Author: Jaclyn

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Themed Reads: In Case You Need More Politics

Well, for those of us in the U.S.A., politics season is in full swing – with less than 75 days to go until the election, the onslaught of news coverage and candidate outreach has begun.  I’ve donated to a few different campaigns and requested my absentee ballot, so I’m on my way.  I’m also looking around for some volunteer opportunities that I can do safely.  With all this political activity, of course, comes waves and waves of nonsense on Facebook (and Twitter, I know, but I’ve deleted Twitter and couldn’t be happier about that).  I’m trying to steer clear of the vitriol, and if you are too, but you’re still looking for some engagement – or if you just loved that speech by President Obama at the Convention and want to wallow in memories – might I suggest an Obama staffer memoir?

First of all, the classic – Who Thought This Was a Good Idea? And Other Questions You Should Have Answers to When You Work in the White House, by Alyssa Mastromonaco, was the first Obama staffer memoir I read, and might still be my favorite.  Mastromonaco combines memories of her time as a senior advisor to President Obama with a manual on leadership for women, and it’s everything.  I listened to it on audio, read by the author herself, and that enhanced the reading experience.  (There is that kind of out-of-place chapter about her cats, but you know, Mastromonaco devoted a lot of her life to her White House job and if she wants to tell me about her cats, I’ll listen.)

Another serious one, and an especially good read for the foreign policy wonks among us, The World As It Is, by Ben Rhodes, is a great reminder that once upon a time, we had normal relations with other countries.  And maybe one day, we can have that again!  In the past few years, I’ve taken great comfort in one of Rhodes’ metaphors: he writes that U.S. foreign policy is like a massive cruise ship (or was it an aircraft carrier? in any event, a really big boat) – you can’t just turn it on a dime, the course is pretty much set and it’s mostly going to chug along.  When I think about how abnormal the past few years have been, I am reassured by that idea.

Whew.  Women and leadership, and foreign policy – two heavy subjects.  If you need something lighter after that, and somehow have not already read Thanks, Obama: My Hopey, Changey White House Years, by David Litt, you are in for a total delight.  Litt was a speechwriter on President Obama’s staff and quickly rose to become the funny guy in the room.  Meaning: when President Obama made a joke, it was probably Litt’s work.  Litt describes his rise to comedy speechwriting, explaining how some of his lines fell flat, but he eventually got a handle on President Obama’s sense of humor and was able to harness it for some spectacular zingers.  If a political memoir can be fun, this one is.

Of course, you may be overwhelmed with all the politics already, and just not into any of it: fair enough.  Living in the D.C. area, I’m both steeped in politics and out of it.  I’ve got relatives who often ask me to share all of my inside political information with them, and I am forever explaining that I don’t have any – I get my news from NPR and the Washington Post, like lots of people, and I don’t know any more than a reasonably informed citizen anywhere in the country; I’m not an insider.  While I’m often frustrated and made late for appointments because of motorcades, that’s really the extent of the D.C. experience.  But at the same time, living here is often like living in a churning stew of opinions – you can’t ever really forget what’s going on, because at any moment you might look up and see Marine One buzzing along overhead or see a recognizable face walking down M Street.  This is a weird place to live, for sure.  And I mostly just try to inform myself and then live my life.  But every now and again, it’s good to remember a normal time – and Obama staffer memoirs are just the balm for that.

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? (August 24, 2020)

Mornin’ friends.  How were your weekends?  We had a pretty nice one.  Peanut’s birthday was on Friday, and I took the day (mostly) off.  All she wanted to do was open her presents early and spend the day playing, so that’s what she did.  The weather on Saturday was a little gloomy, but we managed to squeeze in a hike at Riverbend Park – quickly becoming a local favorite – and spotted a new bird for Nugget’s and my life list: a common yellowthroat!  (At least, I’m pretty sure that’s what it was.  I can’t find any other possibilities that resemble the photo I got.)  The rest of Saturday was spent poking around the house.

On Sunday, we were back at Riverbend Park to explore in a different way: by kayaks.  We’d discovered that the park rents out single and double kayaks (as well as canoes, I think) and signed up online to rent a couple.  Nugget wanted to paddle with Daddy this time, so I got Peanut, who brings the drama every time we are out on the water.  This time, it was because a (harmless) spider dropped into the boat.  She freaked out and started trying to scoot away from it, and almost turned the kayak over.  I was less than pleased, because it turns out Riverbend Park has a strong current and a lot of big rocks right under the surface.  It was definitely the most technical water I’ve ever paddled, and it’s hard enough to tackle that kind of water, let alone in a heavy two person boat where your companion is not paddling at all, and then tries to stand up and get into another boat and almost dumps you in the water.  I had sympathy because she was scared – even though it was a totally harmless spider, like I said – but clearly we are not going to be paddling Riverbend again with the kids.  Bummer!  Anyway, the rest of the day was more chill.  I squeezed in a run (at the hottest part of the day, and I wasn’t feeling awesome) and spent the rest of the afternoon on the couch with my book – not too shabby.

Reading.  Good reading week!  It was a busy week of juggling work and kiddos, so workweek reading was slow, but I finished up Delta Wedding on Saturday morning.  Review coming soon!  Then I blazed through The Silver Branch, the second novel in Rosemary Sutcliff’s ancient Britain series, and loved it every bit as much as the first in the series – The Eagle of the Ninth.  (More on this below.)  Finished the weekend with the summer issue of Slightly Foxed, because it occurred to me that my copy of the fall issue will be arriving before long and I’d better get through the current issue before it becomes a back issue.

Watching.  One of the reasons I didn’t read much during the week was: I was watching the Democratic National Convention coverage.  I didn’t watch Monday, because I forgot – any suggestions where I can stream Michelle Obama’s entire speech? – but I watched every minute of Tuesday through Thursday, plus pre- and post-convention coverage.  Whew!  And for something completely different: because it was Peanut’s birthday weekend, she got to pick the movies for family movie night (within reason: no Polly Pocket, something everyone will enjoy, please).  On Friday, she chose Finding Nemo, and on Saturday, it was Toy Story (the first one) – solid choices.  So: political convention, plus Disney movies.  About sums up the current life stage, doesn’t it?

Listening.  I burned through several back issues of The Mom Hour podcast – while driving to and from the supermarket, putting away groceries, doing dishes, and running.  Finished up a couple of half-listened episodes (must-have winter gear for all ages; fall fitness update) and listened to a bunch that I’d been meaning to get to (another batch of listener questions; a grab-bag of topics; and must-have beach and pool gear).  Now that I don’t really commute anymore, my podcatcher is more out of control than ever and I’ve totally given up on ever catching up with it.

Making.  Not much.  Peanut mentioned wanting to bake an apple pie for her birthday so I went out and got the ingredients, then she changed her mind (sigh).  I’m sure I made dinner a few times, because I always do, and I made progress on unpacking.  Trudge, trudge.

Moving.  Back on the horse!  After a week of mostly just chasing the kids around – nothing formal – I had a pretty active weekend.  Hike on Saturday, very difficult paddle on Sunday, and I knocked another virtual 5K off my list: the Leesburg 20K/10K/5K.  It’s a local race that I’ve always wanted to run, but it went virtual this year.  I planned to run the 10K distance, but since I ended up going out at 1:00 p.m. when it was full sun and 90 degrees, and my stomach immediately began to churn, I decided to drop down to the 5K distance.  It was an ugly run, but I got it done.  I have a relay coming up this weekend, so I will have to keep up with running a little better this week.  Rest day today, then back at it tomorrow.

Blogging.  Finishing up August content this week – how is the month almost over?  I’ll have themed reads for you on Wednesday, on a topic to-be-determined.  And then a long garden update on Friday.  (I actually did some chores!  And a few things are growing!)

Loving.  Two bookish things to tell you this week: first, I finished unpacking and organizing my bookshelves, and my reading area is coming together!  I have a few books that are going into overflow shelving in the family room, but other than that – it’s all done, and doesn’t she look good?  I spent Saturday night reading on the couch with a candle and a glass of wine, and it was everything.

(Image source: Slightly Foxed on Twitter).  Second, my copies of books three and four in the Slightly Foxed Cubs’ reprinting of Rosemary Sutcliff’s Ancient Britain series arrived this week and I could not be more delighted.  I pre-ordered the entire set over a year ago: books one and two were published on September 1, 2019, and books three and four have a release date of September 1, 2020 – but they turned up on my doorstep early, lucky me!  The above picture is of the four editions together, and I assure you that they look even more beautiful in person.  AND – it gets better – with the package containing my books was a letter announcing that they will be publishing three more of Sutcliff’s Ancient Britain books in series with the first four – in March and September, 2021, respectively – and that they were reserving my limited editions for me, unless of course I didn’t want them.  Don’t want them?!  I logged into my account immediately to confirm that of course I want them.  And then I grabbed book two to read over the weekend and tore through it – so good.

Asking.  What are you reading this week?

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The Great Bass Island Circumnavigation of 2020

Who’s ready for some Adirondack paddling?!  MEEEEEEEEEE.  Y’all know I can’t resist an afternoon on the water – especially via my kayak – and after many days of quarantining at my parents’ house (with my laptop, of course) I was desperately in need of some fresh air and fun.  We were cautious and mindful of the New York State travel advisory, but my parents’ camp is very private, and we were the only ones there, so we figured it still counted as quarantining.  The moment we got there, Nugget started begging me to take him out in the kayak.  You don’t have to ask me twice!  Steve hauled my old Perception kayak (I got it when I was fifteen!) and my parents’ Old Town down to the beach, and my mom dug up the duffing seat out of cobwebs.  I don’t think it had been used in years – since I used to paddle my cousins around.

Skipper Nugget was READY to go.  We let him decide where to paddle, and he said he wanted to paddle across the lake.  That’s 37 miles, so probably not doable in a day.  (Definitely not doable in a recreational kayak with a densely-packed duffer.)  But some additional questioning revealed that he actually wanted to paddle across the bay (whew) to Bass Island.  That, we can do.

We set off across the deepest part of the bay, carefully avoiding motorboats and waterskiers.  Nugget insisted he was having a good time, but later confessed to being scared at first.  Poor little dude!  Once he got into the rhythm, he definitely shook off any fear and started to really have fun.

Approaching the island…

Dad landed first and pulled us ashore.  Nugget immediately hopped out of the boat and set off on a hike into the brush (note: this is a very small island) while Steve and I followed behind him shouting things like “WATCH OUT FOR POISON IVY” (me) and “THERE IS GOOSE POOP LITERALLY EVERYWHERE” (Steve).

Don’t care, Mommy-Daddy!  Explooooooooooooooore!

We hiked through most of the wooded part of the island (it really is small, you guys) and came out on the beach on the other side, then walked around the point and back to our boats.  Where to next, Nugget?

Around the island, Mommy!

Whatever you say, Henry Hudson.

After our circumnavigation of Bass Island (which took less then ten minutes #keepingitreal) Nugget directed us to paddle along the shoreline.  We obediently turned our bows into the bay and paddled the length of the shore.  Nugget shyly waved to some people who were having a party on a pontoon boat, but they didn’t notice his sweet little greeting.  Their loss.

Much better: Nugget directed us into a smaller bay that off-shoots my parents’ bay.  We paddled around in the calm and quiet waters for a bit, and were treated to a fantastic view of a great blue heron – a huge one.  So cool.  After it noticed us and took off flying across the bay, Nugget dictated that it was time to return home, so return home we did.  With sore arms and cores, and big smiles.

Returned with plenty of time left for more swimming and mountain views.  Can’t beat it.

The state of the world being what it is, I don’t know if we will make it back to the lake again this season.  So it felt good to get there once.  Next year, I hope to make up for our relative absence this summer by being up there a lot more – and in some different seasons.  I want Steve and the kids to see the “ring of fire” on Labor Day (when everyone lights bonfires on their beaches and the whole lake glows) and experience the magic of a chilly autumn paddle while the mountains are ablaze with color.  There’s absolutely nothing like it.

Where are you escaping this summer?

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Autumn on the Brain

(^Okay, not quite that, yet.)

It might be because the sky is dark and the wind is howling as I write this (hey, Isaias!) or because we’ve recently gotten the kids registered for school in our new district and gotten a bevy of emails from different administrators about the coming school year, but – I have autumn on the brain.  Or more specifically, I have “back” to school on the brain (although we’re not going “back” in the traditional sense).

This school year is going to look different for everyone, and I’m still working out what it’s going to look like for our family.  We are getting some guidance about the school curriculum and it seems really organized and thorough – the kids will be booked up from about 9:15 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (which doesn’t mean Mom and Dad are off duty – we’re going to have to be actively facilitating all this distance learning).  But in addition to their regular school curriculum, I have some goals for them – subjects I want to cover with them regardless of whether they’re part of the traditional curricula for kindergarten and second grade.

What I’m wondering is: do you want to read about that?  Writing often helps me crystallize what I am thinking about a subject, and right now my brain is a swirling mess of schedules, nature-based homeschool programs, supply lists and ideas for topics and projects.  I’m working through how I’ll balance these ideas with the school’s curriculum and my work schedule.  There’s plenty of material out there about homeschool and I’m not pretending to be an expert or educate anyone, but it seems to me that as a working mom, navigating home-based education while juggling two full-time working parent schedules, I’m working through the same new-ish situation that lots of other parents are.  And I’m wondering – it strikes me that this would be an interesting conversation to have, but I don’t want to post something that doesn’t interest anyone.

So – what do you think?  Are you interested in what we’re planning and doing for the 2020-21 school year, or should I leave it to the homeschooling mommy bloggers?

Let me know in the comments.

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? (August 17, 2020)

Hey, guys.  How were your weekends?  Mine was okay, nothing all that special.  To be honest, I was disgruntled all weekend.  Last week we were trying to be “on vacation” even though we ended up staying home (after first our plans to go to Lake Tahoe with my family were scrapped – months ago – and then our consolation Cape Cod trip was cancelled at the last minute).  Work ended up kind of blowing up on me – not my colleagues’ fault; they tried really hard not to bother me on vacation, but it just happens sometimes – and the weather was gross toward the end of the week, so I ended up just working Wednesday through Friday.  Figured if I couldn’t be out having fun I might as well work.  But – ugh.  I’m going to try for a do-over this week.  Today is shot – I have a bunch of things to do and am actually going to have to go into the office, a rare occasion these days.  But tomorrow I’m planning a morning of kayaking, then squeezing in a tiny bit of work, and then hopefully taking the rest of the week OFF, for real this time.

Anyway – the weekend.  So, like I said, I was disgruntled at my “staycation” – which wasn’t even plan A or B – getting wrecked by bad weather and too much to do.  On Friday I did manage to escape with Steve and the kids for an hour at Mount Vernon, followed by a picnic at our favorite waterfront park in Old Town.  It felt lovely to be back – Alexandria still feels like home and I imagine it will for awhile.  Saturday was decent, weather-wise, so we headed out for a short hike at Riverbend Park.  The rest of the day was more blah.  I did get some unpacking done, but Peanut was in rare form and I just wasn’t having it.  Sunday was gross weather again – other than a neighborhood walk, we didn’t get out at all, and I was just in a crummy mood.  It happens.  Hopefully I’ll actually get some time off this week (staycation, take two?) and have a happier Monday post for you next week.

Reading.  At least it was a good reading week.  I finished up Mary Barton early in the week – once I hit the exciting murder trial scenes, it flew by.  Interspersed with that, on my kindle while Steve shuttled us to activities earlier in the week, I read Molly Wizenberg’s new memoir, The Fixed Stars.  I’ll have more to say in my monthly reading recap post in a couple of weeks, but I had very mixed feelings about it.  It was wonderfully written, which should come as no surprise.  And I recognize the importance of stories about the queer experience being out in the world.  But at the same time, it felt like an intrusion into Molly and Brandon and June’s privacy to read all the details about Molly and Brandon’s marriage.  I reminded myself over and over that Molly wrote and published this book because she felt it was important, and that she got royalties from my purchase, but I couldn’t help but wonder how June will feel about it in ten years.  Anyway – in a huge shift, after The Fixed Stars I turned to one of my favorite books from high school, Delta Wedding.  Am reading it slowly, re-reading for the first time in years, and remembering how much I love Eudora Welty’s writing.

Watching.  A little of this and a little of that.  Actually, I think, a very little.  Hamilton, over three nights.  One episode of The Mandalorian, a couple of episodes of Rock the Park – that’s about it.  Nothing out of the ordinary this week.  I need to get back to Home Fires.

Listening.  Ummmmmm.  I don’t think I listened to anything at all this week?  Even when driving to the supermarket for my grocery pickup time slot, I just had silence.  Guess I needed to hear my own thoughts for once.

Making.  Despite not really getting the staycation I promised myself, I did do a fair amount of cooking and baking.  Nugget and I made blackberry fool with our fresh-picked blackberries, and it was delicious.  We also made a cherry yogurt cake with Nutella swirl, which was okay – not terrible, but a bit dense.  And I did some cooking; most notably, Sunday night dinner – cheesy white bean bake with broccolini and sun-dried tomatoes, served alongside crostini.  Yum. 

Moving.  Welllllllll… not much this week.  A couple of hikes and long neighborhood walks, and chasing the kids around Lake Anna and the zoo before staycation week fell apart.  No formal workouts, though.  Next weekend I have a virtual 10K, so I will need to change that this week.

Blogging.  Asking you a question on Wednesday – I’m mulling over writing about our amateur homeschooling and wondering if there is any interest in that.  And on Friday, a kayaking recap – yay fun!

Loving.  Oh, you guys!  I am so excited about the big news that Joe Biden selected Kamala Harris as his running mate!  I wasn’t surprised – I sort of expected all along that it would turn out this way.  But I am delighted.  I was seriously considering voting for Harris back when she was running in the primary; she ended up ending her campaign before Super Tuesday (when Virginia votes) so I didn’t get to.  But now I will, after all!  I am stoked.  Just a little anxious about my absentee ballot getting counted.  (American friends, vote EARLY.)

Asking.  What are you reading this week?

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Top 10 Books of 2020 (So Far)

You know what I just realized?  I haven’t done a mid-year look at my top books of the year (so far).  Whoops!  Blame it – and so many other things – on the pandemic.  I’m still battling my way out of a major reading slump, and not all that excited by books, period.  But I have read some great stuff this year – both before the pandemic hit (when I could squeeze a few pages in – pretty much up until the moment life shut down, I was majorly underwater with trial prep) and during.  While this has been an odd year for reading, for sure, here are my favorites so far.  In no particular order:

To War with Whitaker – The moment I read the synopsis in Slightly Foxed’s “new and forthcoming” section, I knew I was going to love this book.  The Countess of Ranfurly, newly married, follows her husband to war and takes up residence in the desert theatre as an “illegal” wife.  Lady Ranfurly steadily outwits everyone from baggage porters to generals in her efforts to stay near her husband, and it’s wonderful.  Sweet and poignant, and also fascinating as she writes about encounters with famous historical figures and gives her own take on the war.  I loved every word.

Sword of Bone – Another Slightly Foxed; what can I say?  They’re always winners.  This one was described as “an amusing book about Dunkirk,” so how could I not?  The chapters leading up to the evacuation were certainly amusing, and the evacuation part itself was fantastic – tense and riveting.

The Adventures of Elizabeth in Rugen – I really needed another visit with Elizabeth this spring, and I loved the week I spent reading my way through the Elizabeth and Her German Garden trilogy.  All three were wonderful, but I think I enjoyed The Adventures of Elizabeth in Rugen the most.  It was laugh-out-loud funny, combined with beautiful nature writing.  Definitely my sweet spot.

Mapp and Lucia – I am down to just two of the Mapp and Lucia books left and I am hesitant to pick them up, because I don’t want it to be over.  This one has been my favorite of the series – the much-anticipated cataclysmic encounter between two outsized personalities: Queen Emmeline “Lucia” Lucas of Riseholme and Elizabeth Mapp of Tilling.  It was absolutely hilarious.

The Priory – I just love Dorothy Whipple’s writing.  It’s so everyday, but she draws you into the lives of her characters like no one else.  The descriptions of Saunby Priory were a total delight and the characters so engaging.  I sympathized with Althea, but my heart went with Christine.

Well-Read Black Girl – This one lingered on my list for way too long before I made time for it.  Glory Edim collects essays – written and oral – by brilliant Black female writers, dramatists, poets, artists and activists, asking them to answer one question: when did you first see yourself in literature?  It was gorgeous and I came away with a long “TBR.”

Ex Libris – I can’t resist a book about books, and Anne Fadiman is the gold standard.  I devoured this slim volume in one evening on the couch, and promptly added Fadiman’s other books about books to my Amazon wishlist.  “My Ancestral Castles” was my favorite of the essays in here, but really – they were all great.

Fraulein Schmidt and Mr Anstruther – One of the first books I read this year was also one of the best!  Fraulein Rose-Marie Schmidt is an impoverished German girl who falls in love with an English student boarding in her house and studying with her father (a poor Professor).  The relationship doesn’t last, but the two become pen-pals (although the reader only sees Rose-Marie’s side of the correspondence).  Rose-Marie writes about books, her neighbors, food, nature, friendship – and so many other topics.  She is an absolute treasure and Mr Anstruther is clearly an ass if he didn’t recognize that.

Life Among the Savages – I think I snort-laughed on every page.  Shirley Jackson’s fictionalized memoir of her out of control children and rambling Vermont farmhouse is hysterically funny.  It became a little poignant when I considered that Jackson’s life, if slapstick, was definitely not exactly as she portrayed it – her husband, of whom she writes fondly as an endearing, bumbling, big kid, was actually a cheating, controlling jerk.  But to rise above that and choose the face you want to present to the world is something special, and Jackson’s sense of humor shines through in every word.

The Landscapes of Anne of Green Gables – I loved this beautiful book!  The biographical details about L. M. Montgomery – one of my favorite authors – were fascinating, but the photographs of Prince Edward Island were the real draw.  Every turn of the page brought something new and lovely.  I want to read it again right now.

It’s been an odd year for reading.  I think that’s true for all of us, right?  For my part, I spent most of spring and summer in a reading slump, pandemic-induced.  I’m still not really out of it, although I’m seeing the light at the end of the tunnel (I think).  Many of the books on this list are books I read this winter, before the pandemic, or in early spring, before uncertainty turned to disaster.  We’ll see if the year-end version of this list looks the same, or if the reading is better on the back end.  So far, I’m hopeful, but not especially optimistic.

What have been the highlights of your 2020 reading so far?

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CC Spin #24 — The Results!

So The Classics Club has spun the wheel of destiny and the lucky number is: 18!  Number 18 on my personal list of twenty books for this round of the Classics Club spin was…

The Pickwick Papers, by Charles Dickens – from the “can’t wait to read” section.  Yeah!  I’ll be honest: I don’t really know anything about this book, and I have the impression that there isn’t actually much of a plot.  I’ve been keen to read it because it features in Little Women as one of Jo March’s favorite books.  (At least, it does in the movie version starring Winona Ryder.  It’s been awhile since I read the book, and I haven’t yet seen the Emma Watson movie version.  I should probably get on both of those things.)

So there it is: between now and September 30th, I will be reading – and reviewing, of course – The Pickwick Papers.  Looking forward to it!

Are you participating in The Classics Club?  Did you partake in the latest round of the CC Spin?

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? (August 10, 2020)

Yawwwwwwn.  Mornin’ friends.  How were your weekends?  Ours was busy – we were up in upstate New York, picking up the kids.  We were actually there for a week, working from my parents’ house.  Ever-responsible goody-two-shoes types that we are, we were careful and mindful of the New York State travel advisory, and we spent the week holed up at my folks’ place.  (Which worked out fine, because we were both slammed with work and spent most of the week hunched over our laptops, punching at the keyboards.)  But on Saturday we escaped our self-imposed quarantine and headed to my parents’ Adirondack camp – a welcome diversion.  And don’t worry, it was totally deserted – no relatives – and we, the kids, and Nana-n-Grandad were the only ones there.  Nugget was chomping at the bit to get out on the water, so my dad hauled the kayaks down to the beach and we shoved off for a lovely ride – Nugget duffing in my old kayak (which dates from high school and is still going strong, thankyouverymuch) and Steve paddling alongside us.  (Ever the party pooper, Peanut had no interest in joining us, and stayed onshore with my folks.)  We let Nugget dictate where we paddled, and the result was over an hour on the water, which felt amazing.  We circumnavigated a nearby island (and also pulled ashore and did a short little hike, dodging goose poop), then paddled along the far side of my parents’ bay and into a little offshoot, where we got a good look at an enormous great blue heron.  Good call, little dude.  It was good we got all that paddling and lake fun in, because Sunday was driving day – six hours in the car, back to Virginia.  We rolled in around lunchtime and the kids were stoked to reunite with their toys after a month away.  It was a good afternoon of resting up for a fun week ahead – since our trip to Cape Cod got cancelled (BOO) we are doing a staycation at home, spreading the days out over the next two weeks (because we both have some work to get done as well).  We have a fun agenda for this week, including a day at Lake Anna; the zoo; berry-picking; and kayaking.  With more fun to come next week – and plenty of recaps ahead, promise.

Reading.  So, busy week of work and travel that it was, one thing I did not get done was much reading.  I’m still working my way through Mary Barton, slowly but with great enjoyment.  I’m about two thirds (or a little more) into it now, and the plot has really started to pick up.  Not sure how much reading time I’ll have this week – between family fun and squeezing in work, I expect to be busy.  But I’ll probably knock out at least the rest of Mary and start something new, so stay tuned.

Watching.  I never watch much TV, and especially not at my parents’ house – other than snippets of MSNBC and old sitcom reruns.  On Sunday night, we did have a little “family movie night” and watched two-and-a-half episodes of Rock the Park, which Nugget loves and Peanut tolerates.  But the best watching, by far, was Saturday at the lake – watching the kids splash and play and have the best time in the water.  Can’t beat it.

Listening.  Hmmm – I’m trying to think.  We listened to Hamilton on the way up to my folks’ house, and that might be it?  I forgot my earbuds, so runs this week were quiet (which was actually nice, and I might continue that).

Making.  Lots of pictures of the fam, on both my dSLR and my dad’s old Minolta.  He still thinks it’s absolutely ridiculous that I, A, wanted his camera, and B, am using it.  He’s at a loss to figure out why I would fiddle with film when I can shoot digitally and edit my photos.  Analog is trending right now, Dad!  Also, who do you think is to blame for me being a camera nerd?  The apple didn’t fall far from the tree, so there.

Moving.  Good week of movement!  After some waffling between programs, I went ahead and signed up for “Love the Run You’re With 2.0” from Another Mother Runner.  (I was considering doing their Heart & Sole program, but decided to save that for later.)  Last week was week one of the new program, and I did almost every workout – three runs and a day of barre3.  The only workout I missed was Saturday’s long run – I had big plans to run up at the lake, only to find out that my usual running route was blocked off by some rich lady’s gigantic new camp.  Poor form, rich lady.  But over an hour in the kayak was a good replacement workout, and probably more fun.

Blogging.  Bookish week coming atcha!  Just because my reading is slow right now doesn’t mean the book blogging has to be slow.  On Wednesday I’ll tell you what I got in this round of the CC Spin, and on Friday, I have a belated “top ten” post covering the first half of 2020.  (Side note: how many of those “2020 Challenge” posts have you seen on social?  My feed is full of them.  I think my favorite is the Jane Austen one with unconscious Louisa Musgrove for May, June and July.)

Loving.  After a month, it’s really nice to have the kids home again.  I’m sure within a week I will be begging Nana to take them back (just kidding – maybe) but I really missed them.  Their little empty rooms were making me so sad, and it’s warming my heart to see Peanut’s doll clothes box rifled through, and Nugget’s rubber snake collection slithering across the floor again.

Asking.  What are you reading this week?

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Reading Round-Up: July 2020

Reading Round-Up Header

Reading is my oldest and favorite hobby.  I literally can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t love to curl up with a good book.  Here are my reads for July, 2020…

Lumberjanes, Vol. 14: X Marks the Spot, Campfire Songs, and Bonus Tracks, by various authors – Finishing up my lumber-binge (at least until later this month, when Volume 15 comes out) I enjoyed X Marks the Spot – because everyone loves a good treasure hunt story, especially when it has a Greek myth component.  The ‘Janes embark on a treasure hunt and find a broken statue, which they reassemble (of course) and which immediately threatens to drain all of the magic from the camp (of course).  Diane makes an appearance, and hijinks ensue.  Good fun!  Campfire Songs and Bonus Tracks are two volumes of short “stories.”  As with all short story collections, there were some that I really enjoyed and some that didn’t speak to me quite as much – to be expected.  The contribution by Faith Erin Hicks (can’t remember which volume) was a highlight.  All in all – not as complex or fun as the standard ‘Janes material, but a nice way to spend more time in the world of Hardcore Lady-Types.

Sword of Bone, by Anthony Rhodes – After a month and a half of reading nothing but comics, I felt ready for some regular ol’ words on a page, and I turned to another tried-and-true slump-breaker – a memoir.  I’ve been meaning to get to Sword of Bone, one of the classic forgotten memoirs in the Slightly Foxed bibliography, for quite some time.  After all, who can resist a book described as an “amusing” book about Dunkirk?  Not me.  And it was amusing – if you’ve never chuckled at a description of the Maginot Line, go get this – and the Dunkirk chapters at the very end were absolutely gripping.  Slightly Foxed hits it out of the park every time, and this volume was a fabulous read.

Tory Heaven, or Thunder on the Right, by Marghanita Laski – As I meander through my own shelves, I’ve just been following whatever strikes me as a reading craving.  As I finished up the last few chapters of Sword of Bone, I got a hankering to read Tory Heaven, one of the newer Persephone releases.  It’s a sort-of-dystopian imagination of post-war England and I was here for all of it.  James Leigh-Smith, antihero, has been marooned on a desert island for several years.  Upon being rescued, he hears the distressing news that the Socialists have swept to nationwide power in England.  Oh noes!  Fortunately for James, that’s old news, and he arrives to find a Tory utopia in which classes are rigidly assigned to strata – A through E.  James – public school gentleman, son of landed gentry – is an A, naturally, and delighted with his new status.  But all is not as it seems, of course!  I don’t want to tell you any more and spoil it, but this was tense, dramatic, and good fun.

Wigs on the Green, by Nancy Mitford – Guess I was on something of a midcentury English right wing nutjob kick?  Wigs on the Green is Nancy Mitford’s irreverent send-up of British fascists in the 1930s.  Mitford herself suppressed the publication of the book for a long time, because her family – including sisters Unity and Diana – did not universally appreciate being mocked on the page.  The mocking was relatively gentle (Mitford could have been tougher on her Diana character, and the Unity character was straight-up lovable and funny – my 2020 reader’s eye, with its 20/20 hindsight, disapproved) but it was an interesting read for sure.

Only six books in July… that’s partly due to the fact that after Wigs on the Green, I picked up Mary Barton.  Elizabeth Gaskell novels are always something of a time commitment – although not as much so as, say, George Eliot.  August will probably be “light” for the same reason.  But it was a good month of reading, even if not a particularly packed one.  I enjoyed everything I picked up and it was a nice change to just follow my bliss, so to speak, and just read whatever happened to be calling to me in the moment.  I’ll definitely continue that trend into August, I think.

How was your July in books?

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Classics Club Spin #24

Happy… Wednesday, whoops.  Sorry I missed you on Monday.  I had a big work thing that morning and I was completely consumed with it – to the point of stressing about it for days leading up, and dreaming about it all night.  Needless to say, everything else (other work and personal) flew out of my head until that was over.  And now it is, and obviously I’m behind on everything that I neglected while I was buried under that project.  I’ll have a regular Monday post for you next week, promise.

In the meantime, it recently occurred to me to check and see if there was another Classics Club spin coming up.  It’s been a long time – years? – since I participated in one.  As a reminder, The Classics Club periodically runs “spin” events in which participants list twenty unread books from their personal challenge lists on their blogs, and then the Club “spins” a (virtual) disk to come up with a number, and whatever number book that is on your list, you read within a prescribed period.  I’ve been struggling to pick up any book as the pandemic stretches on and life gets busier and busier, so the timing was just right – for me – for another spin, and as luck would have it there’s a new one posted.  The Classics Club will announce the spin number on August 9, and the reading period lasts until September 30 – plenty of time!

So without further preface, here’s my list for Classics Club Spin #24:

Five Chunksters

  • 1. The Greek Myths, by Robert Graves
  • 2. East of Eden, by John Steinbeck
  • 3. Framley Parsonage, by Anthony Trollope
  • 4. The Three Musketeers, by Alexandre Dumas
  • 5. Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens

Five by Women

  • 6. Delta Wedding, by Eudora Welty
  • 7. The House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton
  • 8. The Song of the Lark, by Willa Cather
  • 9. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, by Anne Bronte
  • 10. The Professor, by Charlotte Bronte

Five by BIPOC Authors

  • 11. Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe
  • 12. Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison
  • 13. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
  • 14. Beloved, by Toni Morrison
  • 15. Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison

Five I Can’t Wait To Read

  • 16. The Worshipful Lucia, by E. F. Benson
  • 17. Sylvia’s Lovers, by Elizabeth Gaskell
  • 18. The Pickwick Papers, by Charles Dickens
  • 19. The Silmarillion, by J. R. R. Tolkien
  • 20. Agnes Grey, by Anne Bronte

There we have it!  It was actually a bit of a challenge even making this list, because I’ve been making surprisingly good progress on my list (currrent challenge scheduled for completion in July, 2023).  I’m down to not much more than twenty unread, total.  But this should be a good spark to knock off one of the books that’s lingered on the list – and if the spin choice ends up being one of the few I don’t own, it will also be a good spark to go get a library card at my new local library (still on the to-do list, post move).  The choice will be announced on August 9, and I’ll let you know next Wednesday which of these titles I will be picking up next.

Happy (classic) reading to all of us!