On My Nightstand March 19, 2023

My reading slump continues. Hopefully this week will be slower and I’ll have better concentration.

This is supposed to be peak week for Cherry Blossoms here which meant a lot of traffic pre-covid. We’ll see what that means this year. My goal this week is to take a walk and see the blossoms every day. They truly are beautiful.

Have a good week friends!

Quote of the Week

“It is always fatal to have music or poetry interrupted.”

— George Eliot, Middlemarch

On My Nightstand This Week

The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri -- We’re reading about Syria this month for #FoodAndLit. I’d heard a lot about this book, but not loving it. I’m willing to accept this is because of my book slump and not the book.

The Old Ways by Robert MacFarlane -- I signed up for a travel writing postal book club, and this is our first book. I’m looking forward to this group so much!

Lark Ascending by Silas House -- I saw this on some list somewhere of best books of 2022, and my library hold came in Friday. I’ve only just started, and I’m looking forward to some dystopia.

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This post is linked to The Sunday Post on Caffeinated Reviewer.

Show Us Your Books October

Free image from Unsplash. The water damage to the book upsets me, but the apple and book image suits my mood, so I’m trying to let it go.

So, internet gremlins ate my first attempt at putting up a Show Us Your Books post, and I was ready to just skip this month because those types of things always happen when I have huge projects at work requiring all my brain cells. But September was such an amazing reading month I couldn’t not talk about it.

The best of the bunch

City of Thieves by David Benioff - This is one of the best audiobooks I’ve ever listened to. Two men in Leningrad during WWII set off to find some eggs. It’s horrifying and sad, but also oh so funny. Highly, highly, highly recommend.

A Good Punch In the Guts

The Return by Hisham Matar - A nonfiction book about a man who returns to Libya to find his father who was imprisoned twenty-one years before. Very moving and educational.

American Fire by Monica Hesse - This book was fascinating. A deep dive into a series of arsons that occurred on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. I’ve been recommending this to all my book friends this week.

The Kite Runner (Graphic Novel) by Khaled Hosseini - This leaves a few big chunks of the novel out, but still packs an emotional punch. I liked it a lot.

After the End by Clare Mackintosh - What happens when two parents don’t agree on the care of their terminally ill child? So many questions, so few answers. Once I started this book I couldn’t stop.

And A Little Adventure To Keep Things Fun

Becoming Odyssa by Jennifer Pharr Davis - Jennifer Pharr Davis set the speed record for hiking the Appalachian Trail a few years ago, but this is the hike before that one. Very interesting to see what she went through alone on the trail.

Notes From A Small Island by Bill Bryson - In this one Bill Bryson attempts to go all around England using public transportation. It’s not as bombastic as some of his later books, and I appreciated that. He reads the audiobook himself, which I also appreciated.

Note: links to amazon.com are affiliate links. Thanks for your support!