Sunday, June 2, 2019

Sunday Salon: June 2, 2019


June is here and we are back at the lake! The drive north was uneventful...it was too hot to wander around battlefields, so we drove eight-hour days, enjoyed a couple of relaxing dinners and evenings, and ended up back in NY on the third day.

We're unpacked and mostly organized. Now it's time to tackle all the outdoor work. Let's hope it stays dry long enough to get it done!


Finished last week//


As We Are Now by May Sarton

This short book is "about the powerlessness of the old and the rage it can bring." It's beautifully written, but achingly sad... proceed with caution.




Current reading//


by Joan Biskupic

A read/listen combination, I'm about halfway through this book. It's interesting and informative, but I find the growing divide along party lines in the judiciary troubling.


Listening to//


by Mary Laura Philpott, narrated by the author
I just started listening to this essay collection last night and will have more to say about it soon.



The week ahead//

If the weather cooperates, there are plenty of gardening chores to accomplish this week. I also have an appointment to get my teeth cleaned and am looking forward to our book club meeting. We'll discuss Where the Crawdads Sing  by Delia Owens.

How was your week? What are you reading?



The Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz.

43 comments:

  1. It’s both good to be home and then hard to be home especially when there is outdoor work to be tackled! But at least you are close to Wegman’s again!

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    1. Patty - It was so good to shop at Wegmans again!! Haven't had produce that good all winter... not even at Whole Foods.

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  2. Glad you are back in NY safe. I'm so curious about "As We Are Now"; I need to look it up. I have the audio of "I Miss You When I Blink" on my holds list at the library, hope you are enjoying it.

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    1. Diane - As We Are Now is very short, less than 150 pages I think. The writing is so good, but the book made me so sad :(

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  3. Your FL-NY road trip sounds fun, it's nice to be able to break it up over several days! I hope the weather cooperates for your outdoor activities, it was not so great in May!

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    1. Angela - It's much easier to break up the drive over three days! The weather has been cooperating, but it's still raining at least part of every day... sigh.

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  4. It has been so hot here but it looks like we'll finally get a break in the heat this week.

    I wonder if I should read As We Are Now to try to understand my mom a little better.

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    1. Kathy - It's been in the 40s the last couple of morning here - brrr! The main character in As We Are Now is a well-educated, articulate woman trapped inside a failing body and mind... it was quite sad.

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  5. It is still not hot or even warm in So Cal. Yet, gardening chores are starting to impinge for me as well, though I love doing them! I felt the same way about the Supreme Court divide when I read Sister In Law. I am interested in the May Sarton book.

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    1. Judy - It is fun to putter around outside here again... the flowers, trees, and even the bird sounds are so different from Florida! I thought Sisters in Law was a fascinating book. RBG and SDO lives and experiences prior to the Supreme Court were so different, but equally fascinating. It seems that the political divide on the court has deepened and grown more contentious over the past decade... very scary. I've only read a couple of Sarton's other books, but this is the first novel. It's excellent, but very much a downer...

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  6. I've been thinking about reading I Miss You When I Blink so I'll be waiting to see what you think about it.

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    1. Vicki - I just finished I Miss You When I Blink this afternoon. Very enjoyable... 4 stars.

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  7. Welcome back! Wishing you a lovely summer filled with Wegmans. :) I started Because of the Lockwoods this morning...is it one of the Dorothy Whipples you've read/enjoyed?

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    1. Audrey - We've been back for 5 days and I've been to Wegmans twice already! I haven't read Because of the Lockwoods yet, but have The Priory on the shelf. It's been too long since my last Whipple novel!

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  8. We've had such nice weather as of late. Just warm enough, and not too cold. I hope you enjoy your time at the lake! We will be headed to the mountains in a few more weeks--but will only be staying a week. I am looking forward to getting away from the city for a short while. I hope you have a great week!

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    1. Wendy - The mountains will be a wonderful escape for your family! It's still quite chilly here, but is supposed to warm up some tomorrow.... maybe I can put my SmartWool socks away then ;-)

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  9. The lake looks so peaceful. I hope you have a great week!

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  10. The lake looks beautiful. This would be a great time of year to head north. It gets so hot in the summer here. It's already in the nineties on some days.

    I can't wait to hear what you think about I Miss You When I Blink. I am usually a big fan of essay collections.

    Our book club picked a mystery for next month. I can't remember when I was more disappointed with a book.

    Have a good week!

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    1. Deb - Sorry your last book club book was a bust! We're going to discuss Where the Crawdads Sing tomorrow... very excited to see everyone and discover what our next selection will be. I finished I Miss You When I Blink today... it was very good.

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  11. Hope you enjoy your summer in the north. I admire all the books you’ve been reading on the justice system—someday I hope to carve out the time to do the same, it is such a critical part of our life, but one that it’s easy to overlook, at least that’s my impression. I have a couple of books by May Sarton that I have been meaning to read, but As We Are Now sounds too difficult for me to read right now.

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    1. JaneGS - After I finish this Roberts bio, it will be time for a break from the justice system. It's all starting to make my head hurt, so maybe it's time to return to classics for a little while. As We Are Now is so beautifully written, but so very sad that I have a hard time recommending it. It's also the first Sarton novel I've read... the other two have been journals/memoirs.

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  12. I hope the weather holds for you to get the gardening done now you are safely back home.

    Have a great reading week

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    1. Shelleyrae - We were able to get quite a bit of outdoor work done yesterday, but it's raining again this afternoon.... a very dreary couple of days.

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  13. As We Are Now sounds tough but good. I'm sure you'll be deleting that anonymous comment soon, but seriously???

    We've had a ton of rain, so my gardens are a mess.

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    1. Beth F - Thanks again for the heads up on that comment... not sure how blogger let it slip through. It's raining here again today :(

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  14. Nice that you are back at the Lake! Such beautiful summers there. I knew Joan Biskupic when I worked at The Post / she was astute and on the ball! Enjoy the audio & your reading.

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    1. Susan - Very cool that you knew Joan Biskupic! This is the second one of her books I've read this year... she sure knows her stuff and can write, too.

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  15. Hi JoAnn,
    Ohmigosh, you're back already! Where have I been? It was just a super busy month of May for me.
    I am absolutely fascinated that you read As We Are Now. I am putting it on my list asap. I definitely want to read it.
    I can see so well the rage in some of the folks older than us, who were so active and so vital all their lives, and now, because of their limitations in their mid-eighties are very angry. Some manage this transition with much more calm than others, but I have had encounters with people who had so defined themselves by their so very active activity. I do think it's harder for them. And I don't blame them one bit. Anger is one of the stages of accepting loss. Thanks so much for alerting me to this book!!!

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    1. Judith - Here we are again! I know May was an incredibly bust month for you... how was the presentation?? You must be relieved now that it's over.

      As We Are Now was so well written, but also heartbreaking. I've read a couple of Sarton's journals/essays, but this was the first novel. It's hard to recommend because it's so sad, yet definitely worth reading. I found the ebook available for instant download from my library via hoopla. I've also witnessed some very different ways older relatives have coped with increasing limitations... the woman in this book was dealing with mental as well as physical changes. I'll be curious to hear what you think of the book.

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    2. JoAnn,
      Thanks for remembering--the presentation was fine, but if it hadn't been my first one in five years I would have done much better. Still, the family involved was very pleased with it as well as the historical society. So that was nice. Better next time! And I was very relieved to have it behind me. On with summer plans. Wishing you a good one.

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    3. That's great, Judith... now on to summer! Hope you're enjoying the same beautiful weekend weather we have here in CNY.

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  16. Enjoy your week...and thanks for visiting my blog.

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    1. Laurel-Rain Snow - Hope you're feeling stronger every day!

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  17. Ah. Back at the lake. And to the title of your blog. Nice. As for the weather, ugh. It seems like the rain just won't let up...at least, not enough to dry out to be able to do much. I just finished reading Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport, which overall was good, if not written from a privileged view of the world.

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    1. Bryan - Yeah, the weather still leaves a little to be desired around here. Got quite a bit of outdoor work done, but now it's raining again. Sigh. Looks like the weather will be beautiful this weekend though... just in time for your big day!!

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  18. I wish I lived by a body of water. Someday.

    I am reading Pachinko and hope to finish by this Friday. I gotta pack for camp and figure all that out. It's summer, and it's a summer camp but it snowed there last weekend. Makes packing difficult.

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    1. Ti - I hope you're loving Pachinko as much as I did. Her first book, Free Food for Millionaire, was excellent, too. Snow for camp? Yikes... hope it's melted before this weekend!

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  19. I'm sure you're happy to be home, but it's too bad your return drive was too hot for sightseeing. I'm curious about the May Sarton book as it brings to mind John Prine's song, "Hello in There." I am also very much interested in I Miss You When I Blink. I've done a little bit of work in the yard, but there's still quite a bit to go. Time to pull some ivy that's encroaching the woodpile and several large trees. We have family visiting for a few days and I have recently recovered from vertigo. I'm reading Bury Your Dead (Louise Penny) and am loving every page! She is such a great writer! Oh, did I tell you my granddaughter got a job at the new Wegman's in Virginia Beach? She seems to be enjoying it quite well!

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    1. Les - Sorry for the delay in replying... blogger has been giving me problems again. My nice long reply was eaten yesterday and the same thing just happened again this morning! Grrr! For the third try, I'll just say that I hope you're well past the vertigo bout and enjoying time with family. Congrats to your granddaughter on her job at Wegmans, too. They are consistently rated among the best company to work for and they have excellent scholarship opportunities!

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    2. Thankfully, the vertigo is gone! I have heard that once you have had a bout of it, you are more likely to continue to have troubles, but I'm hopeful that it was a one-time issue. Good to know about the scholarships at Wegmans! I'll let our granddaughter know. She's heading to Virginia Wesleyan this fall!

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  20. That was the first Sarton I read and I remember nothing about it! Must revisit at some point. The one that has stayed with me the most is The Education of Harriett Hatfield, even though I had misgivings about it.

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    1. Simon - This was probably my third Sarton book, though the first novel. I absolutely hated the first journal I read, most likely because I was not at a stage to be able to appreciate/relate to the slow, contemplative life she chronicled. My second experience, The House by the Sea, was much more positive. I've kept that book on my shelf in hopes of revisiting. After reading As We Are Now, I'm more interested in exploring her other work... will keep an eye out for The Education of Harriett Hatfield.

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