farther from her present life, her husband, and her world, Jo…
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What I’ve Been Reading
Tom Lake takes place in 2020, a family in lockdown on their cherry orchard in Northern Michigan. It is harvest season, and while the family picks cherries, the mother, Lara, tells her three adult daughters the story of her summer at a summer stock theater, Tom Lake, when she played Emily in Our Town, and dated an actor who later went on to be an Oscar Winner. Ann Patchett gives us a beautifully written book that weaves back and forth from the 1980s to the 2020s, as the daughters learn about their mother’s time as an actress in Los Angeles and in Michigan, about her life before marriage. We also…
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The Stationery Shop
The Stationery Shop, by Marjan Kamali begins with Roya, an elderly Persian woman living in New England, running unexpectedly into Bahman, a man she fell in love with 60 years earlier. From the author’s website: Roya is a dreamy, idealistic teenager living in 1953 Tehran who, amidst the political upheaval of the time, finds a literary oasis in kindly Mr. Fakhri’s neighborhood book and stationery shop. She always feels safe in his dusty store, overflowing with fountain pens, shiny ink bottles, and thick pads of soft writing paper. When Mr. Fakhri, with a keen instinct for a budding romance, introduces Roya to his other favorite customer—handsome Bahman, who has a…
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5 Things Friday
5 Things I’m thinking about lately, in no particular order.
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Friday Book Blogging
My Monticello by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson ~ This book has several short stories and one novella. I listened to it via my Libby app, free from the library. I think I found it doing a search for books with Monticello, after my BFF Rosemary went there a couple of years ago, and found the tour depressing and disturbing. I can say, I LOVED this book. And I loved listening to it, because the first story is narrated by LeVar Burton. The first story, Control Negro, is about a professor who wants to study racism by clinically observing a young black man whom he knows to be decent and good, and…
