Links I love

 

Spring break is coming here.  I'm thinking of bringing my kids out for an afternoon/evening and doing this, as well as spending the night. On Sunday, I'm doing this run. I did a half marathon a few weeks ago and I met my goals - under 2.5 hours and no injuries.  Here I am at the finish line!

I've been loving watching Downton Abbey - it's lovely and I wish that I had started watching it a long time ago. 

• The most popular book genre in each state.
• Novels based upon myth retellings.
• Pantry Staples from T rader Joe's.
• A guide to the Karen Read  trial. 
• Ten Vietnamese slang terms.

REVIEW - Five Days at Memorial by Sheri Fink

 

This book was a bit of a slog to get through, not going to lie. I distinctly remember this Hurricane in live time - the pictures of people sitting on their roofs and the roof of the SuperDome being ripped off piece by piece. How we treated people and how unprepared we were were  also laid bare for the world to see. What was horrific was the story that Sherri Fink told about allegations of euthanasia in hospitals, notably Memorial Hospital. 

When the levees broke, things got bad at the hospital - it wasn't the storm so much as the flooding. The hospital lost its backup generators, which were located within the flood zone. AC and lighting and life support systems went out. Gunfire outside was heard and the parent company of the hospital wasn't very responsive to requests for help. Staffers began to believe that the most critical patients weren't going to survive at all. So two doctors - John Thiele and Anna Pou - injected patients with morphine and sedatives that rose to a lethal level.  Approximately one year later, they were charged with murder for their roles. Most of the public and the grand jury agreed that the parent company should be the ones held responsible, not the doctors, who many felt were left without a choice. 

I appreciated Fink's meticulous research - she obviously did her homework. But often, the names and actions were confusing to me and I had to keep jumping back and forth to remind myself who was who, doing what and when. It's easy to forget that this is only five days because the part of the book about the actual days seemed to drag - although that may have been the point. The book moved very, very slowly. I also wish that fink provided her own opinion about what had happened. Did one person or group of people get it right or not? 

Important read but not one I'm adding to my library.

Links I love

 

The first day of spring is here for us in the Northern Hemisphere!  

• 100 best Irish books of the 21st Century.
• 5 books becoming movies in 2025
• New Starbucks Disney mug dropping on March 31.
• What happens when there's a 14 year old professional athlete?
• Books by Kristin Hannah - I didn't  realize she had such a prolific backlist.  The Great Alone and  The Women are definitely my favorites.
• Martha Stewart has her 101st book.
• How to increase energy without caffeine.
• How to find a quality plant protein.
• 3 tips on falling asleep when you're stressed.
• John Denver almost went to space.
• Old Timey Easter traditions we don't see anymore.
• The ten most productive states in the USA.
• Gifts for readers of classic mystery books.
• 9 upcoming books for better living.
• The best biographies
• NPR's take on the new live action remake of Snow White.
• Winners of the National Book Critics Circle words are here.
• How to pick non fiction you'll like.
• Rise of romance bookstores.
• A young adult book tackles a tough topic - a parent's mental illness. 

Links I love

 

Today, I'm running this race - and hoping that I don't get hurt! It's beginning to feel a lot like spring here!

1. Non-collagen supplement helps with cognitive stuff AND skin.
2. Why does Aldi charge a quarter to use the carts?
3. Disney is changing the menu at Ohana!
4. The best selling historical fiction novels of all time.
5. Pulitzer prize winning novels.
6. The country that drinks more Guinness than Ireland.
7. How to make exercise easier.
8. Some perimenopause myths.
9. Nebula awards finalists are announced. 
10. Best Warhammer books.
11. 11 books by Irish authors that are worth reading.
12. This store is coming near to us. I was doing so w ell with no sugar.

REVIEW Blue Light

 

Bruna Lobato is a translator who began writing in English a few years ago - this is her first novel even though her English writing is everywhere: Guernica, The New Yorker to name a few. This novel is about a mother and daughter, whose names we don't learn, whose relationship is sustained over the daughter's first year in college over only Skype calls. The private college is in Vermont, which is very cold compared to where the daughter grew up in Natal, Brazil.  

Much of the novel is dialogue between daughter and mother and the things that they talk about are pretty par for the course related to college life - snow, parties, studying, homesickness, otherness and international students.  What was absolutely intriguing to me was the relationship between mother and daughter - the relationship is the main character - and how it changes from the start of the book to the end. There are definitely moments where the novel lags, but otherwise I found it charming, intimate and lovely. I wonder if the author relied upon her own experiences and journals in writing this first novel. The book's short length is relatively deceptive as the themes are complex and I would read this novel a second time to more fully appreciate the themes that are discussed. 

Well worth the read. 

Links I love

 

St. Patrick's is coming up next week but today is my birthday! If you would like to donate/buy me a coffee, please click here. My Amazon wishlist is here. Giftcards to Amazon are appreciated. There's also a wishlist here. In the meantime, we are running this event and going to dinner here.

1. The best  medieval fantasy novels.
2. Is being a bad sleeper genetic?
3. Why is coffee called A Cup of Joe?
4. Why some people wear orange and not green on St. Patrick's Day.
5. Who are the best villains in literature?
6. The new short stories written by Harper Lee.
7. The 2025 Libby winners
8. Surviving downhill skiing's rowdiest party.
9. How a measles outbreak overwhelmed a small town.
10. The Worst sugar free drinks on the Starbucks menu

Enjoy!

REVIEW: Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson

 

This book was part of my TBR challenge for this year - 2 books down!!  I will not lie, I am a big Eric Larson fan, particularly since reading Devil in the White City, so any new book by him is going  to grab my attention.  This one, though, was surprisingly slow going for me. Larson's latest take on history takes on the period of time in between Lincoln's election and when Lincoln actually takes office and focuses not only on the election, but on the firing of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. This 400+ page book focuses on a very short few months, but is jam packed with information. 

I was  very impressed by the source material that Larson uses - he uses journals, diaries, letters and other first hand accounts to present us with a narrative about the months leading up to the fall of Fort Sumter. My favorite parts were not necessarily the military parts of the stories, which I found very dry, but the narratives about the society people and the politicians - Lincoln, seward and Jefferson Davis in particular.  I found that the book was very well written but very long. 

What the reader should be  aware of is that Larson is not shy about providing us with his own political view on things.  It is quite obvious that he is telling us the story through the lens of January 6, which is fine as long as you go into it knowing that and are able to read critically.

Definitely enjoyable, but not my fav Larson book!

Links I love

 

It's been so cold and snowy here the last few weeks. We seem to get walloped on Thursdays and Sundays. And the temps are downright frigid right now.  At least the days are getting longer though! I'm sorry that I missed last week. Things have been insanely busy.  I'm gearing up for this half in a few weeks so my weekend runs are pretty long now! 

• Oprah has announced her latest book club pick.
• If you're an introvert what kind are you?
• Maybe we'll go here next year.
• Ten most welcoming cities in the world.
• Quiz on obscure Disney facts.
• There is a lot of flu right now.
• Italian chain restaurants ranked worst to best.
• Why road signs are no longer written in all caps.
• I live in New England, I'm always looking to save money at Dunks.
• The best Disney essentials for under 9.00 on Amazon.
• What with egg prices, breakfast foods that have more protein than an egg is a timely find. I've been doing overnight oats with greek yogurt. Kefir is great too.
• 2025 Oscars guide
• 6 art and design books for your TBR  list.
• What is Vegan at your fav chain coffee shop?

Links I love

 

Happy Valentine's Day!  I hope that everyone enjoyed the day and watching the Super Bowl.  

1. Ten Self Help books ranked.
2. The best books on being kind to yourself and others.
3. Murder in the Blue Mountains
4. Ten offbeat terms of endearment from history.
5. Margaret Atwood has a memoir!

Links I love

 

This past weekend we went skiing here. We had great weather but it was cold! 

1. Brain rot vs. books
2. Romantic gifts for the romantic in your life.
3. Some Disney hotel room essentials.
4. Magic, the Gathering Live Action movie is in the works. Also a Little House on the Prairie reboot.

Review: The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker

 

This novel is the re-telling of the Illiad through the eyes of 19 year old Briseis, the Queen of Lyrnessus who’s taken as Achilles’s “bed-girl”, his “prize of honour” for mass slaughter.  It seems that Barker's specialty is gender in wars, so I guess it should not be surprise that she's good at it - her descriptions of blood and war and the camps and its inhabitants brings them to life. However, her focus really seemed to be the women's camps, that were behind the army - commonly known as "rape camps." The women are looked at as property - the spoils of war mainly. Breisis is both - initially she's taken as property but then Achilles and Agamemnon fight over her. 

Achilles plays a roll in this novel, but he never becomes THE focus of this novel. While the author did an impeccable job describing what it was like to be a woman during this novel, I had a really hard time getting into the book. It moved fairly slowly for me. I did appreciate that this novel draws attention to the often silent victims of the wars that men (still) wage. I don't know that I will add this one to my library but it is an important book - get from your library. 

Links I love

 

I hope that everyone had a good week! We headed up to ski this week. 

1. This book looks super interesting.
2. How caffeinated coffee helps heart health.
3. Lin Manuel Miranda crashes SNL as Hamilton.
4. The most popular Super Bowl snack by state. 
5. You can now buy ebooks on Bookshop.org.
6. The most anticipated book club reads of 2025.

Have a great week.

Links I love

 

This week, we've had frigid temperatures and some snow, but were also able to ski and watch some good football. I hope that you all had a good week.

1. Eight habits that can help you wind down after work.
2. Some of hemingway's favorite restaurants around the world.
3. Britain's coffee traditions.  I found this interesting as I definitely associate Britain with tea!
4. Pulitzer prize winning history books
5. The books that shaped me, Holly edition.
6. Thin mint frosty? Yes please.
7. Star Wars legos battle.
8. Annual best feminist books.
9. National book critics awards list.
10. Many of these books look great

I'm working on this book and I hope to have a review shortly!

Links i love

 

I hope that everyone has had a good week.  I've been very busy with work and with training for this half marathon.  We also went skiing and have a trip planned for the end ofthe month! 

In honor of MLK and Civil Rights day, I am including a picture I took of the 16th Street Baptist church and the park where there were many exhibits honoring him. 

1. Why Caesar salads taste better in restaurants.
2. 9 instant coffee ranked. Starbucks should be ranked higher than it is in my opinion. Do you have a favorite?
3. These look good.
4. What are the Santa Ana winds?
5. The Dublin Longlist for 2025
6. David Lynch and Bob Uecker pass away.
7. Bookish birthday cards to celebrate the reader in your life. 
8. This book looks fascinating.
9. 6 ways to keep warm while running in the cold.  I have a cutoff - I won't run outside when it's lower then 30 degrees out!
10. What does it mean when a polar vortex grips the country?
11. The books an evacuee took when fleeing the wildfires in LA.  If you are looking to assist, please visit the Red Cross.
12. What does a translator do? I found this fascinating since I work closely with them.
13. Colson Whitehead on the Nickel Boys.
14. Women are more likely to have a sleep disorder.

If you are interested in assisting  those impacted by the wildfires in LA, please visit the  Red Cross.

REVIEW Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian

 

Not going to lie, I'm a big fan of Chris Bohjalian. He's a fellow New Englander and I have enjoyed many of the books that he's written. I've also very much loved the Salem Witch trials, so this book was a no brainer for me. 

In this novel, Bohjalian sets Mary Deerfield in Boston in the 1600's. Mary is the second wife of Thomas Deerfield, who has an adult daughter and a first wife that we learn has died under mysterious circumstances. Thomas, Mary's wife, is as cruel as he is powerful, which means that he is very, very cruel. When Thomas drives a fork into Mary's hand, breaking some of the bones, Mary realizes that she must divorce him for if she does not, she will likely die at his hands. Mary herself becomes an object of suspicion and rumor as she seeks to divorce herself from the abusive man that she married. Mary must fight to not only escape her marriage but escape accusations of witchcraft. 

The book moved surprisingly fast. For me that was important because in my day job, I do a ton of reading, everyday all day, so quick reading is fantastic.  Bohjalian doesn't sacrifice quality however.  He has done his research. I felt that I was walking in Mary's shoes in Boston, on the neck and on Beacon Hill. It was fantastic. It moved quickly and I could consume the book in short spurts.  

Loved this.Highly recommend. 

Links I love

 

We're in the middle of a cold stretch right now!  Gross!  I'm trying to keep warm. 

1. This is the world's oldest alcoholic beverage.
2. How to make collagen more effective.
3. 15 Valentine's Day gifts for book lovers.
4. 5 things that doctors do after they have the flu.

Not a whole lot this week!!!  I have a review coming up this week too!

Links I love

 

This week has been a weird weird week.  I was off the week of Christmas and went in for a day and a half, was off for New Year's Day and then went in for Thursday and friday. Last week, we went skiing and I am doing more skiing this week.  Here are some of my favorite links from this week.

1. These were the most borrowed books from public libraries in 2024.
2. What's new in Disney Springs this upcoming year.
3. Nickel Boys has a new adaptation.
4. 20 best state parks for stargazing.
5. Happy Gilmore 2 teaser trailer
6. The award winning novels of 2024

Enjoy and have a good week!

2025 reading challenges

 

The New Year and year's end brings not only best of lists, but reading challenges for the new year. I thought it might be a good idea to link to some of the different reading challenges that are out there so that you can have them in one place.  Enjoy!

• Booklist Queen Reading Challenge 2025
• The Monthly Motif Reading Challenge
• Book Challenge by Erin
• Popsugar reading challenge
• 2025 gentle challenge.
• Southern Literature Challenge
• Around the World reading challenge.
• Books in  Translation challenge
• 100 years hence
• Bookriot's Read Harder challenge
• 13 Moons reading challenge
• The Nerd Daily book challenge
• Cloak and Dagger reading challenge
•  Popsugar reading challenge.

You can order books off at Pangobooks and use this code to get $5.00 off your first order.