It's Sunday and it's finally time to talk about books again! I managed to read a few books during my blogging break and plan to catch up with a series of mini-reviews or Book Briefs over the next couple of weeks.
Recently finished//
Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal
Book Brief coming later this week
The Ten-Year Nap by Meg Wolitzer
It's always a treat to read one of her novels.
Shrill: Notes From a Loud Women by Lindy West
audio feminism, narrated by the author
Going Into Town: A Love Letter to New York by Roz Chast
graphic nonfiction, Chast is a favorite
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
It's easy to see why this won the Audie Award for fiction.
Current reading//
Modern Lovers by Emma Straub
Only 35% in, but this is shaping up to be a perfect summer read.
At the movies//
Have you seen this documentary yet? If not, you really must!
Coming soon//
Paris in July
It's back! Gather your books and movies. Dust off your madeleine trays. Plan an adventure. Tamara will be hosting this beloved event again this year. Find the details here.Blogger woes//
Blogger is endlessly frustrating even on the best of days. Now they have stopped sending me comment notifications... including for those awaiting moderation. I haven't changed any settings and am completely baffled. Is this happening to anyone else?
Several of you continue to have difficulty commenting here, too. I appreciate your persistence and welcome ideas on how to fix this. Thanks in advance.
Wordpress is looking better every day... but change is scary!
In the kitchen//
I'm so happy to be back in my big kitchen and close to Wegmans! As much as I love Florida, the tiny kitchen and merely adequate grocery stores take much of the joy out of cooking. This week's recipe success was...
Chili Lime Grilled Salmon with Fresh Pineapple Salsa from Joyful Healthy Eats. I followed the recipe exactly as written, but might not apply the rub quite as liberally next time. The salsa was a real winner and I'm trying to come up with other ways to use it.
The week ahead//
Appointments, lots of them. Doctor, dentist, car, hair... things we put off over the winter. (Not the hair... I could never go that long without visiting the salon!)
One of our daughters may visit this weekend. And hopefully I'll finish another book before then...
How was your week? What have you been reading lately?
First of all, JoAnn, that salmon looks wonderful. I love salmon and eat a lot of it actually, especially now that I've been on my weight loss journey. Yummy, yummy.
ReplyDeleteOK, yes, you are not the only one with Blogger issues. I think all of us have them. Something to do with that European privacy law change, I think. What I do is to go to my post once it goes live and check the little box on the bottom right that says 'notify me'. You don't actually have to comment on your own post, though I have seen some do that. And, for them, that may be the solution. Candace does it on Beth Fish. Anyway, after you click the box, you should begin to receive the comments to your email. It's worked for me.
Hope you have a good week! I'm going on a blogging break later this week for 2 or 3 weeks. Then I'll be back.
Kay - Thank you! I've done that... will cross my fingers and see if it works. I did notice that Candace commented on some of her own posts, but didn't make the connection since I wasn't blogging much.
DeleteEnjoy your blogging break. Hope you like the salmon :)
Yeah, comment notification emails stopped awhile ago. I thought they were working on it, but they seem to have given up at this point!
ReplyDeleteAngela - Guess it's telling that I only figured it out this month. I've neglected this blog more than I thought ;-)
DeleteYour reviews of those books are something I'll look forward to. A few of them are on my "maybe" list. I haven't read any or seen "RBG" though I really should see it.
ReplyDeletebest...mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Mae - My Kitchens of the Great Midwest book brief is scheduled for Thursday. We saw RBG in Florida. It played briefly at the small "art theater" here, but never made it to any of the major theaters... maybe it will eventually. It was excellent!
DeleteYou've been reading some great books. Meg Wolitzer is always solid and of course, Eleanor was fabulous!
ReplyDeleteYou salmon looks absolutely amazing. My brother and sister-in-law are coming for a visit next week and I've been musing on meals. I might need to add salmon to my list.
Have a great week, JoAnn!
Susie - I made that salmon dish a night we had company, even though I very rarely try new recipes on guests. It seemed like a winning combination of ingredients and endue being just that.
DeleteHappy Sunday! I'm eager to hear your thoughts on Kitchens of the Great Midwest. I know I started it (either in print or audio, not sure!), but set it aside and never got back to it. If you loved it, I'll give it another try. I loved, loved, loved Elinor Oliphant and know that I'll listen to it again someday. What a likeable and memorable cast of characters. Thanks for the reminder about Paris in July. I usually participate unofficially. Now to see if I have anymore books that will fit the category.
ReplyDeleteAs far as blogger comments, I did some searching on the internet and everyone has had problems. I finally solved it and will share the details here in case anyone else needs help. Go into your settings. Select Posts, Comments and Sharing. Under Comment Moderation remove your email address. Save this change. Now put it back and save. You should get an email inviting you to receive comments for moderation. Weird, I know, but it works. Click to approve to accept on that email and you should be good to go. Let me know if it doesn't work and I'll email you the instructions from the site I found them on.
Adding the salmon recipe to my list to try. Your recipes are always so good!
Have a great week and good luck with Blogger! It sure was frustrating until I finally got mine fixed.
Les, thanks so much for doing that search and 'fixing' the problem. I've done as you suggested for both comment moderation and email notification. I have a post scheduled for tomorrow. We'll see if it is permanent for me. Bet it will be.
DeleteLes - I started Kitchens, flew through the first chapter, then got sidetracked by something else. Started over again when I finally got back to it and ended up liking it very much.
DeleteSalmon season is here. Wegmans has had both sockeye salmon and king salmon lately in addition to the farm-raised stuff. Haven't seen coho yet, but I'm waiting! Hope you like this recipe.
Thanks for the blogger tip!
Hope it works for you, too, Kay!
DeleteJoAnn, we eat salmon about once every 7-10 days. It's so easy and we get a lot of fresh fish here, too. I love king salmon and steelhead, which I now know isn't salmon, but trout! Who knew! I also love halibut and it's in season right now, too. Yummm.
This is what I found on Google for the comment situation.
ReplyDeleteWhat's changed:
When an email address is added in the Comment moderation (Settings > Posts, comments and sharing > Comment moderation), Comment Notification Emails (Settings > Email > Comment Notification Email), or Email posts to (Settings > Email > Email posts to) fields, notifications are not necessarily enabled as they were before. Instead, if an email address is added to these fields, an email is sent inviting the email owner to either accept or decline the subscription. If the owner accepts, they will receive email notifications on new posts/comments. If the owner declines, the email address will be immediately removed from the field in their Settings.
What they don't tell you is that you first need to delete the existing email in the field and save that change. The type your email address back into the field and save that change. Then check your emails for a message from blogger to accept the subscription.
I have no idea why they changed things, but this seems to work for me.
Les - Thank you! I tried this and got the confirmation message. We'll see if it works when I post again on Tuesday. Fingers crossed...
DeleteWell, if you get a message about this new comment from me, then it works! No need to wait until next Tuesday. :) Glad to help.
DeleteRBG isn't showing here yet but I hope to see it when it does finally make it.
ReplyDeleteI've read several of the books on your list and really enjoyed them.
Catching up on appointments is no fun. I get my teeth cleaned tomorrow and I'm ready to get it over with already.
Kathy - I hope RBG gets to your area soon. We saw it in Florida, but it's not in any of the regular theaters here. There was just a short run at the small arts cinema.
DeleteI say come on over to WordPress! It's not perfect, but it has been serving me well for nine years. And when there are issues, they have kind little geeks to help us out.
ReplyDeleteI love Meg Wolitzer, and remember enjoying The Ten Year Nap. I want to read the Eleanor Oliphant book....
And you've made me hungry for salmon. Enjoy your books, your week, and navigating your blog. Here are MY WEEKLY UPDATES
Laurel-Rain Snow - I've thought about WordPress and even made a test blog there several years ago, but it seems so much harder. I know Patty switched not too long ago and that's encouraging. Still, Wordpress scares me!
DeleteMy mother just finished Eleanor Oliphant and she liked it, too. Now my sister has it. I'll get a book brief up within the next couple of weeks... pretty sure you would enjoy it.
Love Roz Chast graphic novels. Yes, RBG was great! Looking forward to Paris in July.
ReplyDeletevvb32 reads - Isn't Roz Chast the best? This has a much different tone than Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant, but is every bit as good. Hooray for RBG!
DeleteSounds like you are busy enjoying summer, cooking, and reading! I've had my eye on Going Into Town--I like graphic books on occasion and this looks fun. I'm going to have to give Meg Wolitzer a try, since you like her so much.
ReplyDeleteThe salmon looks delicious!
JaneGS - It seems like summer is in full swing now... definitely the best time of year around here! Meg Wolitzer is becoming a favorite. My favorite so far is The Interestings. I highly recommend Going Into Town, too.
DeleteVicki - There are no chain stores on our island, just a couple of smaller independents. We go over to Fort Myers maybe once a week for Publix, but the nearest TJ's or Whole Foods is in Naples (at least an hour in season) or Sarasota. There will be a WF in Ft Myers by the time we get back in the fall though. I know Publix and Wegmans tied for #1 in customer satisfaction last year but, as good as Publix is, there really is no comparison with Wegmans. I've been spoiled living in Wegmans home area all these years. The one I shop at is supposedly their biggest... and best, IMO. :)
ReplyDeleteRBG was playing at the big movie complex in Ft Myers before we left. Bet you get it soon!
Going into Town is on my list! I don't go away for the winter and I'm still behind with my seasonal chores. Ooops! There is an easy fix for the blogger comments. I'll email it to you.
ReplyDeleteBeth F - Roz Chast is always a winner for me. Thanks for the blogger help... think the problem is resolved now.
DeleteI've had the same issue with Blogger. Most days I remember to go check and see if I've received any comments. Some days I just forget. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteKathy - If you check the comments above there are a could of fixes for the problem. I'm terrible about remembering to check comments if I don't get email notification, but it looks like things are resolved now.
DeleteOh my...I am not sure if I like your fix...my comment just disappeared! I wasn’t even done with it!
ReplyDeletePatty - So this must be the second one? Blogger is driving me absolutely crazy! I'm so sorry you're having a hard time commenting :(
DeleteBlogger isn't sending me notifications either. I think it has something to do with changes due to the EU privacy updates because it happened at the same time. It's taken some getting used to! I forgot all about Eleanor Oliphant. I need that in audio!
ReplyDeleteKatherine - There are some good suggestions in the comments above... the simplest just being to click the little "notify me" box in the comment window every time you publish a post. Blogger sure is making it difficult lately! :(
DeleteI agree with others, the salmon looks amazing. Good luck with your blog whether you get Blogger to work the way it used to or if you decide to go to Wordpress. I can't really offer you suggestions as I self host and my blog is a bit of a dinosaur. My weekly updates
ReplyDeletepussreboots - Yes, the salmon was definitely a winner. Blogger,on the other hand...
DeleteI think the comment problem is happening to all blogger people. I was reading a thread on the Blogger blog about new things and everyone was complaining about lack of comment notification.
ReplyDeleteDonna H- I suppose it's comforting to know I'm not the only one with this problem, but Blogger is just so frustrating these days...
DeleteI loved Kitchens of the Great Midwest. It's a quiet book that grows on you.
ReplyDeleteBlogger. I hated Blogger so much which is why I switched to WP years ago. I do the free version but pay for a private domain. I have tiny glitchy things happen sometimes but nothing major and probably not anything anyone even notices. The switch was so easy. You just import the posts in and voila. Of course if the new layout you choose is very different you will have to tweak it a little bit you can preview layouts first to see how they will look beforehand.
Ti - Kitchens definitely grew on me, too. I'll be posting a book brief on Thursday.
DeleteWordpress kind of scares me. I have a test blog there and think it's time to go over and play with it again...
I think I will read Elenor. I've had some trouble commenting on a Blogger Blog awhile ago. Good luck w/ WP.
ReplyDeletePat - My book club just decided to read Eleanor. I think the audio version is especially well done. Haven't decided to switch to WP just yet, but I sure am tempted...
DeleteYou've been reading a lot of great books! I haven't done Paris in July in several years but my July reading calendar is pretty open so I might just have to do it this year.
ReplyDeleteLisa - I don't post as much as before, but still manage to get one or two up during the month. Paris in July is one of the few holdovers from my early days of blogging. It would be great to have you join in again!
DeleteHi JoAnn,
ReplyDeleteI had a problem with Blogger and comments months ago. I believe it was in the summer or fall of 2017. I hadn't been getting comments for a very long time, and then discovered, somehow, that I now needed, unlike before, to click on "Awaiting Moderation" in the Comments field. There my comments were, miraculously!
I'm not sure if I've had trouble since, but, to me, I now have a concern about Blogger that is worrying me more. Have you checked your "Stats" section? I admit that this is nothing new, but last year and for months and months before that, Russia was highlighted as providing me with the largest number of "Views," providing as many views as those from the United States.
Obviously I know that Russians are not reading my blog for its literary value, but in light of the 2016 presidential campaign and the research that has been completed since, Russian bots and those of other countries are regularly surveilling everything, including everything Google, which Blogger so definitely is.
This year, 2018, my Stats section shows that Russia is still trolling, but China is trolling even more, and so is Vietnam, African nations, etc.
So, to try to make a long story a bit briefer, I'm not happy? content? satisfied? (Not sure which descriptor to use, in this case)that I want to continue within the Google corporate world, at least for my blog. My issue is this: I'm not sure that WordPress would be any better as far as this surveilling aspect is concerned. It is a conundrum.
Judith - I just checked my stats for the first time in ages and Russia is pretty high on my list, too... number 3 or 4. Very strange and a little disturbing, too!
DeleteJoAnn,
ReplyDeleteI'm leaving you another comment, because the previous was all technical Blogger stuff.
It's with amazement and a bit of horror, actually, that I realize I've never read anything by Meg Wolitzer. Tonight I've gone through the descriptions of all of her books and realize I must remedy this soon, though I'm overly swamped with books for this summer.
I wanted to ask you if you knew that a film production of The Wife, starring Glenn Close, will be released in theaters on August 3rd or thereabouts. Sounds like a good time for me to try The Wife, because I so love to read the book, then see the movie.
I had no idea that Meg is the daughter of Hilma Wolitzer, whose books I have read in the distant past. How interesting...
Judith - I hope you give Meg Wolitzer a try a some point. The Interestings is my favorite so far, but I am hoping to read The Wife before the movie is released. Have not read anything by Hilma Wolitzer, but have been considering it for the last few years. Recommendations welcome if you remember any of the titles you enjoyed. :)
Delete