Showing posts with label reading goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reading goals. Show all posts

Friday, February 3, 2023

Status of my Reading Challenge for 2023

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

I hope you are all doing great and ready for the weekend.

I've been plodding along over the past week or so. I've not been too busy but I have a lot to do and I haven't been very organized about it so am feeling a bit disorganized. Whenever I'm in that space of not being able to focus on other things, I always turn to reading.  It's one of my favourite things.

In 2022 I purposed to read less but still read a lot for pleasure. I read 46 books and just over 16,000 pages. I'm not sure I'll have a lot of time for reading later in 2023 so I'm reading a fair bit right now.  My reading is 50 books.  Of course I will always have some works of fiction to read but I'm hoping to make more time for both sewing and baking in 2023 so there will be a lot of books on these subjects.  So far in 2023 I've read 8 books as below. I don't tend to write long reviews of books I've read. I only give them stars according to how much I've enjoyed them and I might add a line or two so I remember them later. (You may need a Goodreads account to be able to read the links).

Cherop 's bookshelf: read

The Girl Next Door
really liked it
A psychological murder mystery set in small town England. A few twists and turns with a surprising and disturbing ending.
tagged: fiction and mystery-thriller
Little Wishes
really liked it
I thoroughly enjoyed this book about young love lost and found again when it is almost too late. A sad and poignant book.
Happy Homemade: Sew Chic: 20 Simple Everyday Designs
really liked it
The layout and presentation of this book is very well thought out. I enjoyed the tips provided for the sewing projects too. But I wasn't a fan of the designs and I have no idea about how easy it is to use the patterns at the back though ...
tagged: contemporary and sewing
Lotta Jansdotter's Everyday Style: Key Pieces to Sew + Accessories, Styling, and Inspiration
really liked it
A short book with uncomplicated clothing. It's the patterns at the back that might take some time to figure out. I'm hoping to make 2-3 items in future but have so many other projects right now.
tagged: crafts and sewing
PlantYou: 140+ Ridiculously Easy, Amazingly Delicious Plant-Based Oil-Free Recipes
really liked it
This book has lots of 'doable' and unfussy plant based recipes. The recipes are all laid out clearly and simply.
A Russian Sister
really liked it
This book is a book of fiction based on historical facts. It took awhile to get into this book but once I started enjoying it I enjoyed it a lot. I had no idea how it might end but was a bit disappointed in it. It seems the women in Russ...
tagged: fiction and historical-fiction
Dear Emma
liked it
This book was written for several generations younger than I so I couldn't relate much to the themes in it. I think those in early years of college or university might like it better.
tagged: contemporary, fiction, romance, and young-adult
Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War between the Windsors
really liked it
tagged: biography, contemporary, and non-fiction

goodreads.com

Sunday, January 30, 2022

Weekend

For those of you who do the majority of the cooking in your household, do you ever get tired of it or not feel up to making the meal? I've found I've cooked a lot more than ever during the pandemic and unlike some folks I have barely ordered food from anywhere to eat in or have it delivered. 

It hasn't been easy as many of you will already know to dine in at most places. Additionally I always think I can make dinner in the time it takes to place an order and have it delivered.  But every now and then I need a change. 

The dinner in the photo below was what we had on Friday. It is a Vietnamese dish of Lemon Grass chicken and rice noodles, salad and a roll dip with vinegar sauce. It was so delicious. I've yet to try making anything other than salad rolls (made with rice paper) and I know and I keep telling myself to get started learning how to at least make some lemon grass chicken and Pad Thai noodles.

 

Saturday night I made stir fried noodles with vegetables and spices (sweet chili sauce, garlic, onions, carrots, zucchini and bell peppers).  I made stir fried beef with onions in soya sauce to go along with it.It was quite nice too. Sunday dinner will be some roasted steak meat along with some roasted vegetables and salad. An easy dinner in the oven and a bag kit for the salad.


I had a bit of a sweet craving and I decided to use up a can of blueberry pie filling. I made a lazy pie with store bought dough, a can of blueberry pie filling to which I added some frozen berries. It was okay but I didn't much like the taste of the pie crust. I will have to make my own next time but I wanted to at least see how the ready made tastes.


 

Have any of you seen the Netflix series called The Woman in the House Across the Street From the Girl in the Window?  What did you think of it?  I watched all 7 episodes over Friday and Saturday. It's a dark comedy/thriller/mystery and "borrows heavily" from the movie The Woman in the Window starring Amy Adams. Overall it was okay but a bit hokey in parts and there was some weak writing here and there.  One such example is the overuse of the word "bingo" uttered by Kristen Bell who plays the series lead. This might not have been that noticeable except that it was used only in the last 1.5 hours of the series so came across as overused.

I also watched Room 2806:  The Accusation a documentary film following events arising from the 2011 sexual assault case involving French politician, Dominique Strauss-Khan (DSK). I had heard about the sexual assault allegation on the news but had not followed the case or known exactly what happened to DSK. Some of you might remember that he was head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at the time of the charges against him and a very powerful person in the world's system.  He was heavily favoured to become the next Prime Minister of France after Sarkozy before the accusation ended his career and political aspirations.


Two books I picked up from the library on Friday are underway.  They are rather different from one another. The Lemon Tree Hotel is about a family run hotel located in the Cinque Terra region of Italy. It's a pleasant, romantic novel which makes for some lighter subject matter.  Not a Happy Family is a murder mystery of an elderly, wealthy couple whose offspring all have reason to come under suspicion for the demise of their parents. I haven't gotten far enough along to see what the details are as of yet but the author, Shari Lapena is Canadian and I've read another of her books, The Couple Next Door which I enjoyed.

I've had a good weekend so far.  On Sunday I have a lot of little administrative and paperwork tasks to do and I also hope to do some reading. Lest you think I only cooked and ate and watched television, I did manage to do some errands and wash and fold some laundry. 

Thank you to one of my blog readers, Jeanie from The Marmalade Gypsy who helped me figure out a way to leave comments on blogs once again. Saturday was the first time in a very long while that I was able to not only visit several blogs but also leave comments. Thank you too for your visit today. I appreciate you.


It Was a Spectacular Day! ~ Skywatch

Hello friends and fellow bloggers, It was a spectacular, sunny day where I live. It's still rather chilly from my point of view but the ...