Monday Malarkey - Up and running

Last week was a week I planned to hit the poetry and children's backlog I've amassed but then my computer was invaded by something nasty and I ended up offline most of the week. This best-laid plans thing keeps recurring. I object.  

Last week's arrivals:

For review:

• Time and Again by Jack Finney - Finney has been one of my favorite authors for decades. I've read this before and I'm thrilled to have an excuse to read it again.

From Paperback Swap:  

• The Spirit Keeper by K. B. Laugheed - No idea where I heard of this one but it sounds terrific.

From a friend:

Everything else. You should be able to click to enbiggen the photo.

Last week's posts:

• A Single Breath by Lucy Clarke
• The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell

Totally unnecessary side note on last week's posts:

I was unable to find a cover image in a decent size when I went hunting on Google Images for the cover of A Single Breath. But, when I went searching for a cover image of The Other Typist, there were pages and pages of images in varying sizes (and a little variety to the designs). I presume this is partly because The Other Typist has been available longer and because it's been heavily promoted but of the two I'd most highly recommend A Single Breath. The Tasmanian setting made for a wonderful armchair travel interlude and I enjoyed theorizing about what had happened to the drowned husband, as I read. Don't overlook A Single Breath if you like reading about new places!

Books finished:

• The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell
• When the Cypress Whispers by Yvette Manessis Corporon
• The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
• Poetry for Young People: Robert Frost, ed. by Gary D. Schmidt
• Poetry for Young People: African American Poetry, ed. by A. Rampersad and M. Blount
• Birds of America (short stories) by Lorrie Moore

Wow, look at what not having access to the Internet can do for a gal!

Currently reading:  


Outrageous Fortune: Growing Up at Leeds Castle by Anthony Russell - Rather an impulse purchase, I'm finding that this book is entertaining but suffers some things I consider fledgling writer flaws, like trying too hard to inject humor into the narrative. I do think the author's family is fascinating and my eyes opened a little wider when I discovered the author went to a private school just around the circle from the flat we occasionally borrow from a friend in London. There's still a school there; I was just surprised by the stunning wealth of the children who attend it, I suppose.

I'm not sure which fiction title I'll begin, next. 

Weekend movies:

None!  But, we did watch a tiny bit of random TV.  I watched part of an episode of an early-Sixties show hosted by Mike Douglas and Florence Henderson because I was looking for videos of Robert Frost reading his own poetry (no luck finding any). Instead, I got to listen to the late actor Robert Lansing (who met Robert Frost when his poet/actress wife attended Frost's annual Bread Loaf writer's conference) reading Robert Frost's "Birches".  And then, because Robert Lansing played Gary Seven in my all-time favorite classic Star Trek episode, "Assignment: Earth," we streamed the episode for fun.

Blogging plans:

I should probably call that "blogging wishes".  I'm hoping to tackle all the poetry books I've read for National Poetry Month, tomorrow (that was also last week's plan, haha). Doing so will involve a string of posts on one day . . . you know, assuming we don't get blown away by the big storm headed our way. When MEMA (the state disaster agency) and FEMA sit down over coffee 3 days before a storm, it's time to take notice and toss blankets into your safe room.  

After that, I plan to focus on my backlog of children's books.  If I don't have the time or fortitude to write a full days' posts of children's books, I'll just alternate between children's books and other reads. I'm going to go back to a slightly more formal reviewing style with info at the top, brief synopsis and thoughts, as I did with The Other Typist, for ease. 

At least, that's the plan.  You just never know what's going to happen from one day to the next.  
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