LINK-UP | IT’S MONDAY! WHAT ARE YOU READING?

It’s been another busy week – spring break is in full swing, in addition to which our fish pond that we inherited when we moved stopped draining – just in time for absolutely torrential downpours that had it overflowing into the yard. So we spent the weekend trying to pump the water out of the pond – let me tell you, it doesn’t look that big, but it holds a LOT of water – which meant my husband spent a very wet and miserable time in and around the pond for most of the weekend. My kid and I tried to help where we could, which mostly involved moving traumatized koi and goldfish from one place to another and hunting baby fish – an unspecified variety and number – in said pond to transfer them to safety. We still haven’t gotten them all, and lost count of how many we did catch. Once that was done we had to figure out where to safely store the fish, which involved some creative thinking and a trip to the pet store for a pump so they’ll have enough oxygen in the water to keep them (hopefully) alive in some rubbermaid containers in an outbuilding for an unspecified amount of time. It’s been a stressful weekend. And very, very wet. I did still manage to do some reading this week, though!

 

Just Shelved

 

     Good Night, Irene by Luis Alberto Urrea
The Paris Widow by Kimberly Belle 

Both of these were just okay. Of the two Good Night, Irene was the better book, and it was a good book, I just didn’t find that it drew me in and pulled on my heart strings to quite the same degree as other WWII books I’ve read recently. But it’s an interesting book, and a story I haven’t read before (it’s about the women who volunteered for the Red Cross and drove refreshment vehicles to various areas of conflict during the war to provide US and allied troops with a bit of levity and sustenance – and faced plenty of horror and danger in the process) and was interesting from that stand point. It’s also based on the author’s family history, so it’s got a deep personal meaning for him. It does have lots of tense moments and drama, as well as some of the true horror of the war. I don’t know why I had trouble connecting to it, on paper it seems like exactly what I’ve been looking for. I’m glad I read it, but probably won’t read it again. The Paris Widow was similarly underwhelming. Again, not a bad book, has tension and twists, but just didn’t really wow me or make me feel invested at all. Which has me wondering if, at least in part, my lack of emotional response might be me rather than just the books? Something for me to puzzle over before I write reviews!

 

Currently Reading

 

          Brit(ish) by Afua HirschWildful by Kengo KurimotoThe Lie of the Land by Amanda Craig 

I’m still working on these. I’ve started re-reading The Lie of the Land, mostly because I had it close to hand when I was looking for something to read with my kid when we were snoodled up on the sofa on a rainy day (pre-fish fiasco) and I’d been considering picking it up again for a while. I loved this the first time I read it, so I’m fully expecting to enjoy it just as much the second time around!

 

Up Next

 

               The Keeper of Hidden Books by Madeline Martin
The Message by Ta-Nehisi CoatesFlowerheart by Catherine BakewellThe Golden Rule by Amanda Craig 

               None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell
Nine Lives by Peter SwansonThe Warsaw Orphan by Kelly RimmerWe Must Not Think of Ourselves by Lauren Grodstein 

I’m keeping this mostly the same as last week, except a couple I added and removed based on what’s gone back to and been borrowed from the library in the past week! I’ve also added The Golden Rule because I am enjoying The Lie of the Land and have been meaning to get back to reading it for ages now. Maybe this will be the push I needed. I expect this week will be busy – I’ve got family here and want to focus on spending time with them – so I might still be pretty much in the same place next week!

 

So that was my rather harried week! I hope you all had a more pleasant weekend (and significantly less damp) and got to read some excellent books as well! I’d love to hear about them!

---

A weekly post that encourages bloggers to share what they have read in the past week, what they’re currently reading and books they’ve recently added to their TBRs. Originally started by Sheila at Book Journey, it is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date. I also link up with The Sunday Salon post each week hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz (and sometimes include some of her content prompts).