Sunday, July 31, 2016

The Sunday Salon: We're Home!


Hello, friends. It sure has been a while! We had a wonderful vacation... Santa Fe, a family wedding in Denver, Rocky Mountain National Park, Steamboat Springs, and a quick visit with our daughters in NYC. Now I'm exhausted, but happy. And as always, I didn't read as much as I'd hoped.

Finished on vacation//


by Alexandra Fuller, narrated by Lisette Lecat

My book club will discuss this book at the end of August, but I finished listening on our first flight. I first picked it up several years ago and never got into it, so decided to try listening this time - definitely the right move! Lisette Lecat is a familiar voice (she narrates The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series) and I ended up enjoying it enough to add Fuller's next book, Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness, to my audio wish list. Look for my review after the meeting.



by Isabel Vincent
This was an impulse purchase from an indie bookstore (Off the Beaten Path) in Steamboat Springs, CO. A feel-good nonfiction title about life, love, and friendship... with a foodie twist. I finished reading it on the flight from Denver to NYC and will post a book brief soon.



Current reading//


                                 Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher

I started this on the train home from NYC yesterday... downloaded from my library just prior to boarding. An academic setting is always appealing and I couldn't resist the blurb: Finally a novel that puts the "pissed" back into "epistolary."  At the 60% mark, I'm finding it pretty entertaining.


Current listening//

by Richard Russo, narrated by Mark Bramhall

I loved Nobody's Fool  and wanted to keep the momentum going by continuing the series while characters and events are still fresh in my mind. So far it's another excellent novel by Russo... and another wonderful audio production, too.


Coming up//


I'm still trying to catch up with all that happened in blogland while I was away, but Care thoughtfully alerted me (via twitter) about an upcoming readalong. It sounds like a group read of Germinal by Emile Zola will begin in September. As many of you know, I'm already a Zola fan and have been wanting to read this book, often referred to as his masterpiece, for  long time. You can check twitter for the hashtag #GerminalAlong, but I'll pass along details here as they become available. Sounds like another good opportunity for a read/listen combination to me :)


What's new with you? Did you read any good books while I was away?

I'm off to tackle that mountain of vacation laundry...


This post will link to It's Monday, What Are You Reading? hosted by Kathryn at Book Date.

47 comments:

  1. Glad you had fun on your trip! I would love to visit Santa Fe (we drove through New Mexico on our way to this state, but only spent one night when our car broke down in the middle of nowhere there)and of course, the Rocky Mts.--- wow!

    It's funny how some titles are good to read, and then other folks only enjoy them as audio books. I don't listen to books, just my style, but I'm still curious about whether to pick up this Fuller title, which I've seen in my library before.

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    1. Rita - My BIL lives in Santa Fe and I'm so happy we have an excuse to visit very now and then... it's a beautiful city. I'm still in awe over the beauty of Rocky Mountain National Park. I always fascinated by the difference between print and audio for certain books. Sometimes a narrator adds so much to the text, but a bad one can detract from it. I especially like nonfiction on audio because I often retain more of what I hear.

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  2. Your trip sounds wonderful! I bet you need a vacation to catch up.

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    1. Kathy - I sure do! The laundry and the mail alone are huge chores...

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  3. Sounds like a great vacation and some great reading too! Glad to hear you had such a good time.

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    1. Pat - We had a wonderful trip, but now I'm looking forward to getting caught up and organized again at home. That may take some time...

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  4. I happened to run across a cheap, uncorrected edition, so now I'm deep into The Nest. July has been a busy month of reading. Sounds like you had a great vacation--hitting all the "high" spots--but glad you're back!

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    1. JudyMac - The Nest was an entertaining summer read for me... love some good family dysfunction! ;-) Glad you had such a good reading month. Our vacation was excellent. Glad the wedding pushed us to plan it!

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  5. What a trip! Glad you made it home okay and now you can relax and recuperate. :) Santa Fe would be so beautiful to visit.

    Dear Committee Members sounds entertaining...

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    1. Greg - Dear Committee Members is very funny... in a passive-aggresive kind of way!

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  6. It looks like you had a wonderful vacation in Santa Fe and Colorado. I loved seeing all your beautiful photos! As exhausting as travel may be, it's so worth it when you're able to stay in such gorgeous parts of our country. Mountains & trees (and an ocean or lake) are just about my idea of paradise! Do you know that we've lived in Nebraska since 1992 and we've never been to Estes Park! Now if we go, it will be on a vacation from Oregon. Kind of funny.

    I couldn't get into Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight either, so maybe I'll have to try the audio. I hear it's very good.

    I'm currently listening to The Girl with All the Gifts (very good) and reading Leveling the Playing Field (also very good). Last month was pretty light, with regard to reading. I only finished 2 books!

    Have fun settling back in. We're in for more heat this week. :(

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    1. Les - All the natural beauty in the west is just amazing... everywhere we turned! Hope we get back to Estes Park again someday. Funny about Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight. I donated my paperback to the library book sale, so was mad at myself when book club selected it. Figured it was a sign when I check audible and found Lisette Lecat narrating. I must have listened to 3 or 4 (maybe more!) No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books and thought she was great. She still is!

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  7. Welcome home! It sounds like you had a great trip...

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  8. Glad to see you are back home.

    Dinner with Edward looks interesting. I think I'll find out more about it.

    Here's a link to my It's Monday.

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    1. Deb - Dinner with Edward was good, nothing earth-shattering though.

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  9. I'm so pleased to hear you had a wonderful holiday - you certainly fitted in a lot so no wonder your tired. This month I'm pleased to have upped my reading to 6 books. Good luck with all that washing and happy reading in August :-)

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    1. Jessica - I'm always amazed by how much ground we cover on these trips... no wonder we're tired! Up to my eyeballs in laundry today.

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  10. Glad u had such a nice vacation; I've enjoyed all of your Instagram pics. I started Everybody's Fool on audio and after 15 chapters or so decided to get the print version (waiting for me at library). I was finding the voice too dry although Sully appropriate LOL enjoy

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    1. Diane - I think Ron McLarty's Sully voice in Nobody's Fool was much better then this book. Have enjoyed Mark Bramhall in the past, but I've just requested Everybody's Fool from the library, too.

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  11. I'm glad you had a nice trip. I haven't heard of any of the books you read but they look good. Come see my week here. Happy reading!

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    1. Kathy - The trip was amazing, but it is good to be back home. Happy reading to you, too!

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  12. Vicki - Thanks. A change of scenery always lifts my spirits.

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  13. Your vacation sounds awesome. I love Rocky Mountain National Park, but I haven’t gone there in a long time. I live in Colorado, so I have no excuse not to go more often. :)

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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    1. AJ - I can't get over how beautiful Colorado is... everywhere you turn there is something new to discover!

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  14. Welcome back! Your vacation sounds like a lot of fun! I was out as well for the past two weeks, except not on vacation. Still working on getting back to blogging.

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    1. Athira - Hope all is well and it was just a 'life gets busy' break. Will look forward to your next post, whenever it is.

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  15. I hope you enjoyed Dinner with Edward - looking forward to hearing your thoughts! And I'm interested in Dear Committee Members and intend to get to some Russo soon!

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    1. Sarah - Dinner with Edward was a good, quick read for the flight. Nothing earth-shattering, but still enjoyable. Dear Committee Members is very funny, sometimes in a passive-aggressive way!

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  16. Glad you had a great vacation and got to visit Colorado! I was absolutely blown away by Germinal. I had no idea that it would be such a powerful book for me--hope you find it so as well.

    I never read as much on trips as I think I will. Thank goodness for planes and trains!

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    1. JaneGS - Yes, planes and trains were about the only reading I did for the past couple of weeks. There's still so much more to see and do in Colorado, I'm already planing my next trip! Can't wait to start Germinal.

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  17. Welcome back! I've heard good things about Dinner with Edward and Russo's book. I hope to read both of those, but I think I want to hear your thoughts on them before searching them out at the library.

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    1. Kathy - Dinner with Edward was a very quick, sweet read... and I love just about everything Richard Russo writes.

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  18. What a wonderful sounding vacation. I am jealous. I read Richard Russo many years ago so need to read him again.

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    1. Emma - In some ways, Russo's writing seems a little dated, but I love the way he tells a story and always enjoy his characters.

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  19. I adored Dear Committee Members - it was such a funny, quick read. And I love a good impulse buy that you can pick up and read right away!

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    1. Shannon - I am cracking up over Dear Committee Members. I love epistolary novels anyway, and this one is so well done!

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  20. Oh I love Colorado. How wonderful you had a great trip. It's always beautiful there. Glad to know the Fuller book makes a good audio -- I'll add it to my list. Africa stories are up my alley. Welcome home to the lake.

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    1. Susan - Seems like I've been reading a lot of Africa stories lately... besides the Fuller, there was Circling the Sun and West With the Night all in the last couple of months. Colorado is SO beautiful. I'm already dreaming of another trip.

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  21. Welcome back! Sounds like you had a wonderful vacation. New sights and time spent with family is the best. Looking forward to your reviews; Dinner with Edward looks like something I'd pick up!

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    1. Iliana - I'm glad to be back, but having trouble getting back into a routine with blogging...

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  22. I just got back from my short little getaway....it was great. Too short, but it was good to have the cool breezes at the beach. Thanks for visiting my blog, and enjoy your books.

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    1. Laurel-Rain Snow - Glad you enjoyed your time away! Nothing like beach breezes :)

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  23. I adore Fuller's books - I think Cocktail Hour may be my fave (but that may be because it was my first of her books). Glad to hear you had such a great trip!

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    1. Lisa - I'm looking forward to our book club meeting... curious to see how the other will react to Fuller's work.

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  24. I love the mountains!! Your photo is gorgeous. Sounds like it was a blast.:)

    I loved Let's Not Go to the Dogs Tonight - my stepmom had recommended it to me a few years back. I have not read the second book yet however. I am looking forward to your thoughts on it!

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    1. Erin - I couldn't believe how beautiful Colorado was... gorgeous views everywhere I turned! Hope to read more by Fuller soon.

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