A Few Good Reads

Hi friends and fellow bloggers,

I hope the week is going well for you all.

I wanted to share what I've been reading lately and to find out what you've been reading. I like checking out new books and adding them to my 'want to read' pile if they sound interesting.

I've read 
17332 
pages so far in 2024. I expect to easily surpass 20, 000 pages before year end.
It's so much easier to pick up a book and start reading when I need a break from everything else, than to do almost anything else.

Graphic credit: Rawpixels.com

Here are the books I've read in August.   I'd love to hear about any books you've read that you really enjoyed and would recommend.

Thanks so much!

Long Island

by Colm Tóibín

Elizabeth's Star

by Rhonda Forrest

I enjoyed this story but was annoyed when it ended abruptly. Then I realized it's because it's part of a trilogy, lol. I hope to find book 2 to find out more.

What Happened at the Lake

by Phil M. Williams

The Kamogawa Food Detectives

by Hisashi Kashiwai

3.5 * I love learning about Japanese culture and I'm a big fan of Japanese food but this book was just okay for me. I was anticipating greater enjoyment than I derived from it but nonetheless it was interesting.

 

Lots of Reading

Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

How are you all doing?

My reading activity slowed down a lot in late May/early June due to dealing with the insurance claim.  But I've picked up the pace again.

I completed these 3 books and returned them to the library so someone else can enjoy them. I enjoyed each of them for different reasons but The Botanist's Daughter was my favourite of the three books. 

I picked up these 4 books at the library at the same time. The 5th book (at the top of the stack) is one I picked up at the thrift store. When I'm done I'll give it away.

I also picked up this Spode pitcher at the thrift store. I'll use it for fresh cut flowers.

I enjoyed my little outing.

Have an awesome day and thanks for stopping by.

Monday Starts the Week Again

This past Monday was demolition day at the condo. This was the beginning of it. The walls and ceiling were cut away later. The end result is that the water seems to have dried well enough and there is no mold growing. So that's great news! 

Now they have to fix everything and I'm keen to make sure the end product doesn't look like a patchwork quilt.  I can't wait until everything is nicely painted, carpets are washed and everything is generally fresh again.  I'm hoping to immediately reduce more items before I completely return things to the bedroom.  It might be a bit difficult but it must be done.

The workers arrived at 9:30 a.m and left at 5:30 p.m. I felt quite tired so I went out for a bite to eat and a bit of grocery shopping instead of cooking.  I didn't make it to the community garden but I must get there very soon.

While I wait for the bedroom renovations to begin, I'll be purging in other areas of the condo. I made good progress on Sunday by cleaning the bookshelves and getting rid of a lot of magazines, expired Covid tests and various bits and pieces. 

I also completed reading the thoroughly enjoyable books, The Botanist's Daughter by Kayte Nunn and the book Digging Stars by Zimbabwean author, Novuyu Shuma.

Rain was in the forecast for Tuesday but it only rained in the morning.  I was hoping for a bit more rain today and I see the clouds are forming though the sun is shining brightly.  Perhaps it will still rain later.  The forecast is for warmer temperatures again for the rest of the week.  Even if it rains more I have a lot of photos of beautiful scenes and flowers to enjoy from recent walks.

I'm hoping to make good progress on a lot of 'small' tasks and jobs this week.  

Enjoy your week ahead and thank you for making time to visit my blog during your busy day. I hope you'll visit again soon.