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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 #357

On The Blog Recently

• 2023 Reading Statistics
• Best January - June 2024 Book Releases
• Best January - June 2024 Young Adult Book Releases
• I Read 200+ "Best Books Of 2023" Lists
• February 2024 Book Releases

In My Reading Life

My book club read Navigate Chaos: A 5-Step Guide To Balance Work, Family, And Other Life Priorities by Steven B. Wiley. Honestly, it wasn't awesome. The book club gave it some serious side-eye.

The author owns a life coaching company called CEEK. It's pronounced "seek." It's not an acronym. It's just "seek" spelled confusingly and in ALL CAPS. Sometimes CEEK is written in ALL CAPS and italics so it's extra noticeable while you're reading. The author never misses an opportunity to remind the reader that he has a company called CEEK. It gives the entire book sleezy salesman vibes.

The five steps to achieving balance are to live according to your values, establish routines, appreciate the moment, think positive, and have integrity. This advice seems pretty obvious to me, but I'm sure someone badly needs to hear it. It's great advice. I acknowledge that I'm not the target audience for this book, so the advice wasn't groundbreaking for me. It's all stuff you learn as you bounce through adulthood. I've been bouncing for a while.

This book might be relevant to your life if you're young, Christian, middle class or better, and not working a first responder job. However, the advice is so basic that I'm sure you could find it in a book with better writing. The writing style and formatting of this book scream "first time self-published author."

My life advice is to CEEK . . . a better book.

I followed my own advice and CEEKed (sought? CEEght?) The Curious Charms Of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick. This novel is delightful. It's the kind of book you read on an airplane to take your mind off your leg cramps and flight anxiety.

A year after Arthur Pepper's wife dies, he decides to clean out her closet and finds a charm bracelet that he's never seen before. His questions about the charms take him from England to France to India. He learns that his wife had an exciting past that she didn't tell him about when they met. He wants to know why she hid it.

This story hooked me right away because my charm bracelet is one of my favorite possessions. My mom started it in the 1970s and gave it to me in the early 2000s. I've continued adding charms to it. None of the charms are as interesting as the ones in the book. The stories behind my charms are, "I went camping in Canada that one time" and so forth.

The Curious Charms Of Arthur Pepper is full of quirky characters and ridiculous situations. The whole plot is silly and low stakes, but I was having too much fun to care. You don't need brain power to read this book. The writing style is simple. The plot is linear. It's pure escapist fun.

It's not all frivolous, though. Arthur is depressed, and he occasionally questions why his wife gave up her adventures to settle down with him. The bracelet rocks his self-confidence a bit. But, investigating the bracelet breaks him out of his rut. He learns that you're never too old to change your life.

I don't think this book will stick in my head forever, but it was a fun way to spend a day. Read it if you enjoyed A Man Called Ove.

 

In The Rest Of My Life

Five things that made me happy last week:

1. I got new pillows for my bed. They're so fluffy!
2. Several weeks ago, I ordered a bunch of classic books to replace my classics that were falling apart. I finally have all the books I ordered! A few of them were on backorder. Someday I'll take pictures of them for you.
3. I think my not-COVID is almost gone. I went running twice last week. I only went a mile each time, but I didn't cough very much. It's been three weeks of coughing. I'm tired.
4. I've been spending a lot of time on YouTube because not-COVID kept me in the house. I watched a bunch of Jack Edwards BookTube videos. He has a whole playlist where he reads books recommended by famous people. It's amusing. 
5. I found this video of a NASA scientist trying to outsmart a search and rescue dog. Also amusing.

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