Hello, friends and Happy St. Patrick's Day! We are at home and alone this weekend... our first solo weekend in about six weeks. That's not at all a complaint, but I sure am enjoying the peace and quiet!
Work inside our house has come to a halt again... it's probably time to start nagging. The paver order came in though and work on the driveway is supposed to begin this week. In the meantime, I've finished several books since I checked in a couple of weeks ago.
Recent reading//
We Are the Brennans by Tracey Lange
This is the March selection at Modern Mrs. Darcy book club and was an enjoyable summer read for me back in 2021. I wasn't initially planning a reread, but there are quite a few characters and the details had become too fuzzy for me to enjoy the discussion and author chat. As it turned out, this book was even better the second time around! It's your typical messy family drama with lots of secrets and complicated relationships. In addition, the Brennan family owns a neighborhood Irish pub near Westchester county, NY which makes things even more interesting. The audio, narrated by Barrie Kreinik, is excellent.
⭐⭐⭐⭐💫
Recitatif by Toni Morrison
This is probably the most thought-provoking short story I've ever read! It's about two eight-year-old girls who spend several months as roommates at a shelter - one because her mother is sick and the other because her mother "dances all night." They randomly meet again several times over the years and the meetings cause both girls to question their memories and perceptions. One girl is black, the other is white, and Morrison chooses not to let the reader know which is which.
Morrison herself described this story as "an experiment in the removal of all racial codes from a narrative about two characters of different races for whom racial identity is crucial."
First published in 1983, it was reissued in 2022 with a discussion/introduction by Zadie Smith. I'm glad I heeded the advice to read the story BEFORE Smith's commentary. After reading both the story and then commentary, I went back and listened to the story again.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
Loosely based on experiences of the author's relatives, this is a multigenerational story that follows one North Vietnamese family through the turbulence of the 20th century, including the Communist Land Reform, Great Hunger, and the Vietnam War. It was an absorbing, sobering read which caused me to think about Vietnam from a perspective I had not previously considered.
I chose a read/listen combination and the audio, narrated by Quyen Ngo, enhanced my overall reading experience. I appreciated hearing correct pronunciations of names and places, and enjoyed the reader's melodious delivery of Vietnamese proverbs and poems. (The audiobook is available through hoopla.)
Highly recommended. Four and a half stars for now, but may increase as I continue to think about it.
⭐⭐⭐⭐💫
House Love by Patric Richardson
Richardson's previous book, Laundry Love, was a hit for me in 2022 and he has developed quite a following since its publication. This book is an attempt to expand on that successful format by offering both decorating ideas and cleaning plans for every space in your house.
Where Laundry Love was both entertaining and taught me a few things, this one was entertaining enough, but felt a little lighter on information. I should note that I listened to Laundry Love, narrated by the author, and am certain his delivery added to my enjoyment. It probably would have been a better choice to listen to this one, too.
⭐⭐⭐
Current reading//
Also A Poet by Ada Calhoun
I just started this memoir earlier today. It's the April selection at MMD and is pretty interesting so far.
The week ahead//
This week will be more about socializing than appointments - hooray! We have some old friends arriving in their small RV tomorrow for a quick overnight, friends from Wisconsin coming for dinner on Tuesday, and a neighborhood party on Friday. Should be a fun week!
How was your week? What have you been reading?
The Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz.