Sunday, July 25, 2021

The Sunday Post #275

 

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

 

 


The Sunday Post #275

 

 

 

 

On The Blog Recently

 

 

 

 

 

In My Reading Life

 

I haven’t written a Sunday Post in a month. Oops. You all know I’m lazy! Napping always seems like a better option than blogging. Since I haven’t been writing Sunday Posts, I have a lot of books to tell you about. Prepare your scrolling fingers.



First, I finished The Invisible Life Of Addie LaRue by VE Schwab. I loved it, though if the author described the character’s magic color-changing eyes one more time, I was going to chuck the book out the window. Seriously. Enough! The book is set in 1700s France, where Addie makes a deal with a mischievous god (whose color-change eyes you’ll read about until you’re tempted to gouge out your boring single-color eyes). Addie wants absolute freedom. The god gives her immortality, but she’s cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. I love how the author examines the upsides and downsides of freedom. Addie can do whatever she wants because she can’t die. There are no consequences for her actions because people forget her as soon as she leaves their sight. Sounds awesome, right? The author also captures Addie’s crushing loneliness and her struggle to survive. She can’t make meaningful connections with people. She can’t keep a job or own a house. It’s a fascinating and thought-provoking novel that will make you question what you really want from life.

 

Then I read The Night Country by Melissa Albert. This is the second book in The Hazel Wood series. After loving the first book, I was slightly disappointed with this one. It’s still twisted, creepy, and entertaining, but it’s not what I wanted. I guess that’s my fault and not the book’s fault? The series is about two teens, Alice and Finch, who find their way through a portal and into a disturbing fairytale land called The Hazel Wood. I was hoping for more of Finch’s adventures in The Hazel Wood, but the book mostly focuses on Alice’s adventures in the real world. There’s a slightly predictable murder mystery. It just wasn’t what I wanted. I didn’t find Alice as compelling as Finch. If you loved Alice in the first book, then definitely read the sequel!



Up next was Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge. Reviewing this book goes against the point of the book. The author says that whenever she talks to white people about race, the focus of the conversation shifts, and the conversation becomes about white people’s feelings. That frustrates her because she’s trying to talk about race. If I review this book, it’ll take the focus off the book’s message (understanding modern racism), and put it on my (a white person’s) feelings about the book. So, I won’t review the book. I’ll just say three things. Thing one: I learned the most from the chapters on British history and feminism. Thing two: The book’s title is click bait. I expected a Twitter hot take, but it’s actually well-researched. Thing three: You should read it.

 

Then I read Glass Town: The Imaginary World Of The Brontës by Isabel Greenberg. I didn’t love this one, probably because I was comparing it to the author’s other graphic novel, which I completely adored. Glass Town is the imaginary world that the real-life Brontë siblings created when they were children. Isabel Greenberg’s graphic novel shows how Glass Town gave the siblings an imaginative way to escape from the stresses of their real life, but at the same time, it also drove them apart. The graphic novel isn’t long, but it feels long. I don’t think the author had enough material to make an entire novel. It’s meandering and predictable. If you love the Brontës, then it’s worth reading, but I prefer Isabel Greenberg’s other books.



Next was Tales From The Hinterland by Melissa Albert. Yep, another Hazel Wood book. This one is my favorite in the series! It’s a collection of dark fairytales where bad things happen and evil usually wins. Some of the tales appear in The Hazel Wood or The Night Country, but a few of them are brand new. They’re all exceedingly creepy. Best of all, this book can be read as a standalone! If you’re not interested in the novels but enjoy fairytales, then this book is for you.

 

My next read was vastly different from the previous one. It was What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera. It’s a young adult romance. I know. I’m also shocked that I finished an entire romance novel. I listened to the audiobook at work and laughed a lot. I’m glad I work alone so no one can hear me laughing at the stuff inside my headphones. The story stars two teen boys who accidentally meet at a post office in New York City. They’re attracted to each other, but before they can exchange names and phone numbers, they’re separated by hilarious circumstances. They’re both determined to find each other again. This book is adorable. Five stars for the first half. The characters are relatable and awkward and have distinct personalities. I love them. Once the story shifts from a mystery to a romance, I found my attention wandering. I’m just not interested in people’s love lives. I kept waiting for something else to happen. That’s a “me” problem, though. If you like romance, check this one out. It’ll brighten your day. (Well, until the end. The ending might be controversial.)



Speaking of lovable characters with big personalities, I read Insignificant Events In The Life Of A Cactus by Dusti Bowling. This is a cute middlegrade novel about Aven, a middle schooler with no arms. When her parents accept jobs as managers of a theme park, she’s forced to move across the country and start over at a new school. Like many middlegrade novels, this one pushes the boundaries of believability, but it’s a fun read. I think a lot of kids will relate to Aven’s band of misfit friends. The characters each have their own struggles and insecurities. This book tackles a lot of issues, but the author does it with kindness and humor, so it’s never depressing. Since I’m an adult reader, I thought the author included too many issues and didn’t have time to explore them all in depth, but I guess that’s why there’s a sequel. I will happily read it someday.

 

Okay, final book! (Congratulations on making it this far through the blog post. Gold star for you.) The book was Sapiens: A Brief History Of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari. If you took everything that interests me about humans and crammed it into one book, you’d come up with this one. It’s fascinating! It’s a nonfiction book that delivers exactly what it promises in the title. It starts by talking about six different species of human-like creatures and then follows Homo Sapiens through the cognitive revolution, the agricultural revolution, and the scientific revolution. It’s provocative and thought-provoking. I didn’t always agree with the author’s conclusions (especially about the agricultural revolution), but he argues his points well enough that I can see where he’s coming from. I’m surprised at how quickly I flew through this book. It’s massive and more academic than what I usually read, but I couldn’t put it down because the writing style is engaging, and the author asks interesting questions. I love that the book focuses on humanity as a whole and not on individual humans. I need to find more history books like this one. Recommendations, please.

 

 

 

 

In The Rest Of My Life

 

Five things that made me happy recently:

 

  1. If you’re in the US, I hope you had a wonderful July 4th! Baby Brooklyn and I ate hot dogs and set off safe, legal, boring fireworks. It was awesome.
  2. I’m still doing daily yoga. I’ve now done yoga every single day for 539 days.
  3. I mailed my Christmas in July gift to my Secret Santa partner. I had fun shopping for her. I hope she likes everything.
  4. Creative boat names. I work at a lake, and people come up with the best names for their boats. I saw “Canoe Reeves” and “A Boat Has No Name.” <-- Of course this name was painted in Game of Thrones font.
  5. I climbed a mountain! Well, actually it was just a really big hill. It was a lung-burning climb because the air was smoky from the wildfires out west. The top of the mountain gave me a hazy view of . . . the lake where I work. I just can’t escape from that place.

 

If you squint through the wildfire smoke, you can see my day job. (Unfortunately, it's not my day job that's on fire.)

 

 

Please love me

 

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

 




35 comments:

  1. Oh, those are some fun boat names! We are actually getting some of the smoke from the wildfires out here on the east coast, and it made for quite a weird sunset the other day!

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  2. We've missed you on Sundays. Glad you made it back this week.

    I love the start of romance novels, but, once the romance is clear, that's the end of the appeal for me.

    I will read Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus the next time I go to Arizona. It's set there, and I planned to read it on my last trip, but...didn't.

    I admire your ability to do yoga every day. I can't seem to get into a routine unless I go to a class.

    No smoke here from those forest fires, but we are getting dust from the Sahara!

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  3. I do love those boat names...and napping is a good thing, which I plan to do more! Thanks for sharing...and for visiting my blog.

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  4. That top graphic made me equal parts laugh and cringe.

    I really enjoyed What If It's Us. The adorable factor was off the charts. :)

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  5. Boat names are fun! I wasn't a fan of the first Hazelwood book, so I didn't go on. I do need to read The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue though, thanks for the warning about the eye description. I can see that annoying me. lol Have a great week!
    Lisa Loves Literature

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  6. LOL - your day job pic. Glad you're back. You inspire me. Started my happy things list because of your happy things list. Have a good week :-)

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  7. I'm glad you are back. The Invisible Life of Addie Larue is one of my favorites this year. My daughter is writing a paper for her Anthropology class about the Leakeys. I know them most as they sponsored the trimates: Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey and Maria something, with chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans. I read all the books by those 3 probably 10 years ago and really enjoyed them.

    Anne - Books of My Heart

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  8. Welcome back ;) Looks like you've been reading some fun books.
    LOL!! Love the "A Boat Has No Name" name.. I wish I was that creative. :D
    Have a great week and happy reading.

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  9. That's about right with Facebook *eye roll* I think I have some aunts like that too...

    I still have to read the first Albert book. And Tales from the Hinterland. I started the first book and it was super creepy but I haven't finished it yet.

    A Boat Has No Name is, frankly, awesome.

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  10. Congratulations on your climb. I applaud you! Canoe Reeves - that's fabulous! And YEAH! So glad you loved Aven. The sequel was good too. You mentioned that the author approached topics with humor and kindness, and I find myself so receptive to the way middle grades authors tackle tough topics.

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  11. I love that even if you haven't posted the Sunday post for a month, you have read a lot! In my case, my Sunday post frequency is directly proportional to my reading, LOL!

    I love the Boat Has No Name name! Now that's giving me lots of naming ideas.

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  12. Wow! 539 days of Yoga is amazing, good for you!

    Love the boat names! My husband and I had a few boats over the years.

    I hope you have a great week!

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  13. Well I am sure that you don't really want your day job to be on fire AJ :-))

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  14. My attendance on the Sunday Post has been a bit spotty recently, too - so I'm certainly not judging:)). You have certainly had a fascinating range of different books - I am particularly intrigued by Sapiens and also enjoyed Addie La Rue, though I'll agree there was a lot about those eyes! Have a great week - and I hope the wildfires die down so your air quality soon improves.

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  15. Ohhh! The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is indeed on my To Read in 2021! Thank you for the warning about the description of the color changing eyes! I hope you have a great reading week!

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  16. Great climb. Nothing like a challenge. The book on race sounds interesting and such a hot topic all over the world.

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  17. hiking in smokey air sounds like a really bad idea! Stay safe. We have been lucky so far (knock on wood) this fire season and haven't had anything local yet. Of course, as you know, there are many months yet to go.

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  18. So true about the eyes in Addie LaRue! I'll have to check out the Reni Eddo-Lodge book, I've been curious about it. Glad to hear the Sapiens was so good, that's another one I've been curious about, but got somewhat hesitant about because it felt *too* praised, haha. I'm not sure if this quite accurate since I haven't read Sapiens, but you might like 1491 by Charles C. Mann. It focuses on indigenous cultures in the Americans before Columbus, which is interesting by itself, but it also covers origins of different groups of humans in those areas, etc. It was really fascinating and enlightening!
    That's a crazy neat daily yoga record, I really admire that. Also sorry to hear about the smoky air on your hike. I am concerned about the fire season this year for sure. Hope you have a great week!

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  19. Lol at the boat names. I am impressed with how many days in a row you were able to stick with yoga. My Psoriatic Arthritis ia acting up..I took a look at some yoga in youtube an di think i will try one of the gentle ones. The ones on my Tone it Up app are anything but gentle lol.

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  20. Seeing your aunt’s meme, I think you should read Kristin Kobe Du Mez’s “Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelical Christianity Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation.” After reading it (it looks at a lot of what is wrong with the Christian faith over the last 50 years), you could give it to your aunt :)

    HTTPS://fromarockyhillside.com

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  21. It sounds like you're doing a lot more than napping AJ! Congrats on doing yoga so consistently!

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  22. That is awesome about your yoga practice!! Good work on that. I miss it but I need to go to a place to do it - I just can't make my crazy house work for it. Lol. So it will be a while still. One day. :) And those boat names are great!!

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  23. I’m impressed by your commitment to Yoga!
    I hope those fires aren’t too close to you, even if it means you are stuck having to go to work

    Wishing you a great reading week

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  24. Welcome back! You've been missed. We have smoky skies here in Northern Minnesota too. Love the boat names! I also love the variety of books you read. Come see my week here.Happy reading!

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  25. Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race is one I need to read.

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  26. Well you convinced me to put Sapiens back on my wish list! It really does sound interesting, but I was thinking it might be too academic. An engaging narrative style would make it worth it though. We'll see... Have a great week!

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  27. Welcome back! Too funny about the mountain climbing giving you a view of your workplace. Apparently the lake just follows you! I do love the boat names. One of our favorite restaurants near where we used to go in Florida was connected to a marina so after we ate we would always go wander and look at the boats. Such fun. Have a great week!

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  28. I loved Addie LaRue as well. That was a great book. <3

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  29. Glad to hear you enjoyed Tales from the Hinterland. The fairytales were my favorite part of The Hazel Wood so I'll have to check this book. Those boat names crack me up, especially the GoT inspired one, lol.

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  30. What If It's Us was okay for me too. I think I liked Adam Silvera's chapters the best. I'm curious about the sequel, so we'll see.

    Love boat names! I was in Hilton Head earlier this month and there were some good ones.

    Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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  31. Love the boat names and yay for climbing the mountain! Sorry you had to do it with smoke littering the atmosphere, though!

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  32. Love Canoe Reeves, that's an awesome name :)
    I loved Addie LaRue too, but you're soo right about they eye descriptions!

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  33. Looks like you had some great reads! And omg I love those boat names! Canoe Reeves is classic haha

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  34. Okay, that meme made me laugh because it is so ridiculous, but also cry because people actually think that way.

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  35. Being able to listen to audiobooks at work makes all the difference, doesn't it? I would definitely call that a mountain :)

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