Hello book friends! Hope you are all well and safe and content and I feel like I say the same thing with every post - ha! Oh, I should say that I hope you are reading just the right amount for you. Not too much and not too little - just right. All is good at our house. And not much is different. The picture above is one I took on a walk early in the morning - two does and their two fawns. They stood still for me, but the minute I snapped the picture, all four took off into the woods. Guess I was lucky. Spring and summer include lots of fawns in our area and those cute little creatures are fun to look at, but one has to be careful driving as they tend to run out into the road just like little humans.
I'm happy to say that my reading has been good in the last few days. I finished Outsider by Linda Castillo. This is the 12th book in her Kate Burkholder mystery series, set in the Amish country of Ohio. I always enjoy a visit with Kate and her special someone, John Tomasetti. This particular book gave the reader more insights into what happened to Kate when she left home in her late teens and eventually became a cop. Kate is now the Chief of Police in Painters Mill, Ohio, her old hometown, but an old friend/colleague shows up and things get very dicey. Both Kate and Tomasetti have some tough ethical decisions to make in Outsider. Now to wait for the next book. Sigh.
I also finished Long Road To Mercy by David Baldacci, which is our mystery group's discussion book for August. It's the first book in his Atlee Pine series, which has the second already out and the third to be published this fall. Atlee Pine is a FBI agent and she's 'watches over' The Grand Canyon from her single-agent office in Shattered Rock, Arizona. Atlee is quite an interesting person and I also found this initial book quite interesting with lots of Grand Canyon info, among other things. I did notice that reviews were mixed about some of the story line. I liked it well enough to pick up the second book in the series, A Minute To Midnight, and start reading it next. Agent Pine is a twin and when she and her identical twin, Mercy, were six years old, Mercy was kidnapped and Atlee was left without her 'other half'. That particular story line is part of this book and also part of the second. We'll see if it concludes in #2 or if it continues to #3.
Otherwise, our mystery group met virtually a couple of weeks ago to talk about 'Award Winning and Nominated Mysteries for 2020'. It was a good meeting and we seem to be managing well enough with this method. Unfortunately, not all of our regulars are able to be with us but it's what we have for right now and at least the rest of this year. We'll meet again in a couple of weeks to talk about the Baldacci book. I also have attended the virtual meeting of my afternoon book group, though I decided not to read the assigned book right now. It was The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai. The discussion was very good though and I enjoyed listening to what other members experienced in their particular reading journey and what memories of life in the '70's and '80's and the initial time of the AIDS crisis it brought to mind. Several told stories that included quite poignant times. We all agreed that book groups do OK virtually, but we miss sitting in a circle in the same room and chatting. One day, perhaps in 2021 - who knows?
That's about all I have for today. Always enjoy hearing about what all of you have been doing, experiencing, reading, and thinking. What would we do without our blogging friends? Take care and I'll be around again soon.
My reading has been going pretty well. I seem to be in a groove now. It was rough going in March/April but here we are nearly in August and I finally have it down. I know. Sarcasm. Eye roll. One of my library cards expired and of course that is when a hot new books comes off of hold. I can't get anyone at the library to renew it. They are closed and not checking emails or calls I guess.
ReplyDeleteTi, I would say you are definitely on a roll with your reading. You've been sharing all kinds of reviews. As to your library, I'm sorry about that. I'm surprised they are not renewing remotely somehow.
DeleteI always love reading your updates, Kay! I'm glad your book clubs are still finding a way to meet and connect over books.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Angela. Yes, I think most of us are reluctant to lose that connection through books. It has been a bit funny hearing people be so self-conscious about their appearances virtually. No haircuts, etc. LOL
DeleteWhat a lovely scene with the deer! I can imagine that your walks would be both full of interest and peaceful. I'm interested in both books--especially the Castillo!
ReplyDeleteThey are peaceful and the birdsong has been wonderful. I'm not sure I paid that much attention before. I find myself looking for special scenes to capture in a photo - that's been fun. I think you'd like the books, by the way.
DeleteI love hearing what you are up to. My reading the past few weeks has slowed down as we have been busy with commencement (finally), prom (again, finally) and this coming weekend a graduation party. I would definitely not be a good party planner. I'm hoping to kick it up a notch after this weekend is over. I am still waiting to read the Linda Castillo, but again, once it's read it seems like long wait until the next installment.
ReplyDeleteParty planner - not me at all. Ha! I think you'll like the Castillo book, but I didn't want to share too much about it because of spoilers. I'll watch for your thoughts on it whenever you decide to try it.
DeleteThe deer have been seen in my area in the early mornings. I saw one munching on a neighbor's tree last week. The Castillo book sounds good! I've been knitting lately and tending a veg garden which is going crazy in the hot weather. Stay well, Kay!
ReplyDeleteWe have deer around all the time, which is fine. We have other creatures that are not as welcome. However, I watch for them all as I walk. I'm not a gardener or knitter at all, but I'm glad you're finding ways to spend your time, Mary. And I'm very glad you're able to comment again.
DeleteI'm so glad the deer cooperated with you. They're beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard of this Baldacci series. I might have to read it since it's set in Arizona. Arizona isn't a very common book setting.
I think the deer wanted to let me have a nice picture. Ha! Yes, this Baldacci series is a bit different. The first book set partly in AZ, but the second book takes us to Georgia for the most part. There are historical sites in both. Not sure where the third will be set, but I'm thinking maybe New York.
DeleteHow lovely that you can see deer so near to home. And a very nice photo to boot. Things are fine here, but the growing numbers of Coronavirus in many places is upsetting. I have been gardening a little each day, and now have a sense of accomplishment from that. I am reading City of the Lost and loving it. Unless it goes really downhill in the last half, I will be getting the 2nd book and continuing the series.
ReplyDeleteOh, we have deer in our yard every day, but most of the time they are very skittish if they hear a human and run off. Glad you are enjoying City of the Lost. I really liked it and read the second book in the series and maybe the third. I'm a bit behind on it now. I should remedy that. LOL
DeleteI heard on the news that Texas has a lot of corona virus cases so I'm really pleased to hear that you're doing ok, Kay.
ReplyDeleteWe're fine and very sensible. There are a lot of cases in Texas, but it is a very big state with a large population. It's relative to a certain extent. Most of the cases cluster in the urban areas unless there are other factors (like meat-packing or prisons, etc.). Our county has a pretty large older population, much bigger than the county to our south where Austin is located. However, probably 75% of the cases are individuals under the age of 60 and the largest group are between 20 and 40. For whatever reason. I have opinions, but anyway...people will be sensible or they won't. I witnessed an older lady this morning arguing with the poor young grocery store employee about wearing a mask. I sighed and almost went over there and told the older lady to get over herself, get her mask out of her car (where she said it was) and quit whining about wearing one. It wasn't the young woman's fault that the older lady had to wear a mask. Seriously. Sigh.
DeleteThanks, Vicki. I find myself looking around on my walks for something new to share as a photo - just for fun. LOL
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited to read Outsider! Glad you're staying well. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lark! We're trying to be careful without driving ourselves crazy with restrictions. Ha!
DeleteBook groups are not the same online, but after the first few they've gotten better for our group. It's still hard to have a real conversation because of the lag time. Too often 3 people start talking and then everyone stops and no one knows who should go. But it's definitely better than nothing! We are going to try a socially distanced meeting this month, but it's a social get together where we'll just be recommending books to each other. We'll see how it goes.
ReplyDeleteYes, the virtual meeting protocol is a bit tough to get used to. It helped me that I had already been attending Weight Watcher meetings virtually and picked up some tips to help our meeting run more smoothly. Plus I'm a little bossy since I'm the once leading the discussion. Ha! One of our members was wishing we could meet at a park, but it's hot and some drive quite a ways to get to the library branch where we have our 'normal' meetings. Good luck with your 'socially distanced' meeting. Bet it will be fun regardless.
DeleteThere are a few advantages of online groups meeting, and one of those is the ability to visit nationally and internationally. I hope to attend a few virtual book festivals this fall.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like nature is coming out a bit more than it did in the past. Look at those deer. Beautiful. We saw a rabbit this morning coming from the vacant lot next door.
Our book group talked about doing a mystery this month, but all the bestsellers were heavily requested at the library.
Please have a good week and take care.
I agree that there are advantages to virtual, like people being able to attend from far away. We've had people from all over the US at our virtual Weight Watcher meetings. They have to be a WW member, but can log in from wherever just to chat. It's been kind of fun. I'm thinking about checking out a few mystery book conferences in upcoming days. We shall see.
DeleteLove your deer photo, so sweet! I'm listening to the audio of The Great Believers now though I feel I'm only midway in ... have a long ways to go. So my verdict on the book is not in yet. Still it seems to get the Aids era quite well.
ReplyDeleteSeveral of the people in the book group really liked The Great Believers. The topic was just a little grim for me for right now. I'll keep it in mind. Yes, we love our deer, mostly. LOL
DeleteOh yes, deer are everywhere around here aren't they. Love seeing them but we do have to be careful driving around them. So glad you are still enjoying your book group although virtually. We are doing conference calls for ours and it's definitely not like in person. I'm really enjoying the Linda Castillo series but I'm only at book #4.
ReplyDeleteDeer are indeed everywhere in Central Texas. We really have to watch for the little fawns, but the does are usually car-aware mostly. I had to stop very suddenly coming into our neighborhood recently for a bunny. Don't see too many of those, but it finally hopped out of the way. LOL
DeleteI'm glad all is well with you. I remember seeing a lot of deer in a friend's neighborhood when we were visiting them in Texas a couple of years ago. There were dozens and I guess they pretty much just hang out in everyone's yards! We had to be very careful as we drove through in the evening.
ReplyDeleteMy reading is pretty much on par for the year, which surprises me since I'm only reading a little bit each evening. Without audiobooks (during errands and walks), my numbers would be way down!
Stay cool and safe!