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Thursday, January 20, 2022

Another busy week - reading and other stuff...

Greetings, book friends!  Hope all of you are doing OK and managing through winter, complicated times, and also in your health.  I am doing fine and have been busy.  I'm trying to think about how to construct these 'weekly' posts.  Think I won't worry about whether they are actually about a 7-day week or just what's been going on since I last posted.  I don't seem to be able to plan to write this on a certain day.  Anyway, I'm sure you don't care about that.  Ha!  Well, let's see what I can share:

Reading:

I've finished two more books since we last visited together.  I liked both of them, one more than the other.  

Saving Meghan by D.J. Palmer 

A Flicker In The Dark by Stacy Willingham

Saving Meghan was a book I'd had on my Kindle for well over a year.  Written by D.J. Palmer (who is also Daniel Palmer), it was what I'd call a medical thriller.  I used to really like those types of books - like what Robin Cook has written.  I finished this one, but wasn't quite as pleased.  Featuring a teenage daughter with an 'unknown' illness, a mother who teetered on the edge of way too overly involved in her daughter's life, and a father that I didn't like at all, this book kind of got on my nerves.  I will probably not read any more books by this author.

A Flicker In The Dark was one that I did like quite a bit.  It's a dark story with a theme about missing teenage girls in the past, in the current day, and a female psychologist who has family secrets about the past and perhaps about the present.  It's gotten a lot of notice and the blurbs were by big-name authors.  Think it has also been sold already for TV adaptation.  It's Stacy Willingham's debut novel and I think she's definitely got talent.  A few annoyances about the protagonist and I did figure out most of the twists, but that's not unusual for me.  I can recommend this one and would be interested in what others think about it. 

'Brown Bag' Book Group:

The 'Brown Bag' book group is one I've attended before here in Kerrville and it's the 2nd week of the month book 'club'.  We read and discussed The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.  I liked the book a lot and thought it was quite interesting in the ways it made me think about my life and what might have been different had I chosen another path.  Most in the group liked it, though there were a couple who were not as impressed.  I think it was quite a 'change-up' for several with the meta-physical aspects included.  Our librarian moderator mentioned several things about the author and his struggles with mental health.  We thought that he did a good job with including some aspects of that personal challenge through the story.  Several said that they would try other books by him.

Our selection for February is Lorna Landvik's Chronicles of a Radical Hag (With Recipes).  I'm reading that one right now.

Regular Life:

In 'non-book' life, we met with our contractor to do some more planning for our upcoming renovations inside our house.  Those will include the kitchen and bathrooms.  He made the suggestion that we should go ahead and pick out the counters, tile, appliances, etc., because of a need to get orders in.  Yes, there are supply chain issues and material holdups.  Right now, windows that he had ordered for another job are 21 weeks out.  Whew!  We did go and take a look at a couple of showrooms and made our selections.  We'll see how it goes when orders are placed.  The contractor and his staff won't be starting here for several more weeks, but we'll get there eventually.  

Otherwise, it's cold today with bits of sleet spitting down.  Not much and don't think it will be enough to mess up the roads.  It was well over 70 yesterday and the ground is warm.  That's January in Texas.  You never know what you'll get from day to day.  As I said last week, I'm ready for the wildflowers.  Have a good week!     

31 comments:

  1. I enjoyed The Midnight Library for the same reasons as you, Kay. It was thought-provoking and I liked the main character. I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on the Lanvik book. It's been a long time since I've read anything by her!

    I feel for you with all the delays for your remodeling. Amy is going through the same thing with their kitchen remodel. At least you're getting the ball rolling, even though it will be months before they can start.

    No sleet here, but we are getting more rain. I think we'll have some dry weather in a day or two, though. Good to hear from you!

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    1. Les, the Lorna Landvik book is interesting. Has a bit of an epistolary feel as there are newspaper columns that the main character writes included. It's certainly an overview of the last 50+ years in an unusual way. I'll tell more later after I'm finished. And, yes, long time since I've read any of her books for me as well.

      Remodeling - well, it will happen when it happens. Good luck to Amy!

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  2. Everyone is experiencing appliance delivery delays it seems. Are you living in the house that needs renovations or renting? I could never do a reno while living there - it's just me. Midnight Library was not my favorite but, it was interesting in parts.

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    1. Diane, we are living in the house that will be renovated. Not all of it. Just parts and we've discussed with the contractor how it might work while in the process. We've lived through something like this before, though not with my husband working from home most of the time. After that one, I told him I'd never 'live through' a reno again, but here we are. LOL

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    2. Funny how we change our minds after a while. Kinda like childbirth - never again and then we forgot.

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  3. I had The Midnight Library on my TBR for awhile, but I never got around to it. I might have to rethink it!

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    1. It's an interesting book, Angela. You might try it and see what you thought. I think it's sort of a book that works well for you or it doesn't. Not much in-between.

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  4. And here I am, having one bathroom completely remodeled, and major work done on the other two-- with absolutely no delays on materials. I feel as though I should hang my head in shame because yours is not the only tale of woe I've read about shipping delays. Ah well.

    I'm looking forward to reading A Flicker in the Dark, so I was interested in seeing what you had to say about it.

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    1. Oh my goodness, Cathy, no shame cast at all. Ha! Just like going to the store and finding your favorite whatever not on the shelf, we're all having to learn patience with the delays and staff shortages and other things. It will eventually be accomplished and we know that it's not the fault of the contractor or whoever we're dealing with here. Happily, we've gotten a bunch of our yard stuff taken care of and we got our new roof a few months ago. I'll be interested in hearing what you think about A Flicker in the Dark as well if you decide to read it. Wonder if I could find an author event to listen to....

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  5. A Flicker in the Dark sounds very good. I've seen The Midnight Library everywhere and I mean 'everywhere' and I still can't decide whether I want to read it or not.

    You have my sympathy with the renovations. We had our kitchen done here six or seven years ago, having been told two weeks it took five and I've never been through such chaos. While it was being done we discovered our entire roof needed replacing. Oh, joy.

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    1. Cath, you might like The Midnight Library and you might not. Seems like one of those kinds of books. I'd encourage you to try A Flicker in the Dark if you get a chance. I'd be curious about your thoughts on it.

      Renovations - all will eventually be accomplished and then my life might be boring, right? LOL

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  6. Glad to hear you liked A Flicker in the Dark and The Midnight Library. :D They're two books I'm looking forward to reading this year.

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    1. Lark, I'll watch for what you think about them if you get to read both.

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  7. Can you hear me chuckling about "70"!!

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    1. Uh, yes, 70 is far, far into the future for you, right? LOL

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  8. I've been on the fence with The Midnight Library for so long! My sister read it recently and thought it might not be for me, oh well...

    Patience is the name of the game with remodeling these days. Luckily we are done downstairs now, but ordered almost everything last spring. The next project will be outdoors - pavers, landscaping. Not sure when we'll even start on that!

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    1. JoAnn, I definitely understand about the remodeling issues. My husband and I were talking this morning and he was saying that his expectations on completion date have moved to maybe a year from now. I agreed. We have found that in our area, our outside needs regarding the yard are easier to fulfill. We do want to remodel our back porch area, but that will wait until the inside is done. Or it likely will. Who knows?

      By the way, I've been thinking of you and yours family during this sad time. Prayers and hugs for all of you. And you might try The Midnight Library. Who knows? It might 'speak' to you.

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  9. I am looking forward to trying The Midnight Library. Luckily my husband bought a copy so I can sample it and see what I think. But I do think I will like it.

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  10. I liked The Midnight Library--and yes, I agree, very thought provoking. I saw myself in the main character at times.

    I hope the home renovations go well. I have dreams for our house but I don't see any of them coming true any time soon. All our money goes into Mouse's dance/theater activities. She loves it though and that makes it worth it.

    I am looking forward to more days when I can open the windows for the cats. Okay, and for me on my work from home days.

    I hope you have a great weekend and week ahead, Kay.

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    1. Glad to hear you liked The Midnight Library too. Definitely made me go 'hmmm'. You guys are at a busy time of life with your Mouse. This is the focus and important thing right now. All the house things can wait (or that's what I think anyway). LOL

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  11. The Midnight Library sounds like an interesting read with the meta-physical aspect. It seems like the kind of book that a reader will either love or hate it.

    Hope you've a great week, Kay! I'm wishing for some cool weathers. It's getting warmer over here and AC is a must! Sigh.

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    1. Melody, you can have our cooler weather. I'm so ready for spring and wildflowers. :-)

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  12. I'm glad you enjoyed A Flicker In The Dark. I picked it as an add on from Book of the Month Club. Our winter temps haven't been too bad overall, though I'm still wishing for spring!

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    1. Oh, I'm hoping you like A Flicker In The Dark. I'll watch for your thoughts!

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  13. The Midnight Library is on my TBR. I know several people who are doing different renovations and some have had no issues getting materials and others are in constant backorder. There doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason. It is freezing here and I am not enjoying it! I'm hoping it will warm up soon.

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    1. Yes, trying to do renovations right now is a patience-learning activity. One thing we're not doing is 'yelling' at our contractor or the suppliers that we've visited. These days you can't believe how people seem to be treating people in customer service. All I have to say is that I better never overhear somehow being mean to a nurse. That might push me over the edge and it might not be pretty. Ha!

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  14. Both books sound interesting, but A Flicker in the Dark is the one that makes me curious. My daughter has had many of the same problems with renovation during these times of limited supply and delivery. Frustrating.

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    1. Yes, it is frustrating, but since we're not doing it because it's 'urgent', we can be patient. And I think you might like A Flicker In The Dark if you decide to read it. :-)

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  15. I'm one of those readers who found THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY disappointing. I liked the concept, just no the execution so much. A FLICKER IN THE DARK sounds more my speed. I'll get to it at some point.

    We're planning to downsize this summer by moving back into a house we've been renting out for 13 years. We're planning to gut the kitchen and do some other remodeling before we move in. I'm a little nervous about the supply issues that could hold things up, but we'll see how it all goes. Good luck with yours!

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    1. That's interesting what you say about The Midnight Library. Don't think you're alone in your feelings. Seems to one of those what works for the reader or maybe doesn't. I do think you'd like A Flicker In The Dark. And good luck with your remodeling. My advice is to be patient. All may go smoothly, but it may be bumpy. And I'm at the point where I've decided that I can be stressed about it and make myself nuts or just go with the flow and be calm. Calm makes me have less headaches. LOL

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Thanks for stopping by! I am so happy to hear your thoughts and will respond as soon as I can. Happy Reading!