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Welcome to my weekly update for June 20, 2021!
Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there, especially my own! We were able to celebrate an early Father’s Day with him last weekend. Considering that I hadn’t been home since February 2020 because of covid and my husband hadn’t been home since September 2019 (I flew home in February for a funeral but he had to work), it was a truly special day.
What a busy few weeks! I last posted on May 28 while we were still in Sarasota, FL. I struggled with internet access the whole three months we were there but Verizon finally throttled my data access to the point where I just stopped trying. My apologies for not commenting on your blogs or responding to the very few things I posted here.
We finally finished up my husband’s work assignment in Sarasota and went home to Asheville, NC for a little over a week! Yay! It was so good to see my family and my mountains! We were ridiculously busy, trying to fit in time with everyone and catch up on overdue doctor and dentist appointments. If you want to feel old, schedule all your yearly appointments in one week. Seriously.
Slideshow:
The misty mountain view is from my parents’ back porch, where I grew up in the Blue Ridge mountains of North Carolina. The clearer view is from my grandmother’s front porch, “just up the hill” from my parents. I’ve been a lot of beautiful places but there’s no place like home!
Posted:
Since my last update on May 23, I’ve posted
Beautiful by Stacy McAnulty, illustrated by Joanne Lew-Vriethoff–5 Stars
Ten Quotes about Making a Difference
Read:
I have been reading quite a bit since my last update on May 23. Less blogging = more reading.
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir–4 Stars
Renegades by Marissa Meyer, read by Rebecca Soler and Dan Bittner–4 Stars
Hawaii’s Story by Hawaii’s Queen by Liliuokalani–3.5 Stars
Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda, read by Soneela Nankani–3 Stars
Leonard and Hungry Paul by Rónán Hession–4 Stars
A House at the Bottom of the Lake by Josh Malerman–3 Stars
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz, read by Lin-Manuel Miranda–5 Stars
Opium and Absinthe by Lydia Kang–3 Stars
Black Death at the Golden Gate: The Race to Save America from the Bubonic Plague by David K. Randall–4 Stars
Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton, read by Kyla Garcia and Frankie Maria Corzo–4 Stars
The Prayers of Jane Austen, edited by Terry W. Glaspey–4 Stars
The Price of Paradise by Susana López Rubio, translated by Achy Obejas–3.5 Stars
Currently Reading:
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy
Ladies’ Night by Mary Kay Andrews, read by Kathleen McInerney
Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II by Liza Mundy
Up Next:
I’ve barely started my two e-books but I should finish Ladies’ Night soon. I think I’m still in the mood for a fairly light audiobook. Any recommendations?
What did your week look like?
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?
I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe 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.
51 Comments
It’s been a long time since we’ve visited North Carolina and we hope to make it back out there sometime soon. We have relatives in Durham and they’ve come out to see us in Oregon and Nebraska, but It’s probably been over 20 years since we last visited. It’s such a beautiful part of the country. We also visited Boone (Mast Farm Inn) and Beaufort, which we loved equally. Glad you got all your medical appointments taken care of, too. At least you don’t have to worry about them for another year, right?
I’d forgot all about Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, which I read back in 2015 (had to look it up on my blog). I’ll bet the audio is fantastic. I should try to read it again…
We have one more week of our road trip and we’ll be back home for a while. It will be so nice to get to the coast, which is about 40 degrees cooler than where we’ve been this past week!
Wow! Beautiful area you grew up in. So great you were able to go home and see family and enjoy! What a long time to wait. So happy for you!
Lots of books! Wow! I’m impressed. I feel good if I get 2 or three books in a month. I’ve got Project Hail Mary on hold. Hopefully that comes in this summer. I may not be in the mood in the fall.
Black Death and Prayers of Jane Austen look really good. I’ve been meaning to read Code Girls as well. Looks like you have plenty to keep reading this summer! I hope you enjoy your week!
Oh and I haven’t read Scarlet Pimpernel but I loved the movie with Jane Seymour back in the day. Best ever!
Ooh, I knew there was at least one very old black-and-white version of The Scarlet Pimpernel but I didn’t know there was a version from my lifetime. I’ll have to look for it. Thanks for the heads up!
I liked Project Hail Mary but everyone keeps telling me that they loved the audio. They kind of make me wish I had waited for that version!
Yay, you’re back! I was hoping things were well at your end. Looks like you got a lot of reading done, and some lovely scenic views too. I haven’t read Scarlet Pimpernel, but I’ve seen the movie — and I really liked it!
I didn’t even know there was a fairly modern movie version until you and Heather mentioned it. I’ll have to look for it!
Nice to be able to visit your hometown and your people after so long. Those views are just gorgeous. I have read books set in this area of the USA but you lived there!!
It was so nice to go home!
Now is def. the time to head up to mountains! Your pictures look great! We are traveling to the North Georgia mountains in August. I’m currently listening to Aristotle & Dante- glad to see you found it to be a 5 star book. Have a great week!
North Georgia has some spectacular views too!
I hope you like Aristotle and Dante!
I’m glad to hear that you are finally getting some time at home! And I totally hear you on the busyness of scheduling all the appointments at once!
I didn’t realize how many doctors we see until I scheduled them all at once. And we’re healthy, so these were just wellness visits!
Those are really pretty shots! I also got to see my family for the first time in ages last weekend, where we celebrated belated birthdays and early Father’s Day and just generally getting to see each other again. Luckily I live close enough that we didn’t have to squeeze everything in, though, like you did! I was exhausted enough from just the bit we did.
Happy reading!
Thanks! I’m glad you were able to see your family! We were pretty exhausted by the end of the week. But at least we got to see everyone! And get clean bills of health.
Nice to be home, especially such a beautiful place. Nice assortment of books too. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
It was very nice to finally go home!
I love the slideshow!
Enjoy your books. I see several that intrigue me, like Ladies’ Night, which might be good when I need something light.
Here are my WEEKLY UPDATES
Thanks!
I expected Ladies’ Night to be a light read, since that’s my usual experience with Mary Kay Andrews, but parts of the divorce proceedings are infuriating!
Aww beautiful pics! It’s always good to be home. And the internet access thing sounds incredibly frustrating.
Aristotle & Dante looks fun.
Thanks!
I could have screamed with frustration some days in Florida. If I turned the mifi off and used the (limited) data on my phone, I had a perfect connection. But as soon as I tried using the unlimited data on my mifi, I was lucky to load one page in an hour. Seriously. I had to give up before I gave myself a stroke!
What a beautiful view from your parent’s house. I have never been to that part of the country. Obviously I need to. My Sunday Salon post is mostly about animals.
It’s a beautiful part of the world! Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Shenandoah National Park, and the Blue Ridge Parkway connecting them.
You’re right – there’s no place like home! And what a beautiful place it is… I also enjoyed The Hail Mary Project, which I listened to as an audiobook. Have a great week, Jen – despite all the medical appointments!
Thanks! I bet Project Hail Mary was good on audio.
Oh, it certainly was!
Welcome back! The view from the porches looks beautiful! I’ve never been to North Carolina.
I am sad to see you didn’t enjoy The Secret Daughter; I remember really liking it a ton when I read it years ago. But, Aristotle and Dante is also a fabulous novel (our schools had complaints when they taught it this past year).
I know I’m biased, but North Carolina truly is a beautiful state, with the Appalachians on the west side and the Outer Banks on the east.
The Secret Daughter was okay but Somer, the adoptive mom, drove me a little crazy. I don’t have children and never wanted them so I didn’t relate to her and her decisions very well.
As I listened to Aristotle and Dante, I could only think that it’s a book that needs to be on school shelves but knew that it would be challenged in a lot of places. I’m glad your school decided to teach it anyway.
Wow!!! What a beautiful place to grow up! I miss my mountains back home in L.A. Glad you got to see your dad!
Thanks!
Yay for home. We also scheduled all our med appts in May after being fully vaccinated (which we put off during Covid). Now it’s trying to get the outdoor stuff done before the heat in July and August.
You got some great reads there – enjoy!
Anne – Books of My Heart This is my Sunday Post
The heat and humidity is no joke in Raleigh. I hope you get everything done!
I’m a teacher so I schedule all my doctors appointments in the summer so I know the feeling! The pics are beautiful and I’m glad you got time at home!
Thank you!
Your mountain photos are gorgeous! This is probably a good time to leave Florida, as the weather hasn’t been the best lately. We’ll be on the way up to NY/New England for the summer next weekend. Looks like you’re reading a lot of good books! I really enjoyed Code Girls, and it set me off on a WWII reading binge. Next year in Havana (and the rest of her books, too) has been on my list for a while. My daughter, sister, and mother all loved them!
We Skyped with my in-laws, who are in Naples, fL, on Saturday. They were out on the lanai and looked so flushed and overheated! We’re glad we left when we did.
We spent the summer in Maine in 2019 and loved our time there! It’s the perfect place to be this time of year!
It’s so frustrating when the reason you have been away is that you are having troubles with internet access. We are all very glad to see you again. And how lovely to spend time with family in such a beautiful place. I’ve always wanted to visit North Carolina, especially the Blue Ridge Mountains. Thanks for sharing the photos.
Look at all the books you read. Wow! You’ve read a lot that are on my list, especially Aristotle and Dante. I’m glad to see you liked Leonard and Hungry Paul, too.
I’ll be eager to see what you think about Code Girls. And to see where you go next.
You should visit NC! It truly is a beautiful place.
I saw Leonard and Hungry Paul while I was at the library in Sarasota and picked it up after reading your review. It was a lovely book.
I think you’ll like Aristotle and Dante. You don’t really listen to audiobooks, do you? If I’m wrong and you do, I definitely recommend the audio version.
Glad you got to go home, those views from your parents and grandmother’s houses are so beautiful. My brother and son have both lived in NC and I know how beautiful it is there.
Wow, you sure did read a lot of books! My count is still down 🙁
I hope you have a great week!
When I can’t access the internet, I really do tear through books!
Where did your brother and son live in NC, if you don’t mind me asking?
Welcome back! We’ve missed you!! You’ve read some really great books and I am going to take a closer look. I’m recognizing Next year in Havana, in our Book Club and I’ll hopefully get to it soon.
Will chat again over the next couple of days, sure of that!
Lots of Love,
Elza Reads
I’ve missed you guys too!
I’m glad you were able to reunite with your family after so long! The views from your family home look magical.
Wishing you a great reading week
Thanks!
WOW those mountains! 😍
Right?!?
Sounds like you have been having a very busy time, with all those appointments, books and trips. Great to see you got to spend some well-deserved time at home, seeing family and those wonderful mountains. 😊 My week has mainly been work, work, job interview and anxiety from all that! But I was able to take comfort in my reading and comforting re-watches.
Take care and happy reading in the coming week. 🙂
Good luck with your job interview!
Thank you, Jen 😊
Yay for going home. Yuck about the appointments though! I enjoyed Project Hail Mary on audio.
The appointments weren’t fun but at least we have clean bills of health!