Sunday, September 22, 2019

Reading on the porch...


First of all Coates writing is brilliant. 
I have read Between the World and Me and several of his Atlantic articles.
His fiction debut is magical, literally. Hiram is a slave with powers of memory and conduction. The Tasked are individual in their humanity. They suffer slavery but also pain and love. The Water Dancer is a moving, interesting novel.  #TheWaterDancer #Ta-NehisiCoates #NetGalley





Monday, September 2, 2019

Labor Day and aging...

There is an almost defunct town in the U.P. that celebrates Labor Day. It has been going on for at least 25 years. I think I have gone every year. The garage rock band of old friends of my husband played for the last time. Bittersweet. Age, cancer and diabetes has gotten to these people. They played and sang the same old songs so well. Our group are all in our late 60’s and 70’s. We really thought we would be the ones who stayed young forever. So many of us are gone. A younger crowd is taking over. In a good way. I guess.

I am always looking for a new good book and came across a NYT review of Maggie Brown and Other Stories by Peter Orner. The reviewer mentioned the nostalgia the stories evoked and recommended  a song, If We Were Vampires by Jason Isbell. He sings about not wanting to die because he loves his wife.  I get that. The song is good. I ordered the book.

I have a pile of books I am trying to get through. #TheWaterDancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates #netgalley
Is so good. I need to review it. Coates writing is brilliant, extraordinary. Half finished.
American Gods by Neil Gaiman is just good fun. Reading for entertainment. Lots of words. I finished
my book club read. Flight Behavior by Barbara Kinsolver. Second time I’ve read it. I can read her books over and over.
I am working on my Read Harder and Pop Sugar Challenges as well. Listening to a translation from Polish~Flights by Olga Tokarczuk. Man Booker International prize winner. It is an odd collection of random traveler stories. I like it. The reader is very good so that might be why I am so taken by the book. It satisfies the book written or translated by a woman for Read Harder.

I binge watched a series called Special on NetFlix about a man with cerebral palsy. Very good. I am slowly rewatching Schitt’s Creek. Too fast the first time through. I want to watch A Discovery of Witches and Dear White People if I can find the time. I went to three football games in one day this week. My granddaughters are cheerleading. A nephew playing. Listened to grandsons in Texas play on the radio. One of my babies is a Senior this year.