Hello, friends! It's a sunny Sunday on Sanibel Island and I cannot believe we're halfway through April. I didn't get a chance to check in last week, but we had a quiet, peaceful Easter. There were no visitors this year, so I had plenty of time to read and relax.
Hurricane repairs are progressing. The garage door was installed last week and, now that the electricians have finished their work on the lower level, we can use it! It seems we need more cleaning/remediation downstairs before the sheetrock goes up, so we're keeping our fingers crossed that it happens this week.
Recent reading//
I finished three books since my last post. Instead of adding the reviews here, I'll do a mini-review roundup late this week. All three were between 4 and 5 stars, so some really good reading so far this month.
by Sy Montgomery
by Rebecca Kauffman
Current reading//
by Joan Biskupic
Since reading Joan Biskupic's biographies of Chief Justice John Roberts and Sonia Sotomayor, I've come to admire her work. The focus here is on the court as a whole, rather than one specific justice. I'm only 10% in now, so this may take awhile. She has also written biographies of Sandra Day O'Connor and Antonin Scalia that I'd like to read one day. Have I mentioned that I am a Supreme Court junkie?
by Cat Shook
I opened my email this morning and discovered I'd won a goodreads kindle giveaway! This book will be released on Tuesday and is described as being for fans of We Are the Brennans by Tracey Lange and All Adults Here by Emma Straub. Both of those books were solid 4-star reads for me. Since the Supreme Court book is on the heavy side, I need to lighten things up and plan to start this today.
On the blog//
The week ahead//
My sister-in-law is coming to stay with us for a couple of weeks. She has a place in Ft. Myers that needed post-hurricane renovation. Rather than moving back in now, she has decided to move on. There's work to be done sorting, packing, and shipping what's important back to NY. We'll help her with that process and are looking forward to spending some time with her.
How was your week? What have you been reading?
The Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz.
It's Monday, What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date.
I'm interested in the Supreme Court, too. One of the best books I read about the Supreme Court was The Nine. I wonder if you have read that one.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on the book win. I hope it's as good as it has been described.
Hurricane repair seems to take forever. I'm glad you are making progress.
Deb - Yes, I loved The Nine! It's probably the first book I read about the Supreme Court, and it made me want to learn more.
DeleteWhat a beautiful picture! Glad to hear the hurricane repairs are moving along. Your books sound interesting especially the one about the Supreme Court. Hope you have a good week!
ReplyDeleteYvonne - I read a little more of the Supreme Court book this afternoon... it's very good!
DeleteI quite liked Demon - and I'm not sure I can read about the Supreme Court right now - I'm so frustrated and angry with the whole process and what they're doing in the "name of the law" that I can hardly stand to talk about it. So I'll probably pass on that one right now. :) Thanks for the visit.
ReplyDeleteTerrie @ Bookshelf Journeys
Terrie - I really liked Demon, too! Parts were tough to read, but I'm glad the ending was hopeful.
DeleteLove the photo! Glad things are going good with the renovations. Hopefully they'll be finished soo.
ReplyDeleteVicki - I hope so, too, but have a feeling we'll end up stopping the work while we're gone this summer. Sigh.
DeleteI can't believe we are halfway through April either! I want to make plans for the summer but it will be here before we know it. Have a great week. Enjoy time with your sister in law!
ReplyDeleteCindy - I know! We have plans for a long weekend in Lake Placid, NY when my daughter will do the Iron Man... but other than that I haven't even thought about it!
DeleteHow fun that you have your sister in law coming to stay for a while!
ReplyDeleteHelen - It really is... we haven't seen her since Christmas!
DeleteI enjoyed Demon Copperhead too — reviewed it here:
ReplyDeletehttps://maefood.blogspot.com/2022/10/demon-copperhead-by-barbara-kingsolver.html
Good luck with the restoration and good luck with no more hurricanes!
best, mae at maefood.blogspot.com
You asked if I had reread David Copperfield, and I did, shortly after reading Demon Copperhead. Review here:
Deletehttps://maefood.blogspot.com/2022/11/mr-micawber.html
Thanks for the link Mae, and thanks for sending me to your review of David Copperfield, too!
DeleteGlad to hear that hurricane repairs are going forward. You have an intriguing assortment of books here too. I'm planning to something strange next month; I'm reading a nonfiction book or two. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteKathy - Nonfiction... really?! I'll be curious to see what you choose.
DeleteOoo Chorus looks good! And I absolutely loved How to be a Good Creature!
ReplyDeleteErin - Chorus was a 5-star read for me... loved it! I also loved her novel, The Gunners, from a few years ago.Still working on my mini-review post.
DeleteIt seems like 2023 is flying by, not just April, doesn't it? I had Demon Copperhead on audio download come through for me from the library but I postponed it for a while as I was just finishing a long audiobook by Stephen King, which also has a young, first-person male narrator.
ReplyDeleteI listened to David Copperfield by Charles Dickens on audio and gave it five stars and put it on my end-of-the-year favorites list, but that was a few years ago now. I hope I remember it enough to catch at least most of the references to it in Demon Copperhead!
Laurie - Demon Copperhead is a big time commitment, but it actually reads quicker than you'd expect from a book that long. Which audio version of David Copperfield did you listen to? I'm planning to read/listen within the next few months and am tempted to go with Simon Vance. I'd welcome your advice!
DeleteI listened to the one by Ralph Cosham. He was one of my favorite narrators, especially as the narrator of Louise Penny's books until he died, but Simon Vance is a favorite, too!
DeleteThanks, Laurie. I'm not sure I've listened to him before... will check it out!
DeleteHave you read Allow Me to Retort: A Black Guy's Guide to the Constitution by Elie Mystal? It's not exactly a Supreme Court book but it does cover a lot of Supreme Court cases so it might interest you. I seem to recall that there was quite a bit of "bad" language though.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad your hurricane recovery is progressing! We were surprised by how long it took for my in-laws to get fully back to normal after Irma, the last storm that really hit them in far south Naples.
How to Be a Good Creature sounds interesting. I heard Sy Montgomery interviewed on a children's podcast about an octopus and she was very entertaining.
Enjoy your week and your time with your sister-in-law!
Jen - I hadn't even heard of Allow Me to Retort, but it sounds really interesting! I've added it to my list.
DeleteSy Montgomery also wrote an adult book called The Soul of an Octopus, which I enjoyed. I picked it up after listening to Remarkably Bright Creatures last year, which made me want to learn more about octopuses!
Beautiful pic! I'm happy the hurricane repairs are moving forward. Hope they continue to move forward easily! That book on the Supreme Court looks fascinating. I'll have to add it to my list.
ReplyDeleteHeather - Hurricane repairs are finally moving at a faster pace. We will FINALLY get our broken window replaced tomorrow, AT LAST!!!
DeleteCongratulations for winning the giveaway! It's always a pleasant feeling for winning something, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteFanda - I was thrilled to win the giveaway, especially since I've only won one other time in all these years!
DeleteI saw that Goodreads was ramping up giveaways for a month and i was also lucky enough to win a book. Congrats! I am finding these days I am enjoying the Kindle format more than physical books. Easier to read outside and hold if it's a particularly fat book.
ReplyDeleteYea to the garage door being repaired! We are on slow down for any more improvements here. Tryint to decide which project to focus on but not having workmen around is nice.
Enjoy your SIL visit. Looking forward to your book reviews.
Tina - Congrats on your goodreads win, too. They seem to have had a ton of them lately.
DeleteIt's so nice to have a garage door again! We also found out they they are finally installing the new window tomorrow. All of a sudden, things are finally moving along. Glad your work is done for a little while.
I was about to say that it's sunny here, but our weather has changed with every passing hour for the past two weeks. It was sunny a few minutes ago, but then we had a huge downpour of pea-sized hail. Then lightning and thunder startled me, and now it's raining. Again. And, it's still only 45 degrees.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you had a relaxing Easter. We were camping (in the rain, but in our RV), but it was also relaxing.
Glad that your reading is going well. Other than one disappointment, I've been on a roll, too. I'm loving my current read (Recurrsion by Blake Crouch) and have a feeling I'll have a reading hangover once I finish it tonight. I won a copy of Demon Copperhead (I think from Goodreads), so that ARC is taunting me, but I'm tempted to leave it until after our Canadian road trip. I'll be too busy having fun to immerse myself in a lengthy novel, I'm afraid. Not sure what I'll take to read...
When do you plan to head back north? I'm glad you're having progress on all of your repairs. Babysteps, right?
Les - Glad you were able to get out on an RV trip again... seems like it's been a while. Your Canadian route sounds amazing! I'd love to see that area sometime, too!
DeleteDemon Copperhead reads faster than you'd expect for a book that long. Some parts were difficult, especially on audio, but I'm glad she gave it a hopeful ending.
We're heading north a little earlier than usual this year, probably around mid-May. We should be a point where the house is secure and ready for another hurricane season. Hoping this will be a quiet one!
Congrats on winning the Goodreads giveaway!!!
ReplyDeleteThat beach picture is lovely.
That's great that you'll be able to help your sis-in-law pack up and move to NY.