Tuesday, April 13, 2021
How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C. Pam Zhang
Sunday, April 11, 2021
Life: It Goes On - April 11
I signed up yesterday for the next Dewey's Readathon, coming up in two weeks on April 24th. I haven't done well with a readathon in a long while but I'm trying to put myself in the mindset that I deserve to take a full day to do nothing much other than read. We'll see. I may deserve it, even need it, but it really means losing a whole weekend because I'll need to sleep on Sunday. If you want to join us, sign up here.
Friday I went into Target for the first time in over a year. Once I parked, I sat in my car for a while, trying to decide if I really needed to go in. I didn't need to go in to buy anything in particular; but I finally went in because I did need to start getting back to life as it used to be. It was stressful and I'm not sure I'll do it again any time soon. But it was a good first step.
Last Week I:Read: I'm reading entirely too many different things at once. So many good books right now including two that are really providing the healing I need.
Thursday, April 8, 2021
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
Tuesday, April 6, 2021
Catstrology: Unlock The Secrets of The Stars With Cats by Luna Malcolm
Sunday, April 4, 2021
Life: It Goes On - April 4
Every week, since my mom died, when I type that title I think of new ways in which life, as it turns out, does go on, even when we think it won't. We've celebrated a baby gender reveal, a few birthdays, and now our first holiday without my mom. Some have told us that they were advised that it was a good idea to start new traditions so the loved one's absence isn't quite so palpable. It's a great idea and I know that it's been exactly what some people needed to do. For us, we needed to honor our mom by doing Easter dinner the way she would have done it. We put out the china and the Easter decorations; we made the traditional foods, and a couple of new dishes. It was hard for a bit but we think she would have been proud of us.
Thursday, April 1, 2021
Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women by Harriet Reisin
Tuesday, March 30, 2021
Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman
Sunday, March 28, 2021
Life: It Goes On - March 28
Last Week I:
Thursday, March 25, 2021
The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce
Tuesday, March 23, 2021
Life: It Goes On - March 23
Last Week I:
Monday, March 22, 2021
My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie
Wednesday, March 17, 2021
The Boy In The Field by Margot Livesey
Monday, March 15, 2021
When The Stars Go Dark by Paula McLain
Sunday, March 14, 2021
Life: It Goes On - March 14
Watched: Some basketball, some volleyball, The Voice, and Resident Alien on the Sci-Fi network, which both The Big Guy and I highly recommend, especially if you were a fan of Northern Exposure thirty years ago.
Tuesday, March 9, 2021
The Girl in the Painting by Tea Cooper
About Tea Cooper:
Monday, March 8, 2021
Cosmic Queries by Neil deGrasse Tyson - Guest Review
About Neil deGrasse Tyson
Sunday, March 7, 2021
Life: It Goes On - March 7
Thursday, March 4, 2021
A Children's Bible by Lydia Millett
"From the wraparound porch, with its bamboo torches and hanging ferns and porch swings, moth-eaten armchairs and blue-light bug zappers, the barks of laughter carried. We heard them from the treehouses and tennis courts and from the field of beehives a slow neighbor woman tended in the daytime, muttering under the veil of her beekeeping hat. We heard them from behind the cracked panes of the dilapidated greenhouse or on the cool black water of the lake, where we floated in our underwear at midnight."
“God’s a code word,” he explains to his sister. “They say God but they mean nature. . . . And we believe in nature. There’s lots the same with Jesus and science,” he says. “For science to save us we have to believe in it. And same with Jesus.”
Millet's story is also an allegory, with many parallels to the Bible: birth in a barn, plague, a flood that covers the earth, Bethlehem, Noah, Sodom and Gomorrah, a crucifixion, and angels. Those allusions don't necessarily lead anywhere but they do serve to make readers understand that we are reading a modern telling of Revelations. The Bible allegory is Millet's tool for exploring climate change and also feels like the ultimate children versus parents. The children are rightly angry at the many ways the parents have failed them, particularly in ignoring what was happening to the world they were leaving for their children. It's a wake up call for those of us who think we are doing enough by recycling, not buying bottled water, and applauding solar energy.
Tuesday, March 2, 2021
Memorial Drive by Natasha Trethewey
Sunday, February 28, 2021
Life: It Goes On - February 28
Planning: I'm so behind on 40 Bags In 40 Days but today I'm going to finish working on the kitchen and then try to get caught up this week. You all know how much lighter I feel when I declutter!
Tuesday, February 23, 2021
National Geographic Guide To National Parks of the United States and National Geographic Secrets of the National Parks - Guest Review
Experts' guide to the best experiences beyond the tourist trailHundreds of secrets and tips on ways to enrich your visits to National ParksExpert advice on the best times and places to visit to avoid crowds (one of my favorites)Useful park maps to locate places of interest and pathways to get there (I've always been a map hound)Gorgeous photographs of landscapes, wildlife and distinctive features (of course with Nat Geo)Easy to find listing of visitor center locations, website and contact informationClearly indicated levels of difficulty for trails, roads and other byways (definitely helpful to be safe)Background stories and travel suggestions from those who know these parks the bestComprehensive index for quick and easy access by state, park name or sites featured