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Welcome to my weekly update for February 11, 2024!
I missed posting the past couple of weeks because we were in south Florida to do some touristy things and then visit my in-laws. We visited Biscayne National Park and went snorkeling our first day. I would not recommend snorkeling in January, even in south Florida. We got pretty cold after 20 minutes or so in the 70° F (21° C) water! It was otherwise a beautiful day though, with the green mangroves, blue sky, clear blue water, and the Miami skyline in the far distance. I didn’t realize the park is practically next door to a nuclear power plant, so that marred the view in that direction.
Slideshow:
All images © Jennifer G. at Introverted Reader 2024
- Boca Chita Key. This isn’t a real, working lighthouse. The island used to belong to a private owner and he built the lighthouse as a decoration.
- Do you see the cormorant resting on the “No wake” sign?
- I just liked the clouds and the spray from our boat and all the shades of blue in this picture.
- A pelican resting on another “No wake” sign.
Posted:
Since my last update, I’ve posted reviews of
Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson–4.5 Stars
The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, written and read by Issa Rae–4 Stars
The Indigo Girl by Natasha Boyd–4 Stars
Read:
Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery, read by Kate Burton (A re-re-re-re-re-re-read, but my first time on audio)–5 Stars
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt–4 Stars
The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate—Discoveries from A Secret World by Peter Wohlleben, translated by Jane Billinghurst–4 Stars
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller–4 Stars
Stiltsville by Susanna Daniel–3 Stars
Currently Reading:
Down Among the Sticks and Bones (Wayward Children #2) by Seanan McGuire
Mirror Lake (Shady Hollow #3) by Juneau Black, read by Cassandra Campbell
The Cold Vanish: Seeking the Missing in North America’s Wildlands by Jon Billman
Up Next:
I checked out The Art of the National Parks by Fifty-Nine Parks and After Dark with Roxie Clark by Brooke Lauren Davis from the library so they’ll be in the lineup soon.
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?
43 Comments
It looks like you had a lovely (even if a bit chilly) time in Florida. You’ve also had some great reads lately.
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
If you liked Song of Achilles and Anne of Green Gable let me recommend the kids book Grace of Wild Things to you.
Lovely pictures of the sea!
You’ve fit in a lot of reading, if not blogging!
Lovely photos! I’ve heard Florida’s been kind of cold this winter. We’ve just had our first snow day in ages today, and it wasn’t nearly as bad as originally forecast, so we had a day off but didn’t have to spend hours digging out to go back to work tomorrow. (I’m actually still recovering from the flu, so my husband did all of the shoveling.)
Florida was chilly while we were there but we seem to always take a cold front with us when we visit!
Lovely photos! I’ve always loved lighthouses.
Thanks! My mom loves lighthouses and I like to visit them when we can.
You have some great books this week! I haven’t read Tress yet, but I’m really excited to pick that one up!
My Sunday Post
It’s so good!
The photos are awesome and sounds like fun. I am so glad to see someone else read the Shady Hollow series. I love it although I still need to read books 3 and 4 and the two single short stories. It is quickly becoming one of my favorite series but then I’m a huge animal lover.
It’s so much fun! I especially love the audio.
Sounds like a nice time in Florida, in NZ water at those degrees would be considered good summer swimming! Enjoy your reading they all look great.
I bet that water would be warm for you! We were shivering when we got out!
Great photos! Thanks for continuing to share your journeys. Hope you had a nice visit.
Still need to read The Song of Achilles. Might try AOGG on audio. Listening to The Knitting Circle by Ann Hood right now.
Hope you have a great week.
https://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/2024/02/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-and_02006449859.html
Great photos. I’ve never read Anne of Green Gables but I do understand re-re-re-reading favorite books. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
You’ve read so very many books, I’m kind of shocked to find out that you haven’t read Anne!
I really liked Anne on audio. The Song of Achilles was really good, so if you liked Circe, I highly recommend it!
I found the Cold Vanish to be a good read though I later learned there’s some controversy surrounding it.
Love the pictures from your latest adventure
Wishing you a great reading week
I just saw the family member’s comment on your Cold Vanish review on GoodReads. Interesting.
I read Circe a while ago but still haven’t read Song of Achilles! One day!
I liked Song of Achilles just as much as Circe.
I love that picture of the spray! And the lighthouse is cool too- now THAT’S a decoration.
I’ve got McGuire’s book (that whole series actually) on my to read list soon…
Can you imagine having the money to build your own lighthouse on your private island?
So many great books in this post! It’s actually been unusually cool here in SWFL, at least since we got here at the beginning of January. I haven’t been in the water at all…
My in-laws thought about visiting the parks with us but decided they would be miserable in the cold water so they stayed home.
Love the pictures. I keep saying I need to Reread Anne of Green Gables…maybe this will be the year. Have a great week!
I enjoyed listening to Anne on audio for the first time. It was an easy way to work in a re-read and new things caught my attention in the new-to-me format.
You’ve had some really great reading this month! I hope you have a fun weekend.
Thank you!
Your reading is lining up with Robin’s reviews. I’m loving my current mix of diverse genres. Nice that you could take a trip and visit family and with nicer weather.
Anne – Books of My Heart This is my Sunday Post
I do like trying to mix my genres up. I get my books confused if I have more than one of the same genre going at the same time.
I read Anne of Green Gables so long ago and watched the series. But it’s been too long since I last read them. I should give them a re-read. Love your pics too. I’ve been wanting to read Wayward Children for awhile now. Seanan McGuire is a fantastic author.
I loved the ’80s Anne of Green Gables mini series. I tried to see if Megan Follows had done an audio version of the book. I did find one on Audible but I don’t have a subscription and it said it was abridged anyway. I generally dislike abridgements so I found a different narrator. I haven’t read many of McGuire’s books but I keep hearing good things.
I hope the trip was awesome, even if it was cold. I feel like I’m the only person who hasn’t read Anne of Green Gables. I somehow missed it as a kid.
I would say you should give it a try now but whenever I read children’s classics for the first time as an adult, I rarely love them as much as everyone who read them as a kid does. If you ever decide to read it, I do hope you like it though.
I’ve actually only listened to Anne of Green Gables on audiobook, but I did enjoy it. I watched the old movies a thousand times growing up and have such nostalgia over them. I ended up getting the DVDs, but I no longer have a DVD player. Hope you have a great week!
Sandy @ Somewhere Only We Know
I loved the ’80s movie/mini series so much! I never owned it though. I should see if I can stream it somewhere.
I have been wanting to try a Brandon Sanderson book. I’ve seen a lot of positive reviews about Tress of the Emerald Sea, so I may try that one.
I’ve read Anne of Green Gables several times, but I’ve never listened to it on audio. I should do that!
Beautiful park!
Anne was so much fun on audio!
I still need to read The Song of Achilles. I really liked Circe! Sorry you didn’t enjoy Stiltsville as much as I did. I read it back in 2010 and gave it 4.75/5!
The Song of Achilles was so good! I liked it just as much as Circe. Stiltsville was a little outside my normal reading choices but it was fun to read about so many places that I’ve been or that my husband has talked about.
I need to read something by Brandon Sanderson. Where should I start? Beautiful pictures!
I really liked his Mistborn series.
This is the only book I’ve read by Sanderson so far. My husband liked Mistborn a lot.