Welcome to my weekly update for August 30, 2020! For our mid-week hike, my husband and I drove up to Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood for a short-ish leg stretcher. He was willing to go further but I just wasn't feeling it that day. Being East Coasters, we were surprised to see so many people at the lodge skiing and snowboarding in [...]
Welcome to my weekly update for August 23, 2020! My husband and I like to explore on weekdays when he's off and most people are at work, making trails less crowded. So on Tuesday, we drove up to Mount St. Helens for the day for some hiking. It wasn't as classically beautiful as Mt. Rainier but it was striking in its own way. I was too young to remember when the volcano erupted 40 years ago in 1980 but my husband remembers it a bit. You can still see the crater smoking! We practically had the trails to ourselves, probably only seeing ten other people all day. Wildflowers were blooming and we were amazed to see Spirit Lake full of floating tree trunks that blew down in the eruption! Posted: The Lost Colony (Artemis Fowl #5)--3 Stars My Top Ten Books for Netflix Adaptations--My very first Top Ten Tuesday! The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys--4 Stars. I read this on my blogging/reviewing break but I came out of hiding to review it. Read this one. Read: Some of these were short but I really don't know how I finished this many books in one week. It's a lot for me. The Empire of Gold (The Daevabad Trilogy #3) by S. A. Chakraborty Aerie (Magonia #2) by Maria Dahvana Headley, read by Therese Plummer and Michael Crouch Get Well Soon: History’s Worst Plagues and the Heroes Who Fought Them by Jennifer Wright Giant Days Volume I by John Allison et al. Five on a Treasure Island (The Famous Five #1) by Enid Blyton Bookish and the Beast (Once Upon a Con #3) by Ashley Poston Currently Reading: Little Century by Anna Keesey Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre by Max Brooks, read by Judy Greer et al. Out of the…
Welcome to my weekly update for August 16, 2020! Two of the biggest natural tourist attractions in Oregon are the Columbia River Gorge Scenic Highway and Multnomah Falls. State officials closed them before we arrived here in April because of COVID-19. They finally re-opened on Thursday! We set out to explore on Friday. The air was hazy and we picked the worst time of day for photography, but it was beautiful nevertheless! We were focused on the drive this time so we only stopped at waterfalls that were easily seen from the road. We'll venture back to do more hiking and exploring soon. Multnomah FallsLatourell Falls Posted: Hard Rain by Irma Venter--3 Stars Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident (Book #2) by Eoin Colfer--4 Stars Read: A Poison Dark and Drowning by Jessica Cluess, read by Fiona Hardingham Currently Reading: The Empire of Gold (The Daevabad Trilogy #3) by S. A. Chakraborty Aerie (Magonia #2) by Maria Dahvana Headley, read by Therese Plummer and Michael Crouch Get Well Soon: History's Worst Plagues and the Heroes Who Fought Them by Jennifer Wright On Hold for Now: Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen–I ran out of time on this library check-out so I’m on the waiting list again. Hiking Oregon’s History: The Stories behind Historic Places You Can Walk to See by Michael L. Sullivan–I had to return this book before finishing it but I placed a hold on it so that I can continue it when it’s available again. Watching: The Old Guard starring Charlize Theron and KiKi Layne on Netflix. I like Charlize and I enjoyed this movie quite a bit. A team of immortal warriors has been trying to change the world for the better for centuries (millennia?) but they're getting tired.…
Welcome to my weekly update for August 9, 2020! After all our hiking last week, we took it relatively easy this week. My husband and I are usually in one place for three months before moving to a new place with his job. His three months in Portland, Oregon were complete on July 25 but we decided to renew his contract here for another three months for a lot of reasons. Anyway, we decided to take the RV (which we live in while we're traveling) through a (socially-distanced) truck wash and drive it around for an hour or so to keep the engine running since it's been sitting for so long. And that's probably the most excitement we had this week. Oh, this pandemic! Posted: Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer--4 Stars The Long-Lost Home by Maryrose Wood--4 Stars Read: Hard Rain by Irma Venter, translated by Elsa Silke Malorie by Josh Malerman, read by Cassandra Campbell Currently Reading: The Empire of Gold by S. A. Chakraborty A Poison Dark and Drowning by Jessica Cluess, read by Fiona Hardingham Get Well Soon: History's Worst Plagues and the Heroes Who Fought Them by Jennifer Wright On Hold for Now: Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen–I ran out of time on this library check-out so I’m on the waiting list again. Hiking Oregon’s History: The Stories behind Historic Places You Can Walk to See by Michael L. Sullivan–I had to return this book before finishing it but I placed a hold on it so that I can continue it when it’s available again. Watching: One Day at a Time on Netflix. Oh my goodness, we love this show! It's a (remade) sitcom about a Cuban family living in LA. My father-in-law is Cuban so we relate to…
Welcome to my weekly update for August 2, 2020! My husband's 50th birthday was on July 25 so he took a week off work and we spent time hiking and exploring. Mt. Rainier National Park is within driving distance so we decided to head that way. Oh my goodness! It's gorgeous! We tried to visit once about 15 years ago when my brother-in-law lived in Washington but the mountain was hidden behind clouds. The only time we saw it was on our flight home, when we finally broke above the clouds. It was showing off for us on this visit! Wildflowers were in bloom everywhere! We even saw a couple of bears (from a safe distance), some marmots, and even one pika! My husband was thrilled with this birthday! Wildflower meadowMt. Rainier with Myrtle Falls Posted: I Should Have Honor: A Memoir of Hope and Pride in Pakistan by Khalida Brohi--4 Stars The Book of Awesome: Snow Days, Bakery Air, Finding Money in Your Pocket, and Other Simple, Brilliant Things by Neil Pasricha--4 Stars Read: Practical Demonkeeping by Christopher Moore Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young, read by Khristine Hvam Currently Reading: Hard Rain by Irma Venter, translated by Elsa Silke Malorie by Josh Malerman, read by Cassandra Campbell Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen--I ran out of time on this library check-out so I'm on the waiting list again. Hiking Oregon's History: The Stories behind Historic Places You Can Walk to See by Michael L. Sullivan--I had to return this book before finishing it but I placed a hold on it so that I can continue it when it's available again. Watching: We haven't started streaming it yet, but we are really excited about season 2 of The…
Welcome to my weekly update for July 26, 2020! I'm writing this ahead of time as my husband's 50th birthday is (was, as you're reading this) on July 25! It's hard to believe that we've been together almost two decades. He was a whipper-snapper of 31 when we met. What a life we've led in that time! I wouldn't change anything. If you missed it last week, I created an Instagram account for my blog. I've added a few posts that I think turned out pretty well. Give me a follow if you're so inclined! Posted: Eleven on Top by Janet Evanovich--3.5 Stars The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston--4 Stars Read: Small Favor by Jim Butcher Currently Reading: Practical Demonkeeping by Christopher Moore Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young, read by Khristine Hvam Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen Hiking Oregon's History: The Stories behind Historic Places You Can Walk to See by Michael L. Sullivan--I had to return this book before finishing it but I placed a hold on it so that I can continue it when it's available again. Watching: Since a lot of us are spending more time watching TV and movies during the pandemic, I decided to add this section. I've found some great suggestions on other blogs! The Alienist: Angel of Darkness just premiered on TNT in the US last Sunday. My husband and I binged the first season of this show last month and I am usually not a binger. This series is based on the books of the same name, which I love. It's set in New York in the late 1800s when forensic science and forensic psychology were just becoming a thing. This show is very dark, with murdered…
Welcome back! I hope you had a wonderful week! My birthday was yesterday but we just spent a quiet day at home. My husband made my favorite French toast for breakfast. We ordered my favorite pizza in Portland (and possibly anywhere) for dinner and then we finished off with a mini pecan praline cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes and a glass of my favorite "champagne." My taste buds were happy! Traveling in our RV means that have about 300 sq ft (28 sq m) of living space, so gifts have to be small and/or utilitarian. These are the gifts that might be of interest to my fellow readers. One of my best friends mailed a couple of books to me. The White Queen by Philippa Gregory and The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel. I've enjoyed the other books I've read by Ms. Gregory and the other book looks really good! I'm also excited to hold some real books in my hands! In a sign of the times, my husband bought me this cute face mask featuring Belle. I just love it! Bookish Birthday Gifts In other news, I created an Instagram account for my blog, @introverted.reader. I've only got a couple of posts up so far because I'm trying to figure out what a bookish Instagram account looks like when you primarily read on a Kindle Paperwhite (see space limitations noted above). I did share some literary displays and a beautiful library from our visit to the Pittock Mansion in Portland, OR on Thursday (face masks firmly on and social distancing strictly controlled by employees, of course). Check it out and give me a follow if you're so inclined! Posted: Geekerella by Ashley Poston--5 Stars Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins--4 Stars My Six in Six 2020 post for the yearly…
This week my husband and I drove from Portland, Oregon down to Bend to do some hiking. That part of the state is beautiful! The climate there is "high desert" but we drove into the lush Cascade mountains within about 45 minutes. So much variety! Smith Rock State Park Koosah Falls, about 1 hour 15 minutes away from Smith Rock When we finished our hikes, we got brave and ate outside at a brewery (we've only gotten food to go since March). It felt reasonably safe but weird. Tables were appropriately distanced, servers wore masks, and we wore our masks when we weren't eating. It was nice to have a normal-ish moment in these crazy times! Posted: Full Throttle by Joe Hill Book Review--4 Stars Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins Book Review--5 Stars--I realized that I never posted this review on my blog when I was posting my review for The Ballad of Songbirds of Snakes, the prequel to the series. Now my reviews for the whole series are on here! Read: The Grave's a Fine and Private Place by Alan Bradley, read by Jayne Entwistle The Last Camel Died at Noon by Elizabeth Peters Currently Reading: Eleven on Top by Janet Evanovich Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan, read by Kieran Culkin Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen Hiking Oregon's History: The Stories behind Historic Places You Can Walk to See by Michael L. Sullivan--I had to return this book before finishing it but I placed a hold on it so that I can continue it when it's available again. Up Next: I'm really not much of a planner. I'll probably inhale Eleven on Top (as I always do with Stephanie Plum…
Welcome to my weekly update for July 5! I hope you're having a wonderful 4th of July weekend! I hope our neighbors to the north had a great Canada Day! It's very weird to me that our celebrations have been curtailed so much. I'm not complaining or disagreeing, but I certainly never expected to experience a global pandemic. As I write this on Friday, my husband and I are excited to watch Hamilton on Disney Plus tonight. I've heard so many good things about it but I've never had much interest in any of the touring productions that have passed through. I love Broadway shows but I have a hard time understanding the lyrics of the snippets of the songs I've heard. They sing so fast! This is our chance to finally see what we've been missing out on! Update, Saturday morning: We really enjoyed Hamilton! My husband had to turn on subtitles for me about five minutes in, but wow! What a show! Now that I know what's going on, I would love to see it live! Posted: The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan--3 Stars How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell-- Did Not Finish Read: In addition to finishing giving up on How to Do Nothing, I read: The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley, read by Thérèse Plummer and Michael Crouch Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor Currently Reading: The Last Camel Died at Noon by Elizabeth Peters The Grave's a Fine and Private Place by Alan Bradley, read by Jayne Entwistle Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by James W. Loewen Hiking Oregon's History: The Stories behind Historic Places You Can Walk to See by Michael L. Sullivan--I had to…
Kathryn at Book Date hosts It's Monday! What Are You Reading? Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer hosts Sunday Post. Hi there! I'm sure I'm a new "face" to a lot of you but I've been around for a while! I blogged at The Introverted Reader from 2009 - 2016 but life got busy and I lost that domain. Life has changed again and I found myself missing my book blog, so I'm reacquainting myself with the community! You can read more about where I've been and what's going on now in my post, Back to Blogging! Posted: In addition to my Back to Blogging! post, I reviewed: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins--2 Stars The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin--3.5 Stars Read: One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey Currently Reading: The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides Magonia by Maria Dahvana Headley, read by Thérèse Plummer and Michael Crouch How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell--I'm going to Did Not Finish this one. I've had it for about six weeks altogether and I'm maybe 50 pages in. This author and I just don't think in the same ways so I find her writing almost impossible to wade through. My attention span since COVID-19 has been almost nonexistent anyway (ironically enough), so it's probably just me. Hiking Oregon's History: The Stories behind Historic Places You Can Walk to See by Michael L. Sullivan--A friend recommended these hiking guides to me when she found out my husband and I were going to be in Oregon. I had to return this one before finishing it but I placed a hold on it so that I can continue it when it's available again. Up Next: I'm not sure. I should be finishing…