Monday Malarkey

Recent arrivals:

• The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner - from St. Martin's Press for review/tour
• All Systems Red by Martha Wells and 
• Artificial Condition by Martha Wells - both purchased

Books finished since last Malarkey:

• The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany by Lori Nelson Spielman
• The Malady of Death by Marguerite Duras
• Talkative Man by R. K. Narayan

I was in the mood for short reads, this weekend and started with The Malady of Death, which is a mere 60 pages long. I like Duras (although I also find her writing a bit disturbing) and the book was skinny so it appealed to me both for her style and the brevity. I plucked a couple other thin books off the shelf and read Talkative Man, next. Then, I started on the first in the Murderbots series by Martha Wells, All Systems Red. Same reason. I'll get back to normal reading, soon. I have no idea what's possessed me to suddenly roam around plucking short novels off the shelves but I have almost no obligations, this month, so I'm going to take advantage and read what calls to me. 

Currently reading:

• All Systems Red by Martha Wells
• Hamlet by William Shakespeare
• Orphan Monster Spy by Matt Killeen 

I started to read the second in the Orphan Monster Spy series, Devil Darling Spy, and realized I didn't recall a scene it referred back to, late last week. So, I opted to set aside the second book and reread the first as a refresher. Plus, Orphan Monster Spy is an excellent read so I'm happy to have an excuse to read it again. Hamlet fell by the wayside. I'll get back to him. No hurry. The Murderbots books were purchased after a friend mentioned them. I think Kiddo will enjoy them, too, so I may go ahead and buy the entire series. He won't enjoy the fact that they're short, as I do, but I know he'll enjoy the storytelling.


Last week's posts:

• Lakeshire Park by Megan Walker (book review)
• Nature's Best Hope by Douglas W. Tallamy (book review)
• Fiona Friday - Just the girls (cat photo)

In other news:

Husband discovered an interesting show on BritBox, this week, and we've been enjoying it immensely. Life on Mars is about a detective who is hit by a car and thrown back to the 1970s. Is he really in the 70s, though, or is he in a coma or going crazy?

It's old enough (2006) that I didn't recognize John Simm without his gray hair, although he looked familiar to me. Dr. Who fans will know Simm as The Master (not the most recent one, but the one before).

We haven't yet watched the latest National Theatre production, Frankenstein with Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller, but we plan to watch it tonight. I barely managed to fit The Twelfth Night in on the last morning it was available through the National Theatre at Home program, but I'm glad I was able to squeeze it in. It was exceptional, as all of their productions have been.

I think the seasons have all ended on my favorite regular programs, so that's all we watched except for World on Fire, which is excellent although I also find it depressing and painfully vivid.

In pandemic news, it sure looks like most everyone has gone back to work in our neighborhood. My computer sits in front of a window that faces the street, so I get to see everyone walking or biking. For several weeks, the foot and pedal traffic was constant. Now, not so much and I'm seeing more auto traffic. We had a bizarre jump in COVID-19 cases, last week, just 3 days after our "shelter in place" order was lifted and became a "safer at home" order — which just means many businesses opened but not all of them and the governor still recommends staying at home unless it's absolutely necessary to leave. But, then the numbers dropped for the next two days so maybe the heat is helping. Fingers crossed.

For me, the pandemic still means staying at home except for a weekly jaunt to the local farm to pick up our produce box. The stores are open but I've been watching local chatter and seeing a lot of complaints that people are not wearing masks. Husband is the cook so he's been doing the grocery shopping and he goes very early. It's a weird, confining life that feels a lot to me like that feeling you get when your car is in the shop and you can't go anywhere at all (where we live, you have to hop in the car to go anywhere — nothing is within walking distance). It's more of a mental challenge than anything, a feeling of being trapped. And, I do miss meals out with my bestie and the kids. C'est la vie. Someday this will end.

How is pandemic life going for you?


©2020 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.