Hey Bookworms!
I meant to write this up last week, but my week was derailed by a sweet little boy with a stomach bug. I mean, they tell you that when you put your kids in daycare they’re going to get sick a lot, but I don’t think that really sinks in until your vacation time is dwindling and among your prayers of “please make my baby feel better” you sneak in some “please let me make it through an entire week of work.” I’m lucky enough to have stockpiled time off, but ding dang. One cold rolls into a stomach bug which rolls into another cold and you get to the point where you don’t know where one ailment ends and the other begins. The nurse line at our pediatrician’s office probably has Sam’s file flagged with a post-it note reading “Patient’s mother may be hypochondriac and WILL NOT STOP GOOGLING. Proceed with caution.” BUT I DIGRESS. Hugely. I’m always digressing. The point of this post was to update you on my reading and whatnot. Shall we?
First: I finished Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield and I’m THRILLED to report that it was an excellent book. I was worried, of course, because though The Thirteenth Tale (review) was awesome, her followup, Bellman & Black (review) was… Not. Once Upon a River was wonderful and mysterious and a little bit ghostly which makes it perfect winter reading. I think I mentioned I was given this book by my office Secret Santa. We have a few readers around our office, but the guy who pulled my name (Hey Kyle!) reads and enjoys audio books as much as I do. A stroke of luck on my end, for sure. Otherwise I’d probably have ended up with another wind-up pooping penguin. I very much enjoy novelty penguins and don’t mind grossness, BUT I already have two pooping penguins, so.
Second: I finished Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube by Blair Braverman. I didn’t learn quite as much about mushing as I expected to, but I’ve got Blair’s twitter feed for that. I did learn a ton about Blair’s personal journey and how a girl from California ended up a passionate dog sledder, though. If you like memoirs and hearing about weirdos who actually LIKE being cold and don’t mind sleeping in snow caves or living on a glacier, definitely check it out. It’s anchored by segments set in small-town Norway, which, oddly, reminded me rather a lot of Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman (review). Yes, I know Sweden and Norway are not the same country. Don’t @ me. I once mentally connected two books because they both talked about yogurt.
Third: Our book club pick this month was Dear Mrs. Bird by AJ Pearce. I read it on my phone, which is the first time I’ve used the Scribd service for eyeball reading. Given the choice I prefer to read on my Kindle, but I use a Kindle Paperwhite (several versions older than what is currently available but still awesome) which can’t handle apps (new versions can’t either, but the e-ink is so much easier on the eyeballs than a tablet screen.) Plus, the phone was super handy while I was snuggling on the couch with my sick baby. He’d sleep on me, I’d read. If he hadn’t been periodically violently ill, it would have been a perfectly lovely way to spend an afternoon. Anyway, the book was short and sweet. A little heavier than I expected, but that was silly on my part. I mean, who reads a book set in London during the Blitz and DOESN’T expect some tragedy, you know? My book club (which I’ve lovingly dubbed “My Neighbors Are Better Than Your Neighbors” because it’s true) also went to an escape room. We did NOT escape, though the guide told us we came extremely close. I’m a thousand times better at trivia than I am at escape room puzzles, y’all. It was fun, but I was way out of my element.
Fourth: I read Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton. It was alright, but I’m glad I got it from the library. Honestly, I felt like I’ve read the same book multiple times. Both the dual narrative and the SHOCKING FAMILY REVELATIONS felt very tropey to me. The part I found most interesting was the divide between people exiled during the Castro regime and those who stayed in Cuba. I might have appreciated the novel more had it focused entirely on that aspect, rather than getting all tangled up in love-at-first-sight scenarios. Insta-love almost always leaves me feeling snarky.
Fifth: My current audio book is Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren, which I’m loving, because I’m nothing if not predictable. I may write a whole post dedicated to Christina Lauren because I’ve only discovered their (Christina Lauren is actually two women writing as a team) work and have been binge reading their stand alone back list. My current eyeball read is The Girl with the Red Balloon by Katherine Locke which I’m also loving, though it’s early pages. I’ll keep you posted on the love-fest. For now, I’ll leave you with this photo of Sammers being completely adorable.
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Kristen M.
I’m so happy about Once Upon a River because I also disliked Bellman and Black and so was nervous about this one. I have it here though so I will try and get to it in the next couple of weeks!
As for toddler-parent-hypochondria, it is real and you don’t need to apologize for it. Take care of that boy for all of us! 😉
wordsfor
I was so happy Once Upon a River was good! Does the paranoia about illness get any better once the child can clearly communicate? Because this guessing game stuff is HARD.
Monika @ Lovely Bookshelf
I have Dear Mrs. Bird on my Kindle app but haven’t gotten to it yet. I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it! Also glad they let you guys out of the escape room hahaha
wordsfor
LOLOLOL- The leader guy was like “dude, we PROMISE we’ll let you out at the end even if you don’t ‘escape.'” It would seem this is a very real concern of many patrons.
Michelle
Aw! I can’t say that using vacation for your kids improves as they get older. Now, instead of using it when they get sick, I use them for when she has to leave school for a dance competition. It still sucks.
I hope he is feeling better!
Jenny @ Reading the End
Oh, a family membership to a museum is SUCH a great gift! I’m glad Sammy likes it, and I hope y’all get plenty of opportunities to go. I can’t believe how big he’s gotten!!
wordsfor
It is awesome! We went again this weekend. The membership is great because you can just pop in for short visits and not worry about getting your money’s worth out of admission. I highly recommend zoo or museum memberships for gift givers, especially if the family in question doesn’t have endless square footage in which to store toys.
Katie Wilkins (@DoingDewey)
Aww, I hope your little one is better soon! It sounds like you’ve at least gotten in some good reading. Your neighbors do sound awesome and I’m very jealous 🙂