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Book By Book

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Life

Last week was a whirlwind of activity, including early voting (in Delaware’s primary), appointments, and a podcast interview. Friday, we drove to Connecticut for another wedding of one of our son’s oldest friends. The three of them met in kindergarten, all named James, and have been friends ever since. And us moms met back then, too, and immediately bonded not just over our sons’ friendship but our mutual love of nature and the outdoors, games, and other common interests. So, this was a special wedding, with all three James (one of whom was the groom!) and all three of us mom friends, too. 

They kicked things off on Friday with a picnic gathering, which was the perfect way to get to know everyone in a relaxed, casual setting–much more fun than the typical formal rehearsal dinner! I know most of the groom’s family, though my friend introduced me to her aunt who immediately said, “Oh, Sue! You’re the book lady!” Turns out my friend had shown her my blog years ago, and she’s been a loyal reader ever since. We had fun talking about books (Hi, Elly! It was a pleasure to meet you.). And we got to meet the bride’s family. It’s clear why these two immediately connected and ended up together, with similarly kind, loving, fun, and nature-loving families!

My friend (groom’s mom) and I

Saturday was the big event. They’d planned an outdoor wedding at a nature preserve, but rain started about 20 minutes before the ceremony, with an absolute downpour as we tried to take our seats in the orchard! The ceremony was quickly moved indoors to a lovely location in the nature center. The groom’s friend (and my son’s college roommate) officiated, and it was a beautiful wedding.

Groom, bride, and my son and his girlfriend

Our family

The reception was a blast, with great food and lots of dancing. The band members were also friends from college, and they were excellent, playing a wide range of music. Even the groom’s 94-year-old grandma was out on the dance floor! With the help of my heart rate monitor (and keeping my arms down), I was able to dance quite a bit, which I absolutely love but can’t often manage. And it was so much fun to see my son and his old friends–from kindergarten to college–reunited. The entire wedding day was just filled with joy, much like the wonderful bride and groom.

Lots of dancing fun (even grandma!)

The three James and the three moms – lifelong friends!

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My Answers to Your Questions, Part 3: Chronic Illness -  continuing my Ask Me Anything series, this video tackles the questions my viewers asked about my chronic illnesses.

 2024 Big Book Summer Wrap-Up – this wrap-up video for the 12th annual Big Book Summer Challenge includes stats on this year’s record-breaking participation, the winner of the end-of-summer giveaway, and what I read and listened to for my own Big Book Summer. (I’ll post a wrap-up on the blog this week, too)

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Fiction Review: The Ferryman by Justin Cronin – I finally had time to write a review! I was inspired because I enjoyed this unique novel so much–inventive, engrossing, suspenseful, and full of surprises!

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Ironically, I finished my Big Book Summer reading last Monday, dove into my R.I.P. (Readers Imbibing Peril) fall reading, and the first books (in print and on audio) that I chose are both Big Books! I’m reading Holly by Stephen King, which I’ve been looking forward to. Readers have been fascinated by the character of Holly Gibney since her first appearance in Mr. Mercedes, her continued role in the rest of that trilogy, and her reappearance in  The Outsider. The cool thing is that King says he was, too! Holly was meant to be a bit character in that first book, but the author says he couldn’t stop thinking about her either. Here, she’s the star of the novel, as a private detective with Finders Keepers, the agency she started with Bill Hodges. A distraught mother asks Holly to look into the disappearance of her twenty-something daughter. That leads Holly down a dark path of uncovering other disappearances in town. This one is gruesome, but like all King novels, gripping and with in-depth character development.

Alas, as much as I am enjoying Holly, I had to set it aside last night because my book group is meeting Wednesday afternoon, and I just got the book and audio from my library last night! We’ll be discussing The Last Garden in England by Julia Kelly, so I am double-timing it on both audio and in print. I just started it, but it’s already interesting with interrelated timelines in 1908, 1944, and 2021 in England. The 1908 story is about a famous female garden designer working on a big project, the 1944 story is about a young woman serving as a “land girl,” helping to work a farm while the men are at war, and in 2021, a modern-day garden designer is hired to recreate a historic garden (you guessed it, the same one designed by the woman in 1908). It’s compelling so far, as I get to know the characters.

On audio, I am listening to The Curse of Crow Hollow by Billy Coffey, a dark and suspenseful story set in the Virginia Appalachian region. It begins with a group of teenagers partying up on a nearby mountain (where their parents have warned them not to go) who end up upsetting the woman known in town as a witch. A series of disasters and crises follow, leading the kids and the rest of the town to conclude that they’ve been cursed by the witch. It’s been an interesting story of a town panicking and how fear leads to all kinds of difficulties. I’m very curious to see how it wraps up because it does have some strange elements to it–is it horror? A cautionary tale about a community turning against itself? We’ll see … but I have to wait until Thursday after book group to finish!

My husband, Ken, is almost finished with Dreamcatcher by Stephen King, but he was too tired last night after the wedding and the long drive to read much! He’s been enjoying it and described it as “classic Stephen King.”

Our older son, 30, is probably still reading book 2 of the Licanius Trilogy by James Islington, An Echo of Things to Come. His new job is keeping him busy, and he obviously had no reading time this weekend, enjoying his friend’s wedding!

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