Another book-less week, unfortunately. Well, not entirely book-less, I just haven’t finished any. So instead of my usual “Just Shelved” section, I’m going to include a “Started” for the books I started and abandoned (“Currently Reading” will be the books I’m still going with but haven’t completed yet).
Started
I’ve been dipping in and out of perfectly good books but just not quite connecting. Not the books’ fault, just my head’s not there this week. I’ve read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle before, but it’s been years and I wanted to revisit it. I am not sure about the other two. The Bookshop That Floated Away is a great premise, but so far quite a downer and not balanced out with enough interest. Hopefully it will improve, I plan to keep trying it and see how it goes. I started The Hummingbirds’ Gift at bedtime…I fell asleep before taking any of it in! Need to try again when I’m more alert.
Currently Reading
Still going with these three – mostly made progress with The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating this week. I’ve read it before as an audiobook, but got a print copy because there were so many passages I wanted to be able to mark and look through. I found this to be one of those books that I read at exactly the right time. I’ve been dealing with poor health for ages, and this book was one of the best about this topic I’ve found. I highly recommend it to anyone who is either dealing with long-term or chronic illness, or who wants to understand better what that experience is like.
Up Next
In addition to the books on my last post, I’ve got these in the queue. As always, no idea what I’ll get to next!
That’s it for my reading week. It’s just not been a great time for reading. Too much going on, too much in my head, and my health hasn’t been great. But as with everything in life, it’s all swings and roudabouts. I know one of these days the reading will just suddenly pick back up, so just need to keep trying. How about you guys? Did you have a better reading week than I did? Discover any new favourite books? Find some new ones to add to your TBR that look interesting?
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’ve gotten almost nothing read this month. I have tried so many books, and I’ve set almost all of them aside. I’d really like to read a couple of poetry books at least. If only my brain would settle down!
It’s nice to see that I am not the only one having trouble…
Oh, I feel this comment! Exactly the same thing here. I’ve started at least ten that I haven’t finished. The kicker is that it’s not even that I don’t like the books – they’re mostly books I think I’ll really like – I just can’t seem to stick with them. Either I put them down and forget to go back to them, or I am listening to them and my mind wanders so often I eventually just give up. So frustrating!
A Book of Bees . . . I was working from home today and heard a buzzing near the window. It was a bee that had gotten inside the house. Evidently several bees found their way in. I think they maybe have made a camp inside one of our vents that leads from the outside in. I still haven’t found their exact entrance point from the inside, but there were a lot of bees hanging around the vent outside. I’m really hoping they’ll move on soon. I like bees, but from a distance. I hope things calm down for you and you are able to settle into a book you can lose yourself in.
Oh no! I adore bees, but I’m with you on not really wanting them living in my vents. It could be worse – at least it’s not wasps! I don’t know if this is a thing where you live, but in some areas there are bee relocation experts who can move a hive of bees carefully so that they don’t have to be killed. I’m not sure what they’re called, but you could do some internet searching and see if anything shows up. I do hope that you’re able to find a way to help them move on to another location! Thank you, I hope so too!
Of all Barbara Kingsolver’s books I liked Animal Vegetable Miracle the least. It didn’t click for me the way that her fiction does. I recently read Sy Montgomery’s book on turtles and I have read the one on Amazon River dolphins == maybe I’ll try the one you mentioned. Or one of the other thousands she’s written: she is really prolific!
best, mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Yes, I’ve heard this before. Partly that it’s a non-fiction/memoir so has less of her scope for imagination and character building, but also that she wrote it with her daughter and husband so the voice is shared. Personally I remember enjoying it, but more for the content than the writing! I haven’t read any of Sy Montgomery’s work yet, but it’s great to hear there are so many – that way if I enjoy her work I have plenty more to explore!
I have read and enjoyed Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, and Nature’s Best Hope. Both have helped me make changes in my life. We have always been gardeners and canners, but now my husband and I are in the process of transforming out front yard so that it looks like the countryside around us.
I love this comment! This is exactly the kind of thing I love reading and learning about. I’m scared of canning, but I do love the ideas of growing food mixed in with ornamentals, and trying to grow as many native plants and flowering plants to provide food for pollinators. I’m trying to make my garden diverse, interesting, and sensory – things that feel interesting, look interesting, smell lovely and taste good mixed in together. And lots of different flowers so there’s always some in bloom. Thanks for stopping by and sharing!
Yes sometimes you just have to have a print copy of a book to mark up and really ruminate on. All the best for reading this week.
Exactly! I’m also enjoying the re-read. Thank you, to you as well!