I really didn't mean to take such a long, long, long break. No excuses. Just caught in a gentle drift. Now I'm back. Not ready to be a not-blogger yet.
Where I was: Home, work, book group(s), an overnight trip to Springfield. Also, on my phone too much.
What I wore: The usual stuff. Haven't found a white Emily Dickinson dress that suits me.
What I read: 27 books. Not a huge amount, but some of them were chunksters.
1. A Really Good Day: How Microdosing Made a Mega Difference in My Mood, My Marriage, and My Life. (nonfiction) - Ayelet Waldman. Audiobook.
2. Be Ready When the Luck Happens. (memoir) - Ina Garten. (I thought Garten's memoir would really resonate with me, but something fell flat, like an unsuccessful souffle.)
3. Long Island. (novel) - Colm Toibin. (enjoyable Edith Wharton vibes!)
4. Giovanni's Room. (novel) -James Baldwin. (so glad I finally read this book!)
5. Burning Bright (novel) - Tracy Chevalier. Audiobook.
6. Who Is Cynthia Erivo? (nonfiction) - Crystal Hubbard.
7. Waiter Rant. (nonfiction) "The Waiter".
8. Who Is Ariana Grande? (nonfiction) -Kirsten Anderson.
9. The Man Who Lived Underground. (novella) - Richard Wright.
10. Carrie. (novel) - Stephen King. (Intro by Margaret Atwood!)
11. The Only One Left (novel) -Riley Sager. (read for the first meeting of my very newest book group.)
12. The Autobiography of Mark Twain Vol I. (nonfiction) - Mark Twain. Audiobook.
13. Animal Dreams. (novel) - Barbara Kingsolver. (read this one for my other book group. I adore and revere Barbara Kingsolver, just not this book, and one of the other members got huffy at my saying so.)
14. Who Was Shirley Chisholm? (nonfiction) - Crystal Hubbard.
15. The Poppy War. (novel) R.F. Kuang. (new book group; it has no name. The more I read of Kuang, the more impressed I become.)
16. The Autobiography of Mark Twain Vol. 2. (nonfiction) - Mark Twain. Audiobook.
17. Mary McLeod Bethune. (nonfiction) - Sandra Donovan.
18. The Constant Rabbit. (novel) - Jasper Fforde. (read this one for new, no-name book group)
19. The Autobiography of Mark Twain Vol. 3 (nonfiction) - Mark Twain. Audiobook.
20. Three Days in June. (novel) - Anne Tyler. (Anne Tyler was interviewed on a Sunday morning talk show. I nearly swooned from happiness.)
21. What Was The Renaissance? (nonfiction) - Roberta Edwards.
22. Who is Carol Burnett? (nonfiction) - David Stabler.
23. Woe. (graphic novel) Lucy Knisley. (Linney! You're my new favorite cartoon cat!)
24. Severance. (novel) - Ling Ma. (new no-name book group read. It's an immigrant experience novel! It's a dystopian, apocalyptic tale! It's a zombie story! Who says you can't have it all? Not Ling Ma!)
25. A Promised Land. (memoir) - Barack Obama. Audiobook. (wise, wry, reflective. can't wait for volume 2.)
26. Jane Austen's Bookshelf. (nonfiction) - Rebecca Romney. (favorite book so far this year. It woke up the extreme bookloving part of myself and made me realize that I wanted to keep blogging. Read it, please!)
27. The Dog Stars. (novel) - Peter Heller. (read for new no-name book group. Not my favorite. Author is a travel writer who channeled Hemingway and Cormac McCarthy and came up wanting. Also: clunky sex scenes.)
I was going to tidy this post, but I've almost lost it twice, so off it goes to meet the orange Publish button.
I’m going through the same thing, been “away” for almost eight months, myself. I doubt that I will ever blog again, but still reading (at a somewhat slower pace) and checking with my old blogging buddies to see what they are up to every so often. Good to see you back for a minute. :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Sam, Good to see you here! We can't quit blogging now, can we? My reading is on hold for a minute. I've got Covid again.
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