Sunday, June 28, 2020

The Sunday Post #230


The Sunday Post is a chance to recap the past week, talk about next week, tell you what I’m reading, and share news. I’m linking up with The Caffeinated Book ReviewerReaderbuzz, and Book Date.

*This post contains affiliate links. I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.



The Sunday Post #230





On The Blog Last Week







On The Blog This Week


  • On Tuesday we talk about the adult books that are coming out in the next six months.
  • On Thursday I copy every other book blogger and do The Mid-Year Freak Out Tag.





In My Reading Life


It was an excellent reading week! I read a lot and enjoyed all of it.

I finished Don’t Call Us Dead by Danez Smith. It’s a poetry collection. I’m not the smartest person, so some of the poems are too abstract for me and zoomed right over my head. The ones I understood are brilliant. The people in the poems are extremely conscious of their own mortality and are searching for joy in their short lives. The collection tackles depressing subjects (like gun violence and disease), but it’s a hopeful book. The author imagines happy futures for people with unhappy pasts and illustrates how important it is for Black children to see healthy, cheerful Black characters in movies. If you’re new to poetry, this is a good place to start. There’s a variety of poetry styles in this book.




Then my library hold for Becoming by Michelle Obama finally came in! I got the audiobook and recommend it because the author narrates it herself. I liked hearing her tell her own story. Memoirs are hard to review because how do I rate a person’s life? Overall, I enjoyed the book. I loved learning about the behind-the-scenes stuff that happens during campaigns and at the White House. Also, Michelle Obama makes me feel lazy. How does one person accomplish all that stuff? When does she sleep?




Baby Brooklyn and I read Barnyard Dance! by Sandra Boynton. We had too much fun with this book. It’s written like a song that describes how each animal is dancing. Why are the animals dancing? I have no idea, but we danced along with them. Be grateful you weren’t around to see that. It was probably mortifying. We are not good dancers.




Right now, I’m reading The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead. I guess it’s okay. I feel kind of confused and ambivalent about it currently.






In The Rest Of My Life


Five things that made me happy last week:

  1. I went for a walk and somehow ended up at a really old barn. I like old buildings, so it was a nice place to wander around.
  2. Playing with the baby. She’s 16 months old and becomes more interesting (and more exhausting) every day.
  3. I repeated a yoga workout that was difficult for me a few months ago. I must be improving at yoga because the workout was less awful than I remember.
  4. New books!
  5. I ate a chocolate chip muffin. And then I managed to burn off all the calories in a chocolate chip muffin.





Let’s Be Socially Distant













Take care of yourselves and be kind to each other! See you around the blogosphere!








34 comments:

  1. I have been spending so much time at home that I have been thinking about doing yoga. Sixteen months?! They grow up so fast!!!

    Happy readings!
    Tânia @MyLovelySecret

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  2. I definitely want to go the audio route when I get around to Becoming. I think it would be even better hearing it straight from Michelle Obama.

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  3. I'm pretty sure I've bought Barnyard Dance for at least one of my nieces and nephews! Glad you two are having so much fun reading together!

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  4. You niece is at such a fun age. It's nice you get to spend a lot of QT with her. Glad you had a great reading week too!

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  5. The pilot car thing totally made me laugh. So true! :)

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  6. I love that you are doing at least 5 things making you happy, and had a great reading week. I have thought I would like to read / listen to the Michele Obama book. Stay safe and well!

    Anne - Books of My Heart Here is my Sunday Post   

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  7. I’m glad you enjoyed such a wonderful week of reading, I hope this one is even better!

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  8. I enjoyed the audio of Becoming very much and loved reading the book in print as well. It sounds wonderful that you still have things you can enjoy and that yoga isn´t a bad thing anymore. Happy reading and stay safe and well.

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  9. I am adding DON'T CALL US DEAD to my TBR. I am constantly on the hut for good, brilliant poetry even if I don't understand every word. I just finished a poetry book called CITIZEN: An American Lyric by Rankine on the topic of what it is like to be black in America. I highly recommend it. My Sunday Salon is full of good news

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  10. I love it when I enjoy all the books I read in my week. I used to read Sandra Boynton books to my kids when they were tots. I loved all of Boynton's books.

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  11. Becoming was my first audiobook and I totally agree with you! Listening to it made me feel like haveing tea with teh ex first lady...sigh.

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  12. I've been seeing the Michelle Obama memoir around a lot and though I generally don't read political or celebrity reads - this one has caught my eye. A fun book where you can sing silly songs with children is gold. I had the pleasure of reading more of How To Train Your Dragon to my younger grandson this weekend - it's always a joy to be able to read aloud... Have a great week.

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  13. I'll bet Michelle Obama's book is fascinating. And old buildings ARE fascinating! We have an area up north with old buildings like that, sometimes it's a barn just standing alone in a field, and it's amazing. Old places like farms that are no longer operating. Amazing...

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  14. I still need to read Becoming! That's awesome you're doing better and better with yoga. It's tough!!

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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  15. The Becoming audio is so good. Narrating is a skill that not everyone has (which is fine!), but Michelle really does it well

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  16. Becoming Michelle Obama is on my list. Maybe I'll listen to it instead of reading it. t

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  17. Michelle Obama is such a great speaker I bet she'd make an excellent narrator. I read it in print, but I'm tempted to reread on audio. :)

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  18. Haha! I loved that you ate a chocolate chip muffin and worked it off. I am good at one half of that equation!

    I haven't even thought about a mid year freak out post! Maybe I should!

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  19. New books are always a cause for celebration and I grabbed a few this week too. I love that book buzz when the Amazon wrapping falls away and a shiny book is in my hand! Michelle Obama's book is buried on my e-reader but I'll get to it eventually!

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  20. I think you might be right there.

    Thanks for visiting my blog earlier.

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  21. I love this post. I have read both Underground Railroad as well as Becoming.

    I liked them both but do understand your confusion with the former.

    And I'm looking forward to your Mid-Year Freak Out Tag.

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  22. Barnyard Dance sounds like a fun time. I love when I see progress with a workout routine. Way to go!

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  23. Mid-Year Freak Out?? What's that? I did not schedule a freak out this week. LOL I read the Michelle Obama book. I bet it's even better with her reading it. Thanks for sharing and enjoy your week!

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  24. I want to read Becoming by Michelle Obama and yay for yoga! Enjoy your week ahead.

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  25. And I thought I was the last person to finally get a copy of Becoming. I bet the audio is great. I wrote down part of her conversation with Oprah: "When they go low, we go high. And that ain't always easy, y'all."

    I miss the dancing we used to do when I was in charge of the library. Thanks for the reminder that I can dance any time I want at home. Though it's a lot more fun with others.

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  26. I love biographies/memoirs, but they are ALWAYS better when narrated by the author. I wish you a happy reading week!

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  27. I often don't feel smart enough for poetry as well, but I'm happy you enjoyed Becoming. I agree that audio is the way to go, she is Super Woman no doubt!

    My favorite book to read with Aria is Dinosnores and I love it! I can't wait to check out more of Boyton's books!

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  28. I don't read memoirs but admit that I am becoming more and more curious about Becoming. Come see my week here. Happy reading!

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  29. Michelle Obama is one accomplished woman. I have no idea how she does it all!

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  30. Very nice blog, Aj!!

    Great week for you.

    Have a great upcoming week, and thanks for stopping by my blog earlier.

    What is a mid-year freak out tag? :)

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  31. I love the cover on Don't Call Us Dead. I is good to hear the author narrate their book as long as they have a good voice to do so. I've heard a couple that I felt would be better served by having someone else read. Boynton books are so much fun.

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  32. I enjoyed Becoming so much more than I expected to. I thought I'd get bored with political details, but I thought it was fascinating to get that human side of life in the White House (and to learn about Michelle's life pre-White House).

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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  33. I loved the audiobook for Becoming. I loved hearing Michelle Obama tell her own story. I felt the same way about The Underground Railroad. There were parts of it I was really interested in and other parts that I found myself skimming through. Hopefully your overall experience will be better than mine though.

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  34. I love audiobooks for memoirs. Michelle Obama is amazing. Yay for yoga and muffins! Happy reading!

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