A gorgeous weekend at the lake...and, believe it or not, the first time this area has enjoyed three consecutive precipitation-free days since September! No wonder parts of our lawn are still too soggy to mow. The past week has been devoted to outdoor chores and the place is now nearly ready for summer. I still need to get more flowers and my family will come over to help get the docks in this afternoon. It was a good week for reading and listening, too.
Finished this week//
by Mary Laura Philpott, narrated by the author
I generally prefer listening to memoirs, especially when narrated by the author. Philpott has a pleasing voice which, I felt, added more feeling to her written words.
My rating:
by Joan Biskupic
Current reading//
by Dani Shapiro, narrated by the author
Drop what you're doing and get on your library's hold list for this book now! If you have an audible credit, go ahead and use it. I'm hoping to finish today or tomorrow and am certain this will end up on my list of favorites at the end of the year.
Book club meeting//
Ten of us met for brunch last week to discuss Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. I loved the book and so did nearly all of the others. Some found specific plot elements unbelievable, but overall we were willing to suspend disbelief and make adjustments for time/place. We marveled at Owens' writing and are hoping she chooses to write another novel.
Up next is Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger, an author I have wanted to read for years! Several of you have recommended his work and I seem to remember reviews recommending the audio version of this novel. Have you read Krueger?
In the kitchen//
I missed my big kitchen! It's a pleasure to cook dinner again and I did that every night last week, mostly family favorites. Last night I tried something new - Grilled Balsamic Caprese Chicken from Joyful Healthy Eats. It was delicious! I followed the recipe exactly as written, except marinated the chicken for a few hours instead of fifteen minutes.
The week ahead//
My visit to the hair salon can't come soon enough! Though I finally found a good hairdresser (that sounds old-fashioned... are they called stylists now?) in Florida, I am overdue for a cut and color. I'll also get the rest of the flowers in this week, and hopefully we'll put the boat in the water, too. My sister-in-law is planning to visitThursday and Twin B will come home Friday for Father's Day weekend.
How was your week? What are you reading today?
The Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz.
Ooh, Inheritance sounds really good! The weather this weekend was gorgeous, wasn't it? It was nice to have a break from the rain!
ReplyDeleteAngela - Inheritance was excellent! I finished it yesterday and added it to my favorites shelf.
DeleteIt's been dry, dry, dry here so we're happy for a rainy weekend.
ReplyDeleteI loved Inheritance and Ordinary Grace. I'd like to read I Miss You When I Blink.
Kathy - Do you remember if you listened to Ordinary Grace? I'm pretty sure someone told me the audio was amazing.
DeleteInheritance has been getting rave reviews.
ReplyDeleteI cut and colour my own hair, it grows super quickly and I couldn’t afford that many stylist appointments. Luckily my hair is thick and curly so it’s easy to trim, and you can’t tell if it’s a tiny bit uneven LOL
Have a great reading week
Shelleyrae - I'll bet you save a bundle by coloring your hair yourself! It seems like my appointments are getting closer and closer together - lol. Inheritance was wonderful!
DeleteYou've been busy busy since arriving home. I enjoyed Inheritance, Crawdads and Ordinary Grace. Your balsamic chicken looks yummy.
ReplyDeleteDiane - You always steer me in the right bookish direction! :)
DeleteI'm eager to read Crawdads. Maybe I should suggest it for our book club? We read Ordinary Grace a few months back. I was pleasantly surprised. Here's my review, if you want to take a look: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2692651821
ReplyDeleteThat chicken! Wow. It makes me want to give it a try tomorrow!
Deb - Crawdads would be a good book club choice! My group found a lot to discuss and everyone was really into it... we stayed on topic a lot longer than usual. Thanks for the review link!
DeleteOof. I thought we had a lot of rain, but that's crazy. Thanks for telling us about Dani Shapiro -- I'm looking forward to listening to Inheritance.
ReplyDeletePS I heard myself talking about going to the "beauty parlor" the other day. :)
DeleteAudrey - I finished Inheritance last night. Rated it 5 stars and added it to my favorites shelf, too. Now I've downloaded Hourglass from the library. I selected that one because it's only 4 hours. "Beauty parlor" made me giggle! ;-)
DeleteHi JoAnn,
ReplyDeleteOhmigosh, and ME too about Inheritance by Dani Shapiro. I've been listening to it on Audible for the past week. I wholeheartedly believe that this author and this book has so much to say about individual identity (in capital letters)first and foremost, and about the importance of the lives who gave birth to us. Inheritance is a monumental testament to the ways our understand of our family histories have changed. So much to say about this book. When I write about it (soon), I doubt that I'll be able to do the book justice. I very much want to read Shapiro's other memoirs as well as her novels, which I believe were previous to most of her memoirs. Fascinating.
Judith - I finished Inheritance last night... definitely a 5-star book and I've dded it to my 'favorites' shelf on goodreads. Not sure how I will find the words to review it either, but hopefully they will come to me. I just found the audio her memoir about marriage, Hourglass, on hoopla. Think I'll listen to it next.
DeleteJoAnn,
DeleteI think one of her memoirs concerned her adult life religious choices. I'll have to search and see. I'm very interested in all that she has written.
I agree 100 percent that Inheritance is a 5-star read. It will be without any doubt one of my favorite books of the year, and it may be my favorite. Best to you!
Judith - You may be thinking of Devotion. I've added that one to my list, too... will slowly make my way through all of her work.
DeleteWow Inheritance sounds so good!! It's weird, my dad and I both the DNA testing and we both got emails saying that my dad is my dad and vice versa, and I remember saying to him, "Can you imagine doing this and finding out that your dad wasn't your dad?" Apparently it does. I am adding it ASAP!
ReplyDeleteUgh rain!! We have had so much too, it needs to taper off a bit, the river is so high!
I just added Where the Crawdads Sing to my holds, and am about to add Inheritance!
Crackercrumblife - I think you'll love Inheritance, too, and bet things like that happen far more often than anyone suspects! Heard an interview with Delia Owens, the author of Crawdads, last night . She has a delightful southern accent and is working on another novel.
DeleteYour chicken looks delicious. I'm celebrating a reading milestone today
ReplyDeletePussreboots - That chicken is a keeper. I'll be making it again soon!
DeleteI love the authors whose memoirs you've enjoyed, so I must check out I Miss You When I Blink.
ReplyDeleteThe chicken looks delicious. Thanks for visiting my blog.
Laurel-Rain Snow - I didn't enjoy Philpott's essays quite as much as Anna Quindlen or Ann Patchet's, but they were very good. I'll keep an eye on her career!
DeleteOur mystery group read and enjoyed ORDINARY GRACE a few years ago. A rare standalone by Krueger. My husband has read all of his mystery series and it's a favorite of his. I'm curious about INHERITANCE and plan to read it at some point.
ReplyDeleteKay - I though Krueger was primarily a series writer, but have heard such praise for Ordinary Grace. I'm looking forward to reading it... can't decided whether to get the ebook or the audio. Inheritance was excellent! Hope you can get to it soon.
DeleteAll of those books look and sound good and I love Crawdad! I hope she does pen another book! I bet it does feel great to get back to your normal kitchen...the chicken looks amazing. I know Wegman’s was happy to have you back!
ReplyDeletePatty - I seem to be finding myself back at Wegmans nearly every day now, lol!
DeleteYou have so many great looking books on your list. They look so good. Enjoy them!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Yvonne!
DeleteAll of your books sound great. I want to read Inheritance. We could be a team: you read Supreme Court Justice's bios and I read the Presidents! Then we discuss. This month I will finish Passage of Power, volume 3 of Caro's LBJ biography.
ReplyDeleteJudy - That would be perfect! I need a break from the Supreme Court now, maybe a presidential bio next for me? Or possibly the new(ish) one about Prince Charles...
DeleteYou've had precipitation that often since September?! That's crazy! We're enjoying dry, beautiful weather, but we're hoping it won't stay dry until fall. The fire season is just beginning and while we live on the coast, rain isn't guaranteed.
ReplyDeleteYou had me at Kelly Corrigan when you wrote about I Miss You When I Blink. :) Normally, I would just get this at the library, but I have a feeling it's one I will want to own. So glad to hear you enjoyed it. I took your advice and just purchased Inheritance from Audible. I'll start listening as soon as I finish my current audiobook (Blue Highways). Loved Where the Crawdads Sing and Ordinary Grace. Both are so well-written!
You always share such great recipes. I'm adding that chicken dish to my To Be Tried file. Thank you!
Les - This has been an unbelievably wet year around here, though we missed a lot of it while we were in FL. After our three consecutive dry days, it rained both Monday and Tuesday... might be dry tomorrow though.
DeleteDani Shapiro's memoir will certainly be on my list of favorites in December. Today I downloaded Hourglass, another Shapiro memoir, and I already love that one, too. I read several of Corrigan's books in quick succession last year. Mary Laura Philpott is also writing along those lines... I'm pretty sure you're going to enjoy her book.
Oh the lake looks beautiful. I hope the sun continues there. The Inheritance book looks very good. I remember hearing about the book a couple months back, and it sounds like a doozy to find out about one's family like that.
ReplyDeleteSusan - Unfortunately the sun did not stick around. It turned out to be a pretty dark, gloomy week... I miss the sunshine! Inheritance was easily a 5-star read for me and my favorite nonfiction so far this year (and nearly 50% of this year's reading has been nonfiction!)
DeleteYou guys have been getting a lot of rain! I am with you on being very behind on getting my hair cut but hopefully in the next couple of weeks. Really curious to hear more about the Dani Shapiro book!
ReplyDeleteIliana - This rain has been ridiculous... wish things would dry out! I've got a short review of Inheritance in today's Sunday Salon :)
DeleteAfter my week at the lake, I am pretty convinced that I want to live by a lake when I retire. It was so lovely to wake up early to that view.
ReplyDeleteThat chicken dish looks so delish!
Ti - We have lived in this house for over 26 years and I am thankful for this view every single day! I love seeing it change with the weather and seasons... though I'm not missing winter scenes all that much ;-)
Delete