It's Monday 3/16! What Are You Reading?

Book By Book

Hosted by The Book Date

Life 

Whew, last week was another one packed full with medical appointments (as are this week and next, too!). I had my mammogram, went to the orthodontist (I am back in Invisiline for another 2 months, much to my dismay), and had phone appointments with my ME/CFS specialist in NYC and a company that does home mold inspection and testing. 

I am still struggling to emerge from the winter relapse of my immune disorder. I normally feel much better by March, so I’m getting pretty discouraged. My energy was low all week, with intermittent flu-like aches (an immune symptom) continuing. My specialist is sending me for a bunch of labs, so I am hoping those provide some insight into what to try next.

We experienced all four seasons last week! Monday, it was in the 70′s here, so I opened up all the windows in the house and did a little garden clean-up (sitting down). 

Tuesday, it went up into the 80′s, and I did a short hike on a new-to-me trail near where I got my mammogram. The sunshine felt so good, though I paid for the walk the next day.

Love to see those blue skies

Skunk cabbage starting to open up – sure sign of spring!

Sunshine, peaceful woods, and birdsong make me happy

I was driving my convertible Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday – first time this year with the top down!

This red fox visited our backyard (there are lots of them in the woods behind our house).

And Thursday, the temperature dropped 50 degrees and it snowed! It was actually coming down pretty hard and covered our yard, though it melted by evening.

We have plans to paint and install new flooring in our family room soon, so we began (slowly, baby steps!) clearing out some of the clutter since we will need to empty the room to rip out the old carpet. This is the room where we spend the most time, so it’s gotten very cluttered over the past 31 years! 

And we enjoyed a lovely dinner at friends’ house on Saturday. My stamina wasn’t great, but it was wonderful to see them and catch up. I am so grateful to the friends I’ve had for decades who have stuck with me through the past 24 years of illness, even though I’m such a party pooper now!

__________

Bookish Bucket List Tag – I answered some fun and intriguing questions about my book and reading bucket lists … and I realized I’m not much of a bucket list person! (but I still came up with some good answers)

Weekly Reading Wrap-Up - Outstanding fiction, sci fi thriller, middle-grade mystery, romance, and more!  

__________

We finished the first season of Plur1bus (created by Vince Gilligan of Breaking Bad fame) this weekend. We both loved this twisty, darkly funny show with an intriguing sci fi premise. Some sort of alien species comes to Earth and takes over the entire population, joining every single person on the planet into a single consciousness. Carol, a misanthropic best-selling author of a wildly popular romantasy series, is one of only 13 people in the entire world who is unaffected and remains an individual … and she wants to stay that way. “The Joining,” as they call the moment they took over, resulted in some deaths, including Carol’s beloved partner and agent, Helen. As Carol grieves and tries to deal with Helen’s death, various people (all of the single consciousness) try to answer her questions and convince her of the positives of the new reality: no more war, violence, or negative emotions. Everyone is happy, everything is peaceful, and each person has all the knowledge of the entire population available to them (so, for instance, anyone can perform surgery or fly a plane). Carol tries meeting with the others like her, seeks to learn all that she can about this new hive mind, and tries to formulate a plan to overturn it all. Details of “the joining” and the new world are gradually revealed. We both loved this show; it’s intriguing, funny, moving, and tackles thought-provoking issues of individuality, consciousness, loneliness, and free will. Rhea Seehorn is fabulous as Carol.  

__________

Last night, I just finished reading Double Shadow, the sequel to Splinter Effect by Andrew Ludington that I enjoyed last fall. This series is about a time-traveling archeologist (and you know how much I love time travel!). In 2019, Rabbit Ward works for the Smithsonian, traveling to places and times where ancient artifacts were lost to history (like the fire in 48 BC that destroyed part of the Library of Alexandria) to save them. In this second book, Rabbit impulsively responds to a call for help from a fellow time-traveler named Helen (who is either his nemesis or his love, he’s not sure which). He pulls together a last-minute expedition (breaking several of the Smithsonian’s rules and international laws) to 68 CE Jerusalem, hoping to find what he needs to save Helen. It was just as good as the first book, filled not only with action and suspense and surprising twists but also with fascinating historical detail. I really love this series! I read an ARC; the book will be released on April 21.  

 After I finished listening to The Free State of Jax by Jennifer Nielsen, for Middle-Grade March and March Mystery Madness, I listened to another review book, Anderson in Bloom by Jennifer Dugan, a lesbian romance that is one of the picks for Booktopia this year. That’s the fabulous book-centric weekend I attend in Vermont the first week of May every year (link to my vlog from last year). Ann is a talented floral designer working in a tiny, seaside town in Maine. Five years ago, she ran away from Hollywood, where she was Anderson Ducharme, one-half of the hit kids’ TV series, The Nikki and Andy Show. The two child stars grew up on the show and eventually fell in love (by the end of the series, they were each in their 20′s but playing 16 year olds). Andy, now Ann, escaped all the issues inherent in the Hollywood spotlight, as well as her by-then-toxic relationship with Nikki for the peaceful anonymity of the Maine coast. And she’s been happily building a new life for herself … until she sees an announcement that Nikki is writing a tell-all memoir, including their time on the show. After she drunk-texts Nikki in a rage, Nikki shows up at the flower shop, looking for answers. I don’t read much romance, but I enjoyed the characters and the backstory here. The novel provides an inside look at child stars and Hollywood, plus the added interest of Andy/Ann’s obsession with the meaning of flowers. It’s a spicy enemies-to-lovers romance, with in-depth characters and an intriguing Hollywood backdrop.

My husband is reading a gift from me, God of the Woods by Liz Moore. He hadn’t heard of it before, but I’ve heard nothing but rave reviews! It was one of the hottest books for Big Book Summer the past two years in a row, and I thought he’d enjoy this thriller set at a camp in upstate NY (an area we’re both very familiar with). He says that although it is billed as a thriller, it is a slow burn. I will definitely be reading this one, too!

I got a reading update from our son, 31, a couple of weeks ago. For his birthday last year, we gave him The Light of All That Falls, book 3 in the Licanius Trilogy by James Islington. So, he is currently rereading book 2, An Echo of Things to Come. He often does this, but also, in this case, a friend told him he’ll want to reread book 2 before he dives into this latest book. He always enjoys this author and this series.  

 __________

 What are you and your family reading this week?