Sanibel Sunday: October 10, 2021

Hello from sunny Florida! We are finally unpacked and organized, and we have a schedule for finishing the downstairs renovation. That's definitely progress. We made time to watch a couple of gorgeous sunsets on the beach, and enjoyed a meal on the patio of a favorite restaurant.

I also managed to finish two books. Both were short, but they provided some much-needed reading momentum. Overall, a good week.

Recent Reading//

Parnassus On Wheels by Christopher Morley

narrated by Nadia May

This old-fashioned, feel-good story will be appreciated by book lovers everywhere! Written in 1917, the publisher's brief summary says it all: 

Parnassus on Wheels is the story of a marvelous man, small in stature, wiry as a cat, yet Olympic in personality. Roger Mifflin is part pixie, part sage, part noble savage, and all God's creature. With his traveling book wagon, named Parnassus, he moves through the New England countryside of 1915 on an itinerant mission of enlightenment. Mifflin's delight in books and authors (if not publishers) is infectious. With his singular philosophy and bright eyes, he comes to represent the heart and soul of the book world.

A roaring good adventure yarn spiced with fiery roadside brawls, ...heroic escapes from death, and a rare love story, Roger Mifflin's story shows how bookselling can be one of the world's highest callings: dispelling ignorance while causing constant delight.

The audio is only 3 1/2 hours and is included free with an audible plus membership. I found it to be a truly delightful listen and was pleased to learn it is part of a two-book series. The Haunted Bookshop is now on my list.

An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed by Helene Tursten

The second book in the" Elderly Lady" series was released last week and it was so good to catch up with Maud, the 88-year-old serial killer! Again, the book is small-scale hardback consisting of several short stories. It opens with Maud embarking on a grand trip. The first few stories are memories, or Maud's musings, while the last two are longer and occur in the present. I loved reading about how Maud chooses to structure her golden years, but think you really need to read the first book, An Elderly Lady is Up To No Good, to fully appreciate this one. I'm hoping for a third book soon.

Current Reading//

Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen

The library came through! I was able to borrow this book the day it released and yesterday the audio version arrived via Overdrive. This is classic Franzen... the writing is just so good, the characters are the real thing. They are people from our hometowns; we probably knew them in high school. I can't wait to read more. And the audio version narrated by David Pittu is a pleasure to listen to on my morning walks, too. 

A Question//   

Have you seen anything about Nonfiction November? Is it happening this year? I haven't been around much lately and may have missed the announcement. I love that event!

Sunday Evening Update: Deb from Readerbuzz  sent a message to one of the hosts of Nonfiction November, Rennie of What's Nonfiction, asking about this year's event. Here is her reply:

Thanks for reaching out!

We’re a little late in getting an announcement out this year because some new hosts were being brought on board and took a bit more planning. But it’s happening :) and good timing - check back at my blog for the announcement tomorrow. Happy to hear people are already looking forward to it!

In the kitchen// 

It's great to be back in my own kitchen again! I  haven't been able to do this section of my weekly post for a while and it feels like I accumulated a lot  of new recipes over the summer. Now the trick is to try them all! 

First up was this Maple Brown Sugar Baked Oatmeal from Greens & Chocolate. It's much lower in sugar than another recipe I tried and tastes so good... try it topped with raspberries and a splash of skim milk. 

It's still pasta salad season in Florida and this Pesto Pasta Caprese is filled with flavors I love. I couldn't find the recipe online, so here is a photo of it instead. 

For main dishes, these two seafood recipes turned out really well. The Grilled Swordfish with a delicious lemon and herb marinade (from Katie Workman) was spiced up with a dash of Worcestershire sauce. We also enjoyed Skinnytaste's Asian Farro Medley with Salmon, but the next time I will dial back the sambal chili paste. This was the first time I''ve used sambal oelek and probably should have tried some first... very spicy! 

The week ahead// 

My BIL and his family have flown in for the week and are staying at the condo. They'll be spending some time with my FIL, but I'm sure we'll see plenty of them, too. Work will hopefully resume on our downstairs renovation. There isn't much more to do, but we will need that space for the holidays. And, of course, I'll continue to work my way through Crossroads...it's long, but so good!

That's it for my week. How was yours? What are you reading?

The Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz.

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date.