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Hello to all of my happy readers!!!
This week has been the heat dome, and we have felt it here in the shop. We drank a lot of extra water, slushies, iced coffees, and tried to be kind to our bodies, and we sweated our way through the week. I am so grateful for the sunshine, I have lived here long enough to know that this time is short and precious, and therefore, I have tried not to complain too much, but rather to soak it in.
I have been much more thoughtful about filling my free time with reading and spending less time on my cell phone. When I have spent too much time looking at social media or just videos, I am always left feeling grouchy, tired, and like I just wasted some valuable time. So, I have really been trying to fill the time with more thoughtful things. I looked at my reading list this week (I write down every title I read and a little about the book and then I rate them). At this time I have read as many books as I did last year as a whole. So it appears that this year I have doubled my reading!!! This is not a contest but rather a personal goal set for myself...and I am happier for it.
I LOVE the Anacortes Arts Festival! It has been one of my favorite events since moving to this town. I have volunteered for 9 years (I think) and this year is no different. I will be there Friday and Sunday to put in my hours. I am so excited, and I also LOVE festival food!! So come on down and enjoy! The shop will be open!
Amberly and I took a very lovely trip to Portland for a long weekend. It was so peaceful and hot and full of laughter. I am so happy for the time that I got to spend with my dear friend. We ate our way through the town!! Hahaha!
I finished my advanced copy of Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt, and I have a couple of comments. Number one, it is a LOVELY book, so so so sweet. Good writing and a wonderful story. The story follows an older woman who lost her son in an accident 30 years ago. She works at a local aquarium and they have a Pacific Giant Octopus. I super enjoyed it! I will say it was riddled with errors... my advanced reader, that is. I have not had time to check a finished copy. Errors are a TERRIBLE pet peeve of mine, and even with that, I LOVED this book! I have spoken to a couple of customers, and they all have also enjoyed the book. They had some of the same thoughts as I did about some geographical errors, but again that did not sway them from very much liking it. So, that is saying a lot. I also read Dead of Night: A Zombie Novel, by Jonathan Maberry, and I also really liked this book. I love books about zombies, especially if they are well written, and I love science. This book has a fair bit of science to it. This book starts out in the criminal system, about an illegally developed drug and the misuse of it. The side effects are terrible. Very nicely done, edge of your seat kind of stuff. This book is horror, and graphic. I enjoyed! I listened to The Thursday Murder Club, by Richard Osman, and it was thrilling and exciting. This one was recommended by a ton of people. It focuses on a group of octogenarians who have a murder club that meets on Thursdays. They feel like they have all the right answers. When a murder takes place a little too close to home, they manipulate their way into the investigation to micromanage it. Good luck guessing who-dunnit! Very, very humorous and excellent writing. I also listened to Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus. This book was sooo soooooooo good. I was skeptical. This is not the type of book I usually read, but my goodness, it was fun! Set in the 1960s, the story follows scientist Elizabeth Zott. She struggles as a woman in a man's world and with people constantly trying to put her in "her place." The writing is fun-- sometimes I got goosebumps, other times I gasped, and many times I laughed out loud. I enjoyed!!
This month my plans are to read: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin. She is the same author who wrote The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, and I liked that book so much that I am very excited to read this new title. I also intend to read The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. I am hoping this one is very creepy. I hope to read A Pin to See the Peepshow, by F. Tennyson Jesse. My rep recommended this title to me. I also hope to read Hardland, by Ashley E. Sweeney. She is a local author and I have read one of her other titles. We will also be hosting her for her book launch. I will be listening to It Girl, by Ruth Ware. I have been wanting to read this author. Suspenseful, murdery, and always with a twist.
Please stay safe, happy, and healthy...Happy Reading!!
Brandy~
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