Monday Malarkey

Recent arrivals:

• None, nada, zero, zippo, zilch. 

Bummer. But, not unexpected as I'm still on a book-buying ban and I don't think there are any review titles that will be mailed to me till May or June. I'm going to be mostly reading off my shelves in the near future. The yellow rosebud is in one of our pots. I just thought it would look awful not to have a photo at the top of the blog post.

Maybe I'll photograph and post finished books in future Malarkey posts or do something themed like you see on Instagram, each week, when I don't get any book mail.


Books finished since last Malarkey:

• The Big Finish by Brooke Fossey
• Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix 
• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard

Horrorstör was (gasp!) an ebook that I purchased on the recommendation of my friend Ryan when it went on sale. I'd already wanted to read it since before it was published (at the time, I was disappointed that Quirk Books didn't ask me if I'd like to review it).  I was already on a book-buying ban when Ryan mentioned the fact that Horrorstör was on sale and thought the fact that I couldn't buy a paper copy without breaking my ban was as good an excuse as any to buy the ebook. I don't ever mention ebooks when I buy them for the same reason I seldom read them: I forget they exist. Weird, but true.


Currently reading:

• Lakeshire Park by Megan Walker

I'm really enjoying this one, so far. 

Last week's posts:

• Mini reviews: The Suicide Run by Wm. Styron, The Song of the Tree by C. Bickford-Smith, and two rereads (book reviews)
• The Big Finish by Brooke Fossey (book review)
• Fiona Friday: Of course they're not spoiled (cat photos)

When I did the four mini reviews that totally caught me up and then I finished The Big Finish and I was caught up, again! Now, I only have two personal reads to review. I love being caught up or close to it. What a nice feeling.


In other news:

We watched the 25th anniversary of The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall with much of the world on Friday evening. What a fabulous production. We've got a copy of the 25th anniversary of Les Mis on DVD, also at the Royal Albert, and it lacked the sets; people just stood at microphones singing. So, neither of us were expecting the full production including sets. It was perfect! I loved it so much I was hoping to find it on DVD but it appears to only be available in a European format, not the American format that works on our DVD player. We plan to watch the weekly free streaming from the National Theatre, Treasure Island, tomorrow. Storms are rolling in so I doubt we'll get to watch it today. It's Sunday and I'm rushing to get this post written so I can pre-post it. It's suddenly turned pitch dark outside. Looks like I'm going to have to unplug.

And, we watched the usual: NCIS, Chicago Fire, and World on Fire on PBS. I also watched Chicago Med because the storyline with one of the doctors getting held hostage sounded entertaining. I only tune into Chicago Med on rare occasions when the previews pique my interest. I was right; it was a good episode.

I'm pleased that I finally had what felt like a normal reading week for me. Maybe I'm finally adjusting to isolation. I mean . . . I'm kind of a hermit so I'm missing my few normal interactions but it's more the sensation of feeling trapped at home and not being able to just dash out for that one ingredient or paint color or other supply on a whim that is so uncomfortable. And, I miss the gym. But, it's becoming more tolerable over time. I still can't sleep well and all of my dreams have been about magically being bestowed with groceries we've run out of. Pretty funny. Hope you're all doing well and staying healthy!

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