Melting
A week of heat is just breaking here and I've fallen back out of love with summer. I think I may need to move Iceland if I have any hope of truly embracing the season.
The good thing about being locked up in one's house for a week, fans carefully organized around oneself, air conditioning blasting, is that you get a lot of reading done. Since this is the year that I'm working on becoming a better writer, I've been reading more. I credit the fact that I can write to my insatiable reading habit. If you read any book about the art of writing, reading is usually touted as one of the ways to become a better writer. I patiently explain this concept to my husband and daughter whenever they find me in the middle of the day, draped over a couch, iced tea in hand, reading (instead of doing laundry or making their lunch). I'm working I announce. And I'm working exceptionally hard lately. I finished three books last week alone.
Reading
In the hopes that you are also whiling away the summer reading (I mean working.), here's what I've been loving lately:
Heating and Cooling by Beth Anne Fennelly
My blog pal, Nicole, recommended the book and I loved the cover (yes, I DO judge a book by it's cover) so I got it from my library. Absolutely loved it. I realized: 1) I love micro-fiction and 2) I really love to read memoirs by my fellow Gen-Xers. Seriously-we of the "sandwich generation" need to stick together. And while we're talking about Nicole be sure to read her post, Cart Karma. She's a great writer. Probably because she reads so many books!
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
I became a fan of Emily St. John Mandel when I read Station Eleven. I read it way before a real pandemic was anything I thought I would live through. I loved the book, thought it was dystopian literature (That would NEVER happen in real life!), then went on with my life. Needless to say, I thought about it often as the pandemic wore on.
Next I picked up The Glass Hotel. I loved it too. Her ability to bring seemingly disparate characters and story lines together once again amazed me and now she's pulled it off again with Sea of Tranquility. It's another pandemic book but there's time travel and she even pulls in a character or two from her previous novels and inserts self as a character who is an author, who once wrote a pandemic book, and then had it regain popularity once a real pandemic hit. While the book can absolutely stand alone, I think fans like me feel she left those little breadcrumbs just for us.
Lovely Dark Deep by Joyce Carol Oates
Summers are made for short stories. I always forget how much I adore reading short stories. There's something about reading them, as though you were dropped into the middle of a novel or (if the author is good enough) into someone's life just for a bit. Lovely Dark Deep is filled with Oates' usual gothic undertones.
Streaming
When I'm not reading, I'm exploring Apple+ streaming. We got a free trial and I'm enjoying a few new shows. It counts towards my "work" because Apple+ seems to adapt a lot of their shows from books. (just nod your head in agreement.) Here's what I'm watching:
The Essex Serpent I LOVED the book by Sarah Perry (See? WORKING!) and the series was an excellent adaptation. All dark and mysterious, cold and damp. Gives me chills for those hot summer days.
Physical So many 1980s memories! When I was in my early years of high school and thought I was fat (oh to be that 'fat' again), I would work out every morning by watching The 20 Minute Workout. I think of those days every time I watch the series. The costumes, hair, and sets are pure early 1980s. Sadly, I may also be thinking of those days because that's pretty much when I started hating my body. And that's really what the show is about-a look at how women mix-up health, appearance, food, and life satisfaction into one big, heaping mess.
Servant M. Knight Shyamalan's thriller series. I think about this show a lot and can't wait to finish it. I like that everything has a reasonable explanation but there's just a little undercurrent of creepy supernatural there too. I've only watched the first season so far, so don't ruin it for me.
So that's how I am spending my summer. What are you reading or watching? Remember to keep your recommendations bookish. It helps me convince myself I'm working.
I love this post! Reading is one of the best things in life. I just finished "Of Mutts and Men" by Spencer Quinn. I love, love, love the Chet and Bernie mystery series. It may be too fun to be considered as work though.
ReplyDeleteI just looked up the Chet and Bernie series-how cute! A dog and his human solving mysteries!
DeleteI also put Heating and Cooling on my list after Nicole recommended it - I've read Station Eleven, and your review makes me want to read Emily St. John Mandel's other books too. I'm usually a big summer fan, but this year it has been oppressive with all the heat waves.
ReplyDeleteHeating and Cooling is the best. And I loved Emily St. John Mandel's other books as well.
DeleteDespite being a book hoarder I'm terrible about reading consistently. I wish I came across more books that make me want to drop everything and read. I can't force myself to read something that I feel meh about. To be fair those books I'm hoarding are still waiting for me to to give them a shot. I did like The Glass Hotel. I couldn't get into Station Eleven though.
ReplyDeleteThat's my comment above.
DeleteIf you liked The Glass Hotel, I think you would enjoy Sea of Tranquility. A few of the characters from The Glass Hotel. It's a short read too.
DeleteLaura, thank you so much for your kind words! And I am so happy you enjoyed Heating and Cooling. It was such a wonderful read and the author is so talented (as are YOU!). I like the thought of reading as work - I agree that a good writer is also a big reader.
ReplyDeleteYour heat wave would make this Canadian flower wilt. I think you should come to Calgary - I don't know if it has ever once been 100 degrees, let alone DAYS in a row of 100 degrees!
Packing my bags now. My husband (and therefore my daughter as well) are Canadian citizens. Do you think they would consider sponsoring me?
DeleteIt's hard to explain the joy of a good book to a non-reader. I suppose that begs the question...why would I even hang out with a non-reader, but that's for another day. :) What a fun post. I love all your recommendations and will check them out.
ReplyDeleteMore heat coming this weekend. Iceland is looking good.
I am often surprised by how many people say they don't read!
DeleteI'm having a reading renaissance. I was a card-carrying bookworm throughout my childhood and early twenties, and then parenthood, work, and a self-imposed book-buying moratorium (I struggle to get rid of books and was running out of room on my wall-to-wall shelves) put a serious dent in my reading habit for a couple of decades. I took early retirement 18 months ago, rejoined the local library, and am once again experiencing the joy of losing myself in a book for an hour or three at a time. Recently discovered Catherine Chidgey - started with 'The Wish Child', went on to 'Golden Deeds', and have 'In A Fishbone Church' and 'The Transformation' on order. I can't quite put my finger on why I like her so - maybe it's the unusual perspectives she writes from, or maybe she's just a Really Good Writer - definitely worth a try if you haven't already encountered her.
ReplyDeleteI also hate (HATE!) summer heat, but do love the long, light evenings, wandering around the garden with my watering can, eating raspberries straight from the bush!
I looked up Catherine Chidgey and her books sound really interesting. I'm putting a few on my list! Thanks for the recommendation.
DeleteThere is a quote I always reference that said a writer is working when staring out the window. The truth is I have often sat with my eyes closed only to then jump up (well, stand with great enthusiasm) and begin writing or creating. We need that spaciousness for the worlds to be created don't you think?
ReplyDeleteI do think we need quiet time in order for our creative muse to find us. It's so easy to get distracted these days. Lately, I've been trying to spend more time being bored. Like you said, it usually ends up being just the thing I need to jump start my creativity.
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