Monday, October 16, 2017

Monday Malarkey

We're celebrating our first really autumnal day (although, of course, it's not apparently going to last) by throwing open the windows. The cats and I are in total bliss and I decided I must rush outdoors to photograph the latest book acquisitions. Fiona kindly posed.



Recent arrivals (top to bottom - all were purchased except for The It Girls):


  • Moon travel guide to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island
  • Slade House by David Mitchell
  • The It Girls by Karen Harper - from HarperCollins for review
  • The Faraway Nearby by Rebecca Solnit
  • A Bigger Table by John Pavlovitz
  • Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert


Slade House, The Faraway Nearby, and Big Magic (which I checked out from the library and have wanted to own, since) were all purchased on Wednesday evening when I spent the night in Oxford, Mississippi, where I was needed to sit in Kiddo's apartment and wait for a delivery, the next morning. We went to Off-Square Books after eating dinner:


I love Off-Square Books.


Books finished since last Malarkey:


  • Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
  • The Boat Runner by Devin Murphy


I was focusing exclusively on The Boat Runner when I saw a friend's review of Dark Matter and decided I needed to take a break and read something suspenseful. I bought Dark Matter several months ago and, wow, Debbie was right. It was almost impossible to put down. The only reason I managed to set it down at all was because I started reading late enough at night that my eyes grew heavy. Dark Matter is a terrific read. I finished up The Boat Runner, last night, a WWII novel about a young Dutch man who is sent to Hitler Youth Camp with his brother just prior to the occupation of Holland by Germans and his experiences during the war.


Posts since last Malarkey:




Not a big week for blogging, since I was gone in the middle of the week, but boy did I have fun reading in a hotel room alone!!


Currently reading:

Hmm, I'm between books and not sure which to focus on, next. A Bigger Table just arrived this afternoon and I immediately sat down to read the introduction (so excited about it that I didn't even fetch my reading glasses; I just read it blurry). so I'll undoubtedly add that to the current reads. I'd also like to get back to The Half-Drowned King by Linnea Hartsuyker and get that finished up but I'm well aware that it's a slow read so I might, instead, focus on finishing up The Goddess of Mtwara (a book of prize-winning African short stories). Whenever I take the time to read a story in The Goddess of Mtwara, I'm always frankly blown away by the quality of the writing, although a couple of stories are so very, very African that I just had to read between the lines. At any rate, there's nothing I feel like totally abandoning, but I'm not entirely sure what I'll pick up when I climb into bed, tonight. We shall see.


In other news:  

I'm so excited about the cool air I can hardly stand it. I completely forgot we were expecting a cool front until about noon and then I rushed to open the windows and the cats were happy as clams. Then I had to shut the windows to go to the gym. When I arrived home, they were sleeping but they came running when they heard the kitchen windows go up. Opening the windows has the same effect as popping the top of a can of cat food. We have so little open-window weather that it's just as exciting for me but I don't fit on the window ledge so I guess I'll have to go out and trim bushes to enjoy the air. Or sit outside reading!!! Oooooh. There's a thought!


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13 comments:

  1. I hope you enjoy your new books. I'm putting A Bigger Table on my list to read.

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    Replies
    1. I read a couple chapters of A Bigger Table, last night, and I'm enjoying it so far! Thanks, Vicki!

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  2. "Opening the windows has the same effect as popping the top of a can of cat food." Yes, Clawdia comes running when I even go NEAR the windows, hoping, hoping, hoping. I also got A Bigger Table, and my friend Donna and I will be discussing it soon. Too bad we don't live close enough for you to join our discussion of the book.

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    1. Oh, man, I wish we lived closer, too. That would be great. I'm enjoying the book, so far, but there are definitely going to be topics I'd like to discuss with someone.

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  3. Maybe you could send your thoughts and/or questions and we could talk about it and send you something back. Interested?

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  4. Or maybe the three of us could discuss the book on Facebook, since both of you are my FB friends.

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    Replies
    1. Sure, we could just talk about it on FB. I'm finding it a bit of a comfort-slash-echo chamber read, since my opinions are so closely aligned with his. Have you read Searching for Sunday by Rachel Held Evans? It's similar but she sounds a bit more erudite, probably because of her Bible scholar dad.

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  5. I lived about 30 miles from Rachel before I moved to St. Louis. She's in Dayton, Tennessee, home of the Scopes Monkey Trial, and I've read at least a couple of her books:

    Evolving in Monkey Town: How a Girl Who Knew All the Answers Learned to Ask the Questions ~ by Rachel Held Evans, 2010
    http://bonniesbooks.blogspot.com/2013/09/library-loot-september-18-24.html

    A Year of Biblical Womanhood: How a Liberated Woman Found Herself Sitting on Her Roof, Covering Her Head, and Calling Her Husband "Master" ~ by Rachel Held Evans, 2012
    http://bonniesbooks.blogspot.com/2013/10/sunday-salon-theoblogian-edition.html

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    Replies
    1. I completely forgot you're both from TN! Funny. I've only read Searching for Sunday but I absolutely loved it and want to read more. Will have to click through to your reviews when I have a little more time.

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  6. I loved Dark Matter! It would make a terrific movie, don't you think?

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    Replies
    1. Yes, and apparently it's going to be made into a movie. There was something about the film rights and thanks to . . . I think it was Sony? . . . in the acknowledgments. As I was reading the book, I kept thinking it would be great on screen so I was happy to see that!

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  7. I know a bit about Nova Scotia! lol

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    Replies
    1. Haha! I know you do! And, I'll bet you can guess why I've got a travel guide. ;)

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