Six in Six : 2022 Edition

We're halfway through 2022 and it's time again for Six in Six, hosted by Jo of  The Book Jotter. This event (or exercise, as I like to think of it) has been around since 2012. I use it to reflect on the path my reading is taking each year. Jo provides a list of suggested categories, but you're welcome to come up with six of your own. The idea is to fit six books, authors, events, etc. from your first half reading into each of six categories. 

Six New-to-Me Authors:

1. Mary Lawson (A Town Called Solace, Crow Lake)
2. John Green (The Anthropocene Reviewed)
3. John Boyne (The Absolutist)
4. Damon Galgut (The Promise)
5. Maggie O'Farrell (The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox)
6. Bonnie Garmus (Lessons in Chemistry)

Six Repeat Authors: 

1. Amor Towles (The Lincoln Highway)
2. Anna Quindlen (Write for Your Life) 
3. Erik Larson (In the Garden of Beasts)
4. E. Lockhart (Family of Liars)
5. Emily Henry (Book Lovers)
6. Kristin Hannah (The Four Winds)

Six Fiction Favorites: 

1. A Town Called Solace  by Mary Lawson  (links to my thoughts )
2. The Absolutist  by John Boyne
3. Love & Saffron  by Kim Fay
4. Book Lovers  by Emily Henry
5. The Promise  by Damon Galgut
6. The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox  by Maggie O'Farrell

Six books from the nonfiction shelf:

1. The Anthropocene Reviewed  by John Green (links to my thoughts)
2. Devil in the Grove  by Gilbert King
3. In the Garden of Beasts  by Erik Larson
4. Laundry Love: Finding Joy in a Common Chore  by Patric Richardson
5. South to America  by Imani Perry
6. The Yellow House  by Sara M. Broom

(my three favorite nonfiction titles)

Six kindle daily deals I've purchased this year, but have not yet read:

1. The Daughters Of Yalta  by Catherine Grace Katz, 
2. The Thursday Murder Club  by Richard Osman
3. Road Ends  by Mary Lawson
4. The Blue Castle  by L.M. Montgomery
5. Fates and Furies  by Lauren Groff
6. Winter Solstice  by Rosamunde Pilcher

Six bookstores I've visited in 2022:

1. MacIntosh Books + Paper - Sanibel, FL
2. Gene's Books - Sanibel, FL
3. R.J. Julia Booksellers - Madison, CT
4. Strand Book Store - NY, NY
5. Shakespeare & Co - NY, NY
6. Book Culture - NY, NY

Visit Jo's post to read more Six in Six and leave a link to yours!

The Sunday Salon: July 10, 2022

Hello, friends! It's a beautiful summer day in southern Connecticut - lots of sunshine, low humidity, and a nice breeze. A perfect day for being outdoors! I'm planning to go for a walk after finishing this post and spend the rest of the afternoon at a nearby park.

It's been a full week with our daughter and her boyfriend here until Tuesday evening, then carpet installation on Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday we did some exploring up the Connecticut River, but I forgot to take photos... so above is another picture of the garden at Harkness Memorial State Park from a week ago.

Read last week// 

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

I mentioned in my review of The Four Winds  by Kristin Hannah that it primarily made me want to reread Steinbeck's novel, and I didn't waste any time. After 40+ years, it's surprising how much of Steinbeck's story stuck with me over the decades. It is truly an American classic! I'm planning to watch PBS's Ken Burns documentary, The Dust Bowl, this week and will post about my entire foray into the Dust Bowl as soon as possible.

Current reading//

The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary

audio edition narrated by Carrie Hope Fletcher and Kwaku Fortune

After finishing The Grapes of Wrath last night, it was time to lighten up! Listening to the What Should I Read Next? podcast, this book was mentioned by the guest as being light and especially good on audio. The audio version was available for immediate download from my library via hoopla and I already have the ebook on my kindle. The first chapter sounds like this will be just what I need. So much for my July reading plans...

In the kitchen//

I tried a couple of new recipes last week and also returned to an old favorite. I made Fish Florentine from skinnytaste using halibut which we all enjoyed. Last night I made Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken from Well-Plated by Erin. It was good (wish I'd sprinkled chopped peanuts prior to serving), but I'm not sure I'd make it again. For lunches I made Napa Chicken Salad with Sesame Dressing from Pinch of Yum. I use a bag of broccoli slaw instead of the cabbage...this recipe has become a favorite!

The big hit was a super easy Puff Pastry Galette from Simply Delicious! I made one with blueberries and one with strawberries. Top with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream to make it even more special.

The week ahead//

I'm looking forward to a neighborhood get-together early this week. We'll gather on one of the cul de sacs... everyone brings their own chairs, beverage of choice, and a snack to share. It will be a great opportunity to meet more of the neighbors. Then mid-week we'll drive up to NY to spend some time with my parents. Should be a great week!

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.

June Reading Recap and Plans for July

June has come to an end and, just like that, the first half of 2022 is behind us! During the month of June, we settled into our summer home in Connecticut, enjoyed visits from our NYC daughters, traveled to central NY to see my parents, and invented as many excuses as we could to eat lobster rolls at various lobster pounds and shacks along the coast. And surprisingly, I still managed to read a book each week.

Books Read in June//

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

feminist historical fiction - 4/5 stars

my review

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell

 literary fiction - 5/5 stars

my review

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

classic - 3.5/5 stars

my review

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

historical fiction - 4/5 stars

my review

It wasn't planned, but in June I read exclusively fiction and exclusively female authors. My favorite book of the month was The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox.

July Reading Possibilities//

• The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (in progress)
• The Book of Salt by Monique Truong (for a library book group and Paris in July)
• Desperate Characters by Paula Fox (for the T Book Club, kicking off another 4-book discussion series, this time focusing on New York City)
• The Latecomer by Jean Hanff Korelitz 

Other Plans for July//

We're starting off the month with a low-key 4th of July. One of our NYC daughters and her boyfriend are here for a long weekend. Some home projects are on the agenda this month, beginning with replacing carpet  and changing out a couple of light fixtures. We're looking forward to meeting some neighbors next week at a summer gathering and we'll spend time with my parents mid-month. My birthday is coming up later in the month... no special plans for that yet. And, of course, I'll walk as often as I can (while listening to an audiobook) and read some good books, too!

How did June go for you? What was your favorite book last month?

photos taken at Harkness Memorial State Park, Waterford, CT

June Mini-Reviews: The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell, Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys, and The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

 

 The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell

Houghton Mifflin 2007

245 pages

Blackstone Audio, 2007

narrated by Anne Flosnik

7 hours and 18 minutes

Maggie O'Farrell was on my 2022 list of Must-Try Authors and this was the perfect place to start - a book that has it all! A propelling plot, fully-developed characters, and beautiful writing made this reading experience a real pleasure. Family secrets, a Victorian insane asylum, and a setting in Scotland further added to the appeal.

I started out reading this book on my kindle, but added in the audio when I discovered that it's currently free in the audible plus catalog. I listened on my walks and read in every spare minute at home. The perfect ending packs a punch! Now I'm ready for more Maggie O'Farrell. Do you have a favorite to recommend?

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

W. W. Norton Company, 2016

(originally published in 1966)

176 pages

Wide Sargasso Sea  has been on my wish list and my Classics Club list for years. The novel is, of course, an imagining of Bertha Rochester's life before she became the "madwoman in the attic" in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. It offers the reader an opportunity to look at Brontë’s story from a different perspective. Since I reread Jane Eyre last summer, it made sense to pick up Rhys's novel while  the details are still fairly fresh in my mind.

The writing in Wide Sargasso Sea  is as lush and atmospheric as its Caribbean setting and is what I most appreciated about the novel. The story shifts viewpoints between Antoinette (as we learn Bertha prefers to be called) and a young Englishman we assume to be Rochester. Both are sympathetically portrayed, especially Antionette, but I found the storyline to be slow and a bit confusing at times. 

Pick this up if you love beautiful writing and are curious to learn how the "madwoman" may have come to inhabit Mr. Rochester's attic.

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

St. Martin's Press, 2021

464 pages

audio edition narrated by Julia Whelan

Mcmillan Audio, 2021

15 hours and 2 minutes

This novel of the Dust Bowl novel is the July selection for a library book group  I plan to join next week.  It's about Elsa Martinelli, a farmer's wife in Texas who, after being abandoned by her husband, takes her two children and leaves to find work/a better life in California. 

This story is laden with misery... misery on the farm in Texas as the land gradually dies, misery on the journey west and in the filthy, disease-ridden migrant camps of California, and finally, the misery of surviving at the mercy of big cotton growers. Since this is a  Kirstin Hannah novel, the pages turn quickly... but the misery is unrelenting! 

I'm sure, for the most part, this is an accurate representation the time, but to me it bordered on being emotionally manipulative. So while I compulsively tore through The Four Winds, it mostly made me want to reread John Steinbeck's classic novel, The Grapes of Wrath. I need to be reminded how a master handles the same subject. I'm also planning to watch The Dust Bowl, Ken Burns PBS documentary.

Book Brief: Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

 Lessons in Chemistry 

by Bonnie Garmus

 Doubleday Books, 2022

400 pages

audio edition  narrated by Miranda Raison

Random House Audio, 2022

11 hours and 55 minutes

source: library ebook, audible audio

Goodreads summary:

Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it's the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel-prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with--of all things--her mind. True chemistry results.

But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America's most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth's unusual approach to cooking ("combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride") proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn't just teaching women to cook. She's daring them to change the status quo.

Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant, and studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters, Lessons in Chemistry  is as original and vibrant as its protagonist.

My thoughts:

This is the  buzzy book of the season and with good reason! Elizabeth Zott is one of the most memorable characters I've come across in a very long time, and the supporting cast of characters (including the dog Six-thirty) is superb. 

However, 

...this was not the book I was expecting. The cover implies light and breezy, while the blurb describes the novel as  "laugh-out-loud funny."  I experienced something much more substantial and serious. Garmis offers some pretty grim social commentary on the status of women during the 1960s, which somehow feels even heavier in light of last Friday's Supreme Court ruling.

Lessons in Chemistry  is still a wonderful read. (Trigger warning for a sexual assault scene early in the novel.)  But I do recommend you read, rather than listen. The repeated mispronunciation of Jack LaLanne's name was annoying, but the mispronunciation of multiple chemical names/terms drove me to distraction. I had to give up on the audio and switch to print.

If you're looking for a summer read that's a bit more serious and will easily lend itself to discussion, I recommend Lessons in Chemistry.

My rating:

A Late June Sunday Salon

Hello, friends. It's hard to believe we're approaching the end of June already... summer in Connecticut is in full swing. We're enjoying the town beaches, the parks overlooking the cove and river, and weekly concerts on the green. We've had visits from both NYC daughters, plus I drove to central New York to spend time with my parents... and get a haircut!

I've read some good books this month, too, but haven't managed to write about them. I'll post a full review for Lessons in Chemistry  and then a mini-review round up for the others.

Recent reading//

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox

by Maggie O'Farrell, narrated by Anne Flosnik

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

The Four Winds

by Kristin Hannah, narrated by Julia Whelan

Current reading//

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

After finishing Kristin Hannah's version, I figured it was time to reread the classic novel about the Dust Bowl migration. I'm also planning to watch the Ken Burns PBS documentary.

Coming soon//

 It's that time... Paris in July is almost here! Tamara at Thyme for Tea and Deb at Readerbuzz are teaming up to bring this month-long event back to the blogosphere. You can read more about it and sign up here.

My new library book group has chosen The Book of Salt  by Monique Truong (set in Paris) for early August discussion, so at least one of my selections is set. 

Will you be participating?

Feedly update//

A couple of weeks ago I posted about my frustration with bloglovin' and began to set up a feedly account. That's working out well so far. You can follow up to 100 blogs with a free feedly account and, even though I follow more than 100 on blogluvin', I can now read my core group of blogs regularly.

I check blogluvin' periodically to catch up with the rest, but it still appears to be down more often than not...

The week ahead//

Next weekend is the 4th of July! Twin B and her boyfriend will spend the long holiday weekend with us and, of course, I am excited to see them. But... with all that has happened on so many fronts this past week, I'm not really feeling like fireworks, parades, and Yankee Doodle. Sigh.

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.

Weekly Update: June 12, 2022

Hello from southern Connecticut! We've been here just over a week and are finally settling in. We arrived in time for my husband to attend a few college reunion activities last weekend. One of our daughters and her boyfriend were here for a long weekend, too. Easy train access to New York City factored into our decision to purchase here and we're glad both NYC daughters are able to take advantage of it.

A top priority for me has been finding a new walking route, so last week I tried several. I enjoyed the variety and will likely rotate between three of them. Another route was especially scenic, but it turned out to be over four miles instead of my usual two to three - maybe I'll save that one for days when I have more time and energy!

Recent reading//

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

This was a read/listen combination for me and, unfortunately, not the 5-star experience I was anticipating. I'm waffling between 3.5 and 4 stars (a very good read!) and plan to post a review later this week.

Current reading//

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

This book has been on my tbr list for years, and about a month ago I purchased this beautiful paperback. It seems there is not a kindle edition... surprising! In this short novel, Rhys imagines the story behind the madwoman in the attic from Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. I'm about halfway through now and finding to to be atmospheric, tinged with melancholy, and very readable.

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox 

by Maggie O'Farrell, narrated by Anne Flosnik

Maggie O'Farrell is another author on my "must try in 2022" list and this is where I decided to begin. It's a read/listen combination that is mostly listening for now. I'm about a third of the way in, completely invested in the story, and can't wait to pick it up again!

What's up with Blogluvin'?

This was my week to try and get caught up with blog reading and I couldn't access my feed for most of the week! It seems to be a recurring Blogluvin' problem, at least for me, and I think it may be time to explore other options. Are any of you using Feedly? What do you think of it? I'll probably set up an account this week.

In the kitchen//

I was craving soup this week and tried a new recipe for Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup from Damn Delicious... and it WAS delicious! The recipe is slightly more involved than other chicken noodle soups I make, but well worth the extra effort. The only change I made was to use 8 cups (two 32oz. cartons) of chicken stock instead of 6 cups. This will be my new go-to chicken noodle soup.

The week ahead//

We have a few more home projects on tap this week. I'm planning to check out a couple more walking routes, while my husbands figures out bike routes. We're looking forward to our  other NYC daughter's visit sometime midweek... she and her boyfriend are the only two who haven't seen the new place yet. I'm sure she'll also help me plan something special for Father's Day next Sunday.

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.