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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 Reviewer, Readerbuzz, and Book Date.

The Sunday Post #335

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In My Reading Life

It's been a while since I wrote a Sunday Post, so I have several books to tell you about. I'll keep it short.

I finished This Sweet Sickness by Patricia Highsmith and loved it. It's a psychological suspense novel that was first published in 1960. Why wasn't Patricia Highsmith more popular during her lifetime? She's excellent at writing believable villains. This novel is about a dude called David who is obsessed with a woman named Annabelle. When Annabelle gets married, David's obsession spirals into murderous rage. The book is terrifying because of its realism. Annabelle attempts to be friendly with David, but her attention is never enough for him. He always expects more from her. It's frightening. I can see why this book is becoming a modern classic. Read it if you enjoyed YOU by Caroline Kepnes.

My book club read Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way To Build Good Habits And Break Bad Ones by James Clear, which is exactly what it says on the cover. It's a straightforward guide to building positive habits. It explains how to choose a goal, how to break it down into manageable steps, and how to change your thinking so you don't get discouraged. The book club loved it. I felt a bit more "meh," but that's probably because I've been in a lot of therapy. I already knew the strategies for changing my behavior. If you have a goal, I highly recommend the book. It's cheaper than therapy and says a lot of the same stuff that a therapist will tell you.

Then I read Leave The World Behind by Rumaan Alam. This novel has no plot or character development; just vibes. I know that sounds like a bad thing, but I couldn't stop reading. I like the vibes! It's about a family who rent a fancy vacation house in the wilderness. A few days into their vacation, an elderly couple shows up on their doorstep. They claim they are the owners of the house, and they need it back because there's been a blackout in the city. As the story goes on, the characters realize that an apocalypse may have happened. Since they're isolated in the wilderness, they have no way of knowing if they're being paranoid or if something bad actually did happen to the world. I suspect this is one of the most realistic apocalypse stories I've read. If all of humanity's communication systems go down, we won't know why strange things are happening. We'll just have guesses and paranoia. This book will make you tense, but it won't give you any answers.

Finally, I read White Teeth by Zadie Smith. I don't know how to explain this one. It's a multi-generational family drama that takes place in London in the decades after WWII. I loved it at first. The writing and character development are stunning (and very funny). It made me wish I was the type of person who highlights books. Then it started to drag. And drag some more. And drag some more. There are a zillion tiny plot threads that don't go anywhere. Then it's over. I'm not sure what I was supposed to take away from reading it. I was mostly just bored.

In The Rest Of My Life

If you're visiting a state or national park this holiday weekend, please be kind to the staff! We're exhausted.

In honor of the holiday, here are a few odd customer interactions I've had while working at the park recently:

Visitor: "I've never seen a nature puppy up close before! They're so cute!"

Me: "You've never seen what?"

Visitor: "A nature puppy!"

Me: "Nature puppy? What's that?"

Visitor: *Points at a prairie dog.*

Me: "Oh, prairie dogs."

Visitor: "Is that what they're called? What other animals are around?"

Me: "Lots of deer."

Visitor: *Looks confused.* "Deer?"

Me: ". . ."

Visitor: ". . ."

Me: "Have you seen deer up close before?"

Visitor: *Still seems confused.*

Me: "Deer look like . . . nature ponies."

Some background info: The park's entrance station is like a drive thru at a fast-food restaurant. People drive up to the window in their car to buy park passes.

Teenage Visitor: *Drives up to the window.* "Can I buy an annual pass?"

Me: "Of course. I need to see your driver's license and the registration of the car you want the pass on."

Visitor: "I forgot my registration."

Me: "That's okay. What's the license plate of the car you're buying the pass for?"

Visitor: "Hold on." *Pulls out cell phone and dials.*

Disembodied Voice On Car Speakers: "Hello?"

Visitor: "Dad! What's my license plate?"

Dad Voice: "Where are you?"

Visitor: "At the lake. I'm getting a pass for the summer."

Dad Voice: "Who are you with?"

Visitor: "I'm by myself."

Dad Voice: "You didn't tell me you were going—"

Visitor: "Dad! I just need to know my license plate!"

Dad Voice: "Which car did you take?"

Visitor: "Mine."

Dad Voice: ". . ."

Visitor: ". . ."

Dad Voice: "You took your car? You're buying a pass for your car? The car you're inside of right now?"

Visitor: "Yes! What's my license plate?"

Dad Voice: "Can't you get out and look at the plate?"

Visitor: ". . ."

Dad Voice: ". . ."

Visitor: "I didn't think of doing that."

Some background info: A Revolutionary War reenactment was happening in the park. A big line formed at the entrance station because people need passes to attend events.

Me: *Frantically selling park passes.*

Me: *Notices an elderly woman walking along the side of the road.*

Me: *Notices the elderly woman approaching random cars in line and peering through their windows. People in the cars are confused.*

Visitor Waiting In Line: *Rolls down her car window. Squeezes partway out the window.* "I'm sorry!"

Same Visitor: *Squeezes farther out the window. Shouts to the other people in line.* "That's my mother! She escaped from the car!"

Same Visitor: "She has Alzheimer's! She's harmless!"

Same Visitor: "Mom! We're not at war yet! Get back in the car!"

Everyone: ". . ."

Same Visitor: "Mom! This isn't the war!"

Same Visitor: *Sighing.* "I'll go get her."

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