Monday, July 20, 2015

7/20/15: It's Monday, What Are You Reading?


Good morning and happy Monday! After another busy week, the final push is on for our library book sale which begins Friday... and my back is already complaining. Saturday afternoon, in an effort to relax those aching muscles, I floated around on a pool lounge and read for a couple of hours - a paperback, of course. The above photo was my view from the float.

My other project last week, influenced by The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up  by Marie Kondo, was cleaning out my closet. Many bags of clothing were discarded and I actually like my closet again. On the top shelf, way in the back, I found a box which was never unpacked when we moved in 25 years ago. It contained my journals from senior year of high school, college, my first job, and ended when I got engaged. That made for quite a trip down memory lane! I'll have a review of the book this week.

The journals made up the bulk of my reading last week, but I also finished//

The Lost Daughter  by Elena Ferrante


Current listening//

Framley Parsonage by Anthony Trollope, narrated by Simon Vance
This started as a read/listen combination, but was mostly listening this week. 


Current reading//

Hardcover from the library... I'll also need to choose a paperback for pool reading.


On the blog//

Weekend Cooking: A Skinnytaste Kind of Week
Review: Bonjour Tristesse by Françoise Sagan
Tuesday Intro: The Lost Daughter  by Elena Ferrante


The week ahead//

Will be crazy... Our library book sale begins Friday, my birthday is Wednesday, and Sunday we're off on our Great Western Adventure. I plan to have a few posts ready this week, then a short break until early August.

How was your week? What are you reading today?

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. While she is taking a break, check the hashtag #IMWAYR on twitter.


45 comments:

  1. Closet cleaning, hooray! I've read the book and I loved all the ideas and now I just have to make time to actually USE the ideas ;) So, good for you for actually doing the work!

    I hope you have a successful library sale and happy early birthday!

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    1. Jennifer - My hope is that I don't stall in my "tidying" just because my own closet is done... on to the hub's next!

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  2. I liked Comma Queen quite a bit...hope you do, too. I'm working on Watchman...so far, so good.

    You are definitely going to have a busy week!

    readerbuzz.blogspot.com

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    1. Deb Nance - I finally picked up Comma Queen because my daughter loved it so much. Just get started...

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  3. I can only imagine the feelings those old journals stirred. I never kept a journal when I young with any consistency, and the ones I did keep I eventually destroyed -- for good reasons :)

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    1. Diane - Mine are about to be destroyed, too! ;-)

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  4. Good luck with the sale! It feels great to clear out stuff, doesn't it?

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    1. Beth F - Purging all the clothes I never wear was so liberating!

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  5. Oh, I bet finding those old journals was so much fun!!

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    1. Kathy - It was like reliving my senior year in high school! I journaled much less frequently in college.

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  6. I never kept journals. If I could go back to my younger days I would. It must be so interesting and in way enlightening to go back and look at the musings of one's younger self.

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    1. Brian Joseph - I kept thinking how naive I was back then. It's almost embarrassing!

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  7. Today I'm reading Tales from Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin. A bit of fun between more serious reading.

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    1. James - That sounds like a nice break from Ferrante! She's something, isn't she?

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  8. I like Trollope but I read him just once a year as the books are so large!

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    1. Mystica - They are, but I am loving them!

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  9. Good for you for cleaning out your closet! I desperately need to do that, but always end up reading with my free time instead...

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    1. Sarah - I know! There are always so many excuses to save the closet cleaning for another day, but The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up was inspiring.

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  10. I love old journals. Will you keep them for your children to read someday.... ?

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    1. Debbie - I think these journals might be better off destroyed ;-)

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  11. My comment disappeared! Happy early birthday, are you finding some presents for yourself in the library sales stacks? I would have to have a non library book for floating in the pool, because of the chances that I would drop it in the pool.

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    1. Lisa - Thank you! There will be no library books in the pool here... that's what old paperbacks are for ;-)

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  12. Hope all goes well with the Library book sale. Confessions of a Comma Queen looks like fun reading!

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    1. Monica - I'm keeping my fingers crossed for good weather for the book sale... that brings out so many more people!

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  13. Hey! the cover IS yellow! Have fun at the sale.

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    1. Care - Funny how it looked so green in that photo...

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  14. I look forward to hear what you think of the Mary Norris book. I'm interested in that one. Happy Birthday early! And good luck with the book sale. I can imagine that would hurt the back.

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    1. Thecuecard - I picked up Comma Queen on the recommendation if my daughter and it's off to a good start. Our book sale is one of the larger ones in the area and even though we have high school volunteers to do most of the heavy lifting, it's still tough on my back. Lots of motrin this week ;-)

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  15. You are having a busy time - cleaning out, sorting your stuff and library stuff - floating around sounds lovely. And how fun to find those journals. I never had a diary or a journal or anything. Other than my book lists (and they are just lists - no thoughts), I could never keep those kinds of things going. Probably just as well. Hope you guys have a good time on your trip. Take care of yourself, JoAnn!! And good luck with your library sale.

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    1. Kay - Floating in the pool was perfect therapy for my achy back. I don't usually let myself lay around like that during the day, but I wasn't fit for much else after Saturday morning's sale prep.

      Last week was so full of nostalgia. After reliving high school with those journals, I went to a reunion for the class ahead of me Saturday night. That was a trip, lol! Hope you have a good week.

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  16. Happy early birthday and safe travels! The Lost Daughter really appeals to me but the cover still creeps me out a bit. I missed our library sale last month. :( I had plans to go and can't even remember what happened to keep me from splurging (aside from $, of course). ;)

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    1. Kathy - Thanks... and I definitely understand why people might not like that cover! Looking forward to the library sale :)

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  17. What an amazing find! I'm hoping when I read Magic Art of Tidying that I'm motivated too. I'm waiting until school starts back though because no cleaning or organizing is getting done until then and I hate to waste the motivation. Between You and Me is on my TBR. It looks great. Have a fantastic week and happy birthday!

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    1. Katherine - Ha! I can understand why you might want to wait until school starts to begin the big "tidy". Thanks for the birthday wishes :)

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  18. Over the weekend I flew through The Children Act by Ian McEwan. An extremely intelligent writer who tops my list of the best, and I think I've read most of his books. TCA maybe a bit dark for a lot of readers, but it is very deep and provides a lot of food for thought. Tomorrow I pick up from the library A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson. From the reviews I've read, I find myself now trying to remember the details of Life After Life as the reviews say A God is a "follow up." Some books have details that stay with me forever, but others not so much. Nothing like reading a great novel, but amazing what tidbits actually lodge in the recesses of my brain to be recalled later.

    A Leo on the cusp, huh? Well, I hope you have a birthday celebration fit for a Queen!

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    1. JudyMac - I love McEwan's writing! My favorites have been On Chesil Beach and Atonement, and I have at least three others on my shelf. Haven't read Kate Atkinson since Behind the Scenes at the Museum. It's probably time to give her another try.

      Thanks for the birthday wishes. My husband is taking me out to my favorite restaurant... I'm actually a Cancer on the cusp. Leo starts the 23rd :)

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  19. I wish I'd read the Tidying Up before we had to move!!
    Tidying up and decluttering under the stress of packing is not always a good thing - some things get tossed that shouldn't and when the time gets rushed, things just get thrown into boxes to be dealt with at the other end....excpet at the other end, you just want to get unpacked and settled so stuff once, again gets pushed into the back of the cupboard...until next time :-/

    How wonderful to find your old journals though!

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    1. Brona - Tidying Up would have been ideal BEFORE the move, lol! My review will be up Thursday or Friday.

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  20. I am so envious you have your past journals. I'm afraid mine were lost or discard after my mother passed.

    I hope your book sale goes well. I will miss our library book sale this summer as I am helping my daughter pack for a move.

    And, have a great holiday and adventure! Bonnie

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    1. Bonnie - Reading those journals was such a nice experience, but it's probably time to destroy them now ;-)

      So far the weather forecast looks good for the book sale, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

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  21. Great view...so jealous. Have a good week.

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  22. Happy birthday. I am reading The Small House at Allington, right after completing Framley Parsonage. I love this series.

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    1. Terra - I finished Framley Parsonage last night and am loving this series, too! Just downloaded The Small House at Allington this morning, but will probably wait until September to get started :)

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  23. I just finished listening to Kondo's book (after skimming a few chapters here and there on my breaks at work) and while she is a little out there with regard to thanking inanimate objects for a job well-done, I have to admit the book is very inspiring. I've already gone through all my clothes and this past month I tackled my books. As you can imagine, this was quite daunting. How in the world do I part with unread books? How do I decide which favorites to keep or toss? Going through them one-by-one, touching every single book, makes a huge difference. I lost track of how many boxes of books I took to HalfPrice Books, but it was in the hundreds. I made a whopping $178 and have four large grocery bags of ARCs (can't be sold) to pass on to a friend. Now all I have on my shelves are my absolute favorite books and the books I really, really want to read. Purging one's belongings is quite addictive and I'm actually tempted to give the closets and bookshelves another round overhaul! Maybe later this winter when the weeds and yard work aren't calling for attention. ;)

    Happy belated birthday!! Hope your back is feeling better by now.

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