I have an affiliate relationship with Bookshop.org and Malaprop's Bookstore in beautiful Asheville, NC. I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you if you purchase merchandise through links on my site. Read more on my affiliate page.
Welcome to my weekly update for April 25, 2021!
I got my second vaccine on Friday! I was scheduled to get it at CVS on Thursday but CVS cancelled that appointment at the last minute. A brief scramble led me to Walgreens and they took care of me. As I write this about 24 hours later, I’m tired with a faint headache but otherwise, so far so good! What a huge relief to be fully vaccinated!
I haven’t felt much like reading or blogging this week for some reason. I worked on some organizational blog stuff in the background and I looked on the Overdrive library app for books on my GoodReads TBR instead. I did listen to a few audiobooks though.
I took this picture of a pelican on Longboat Key when my in-laws came up for lunch on Monday.
Posted:
Read:
Night Train to Lisbon by Pascal Mercier, translated by Barbara Harshav–3 Stars. I think this was a case of the wrong book at the wrong time. It’s beautifully written and thought-provoking but that wasn’t necessarily what I was in the mood for right now.
Boston Jacky: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, Taking Care of Business (Bloody Jack, #11) by L. A. Meyer, read by Katherine Kellgren–2 Stars. I love the Bloody Jack series, largely because of Katherine Kellgren’s unmatched narration, but this one actually angered me at the end. I think the author made a huge misstep. If there were more than one book left in the series, I would stop right here. That’s how upset I am. But since I’ve come this far, I might as well push through to the end.
Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers, read by Nadia May–2.5 Stars–The mystery was decent enough although I felt that Sayers was trying to show Sir Arthur Conan Doyle how to write a realistic mystery because she mentioned Sherlock so often (This was published in 1923). There was some–I don’t know how to say this–casual anti-Semitism, if such a thing can be casual? No heat behind the derogatory statements, “Just stating the facts, ma’am”–that detracted from the story. And I’m not sure why the publisher chose a female narrator to read a book that centers almost exclusively on male characters. It was an odd choice, even though I would absolutely listen to anything else she narrates.
Currently Reading:
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata, translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori
The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sundaresan, read by Sneha Mathan
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Reading Challenge Update:
I’m including this in an effort to hold myself accountable. I’ll try to remember to update at the end of each month. Challenge title links go to my personal progress page and host links go to the relevant sign-up page.
- Books in Translation Reading Challenge (hosted here at Introverted Reader) Progress: 3/4
- Southern Literature Reading Challenge (hosted here at Introverted Reader) Progress: 4/7
- New (To You) Narrator Reading Challenge (hosted here at Introverted Reader) Progress: 8/6
- Uncorked Reading Challenge (hosted at The Uncorked Librarian) Progress: 4/12
- Nonfiction Reader Challenge (hosted at Book’d Out) Progress: 7/12
- Diversity Reading Challenge (hosted at Celebrity Readers) General Progress: 14/25; Monthly Progress: 3/12
- Audiobook Reading Challenge (hosted at Caffeinated Reviewer and That’s What I’m Talking About) Progress: 15/20
- Book Voyage: Read Around the World Challenge (hosted at The Book Girls’ Guide) Progress: 3/12
Up Next:
We’ll see where my mood takes me this week. I may need to read some YA fantasy to drag myself out of this slump.
What did your week look like?
Hosts
Deb Nance at Readerbuzz hosts The Sunday Salon and Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer hosts Sunday Post. Kathryn at Book Date hosts It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?
41 Comments
That pelican! We see a lot of brown pelicans, but only as they glide across the breakers and never on land. You got a nice shot!
Speaking of shots, congrats on your 2nd shot. Glad you didn’t have flu-like symptoms afterward.
We’re enjoying a week of camping on the coast in Nehalem Bay SP. There aren’t a lot of people here, which makes for a peaceful stay. It’s so nice to get back out in the RV!
Have a good week. Hope you break your reading slump!
Convaxulations! I look forward to my second dose in a week.
Thanks for all these recommendations. And I peeked at your currently reading and now have ordered Year of Wonder for myself. I like the Lord Peter books, but the later ones are better, when they become more about the characters than just the mysteries. Sadly, Sayers does just drop casual anti-semitism without noticing it, though.
For a week when you didn’t read you did pretty well!
Yay! Glad you got your second dose! My husband got his last week and I should be getting mine in May. I felt crappy after the first one, so I hope the second doesn’t hit me too hard. Happy reading!
I’ve wanted to start the Peter Wimsey series since a long, long time. I have watched the show (which is rather old and I think is on Youtube still), but not yet read any of the books. I’ve heard Wimsey improves through the series, as does the plot.
I do love your photography; its always fun to see what new creature was spotted! 🙂 And thanks for bringing up some rather interesting books: Boston Jacky and Braiding Sweetgrass.
~Lex
I’ve liked the Lord Peter Wimsey books I’ve listened to, but the racism found in books from previous decades upsets me also. I saw you had Louise Rennison’s book Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging in your Top Ten Tuesday post. If you haven’t read it yet, it is hilarious, both in print and on audio, and may break you out of your slump!
You’ve already hit 3 of 4 translated books? Nicely done! Im really interested in Braiding Sweetgrass, I’ll be curious to see what you think of it when you finish.
Lord Peter Wimsey showed up as a walk-on character in A Letter of Mary by Laurie R. King which I just listened to yesterday. It made me want to reread those mysteries despite the not-so-casual racism. I have been gathering them on my Kindle. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
I hope you enjoy your re-read!
Convenience Store Woman looks intriguing…and congrats on being fully vaccinated. Enjoy your books and your week, and here are my WEEKLY UPDATES
It’s a good feeling to be vaccinated!
So glad you were able to get that second dose! Today is my two week time’s up after my second shot. 🙂
I loved The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. 🙂
Woohoo! I’m counting down to my two weeks now too. Calpurnia is such an amazing character, isn’t she?
You are doing really well with your challenges, congratulations!
Wishing you a great reading week
Thank you!
Fancy having to chase around for you second vaccine. Good you got it. Once you get through that and the side effects, hopefully reading will be on again.
I had an appointment scheduled on Wednesday at the same place I got my first vaccine, two hours away. But since the entire state has opened up to my age group since then, I made an appointment close to home for Thursday and cancelled the other one. Needless to say, I was really upset when the one nearby cancelled my appointment at the last minute with no explanation. Oh well. It all worked out in the end.
I got my 2nd shot this week as well. It sounds like you had a better time of it than I did. I didn’t have horrible side effects, but I could definitely feel it!
Have a good week!
I got more tired and headache-y after I wrote this post but considering that my sister had to spend the day in bed after her second dose, I can’t complain. Congratulations on your second shot!
Convenience Store Woman is on my Want to Read list. Eager to hear your thoughts on this one! Love that pelican photo…how I wish we lived by the water…sigh…..
My husband and I always miss the water when we’re in the mountains and miss the mountains when we’re at the beach. I guess that’s why we love places that have both so much!
Love your pelican picture!
Night Train to Lisbon is one of my favorite books so I’m sorry it wasn’t the right time for you to read it.
I was disappointed. It truly is beautifully written. I started off strong but then my focus for just about everything, including reading, disappeared. It may be one to revisit in the future.
Great job on the challenges. Glad you got the second shot. A low-key weekend isn’t a bad thing. Enjoy.
I got really tired after posting so a low-key weekend was just what I needed.
Yay for vaccination! I got my free Krispy Kreme donut this morning. Usually there is too much traffic near my Krispy Kreme shop but I did an early morning grocery pick-up and there was no traffic AND the hot donut sign was. I took it as a sign to stop. Check out what I read this month.
Oh my goodness, I forgot about the free Krispy Kremes! The hot doughnut sign was definitely a signal for you to stop. When my husband and I were dating, he lived near a Krispy Kreme. When that sign was on, we would go screeching across 4 lanes of traffic to get a hot doughnut!
Sorry to hear that CVS’s cancellation left you scrambling for your second dose… glad Walgreens came through and your side effects are too bad so far. I loved Convenience Store Woman! The audio added to my overall enjoyment. Hope you find just the right book to pull out of the slump!
I finished Convenience Store Woman shortly after posting. I was surprised by how much I liked it!
Night Train to Lisbon by Pascal Mercier sounds like a very interesting book. I hadn’t heard of the book or the more recent film of it. It’s now on my wish list.
be safe… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
If you like beautiful writing and books that make you think, you’ll love Night Train to Lisbon.
The worst feeling a reader can have is during a slump. Nothing hits me right, and reading itself feels like a chore. Let’s hope you find a good book to knock you out of that slump soon.
One that might do the trick, if you are in the mood for nonfiction, is Braiding Sweetgrass. I haven’t read it, but I got a copy for Christmas and it is taking all my willpower to hold off on reading it until next year when my naturalist club reading group will be taking it on.
It’s such a great feeling to know you have had the vaccine. I love having the option (even if I still rarely do so) of going into stores.
Have a good week, Jen.
I’m reading Braiding Sweetgrass right now! 😀 It’s beautiful. You’re going to love it.
Hi Jen! Glad the vaccine is now all behind you and that you will have some great energy levels for the new week.
I’m just going to come and say it – I’m not a huge fan of Dorothy Sayers. I’ve read a few of her books and my aunt used to love her books, but I could just never get into it. I don’t like her writing style. So sorry.
Hope you will have a good week with some good books. Take care!
Elza Reads
There’s need to apologize to me for disliking Dorothy Sayers. I didn’t care much for Whose Body? and was debating whether to give her another chance. I think your comment has helped me decide that it’s better to just move on to books that better suit my taste. Even if I did like it, I understand we don’t all have the same tastes.
You have some great book challenges going, I only signed up for two this year. Nonfiction & a historical fiction challenge.
Love the pelican photo! We are north of you outside Tallahassee so no pelicans for us. I think I’d like living down there when it’s cold here, lol.
Congrats on the vaccine, we were tired the next day but that’s all.
It’s starting to get hot here so I may be ready to visit Tallahassee soon!
Congrats on the vaccine! That must be a great feeling. 🙂 We still have one to go.
I love that picture, I always enjoyed seeing them on the docks in Florida. I miss Florida… 🙂
Hope you’re having a nice weekend!
Florida does have some beautiful beaches and wildlife!
You’re doing really well on your reading challenges. And, you’re brave to host so many yourself.
Thanks! The challenges I host aren’t terribly active so they don’t take much effort on my part. But they’re challenges I set for myself so I decided I should invite others to join in.