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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 #367

On The Blog Recently

• Quarter Year Reading Check In
• A Beginner's Guide To Reviewing Books
• Convince Me To Read These Books
• Petty Reasons I've Given Books Low Ratings
• Best Memoirs

In My Reading Life

I read Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge And The Teachings Of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer. The writing style is a bit too artsy woo woo for my tastes, but overall, I really liked this one! The author is a botanist and a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. In this essay collection, she looks at wilderness conservation through the lens of a scientist and an Indigenous person whose family has passed down generations of knowledge about native plants.

You don't need to be a scientist to understand this book. The author makes the information extremely accessible. I can feel her passion for plants through the text.

She has a lot of ideas that made me stop and think. Many of the essays focus on gratitude and reciprocity. She sees humans as part of nature and talks about how some plants—like sweetgrass—have evolved to live with us. We should treat these plants as gifts. Instead of being greedy, we should take what we need and then give back to the earth by protecting it. The author believes humans will be happier if we see ourselves as part of nature rather than the masters of it. If you put yourself above the rest of the world, you're going to be lonely.

I love that the author promotes passion and awareness. She believes that humans should use the earth's natural resources, but we need to do it responsibly and be aware of the consequences. She also talks about how science is useless without passion. You can study plants in a detached way, but if you don't have passion and wonder for your subject, the results of your study won't change anything.

I was sad when I dropped this book into the library's return slot. I want my own copy so I can fill it with sticky notes.

Then I read a very different book. It was Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano. It's a comedy mystery about Finlay Donovan, a stressed-out author and single mother. Finlay goes to lunch with her agent and is overheard discussing the plot of a thriller novel she's writing. Then she receives a mysterious note. Someone has mistaken Finlay for a contract killer and is offering a life-changing amount of money for a murder. Finlay accepts the job because she's an idiot.

Every character in this book is too stupid to live! I guess that's the comedy. It's kind of like a sit-com where everybody makes the worst possible decisions. Then chaos and plot twists happen.

It's a fast-paced book that kept me entertained on a boring work day. Even though it's about hired killers, it has a light tone. Finlay messes up every part of the murder, but it's okay because the cops mess up every part of the murder investigation. It's an amusing story that kept me engaged until the end.

I don't think this book will stick in my brain, and I'm not interested in the sequels, but it made a tedious work shift a lot more bearable. I'm happy I read it.

Then I read a classic dystopian novel: The Children Of Men by P.D. James. It was written in 1992 and set in the distant dystopian future year of 2021. In the book's world, all humans became infertile in the early 1990s. By 2021, the human population has shrunk considerably. England's government has collapsed, and the country is now controlled by a Warden.

The main character, Theodore, spends most of his time thinking about the past. Then he's approached by a woman who knows that the Warden is Theodore's cousin. She wants a meeting with the Warden because she may know how to save the human race.

The book brings up a few thought-provoking topics. Honestly, a world without children sounds pretty peaceful, but in reality, society can't function without young people. What happens when there are no more healthcare workers to take care of the elderly population? How will humans maintain the electricity, sewer, roads, buildings, farms, etc. without able-bodied workers?

The best part of the book is how empty and lonely the world feels. Everybody is in their own little bubble, doing their own little things. The remaining humans are selfish, passive, and disconnected from one another.

"Passive" and "disconnected" also describes how I felt about this book. Theodore is boring. Actually, all the characters are boing. There's not much plot. Maybe that's the point? The characters are in a hopeless situation and just trying to exist until they die? I don't know. Everything they did felt very random and ineffective.

Since I didn't care about the characters, I had a hard time staying interested in this one.

In The Rest Of My Life

Five things that made me happy recently:

1. Hockey playoffs. The Avalanche survived the first round.
2. I spotted a rare animal at my job. I've been sworn to secrecy because we don't want tourists coming to the park to disturb the creature and her babies, but it was awesome to see.
3. I've been doing better at posting on Instagram. It's mostly nature photos so far.
4. I wrote a love letter to Qdoba, and they gave me coupons for burritos. If you love someone, let them know. (Even if that someone is a Mexican restaurant.)
5. Here are the animals that visited my yard:

Remember to call your mom. It's Mother's Day.

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