It's Hot!

June is not supposed to be this hot but it is this year. We're in the 90s and 100s almost every day right now. That usually doesn't happen til July. So hot! We are beating the heat with some early morning hikes...ok, not really but it's still pretty. Weekend cocktails and evening fire pits with friends definitely helps us all cool off!

Enjoyed a lovely birthday weekend last week. DH and I finally went out for some fantastic dinner and drinks. We have not done that in 14 months. It was so nice! The restaurant we went to had a vaccination card only policy. So we knew everyone in that restaurant was fully vaccinated. It was a very relaxing evening. We later learned that the restaurant has received death threats from anti-vaxers and threats of being Nazis...I mean, wow. We were very happy to support them!

This summer is full of house projects, work, and getting out into nature when it's cool enough.

We got good news on our kitty Nala. She is still seizure free and we've got about 4 months left before she'll be completely weaned off her meds as long as she continues to be seizure-free! We have a couple of trips we want to plan so this is very good news!

Here's a couple of pics from my latest hike. So hot so we didn't quite make it to the top but we still got some great exercise in the mountains.

Reading Life:

I just started up Written in Bone: Hidden Stories in What We Leave Behind by Sue Black. I loved her first book All That Remains. True-crime from a forensic anthropologist. G and I also started The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer. Disturbing but also very intriguing. It also goes along nicely with my sci-fi challenge this month...but it's mostly dystopia.

Reading Challenges:

For my Sci-fi Readathon: 

Abaddon's Gate James S.A. Corey (Expanse #3) and The Ones We're Meant to Find by Joan He.

I finished Adulthood Rites and Imago, the last two books in the Xenogenesis series by Octavia Butler and an ARC from the publisher for Dare to Know by James Kennedy.

I Read Horror Year All Year Round: 

The Upstairs Wife by Rachel Hawkins (psychological thriller prompt). Listening to this one. It's interesting and I'm looking forward to the end but it hasn't been as good as I was hoping.

Back to the Classics challenge:

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (19th Century prompt and also for my 1000 Books Project: French classics edition). So close to finishing now! Just a few more chapters.

And Dust Tracks on a Road by Zora Neale Hurston (classic by a woman prompt).

The Second Sex by Simone De Beauvoir...I am no over halfway done and should be done with it by December to earn my 20 century classic prompt!

Nonfiction Reading challenge:

World Travel: An Irreverent Guide by Anthony Bourdain and Laurie Woolever (food prompt). I'm listening to this one and it still makes me want to cry. I'm hoping to finish by the end of the month.

I'm pretty behind this month with some of these challenges. Hopefully I can catch up soon!

Watching Life:

Mostly the NBA Playoffs.

I added in the Crime Scene Kitchen which is weirdly entertaining though I wished they'd called it Mystery Kitchen...since no crimes were committed in the kitchen real or otherwise. I guess it's more catchy but not what I was expecting when I went to watch.

I also finished off Love, Victor on Hulu. Really good show, especially the second season where they try to deal with all the life stuff they kind of blew off in the first season.

Last weekend we watched Raya and the Last Dragon and In the Heights together. I wanted to like Raya better. It was cute and funny but didn't quite have that complex punch their movies usually have. It felt a little trite. In the Heights was really fun. Really enjoyed that one.

Come True was my horror movie for the week. Really trippy but that ending was a bit off...overall quite a cerebral sci-fi horror.

Making and Doing:

I'm hoping to get to my painting of my door soon. If not this weekend then next.

I've been enjoying no-bake cookies and raspberry mojitos on the weekends.

I've been sticking to sandwiches and grilling foods recently.

Looking forward to:

Cooler temps for a few days this week. I think we will hit a hi of 75 on Wednesday. It goes back up over the weekend but it'll be nice to have such a cool day or two even for a bit.

I've got a little friend get-together on Saturday with DH and Sunday I'm hiking with a friend! Loving getting out a bit this summer.

Joining in with Deb from Readerbuzz's Sunday Salon

Nonfiction Reviews: Jane Austen: A Life...

 

Jane Austen: a Life by Claire Tomalin

Published: 1997

Genre: Non-fiction, history, biography

Format: Hardcover, 347 Pages, Own

Rating: 4 stars

Publisher's Summary:

At her death in 1817, Jane Austen left the world six of the most beloved novels written in English—but her shortsighted family destroyed the bulk of her letters; and if she kept any diaries, they did not survive her.  Now acclaimed biographer Claire Tomalin has filled the gaps in the record, creating a remarkably fresh and convincing portrait of the woman and the writer. 

While most Austen biographers have accepted the assertion of Jane's brother Henry that "My dear Sister's life was not a life of events," Tomalin shows that, on the contrary, Austen's brief life was fraught with upheaval.  Tomalin provides detailed and absorbing accounts of Austen's ill-fated love for a young Irishman, her frequent travels and extended visits to London, her close friendship with a worldly cousin whose French husband met his death on the guillotine, her brothers' naval service in the Napoleonic wars and in the colonies, and thus shatters the myth of Jane Austen as a sheltered and homebound spinster whose knowledge of the world was limited to the view from a Hampshire village. 

My Thoughts:

I picked this one up earlier this year after I listened to a Great Courses lecture series on Jane Austen and her world and her books. I'm so glad I did. I learned so much about her family, especially her parents and her relationship to her sister and her brothers.

Her parents sent the older children away after they were born to local poor families to take care of them until they were old enough to not be such a nuisance in the house. Tomalin speculates Jane ended up not having a great relationship with her mother due to this early arrangement.

She spends a few chapters talking about her books and how things in her life and the people in it may have influenced her writing. Having Tomalin bring it all together really astounds me at what a genius Jane Austen was. There were years where she didn't really have a home after her father died and her and Cassandra were moved around from brother to brother and their families to help take care of children, etc. Yet she still found the time even through all of that to write works of genius.

But it's a tragedy as well. After her death, many of her letters were destroyed or lost even after decades of keeping some in tact. Her niece Fanny destroyed a huge bundle of her correspondence with her brother Henry. And she died too young. 

The Self-Driven Child: the Science and Sense of Giving Your Kids More Control Over Their Lives by William Stixrud and Ned Johnson

Published: February 18, 2018

Genre: Parenting, Nonfiction

Format: Kindle, 384 pages, Own

Rating: 5 Stars

Publisher's Summary:

A few years ago, Bill Stixrud and Ned Johnson started noticing the same problem from different angles: Even high-performing kids were coming to them acutely stressed and lacking any real motivation. Many complained that they had no control over their lives. Some stumbled in high school or hit college and unraveled. Bill is a clinical neuropsychologist who helps kids gripped by anxiety or struggling to learn. Ned is a motivational coach who runs an elite tutoring service. Together they discovered that the best antidote to stress is to give kids more of a sense of control over their lives. But this doesn't mean giving up your authority as a parent. In this groundbreaking book they reveal how you can actively help your child to sculpt a brain that is resilient, stress-proof and ready to take on new challenges.

The Self-Driven Child offers a combination of cutting-edge brain science, the latest discoveries in behavioral therapy, and case studies drawn from the thousands of kids and teens Bill and Ned have helped over the years to teach you how to set your child on the real road to success. As parents, we can only drive our kids so far. At some point, they will have to take the wheel and map out their own path. But there is a lot you can do before then to help them find their passion and tackle the road ahead with courage and imagination.

My Thoughts:

Stixrud and Johnson carefully take us through each step and the science behind these steps of allowing our kids to be their own decision makers and how we as parents can be in the role of the "consultant."

There's a chapter on homework that I absolutely loved! Especially during the pandemic and homework was something that was a sore spot for awhile. But once I read this chapter I was able to sit down and talk with G and help him decide how and when he wanted to get it done. It ended up being his choice and his schedule. And the last half of the school year went was heaven. G gained a lot more confidence on how to work homework into his schedule. He also learned how to ask for help when he truly needed it and he also decided where he wanted to put his effort and which assignments weren't quite worth it compared to others.

He also talks about stress--"It's as minor as feeling unbalanced and as major as fighting for your life." Sonia Lupien from the Centre for Studies on Human Stress has an acronym to help sum up what makes life stressful--N.U.T.S. Novelty, Unpredictability, Threat to the ego, and Sense of control.

Sense of control really stuck with me. As individuals we don't have a lot of it but how is our sense of control? They say..."if you have confidence that you can impact a situation, it will be less stressful. In contrast, a low sense of control may very well be the most stressful thing in the universe." This whole book is on how we give that high sense of confidence to our kids so they can feel like they have some sense of control over how their lives will go.

This is probably the best parenting book I've read since I was pregnant or right after G was born. I highly recommend it if you're a parent, if you work with kids, if you're a human because these are skills I didn't learn as a kid either and are helping me now!

June Is Here

First week of June is gone! I really wanted to get this off over the weekend but we spent it at the local carnival and then things get busy. It's the first time we've been to the carnival since G was a wee one. He also had his first sleepover since the pandemic began. Lots of first this weekend!

We even got out for a little hike this morning. I wanted to start acclimating him so he can go on more arduous hikes as the summer waxes.

Grateful For:

1. G getting his second dose this week!

2. Enjoying some sun and community over the weekend.

3. Vaccines: it's just been nice enjoying things normally once again. I've had two friends over for a couple of movie nights. I went to my first movie (still masked) since February of 2020...(it was Emma, BTW).

I really love June. It's still slightly cooler than the rest of the summer. School's out and it's nice to enjoy some lazier days as a family. My mint is in full bloom so mojitos on the weekends are always a must. It's my birthday month, too. But the older I get the less I enjoy the birthdays...but I try to embrace it even though I can get a bit depressed as it rolls around each year. And the sunsets! We get some great sunsets in the summer.

Posts this last week:

Memorial Day Weekend

Sci-fi Readathon

Cat Thursday--Cats and Boxes

Reading Life:

I finally finished Jane Austen: A Life by Claire Tomalin! I really enjoyed getting to know more about Austen and her family and her inspiration for her novels. So many things I did not know. Fantastic bio of the great novelist. She died too soon.

I also finished The Name of the Rose by Eco Umberto. So interesting. It wasn't quite a page turner but it had some interesting historical tidbits and the mystery was interesting as well. Overall, I enjoyed the read, even though it was a bit slow from time to time. Glad I read it, though.

G and I finished up The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. We cried the whole last 100 pages. Tear-jerker. But it was so good and we were able to talk about a lot of things like anti-Semitism and how it's on the rise.

I've got a couple of self-help books going that I switch between Mindset: The New Psychology of Success: How We Can Learn to Fulfill Our Potential by Carol Dweck and Parenting from the Inside Out by Daniel J. Siegel and Mary Hartzell.

All Things Cease to Appear by Elizabeth Brundage. I started this one after I heard about the Netflix movie adaptation...I'm about halfway through. I'm hoping to finish it up by the end of the month. But it's a bit slow. The movie looked like a horror and the book is more philosophical with some supernatural elements. But I shall not give up!

I'm also reading sparingly but enjoying it whenever I can get a chapter in The Trespasser by Tana French (#6 in the Dublin Murder Squad series).

Reading Challenges:

For my Sci-fi Readathon: 

Adulthood Rites by Octavia Butler (book #2 in the Xenogenesis series) and Abaddon's Gate by James S.A. Corey (book #3 in the Expanse series).

I Read Horror Year All Year Round: 

The Upstairs Wife by Rachel Hawkins (psychological thriller prompt). Listening to this one. It's interesting and I'm looking forward to the end but it hasn't been as good as I was hoping.

Back to the Classics challenge:

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (19th Century prompt and also for my 1000 Books Project: French classics edition). I will be done by the end of the month!!! July will begin the unabridged Les Miserables by Victor Hugo! And Dust Tracks on a Road by Zora Neale Hurston (classic by a woman prompt).

Nonfiction Reading challenge:

World Travel: An Irreverent Guide by Anthony Bourdain and Laurie Woolever (food prompt). I'm listening to this one and it still makes me want to cry. I'm hoping to finish by the end of the month.

I have two others I am going to try and finish before the end of the month but I have not started them yet. I need to get moving. I'm so behind...

Watching Life:

More NBA Playoffs and some WNBA games as well.

LEGO Masters on Fox with DH and G. G and I also started up Sweet Tooth on Netflix. It's fantastically dark, sweet, and funny. I don't know how they get that balance but it works and G loves it. It kind of reminds me of A Series of Unfortunate Events series. Silly and dark all at the same time but I like Sweet Tooth a lot better.

G and I went to the movie theater for the first time in forever last week! We saw A Quiet Place II. Really well done and scary. We both enjoyed it highly. That was the movie to go back to the theater for!

I also watched Conjuring 3: The Devil Made Me Do It on HBO with my friend for our horror movie night. Not great. I don't recommend it.

Making and Doing:

Lots of grilling the last week or so. Trying to keep that oven and stove off. 

We've also made plans for some house repairs and upgrades. New blinds and screens, painting our door, staining our little deck, basement organizing and cleaning. We have a two-year plan to move so we gotta keep on our list!

Looking forward to:

G gets his second jab this week!

My birthday is this weekend and we're planning a little night out up at the big city(not super big just Salt Lake, but hey I'll take what I can get). The restaurant actually requires vaccination cards so everyone can feel comfortable at their restaurant. Looking forward to getting out with DH. It's been a very long time since we've done this!

Cat Thursday-- Cats and Boxes

Welcome to the weekly meme (hosted by Michelle at True Book Addict) that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite lolcat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats!  

Cats and boxes...I had to find some good ones! All of these images are on Dodo....the article has a few more to look at too.

Sci-fi June Summer Readathon

Michelle over at Seasons of Reading is hosting her annual Sci-fi readathon for the month of June! It's the perfect excuse to dive into those sci-fi books on the TBR pile.

I have plans to finish off the Lilith's Brood series by Octavia Butler, Abaddon's Gate by James S.A. Correy (third book in the Expanse series), and The Ones We're Meant to Find by Joan He. 

Memorial Day Weekend

This is has been a tough spring but so happy that summer is almost here and G is out of school. Online schooling is done and over. Such a weird and crazy school year. G is halfway vaccinated...two more weeks till his next dose. We're slowly getting used to no masks...very slowly. We still mask up indoors with lots of people but the summer is opening up and we're close to eating out as a family in a restaurant again! 

My neighbor also threw a little end of school party for her kids and invited some neighbors, her friends, and all the kids too. The kids got wet, adults had a few drinks, ate hamburgers and junk food and sat around the fire pit when the sun went down. It was a great feeling to hang out with friends again and relax.

It's been a tough few weeks for one reason or another and I have not posted much this month. I'm hoping I can get back into a better schedule and visiting other blogs as well.

Reading Life:

I'm reading a couple of bigger books so I have not finished anything the last two weeks. It's been a slower reading month. I'm ok with that but sometimes I get anxious about it!

I'm about 2/3 done with The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco, still reading The Trespasser by Tana French, Dust Tracks on the Road by Zora Neale Hurston, and I just started a book-for-review from Quirk Books. It's an interesting sci-fi thriller.

G and I are almost done with The Book Thief. Now that it's summer we're planning on doing a little comparative religion course/reading adventure. I think it'll be fun and informative. Hopefully he does too...

I also finished off the May reading schedule for The Count of Monte Cristo! One more month left and I will be done with that behemoth!

I'm about 45% done with The Second Sex by Simone De Beauvoir so I'm still holding out hope I'll get it all done by December 31st.

This week I'll be starting my sci-fi reading marathon for June. I've got a few on my pile!

Watching Life:

Basically, all I've been watching is NBA Playoffs! I'll watch a little Call the Midwife in between and Mare of Easttown finishes off tonight (Sunday) so...I did start High on the Hog, a Netflix limited food documentary based off the book with the same name, tracking how the African food diaspora has influenced American cuisine. So fascinating. Really good.

My son and I have been watching the Conjuring series to gear up for the new one coming out...The Woman in the Window was not great but it was somewhat entertaining. I definitely have no desire to read the book now...Saint Maud is another horror that I didn't love yet I enjoyed its ambition. And another great horror is The Vigil about an ex-Orthodox Jew trying to come to terms with his grief and religious transition. Great Jewish horror. Loved it!

Looking forward to:

Memorial Day should be fun. DH gets the day off. We'll be bbqing up some kebabs and corn and then playing games in the evening. It'll be good structured family time! lol. It needs to be planned or else it doesn't happen. Amiright?

I hope everyone has a wonderful Memorial Day!

Joining in with Deb from Readerbuzz's Sunday Salon

MidMay Already?!

 I don't know where the time goes! I've been wanting to get a post up since Mother's Day and now it's almost two weeks since. And it may be two weeks by the time I get this up and posted....

Mother's Day was really nice and low-key. I made up a very yummy tres leches cake for my own mother the night before. My son and DH made me French toast, blueberry muffins, and bacon for breakfast. G even made me a homemade card. I wonder how long I'll get those? I'll keep them close because I know one day I either won't get a card or it'll be store bought...

We finally got G a new bike. He learned last year during the pandemic in the spring but it was too small and heavy. Now he's got a nice big boy bike and we've been going out once or twice a week with the beautiful weather. He's almost taller than me and his feet are bigger than mine! He'll probably outgrow me by the end of summer!

We finally got out our fire pit and invited some neighbors to sit with us. It was so nice. We burned lots of extra wood we had from building the ramp for my mother earlier this year. It was kind of like burning away all those winter blues and troubles.

I thought I took more pics...but I didn't. Oh well. Such is life. But the buds on trees have been gorgeous. One of the things I love about Spring.

Since my last review post I've posted only three times:

Spring Into Horror Wrap-up

Review of Braiding Sweetgrass

Mini Book Reviews: Fiction

Reading Life:

It's been a bit slower this month with my reading...I just finished off The Self-Driven Child: The Science and Sense of Giving Your Kids More Control Over Their Lives by William Stixrud and Ned Johnson. I've been reading it off and on for 6 months now! It's been really good but I've been digesting it in chunks. I highly recommend it for parents of teenagers and younger.

And I just started Mindset: The New Psychology of Success: How We Can Learn to Fulfill Our Potential by Carol Dweck.

I've been listening to World Travel: An Irreverent Guide by Anthony Bourdain and Laurie Woolever. Makes me miss Bourdain that much more. I'm loving his tidbits from the food and travels around the world. His brother reads his quotes. Highly recommend if you were a fan.

I'm still making my way through The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco, Jane Austen: A Life by Claire Tomalin, Dust Tracks on a Road by Zora Neale Hurston, and with G The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.

And I just started the sixth installment of the Dublin Murder Squad The Trespasser by Tana French. I just read an article from Lit Hub on some big themes in French's novels. Like what's a home and what owning one means...she dives into almost each book. So read with caution if you haven't read her books already. But it gave me a new appreciation on French and the books she writes.

I have plans to finish off her most recent book The Searcher right after The Trespasser and then I'll be all caught up on French! I'd also like to read through all of Octavia Butler's books this summer. I need to finish up her Xenogenesis series and then on to her Patternmaster series and The Fledgling. She has some short stories but I don't think I'll get to those this summer. 

Watching Life:

I've been enjoying Mare of Easttown on HBO starring Kate Winslet. Really great mystery with lots of red herrings!

I just started Call the Midwife and am loving it!

Enjoying NBA basketball. The playoffs have just started and my team is numero uno! Very excited.

Movies: Saint Maud (Indie horror, weird but worth a watch) on Amazon and Mitchells Vs. the Machines (Netflix), we really enjoyed this one as a family. The Woman in the Window on Netflix...not great but fun to watch, overall. The pacing was really off on it, though. The climax was a big letdown.

Making and Doing:

I made a amigurumi crochet cat a couple of weeks ago. I'm trying to make the whole lot and a few furniture items for them. I'll see how my collection comes along over the summer.

Made a new recipe bibimbap bowls last night! They were really good and hearty and healthy. I'll definitely be making those again!

Oh, and I bought flowers, a cherry tomato plant, and a jalapeno plant over the weekend! Hopefully they get established over the next week or so and do well! Fingers crossed.

Looking forward to:

G gets his Covid jab today (Wednesday)! He's nervous but we're both excited to have it done! Well, one more to go after today...

G is almost done with school. Next week is his last week. And what a whirlwind of having school done online all year due to a pandemic...It'll be nice to be done and to focus on other things this summer.

Mini Book Reviews: Broken Harbor...

Faithful Place by Tana French

Published: July 13th, 2010 by Viking

Genre: Mystery

Format: Kindle, 416 Pages, Own

Rating: 4 stars

Publisher's Summary:

Back in 1985, Frank Mackey was nineteen, growing up poor in Dublin's inner city and living crammed into a small flat with his family on Faithful Place. But he had his sights set on a lot more. He and his girl, Rosie Daly, were all set to run away to London together, get married, get good jobs, break away from factory work and poverty and their old lives.

But on the winter night when they were supposed to leave, Rosie didn't show. Frank took it for granted that she'd given him the brush-off--probably because of his alcoholic father, nutcase mother, and generally dysfunctional family. He never went home again.

Neither did Rosie. Everyone thought she had gone to England on her own and was over there living a shiny new life. Then, twenty-two years later, Rosie's suitcase shows up behind a fireplace in a derelict house on Faithful Place, and Frank is going home whether he likes it or not.

Getting sucked in is a lot easier than getting out again. Frank finds himself straight back in the dark tangle of relationships he left behind. The cops working the case want him out of the way, in case loyalty to his family and community makes him a liability. Faithful Place wants him out because he’s a detective now, and the Place has never liked cops. Frank just wants to find out what happened to Rosie Daly-and he’s willing to do whatever it takes, to himself or anyone else, to get the job done.

My Thoughts:

Another excellent mystery that's heavily character-driven rather than plot-drive from Ms. French. Her plots don't quite make a lot of sense but I still enjoy my way getting there. Mackey and his family came alive for me. I loved getting a better sense of his history and what has made him tick. I loved her exploration of families. How messy and complicated they are and why. Sometimes I had to set the book down because the dysfunction felt a little too familiar...

Bridge of Souls by Victoria Schwab

Published: March 2nd, 2021 by Scholastic Press

Genre: Horror, Middle Grade

Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages, Own

Rating: 4 stars

Publisher's Summary:

Where there are ghosts, Cassidy Blake follows...unless it's the other way around?

Cass thinks she might have this ghost-hunting thing down. After all, she and her ghost best friend, Jacob, have survived two haunted cities while travelling for her parents' TV show.

But nothing can prepare Cass for New Orleans, which wears all of its hauntings on its sleeve. In a city of ghost tours and tombs, raucous music and all kinds of magic, Cass could get lost in all the colourful, grisly local legends. And the city's biggest surprise is a foe Cass never expected to face: a servant of Death itself.

Cass takes on her most dangerous challenge yet...

My Thoughts:

This is another fantastic instalment by Schwab. Loved reading about Cass and her antics in New Orleans. How her parents are still clueless about her supernatural abilities. But I love her friendships and how she solves each problem with help. And of course, her kitty is always super cute!

Broken Harbor by Tana French

Published: April 28th, 2013 by Penguin

Genre: Mystery

Format: Hardcover, 450 Pages, Library

Rating: 3.5 stars

Publisher's Summary:

Mick “Scorcher" Kennedy is the star of the Dublin Murder Squad. He plays by the books and plays hard, and that's how the biggest case of the year ends up in his hands.

On one of the half-abandoned "luxury" developments that litter Ireland, Patrick Spain and his two young children have been murdered. His wife, Jenny, is in intensive care. At first, Scorcher thinks it's going to be an easy solve, but too many small things can't be explained: the half-dozen baby monitors pointed at holes smashed in the Spains' walls, the files erased from the family's computer, the story Jenny told her sister about a shadowy intruder slipping past the house's locks. And this neighborhood—once called Broken Harbor—holds memories for Scorcher and his troubled sister, Dina: childhood memories that Scorcher thought he had tightly under control.

My Thoughts:

The plot was a bit better in this one. But...overall, this one wasn't as good as I was hoping but she still knows how to pack a punch. And such a different take from her other books, taking on class and the economic downturn on the global scale but especially in Ireland. I also enjoyed getting to know Scorcher Kennedy that we were introduced to in "Faithful Place." I love that she fleshes everyone out eventually. Everyone's a bit different and I love that she can write them so vividly. It's another great reason to read this series since she doesn't focus on one detective each book. I'd say one of the big explorations in this one is despair and the horrors one can do when there are no lights at the end of the tunnel.

The Secret Place by Tana French

Published: September 2nd, 2014 by Penguin Books

Genre: Mystery

Format: Kindle, 541 Pages, Own

Rating: 4 stars

Publisher's Summary:

A year ago a boy was found murdered at a girlsʼ boarding school, and the case was never solved. Detective Stephen Moran has been waiting for his chance to join Dublin’s Murder Squad when sixteen-year-old Holly Mackey arrives in his office with a photo of the boy with the caption: “I KNOW WHO KILLED HIM.” Stephen joins with Detective Antoinette Conway to reopen the case—beneath the watchful eye of Holly’s father, fellow detective Frank Mackey.

With the clues leading back to Holly’s close-knit group of friends, to their rival clique, and to the tangle of relationships that bound them all to the murdered boy, the private underworld of teenage girls turns out to be more mysterious and more dangerous than the detectives imagined.

My Thoughts:

French takes on teen girls in an upper crust boarding school. While the dialogues of the teens weren't especially convincing, the emotions were. And the plot. This is one where I could see it. It seemed plausible. And I just learned French puts a bit of supernatural stuff into each of her books based off of Celtic myth/folklore. This book had it the most abundant, which wasn't my favorite. But overall, I liked the plot and the teen emotions exploration. I wasn't a big fan of the detectives...but they came through in the end. 

The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling

Published: April 2nd, 2019 by Harper Voyager

Genre: Sci-fi, Horror

Format: Kindle, 432 Pages, Own

Rating: 4 stars

Publisher's Summary:

A thrilling, atmospheric debut with the intensive drive of The Martian and Gravity and the creeping dread of Annihilation, in which a caver on a foreign planet finds herself on a terrifying psychological and emotional journey for survival.

When Gyre Price lied her way into this expedition, she thought she’d be mapping mineral deposits, and that her biggest problems would be cave collapses and gear malfunctions. She also thought that the fat paycheck—enough to get her off-planet and on the trail of her mother—meant she’d get a skilled surface team, monitoring her suit and environment, keeping her safe. Keeping her sane.

Instead, she got Em.

Em sees nothing wrong with controlling Gyre’s body with drugs or withholding critical information to “ensure the smooth operation” of her expedition. Em knows all about Gyre’s falsified credentials, and has no qualms using them as a leash—and a lash. And Em has secrets, too . . .

As Gyre descends, little inconsistencies—missing supplies, unexpected changes in the route, and, worst of all, shifts in Em’s motivations—drive her out of her depths. Lost and disoriented, Gyre finds her sense of control giving way to paranoia and anger. On her own in this mysterious, deadly place, surrounded by darkness and the unknown, Gyre must overcome more than just the dangerous terrain and the Tunneler which calls underground its home if she wants to make it out alive—she must confront the ghosts in her own head.

My Thoughts:

This was gripping! I read this for April's Spring Into Horror readathon and boy oh boy. It delivered. Sci-fi horror that can make me feel claustrophobic. It felt like a combo of Alien and The Descent. Two of my fave horror films of all-time. And add in some lesbian romance and boom. I really enjoyed this one. There were only a couple of places where it dragged but overall an engaging story and one I wouldn't mind returning to.

Floating Staircase by Ronald Malfi

Published: October 2010 by Leisure Books

Genre: Horror

Format: Kindle, 448 Pages, Own

Rating: 4 stars

Publisher's Summary:

Soon after Travis and his wife move into their new house by the lake, he becomes convinced the house is haunted. Is it the ghost of a child who was murdered there years before - or is there a deeper mystery?

My Thoughts:

This is my first book by Malfi. I also read this one for my Spring Into Horror readathon. I'll definitely be returning to another of his books soon. 

Travis and his wife move into a secluded home by his brother. He soon becomes convinced the house is haunted. He begins to become obsessed with the house, the history, and the ghost. As he delves in, it brings up his own baggage from when he was a child and the death of his little brother. I really enjoyed the exploration of grief and obsession. How do we process all of that? It's one of the reasons I love horror. We can explore all of this stuff in interesting ways. 

*all images taken from Goodreads.com

Read in part for Spring Into Horror Readathon.

Nonfiction Book Reviews: Braiding Sweetgrass...

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Published: October 15th, 2013 by Milkweed Editions

Genre: Nonfiction, Science

Format: Paperback, 391 Pages, Own

Rating: 5 stars

Publisher's Summary:

As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these lenses of knowledge together to show that the awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings are we capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learning to give our own gifts in return. 

My Thoughts:

I loved everything about this book! She asks some tough questions about what it means to be apart of nature. How can we take what science has to offer and what her ancestors' wisdom has to offer us about how to take care Mother Earth? She weaves her own background, her ancestors' stories, science, and what plants can teach in how to do this.

Her first story is about Skywoman. She's fallen from the sky and immediately receives help from a goose, a turtle, until they realize she needs land to rest upon permanently. But no animal can make it all the way down to the bottom of the water to bring her some land...except for the muskrat, who sacrifices itself for her and brings up some mud only to lose its own life.

"Skywoman bent and spread the mud with her hands across the shell of the turtle. Moved by the extraordinary gifts of the animals, she sang in thanksgiving and then began to dance, her feet caressing the earth. The land grew and grew as she danced her thanks, form the dab of mud on Turtle's back until the whole earth was made. Not by Skywoman alone, but from the alchemy of all the animals' gifts coupled with her deep gratitude. Together they formed what we know today as Turtle Island, our home."

She compares this with another story from across the waters...a woman with a garden and a tree...

"But for tasting its fruit, she was banished from the garden and the gates clanged shut behind her. That mother of men was made to wander in the wilderness and earn her bread by the sweat of her brow, not by filling her mouth with the sweet juicy fruits that bend the branches low. In order to eat, she was instructed to subdue the wilderness into which she was cast."

"One story leads to the generous embrace of the living world, the other to banishment. One woman is our ancestral gardener, a cocreator of the good green world that would be the home of her descendants. The other was an exile, just passing through an alien world on a rough road to her real home in heaven...And then they met--the offspring of Skywoman and the children of Eve--and the land around us bears the scars of that meeting, the echoes of our stories."

Stories are powerful. This sets up the rest of the book. How do Westerners with creation stories like these respond to a land that our ancestors have taken? Do we listen to those who've cultivated for centuries and millennia or do we assume we know best because we take and never give back? How do we treat the earth like we are truly indigenous to it?

Each section and each essay within that section dissects exactly this. This is one I'll be going to again and again. I can't recommend it highly enough!

Source: Goodreads

Poetry for Young People: Langston Hughes edited by David Roessel

Published: January 1st, 2006 by Sterling

Genre: Nonfiction, Poetry, Juvenile

Format: Hardcover, 48 Pages, Own

Rating: 5 stars

My Thoughts:

I read this one aloud with G for Poetry month in April. We really enjoyed learning more about Langston Hughes and his poetry. The Illustrations were also vivid and dynamic. They really brought the poems to life. I love this Poetry for Young People series. I've never been a big poetry reader except for high school and a bit in college so I really love diving in this way.

Spring Into Horror Readathon Wrapup

Thank you, Michelle! I had a great time focusing in on some horror and mystery this month. It's just what I needed.

I finished off 4 books:

Faithful Place and Broken Harbor by Tana French (3 and 4 in the Dublin Murder Squad.) The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling and Floating Staircase by Ronald Malfi.

Week-in-Review: Covid Jab!

I wanted to post this last weekend...but I got my second Covid jab and it really put me under all weekend. So I got nothing done except some movies and reading...My symptoms were mild fatigue a few hours after on Friday and then my muscles started to ache a bit before bed. I woke up around 2 AM with chills and a fever. Then it was hot sweats and chills and really weird dreams all night. Saturday was aches and pains and a headache all day. Sunday my aches and pains were done but I was just worn out from it all and so so tired. Finally felt human again on Monday! I feel terribly behind on all the things...

But oh what a feeling! Jack Black's video explains it all!

 Nala gave me some comfort after my jab Friday.

Last week we got out on a little walk as a family before spring weather hit again here in Utah and we had three days of clouds, rain, and cold. And a little family game night. Takenoko is a winner! You can play up to 4 players. It's perfect for our little family.

G made his first dinner of turkey burgers last week as well! Yum!

Grateful For:

1. G decided he wanted to start making meals on a semi-regular basis. America's Test Kitchen put out a great little book for young bakers/cooks that I picked up. He's been picking recipes from out of there and his first was super yummy! I helped cut the fixings up but other than that it was all him. This week is homemade pizza!

2. Covid vaccine! So exciting.

3. We enjoyed a nice birthday dinner at my mom and dad's house Monday. We brought in some takeout and enjoyed chatting and eating since everyone in the house is now vaccinated we felt comfortable going over and spending a couple hours there to celebrate.

Reading Life:

I finished up Broken Harbor (#4 in the Dublin Murder Squad series)(read for my spring into horror challenge) by Tana French, Poetry for Young People: Langston Hughes edited by David Roessel, Floating Staircase by Ronald Malfi (read for my spring into horror challenge), and The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling (read for my horror challenge in the scary cover prompt.)

My ebook The Deep by Alma Katsu was returned to the library. I wasn't able to finish it in time, unfortunately. But it wasn't quite what I wanted right now anyway. I have plans to finish it maybe in the fall, though.

I'm 3/4 done with The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas for my French Lit challenge! Two more months and I'll be done!

G and I are still reading through The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. We're a little over halfway now. I bet we'll be done mid-May. G is also learning a lot about World War II in his history class so he's really enjoying it in a new way.

I'm currently reading Jane Austen: A Life by Claire Tomalin (really interesting!), The Secret Place (#5 in the Dublin Murder Squad series) by Tana French, and The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco.

Watching Life:

I started Mare of Easttown on HBO Max. I'm really liking it. Kate Winslet is stellar! I love seeing her weekly.

Also caught the Oscars on Sunday last. I liked the quaint feel of it this year. I enjoyed all of the films I was able to catch before the big night. I have a few more to see still. Really happy Nomadland got best picture. Happy to see Chloe Zhao get best director!

Source Wall Street Journal

Also, I loved her simple dress, no make up, and her braids!

Source Reuters

Go Youn Yuh-Jung for best supporting actress who has no f's to give for Hollywood!

I watched The Mole Agent on Hulu and PBS. It's a documentary about an elderly gentleman in Chile who goes into a nursing home in Santiago undercover. A PI hires him for a client who feels her mother is being abused. But it doesn't go where you think it will. Insights and just some great footage. A lot of thought on how we take care of or don't our elderly community and who truly makes up a family? Good stuff in there. It was nominated for Best Documentary in Oscars.

Source IMDB

Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Always was a great little Indie film on HBO Max. About a teen girl and her cousin who head to New York City to get an abortion. It's about all the things along the way. It's quiet and introspective. Highly recommended! I really feel this one should have gotten a nod at the Oscars.

Source IMDB

Run is a fantasticly creepy horror film on Hulu starring Sarah Poulson. The main protagonist is actually a person who has disabilities. She was able to collaborate on the film and make sure things were done right and not in an ableist way. Loved everything about this!

Boys from County Hell is a fun Irish horror comedy about a Celtic vampire who run amok in their quaint little town. Lots of blood and humor. 

Looking forward to:

A new Japanese-style donut shop opened up close by so me and my brunch ladies are going to hit it this Saturday morning. We're all vaccinated and feeling frisky! Japan's donuts are the best! I'm hoping it lives up to its name or heads will roll. I haven't had a fantastic donut since I lived there so I have high hopes...

Mother's Day should be nice. My boys are planning on making me breakfast. I may even talk them into a hike! We'll also stop by my mom's and visit for a bit in the evening.

Hope you all have a lovely week! Any plans for Mother's Day? Anybody watch the Oscars?

Joining in with Deb from Readerbuzz's Sunday Salon

Cat Thursday--Artsy Kitty

Welcome to the weekly meme (hosted by Michelle at True Book Addict) that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite lolcat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats!   

Where's Nala?

I did some photo editing with Shadow staring at the window wanting to catch all the birdies.