This week was busier than usual at work so I didn’t get a chance to blog more but I have to say I’ve been in a funk given the recent Covid news. Just as we were getting more confident about going out, infection rates have been spiking everywhere. I’m so mad about those who won’t get vaccinated, or at least wear a mask. I’m going back to limiting my outings. Here in Texas we can’t depend on our government to be sensible and issue good guidance. Thank goodness I’m still working from home for the most part.
But we’re here to talk about books right? July was a great reading month. I finished The Reader’s Room by Antoine Laurain, Gone Missing by Linda Castillo, The Borrow a Bookshop Holiday by Kiley Dunbar, Real People by Alison Lurie and The Invisible Husband of Frick Island by Colleen Oakley.
I enjoyed all of these books a lot and while most of them were on the lighter side, I found them to be perfect summer reads. Some of these count towards reading challenges so that’s always a plus. The Reader’s Room (my favorite read of the month) was for Paris in July and I’m reading another book for that reading event but probably won’t finish until next month. Thank you again to Tamara for hosting the reading event.
In other bookish news did you see the The Booker Prize long list was announced this week? Any thoughts? I recognize a couple of titles but will have to investigate a bit more to see which ones are must reads.
As far as what I’m looking forward to next month? Women in Translation month! I have several books that are perfect for this and I can’t wait to share those with you.
In the meantime I hope you are staying safe and reading lots of good books.
Hi Iliana, You had a nice diverse reading month. I want to read The Invisible Husband of Frick Island soon (I hope). I feel your frustration in TX about COVID variant spikes and the unvaccinated and naysayers. I have a friend in FL who has been vaccinated and due to the variant spike has now contracted COVID. Fortunately it’s been like a bad flu for her since she did get the vaccine but geez all this is unnecessary. Were are still pretty good here but there have been some spikes. We went out to dinner tonight and wore are masks but none of the wait staff or other patrons had masks on so I think we will be eating home more now once again.
Have a nice weekend.
Louisiana isn’t doing well at all. Guess that isn’t surprising, but it frustrates me. I had to go pick up a few things yesterday, and there were more people wearing masks, but not nearly enough. Back to ordering as much as possible for a while. Also our local school board announced that the would “encourage” but not require masks. I’m glad I don’t have a child in our local school system and need to make a decision about that.
It’s been quite busy on my work/ personal front too. Barely got any time to read or watch new stuff, and certainly the whole Covid thing is frustrating. Seriously, how much longer? Still, I’m going to feast my eyes on the Booker Prize longlist and Women in Translation seems like a fun reading challenge. These seem like good ways to keep going strong. 🙂
Georgia is just as bad also- at least the Atlanta mayor has common sense and is requiring masks at indoor spaces.
An indie bookstore just opened. I hope to go in before total lockdown.
I read Ishiguro’s “Klara and the Sun”. I also signed up for a book conversation with him and Pico Iyer (I travelled to San Francisco via zoom for the conversation.)
The conversation was interesting. The novel was strange. I need to re-read. I was expecting a more dystopian novel but this one is a bit more hopeful. The language is just beautiful.
The COVID situation is really frustrating! We have plans to drive to Tennessee in September to visit my daughter and her husband. We’re planning to stop along the way and visit friends and family, but I’m getting a little concerned about the trip. We’ve been vaccinated, but obviously that doesn’t mean we can’t contract the virus. We haven’t seen my daughter in almost 2 years, so I really don’t want to cancel the trip…
I’ve added The Reader’s Room and The Invisible Husband of Frick Island to my TBR list. They both sound wonderful!
Have a lovely weekend, Iliana!
The Covid situation is beyond frustrating and I’m very glad to be in CT instead of FL at the moment. I’ve notice a marked increase in mask-wearing here just since last week… especially in the grocery store. We’re being a lot more mindful of our activities again, too. You had a great reading month. I’ve added The Reader’s Room to my list.
Diane – I’m so sorry to hear about your friend and I hope she’s doing well and hopefully the vaccine has helped her fight this better. It is so frustrating to see people just not having any regard for others. Just when we were all getting excited about going out right? We will be staying in much more for sure.
Jen Mullen – I cannot imagine having a child in school and dealing with this nonsense. I don’t understand how wearing a mask which can help protect you and others can be the hill people are actually willing to die on. How did we get here? I agree, I’m not going out for shopping as much either.
Lex @ Lexlingua – I hope work gets a bit calmer for you! It’s been another crazy week for me so far and I just want to go spend hours with a book or fun show to binge on but I guess I’ll just have to look forward to the weekend for that. Enjoy checking out the books for both the Booker & WIT – so many interesting choices!
Isabel – I hope you get to go to the indie bookstore. Our indie bookstores are great – they are all requiring masks so I’m grateful that they are taking a stance when our government officials won’t. I heard that we had only 16 ICU beds available in all of Austin metro area. Ridiculous! Stay safe girl!
Les in OR – I really hope you guys don’t have to cancel your travel plans. It’s so frustrating that we’ve all done the right thing by getting vaccinated but now we have to go back to mask wearing and being more cautious because so many won’t get vaccinated. I just don’t get it. We haven’t been able to see our families in a long time too.
Joann @ Gulfside Musing – I don’t blame you. FL is right there with TX. I just can’t believe our “leaders” would rather put politics over health. I’m glad at least you are seeing more cases of people wearing their masks. We all have to do our part right? Take care and hope you have a great week!
I’m sorry to hear about the Covid spikes but I just want to say there’s always some black sheep everywhere. Sigh. Although we are open to 2 pax per table now, and 5 pax for those vaccinated; I think I’ll still stick to takeaways for now.
Have a great weekend and happy reading!