Hello, friends and happy Sunday from NYC! We've been here for a couple of weeks and have settled into a comfortable city routine. Baby Aaron is thriving, his parents are adjusting to their new lives, and we help out most days. I've also enjoyed exploring the neighborhood, spending some free time on our rooftop, and discovering new restaurants. This is the view from our apartment looking west to the Hudson River.
I've finished a couple of books and am still keeping up with the War and Peace reading schedule. This afternoon I'll walk to the massive Upper West Side Barnes and Noble... as soon as the rain lets up!
Recent reading//
On the surface Troika is the story of a three-day road trip along the California coast, but it's actually much more. Irena Smith uses that trip with her mother and daughter as a vehicle (😉) to tell a larger story. She delves into her family history in Soviet Russia, their immigration to the US in the 1970s, plus her own life story. Along the way, she weaves in parallels with The Odyssey and discusses The White Lotus television series. I have not watched the show, but imagine these references contain spoilers. The memoir is well-written, creatively constructed, and I enjoyed listening to the author narrate her own story.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Finding Grace by Loretta Rothschild
I'd decided to skip this debut novel when it was published last year for two reasons. I don't like the cover - shallow, I know - and I wasn't up for a domestic page-turner centered around a tragedy and reproductive technology. Then MMD book club announced its October selection.
Since it was immediately available on Libby, I decide to dive right in. It was indeed a page-turner and I enjoyed it more than expected. I won't say anything more about the plot, but there is certainly plenty to discuss with book club!
⭐⭐⭐⭐ (3.5 stars, rounded up)
Current reading//
The Last September by Elizabeth Bowen
I've been craving another Elizabeth Bowen novel since I finished The Death of the Heart a few month ago. Just started this coming-of-age story set in Ireland yesterday.
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
The epic year-long group read continues...
How was your week? What have you been reading?
The Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz.
Delighted everyone, especially the new baby, is doing well.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your week, and that great view, happy reading!
Shelleyrae - Despite being tired, they're all settling in very nicely!
DeleteHi JoAnn. That's quite a view and I love the idea of a rooftop. I'm not sure i could concentrate on reading up there as I would keep looking around!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear that sweet baby Aaron is thriving. I know you all are having a great time with him.
Very happy to hear Troika is a good read. Its been on my list but the Kindle version is too much right now. Saving Grace sounds like a winner as well.
Great to read your update.
Tina - I love being on that rooftop in the evening... watching the sun set and all the lights come on. It's really beautiful! Aaron is just as sweet as can be. I'm so glad we are here to help, but also to witness all the changes. You can see him growing and changing from day to day!
DeleteTroika was an interesting read, even if most of The Odyssey references were lost on me.
I'm envious of your time in New York City. It sounds wonderful. I have The Death of the Heart on my list to read, and I'm glad you are now reading another Bowen book.
ReplyDeleteDeb - I'm not very far into The Last September, but enjoying it already. Bowen was such a talented writer. So happy to be in NYC for a while!
DeleteNYC is so much fun. Add in a grandbaby and you're good to go. I head to upstate NY tonight to visit my daughter for a week and am really looking forward to it.
ReplyDeleteHelen - I hope you arrived in NY without too much hassle. It might be a little too early for fall color, but I know you will have a wonderful time with your daughter!
DeleteSounds like you're having a such a nice time and new baby snuggles are the absolute best! I'm impressed you're sticking with War and Peace. One of these days I'm going to attempt it but I keep chickening out. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteKatherine - Surprisingly, W&P has just taken another very exciting turn! I know I would never have been able to stick with it this long without the slow group read.
DeleteI loved Finding Grace. It was well done.
ReplyDeleteTi - I would have skipped Finding Grace, so I'm really happy book club selected it!
DeleteSo glad that you are enjoying NYC and exploring your neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteTroika is very appealing--what a great premise. I watched the first season of White Lotus and didn't really enjoy it but felt compelled to finish the season to see what the fuss was about.
I love the cover of The Last September. I will have to look into Elizabeth Bowen.
Enjoy your stay in New York! What a great time of year to be there. Makes me think of the cover of the When Harry Met Sally cd :)
JaneGS - Troika was an enjoyable listen. Lots of threads, but other than The White Lotus, it was very interesting. I never did get around to watching that show. One final summer hold came from Libby on Monday (Summerland Cove) so I'm reading it pretty quickly before returning to The Last September. I might have purchased that particular edition because of the cover;-)
ReplyDeleteThis is the best time of year in NYC. So many cultural happenings for the new season and fall is just so pretty. We were even luck enough to catch the final summer restaurant week. It would be fun to stay longer, but we have to get back to CT before grandbaby #2 arrives in October!
Report back on the Barnes & Noble visit AND the walk to it!!! I dream of going to New York some day.
ReplyDeleteJinjer - The B&N is so big! They have a large mezzanine level with a large open space used for author events. All of the cards are along the walls, with rolling shelves loaded with stationary and gift items that can be moves to the sides during events.So many books on the first and second floors (I need to go back alone and browse longer!) plus a cafe. Broadway is a wide divided north/south avenue with lots of trees, plants and some benches in the medians, with the subway running beneath it. It's so exciting to be here, but I'll be happy to return to our small town up the coast!
DeleteFinally getting around to reading my favorite blogs... I'm glad you're enjoying your time in NYC! My daughter has a friend who used to live in the city, and now has another who moved there recently. She loves to visit, and I often wonder if she'll ever move there herself. When she was 12, she and I spent a week there, staying at The Peninsula on 5th Avenue. It was such a fun-filled, memorable mother-daughter vacation!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad baby Aaron is doing well. And another baby will arrive soon, which will be exciting, too!
I enjoyed Finding Grace a bit more than you, and I still remember quite a bit about it, which is rare with these sort of novels, but it's one that remains engrained in my memory. Maybe because my daughter was going through fertility treatments when I read it.
I need to give Elizabeth Bowen a try sometime this year. I'll see what my library carries. Trying not to buy any more books!
I finally finished re-reading Faithful Place, which took much longer than it should have. I rarely read when we're camping, and I don't know why I thought I needed to bring three books. Lol!