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Welcome to my weekly update for December 1, 2024!
I hope that all of you who celebrate had a happy Thanksgiving!
Since my last update on September 15, my husband and I wrapped up his work assignment in Schenectady, NY; went on vacation to the Azores (Islands practically in the middle of the Atlantic that are part of Portugal); took two weeks to travel across the US, making stops in a few new-to-us states and national parks along the way; and have settled in nicely at his new work assignment near Phoenix, Arizona. It’s been a whirlwind!
But the biggest thing that happened was Hurricane Helene on September 27. I’m from Asheville, NC and our permanent home is still there. My husband and I travel almost full-time with his job, so we weren’t home, but Asheville and the surrounding area really took a wallop when Hurricane Helene roared almost 500 miles (805 km) inland to cause unimaginable flooding, landslides, and wind damage. Fortunately, my family, close friends, and our property were mostly fine. But there are 103 verified fatalities in Western North Carolina so far. And so very many have lost everything, right down to the land they owned as it washed downstream. It took 53 days just for the city to get drinking water back. It’s going to take years to rebuild from this.
If you’re able, I hope you’ll consider donating to the ongoing relief efforts. Our local NPR affiliate maintains a list of relief organizations accepting donations. There are civic groups, religious groups, government groups, well-known organizations, and even some Friends of the Library on the list, so I hope you’ll find a group to suit you.
Asheville and the surrounding areas also have a thriving small business community. This disaster happened just as they were gearing up for their busiest time of year–autumn leaf peeping season in the mountains and the holidays. Our local visitor’s bureau has compiled a list of small businesses whom you can support by purchasing gifts and goods online. We’re well-known for our food, drink, and arts, but there are all kinds of goods available for purchase, including books. I hope you’ll consider making a purchase to support some of our small businesses as they try to recover. Find the list at Love Asheville from Afar.
I’ve added links to the relief organization list and small business site to my sidebar for easy reference if you need to find them later. Even if you’re unable to financially help, please keep us in your thoughts and/or prayers. Words can’t describe the devastation.
Thank you for your time if you’ve made it this far! Now onto the books!
Posted:
Ten Characters Who Redeemed Themselves
Read:
I’ve read 18 books since my last post on September 15. I’ll name a few standouts, in alphabetical order:
The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig
Bookshops & Bonedust (Legends & Lattes #0) by Travis Baldree
The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century by Kirk W. Johnson
Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan
I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger
You Like It Darker: Stories by Stephen King
Currently Reading:
Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
The Hush (Johhny Merrimon #2) by John Hart, read by Jeremy Bobb
I Think You’re Wrong (But I’m Listening): A Guide to Grace-Filled Political Conversations by Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers
Up Next:
I’m not sure what I’ll read next but I have the sign-up posts for my annual Southern Literature and Books in Translation Reading Challenges scheduled to publish this week on Wednesday and Friday, respectively. You can read one book (or more) and complete these challenges so I hope you’ll keep an eye out and join me!
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?
32 Comments
Thanks for the lists for Asheville. We visit there a lot and were heartbroken over the destruction. I ended up subscribing to the Citizen Times after Helene so I could keep on top of the news.
Jill
https://www.allthebooksihaventread.com/
It’s so bad. I was able to fly home for a week in November and the places where I grew up were unrecognizable. But I could see daily progress as I went about my visits so everyone is slowly bouncing back!
I just had dinner last night with friends who live near Ashville and, of course, we talked about the hurricane. So devastating.
I hope you have a good time in Phoenix! It’s so great that you get to see so much of this country.
We’re very fortunate to travel so much!
Wow you have been busy! And I’m so sorry to hear about the devastation in NC. Thank you for the relief links.
I wanted to read devolution. And I love seeing the old Narnia covers.
I always think of those Narnia covers. They’re how I was introduced to the series as a kid so they hold a lot of sentiment for me. Thank you for reading my long post about the hurricane. It’s just so bad.
I was aware of what was going on in Asheville with the hurricane as my fave author Emilie Richards lives there. They were up high so just lost power and water. Yes these events are horrible, especially those who lose every thing. You sure had some big travel, sounds wonderful. What a great job your hubby does.
Most of my family just lost power and water too. It took about 2 weeks to get that back. Luckily, it wasn’t too hot or cold so their biggest complaint was being unable to take a real shower and how early it gets dark without electricity. Most of my family has well water so once the power came back on, they had water. My sister is on city water though so she was one of those who didn’t have drinking water for 53 days. I can’t remember how long it was before the city had any water at all, even just for bathing and toilets. Maybe 3 or 4 weeks? Clean up and rebuilding is still a huge undertaking though.
Whilst we heard about the hurricane at the time, I had no idea it took so long to get the basics like drinking water up and going..
I will be joining in the Books in Translation challenge.
Our news cycles are always moving on to the next big thing so it’s easy to lose track of disasters in other parts of the world. My Books in Translation post will be up tomorrow (Friday).
Glad to see you back to posting. Sounds like you had a busy time.
So horrible how that hurricane destroyed so much. Our Realtor boards–local and national–contribute to the relief efforts. Praying for all those affected. Such a tragic loss of life, property, and livelihoods.
Hope you enjoy your upcoming books.
https://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/2024/12/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-dec-2.html
Thank you to you and other Realtors who contribute to the relief efforts. There is so much need, even 2+ months later.
The hurricane was really a horror show, and did damage to other places as well. So much more danger as climate change threatens so much of our world!
Have a good holiday season on your incredible travels… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
I read an article about how Asheville was supposed to be a “climate haven” but this disaster has obviously made a mockery of that idea.
Yes, good to hear you survived the hurricane ok, though it brought such havoc. My niece was there in the midst. I’m a year round volunteer with Samaritan’s Purse, who are bringing aid to the area.
Thank you for volunteering!
I’m happy to see you posting. You have been busy over the last few months. I’m very sorry to hear about the destruction the hurricane brought to your area. I’ve been through six hurricanes now, so I’ve seen first hand what terrible destruction they can bring.
I need to take a look at your review of the Leif Enger book. I think I need to take another look at I Think You’re Wrong But I’m Listening. I hope to focus on being a good listener next year.
Oops. Not a link to your review of Leif Enger…
I somehow never seem to have time to write reviews. :-/
I rated the new Leif Enger 4 stars but my husband gave it a very enthusiastic 5 stars. He thinks it’s Enger’s best since Peace Like a River. He might be right. I just can’t remember much about So Brave, Young, and Handsome except that I rated it 5 stars.
I’m glad you escaped the worst of the hurricane, I’m so sorry for the devastation wreaked across the area.
I hope you settle nicely into Arizona
Wishing you a happy reading week
Thanks for the well wishes!
Thankful you were safe. You’ve done so much fun traveling, although I suppose some traveling for work isn’t always fun.
Anne – Books of My Heart This is my Sunday Post
There are some trade-offs with all the travel but we obviously have a good time doing it since we keep going.
Song of Achilles and Devolution were great! I love the variety of books that you’ve read! I’m glad to hear you were safe from the storm.
https://getlostinlit.blogspot.com/2024/12/the-sunday-post.html
Those were good ones!
Thanks for the Love Asheville from Afar link, that’s a really wonderful idea.
Food looks like a book I’d enjoy. I enjoy food memoirs.
If you like food memoirs, you should like Food. I could practically hear Jim Gaffigan performing it even though I read it in print. It’s completely his brand of humor. Thanks for checking out the Love Asheville from Afar link!
It’s good that you and yours came out safe, but it was pretty horrific. 🙁 Just… yikes. I hope the area gets lots of support to recover.
I Think You’re Wrong (But I’m Listening) sounds like a very worthwhile read at the moment. 👀
My weekly update post!
I Think You’re Wrong (But I’m Listening) has been on my TBR for a few years but this felt like a good time to read it. I don’t know that I’ll start any political conversations myself but hopefully I’ll have some tools to fall back on if other people start them with me now.
Good to see your post! I’m going to take a look at the link to Love Ashville from Afar. Might be able to do a lot of Christmas shopping from it!
I’m eager to read Leif Enger and King’s new books. I’ve heard great things about Enger’s.
Hope all is going well for you guys in Arizona. We’re winterizing the RV, which is always a little sad. We won’t get back to using it until late March/early April. Wah!!
It’s so hard to store the RV! Luckily, we’ve only had to store this one a couple of times.
I rated the new Enger book 4 stars but my husband gave it a very enthusiastic 5 stars. I rated the King collection 4 stars as well. It was a little different from his other collections. I told my aunt (a King fan) that it seems to me that King is feeling his age. The stories felt a little more poignant and the main characters tended to be older. I don’t mean that as a criticism; it’s just an observation.
Thanks for taking a look at the Love Asheville from Afar link!