Sunday Post – 9/27/2020

September 27, 2020 Sunday Post 11

The Sunday Post is hosted by the wonderful Kimberly, the Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news, recap the past week, take a look ahead, and showcase our new treasures—I mean books!

Last Week

Last night, we had another Zoom family birthday party, this time for my brother-in-law, nephew, and unofficial niece (the daughter of a family who have been like family to ours for many years.) It’s nice to be able to see people this way. Next weekend is the monthly virtual get-together with my husband’s side of the family.

Our venerable old minivan started vibrating badly and spent the whole week in the shop. We decided to have it fixed despite its age and the milage on it. It’s not a good time for us to buy a new (or used) vehicle, and we hope our old van still has a few good years left in it. We’re not the “buy a new car every few years” type; we tend to drive our cars until they die of old age. We bought this one used (it had been a rental for a year) and it must be pushing 20 years old now! It has taken us on road trips around the country and (twice) up into Canada. As long as we take care of it, it keeps chugging on.

Speaking of chugging on, I ‘ve been walking on the treadmill, building up my leg muscles and stamina. It feels good. I did feel a little under the weather on Wednesday and Thursday (probably something I ate on Tuesday), so I took it easy both days, and didn’t exercise. But I got back to it on Friday.

Last Week on the Blog

This Week on the Blog

  • Banned Books Week 2020
  • My Favorite Bookish Quotes – Top Ten Tuesday
  • Challenge Update: October 2020
  • News & Notes – 9/26/2020 – tentative
  • Sunday Post – 9/27/2020 – tentative

What I’m Reading/Watching

Reading: I read Return to Virgin River and was a little disappointed; it was pleasant but didn’t sweep me away like the early books in the series. I’m still in the midst of a Catherine Aird rereading binge; I’ve listened to a few books (see below), and read A Late Phoenix and Slight Mourning. I also reread The Bachelor by Sabrina Jeffries, thinking (erroneously) that I had forgotten to review it. (Hey, it was the middle of the night and I was on my Kindle; I guess I had forgotten to delete the ARC from my device when the review posted.) Since the one I had actually forgotten to review is the third book in the series, Who Wants to Marry a Duke, I’m now rereading that one. I still need to finish The Language of Ghosts (Heather Fawcett; ARC) and get back to An Extraordinary Union (Alyssa Cole). (Click title for Goodreads page or my review.)

Listening: I finished The Stately Home Murder by Catherine Aird. I started and then DNFd Choose Wonder Over Worry by Amber Rae; it just wasn’t for me. After that, I started another Aird mystery, His Burial Too. I need to get back to Binti (Nnedi Okorafor) at some point.

Watching: Friday night, we watched 42, a film about Jackie Robinson starring Chadwick Boseman as Robinson and Harrison Ford as Branch Rickie, the Brooklyn Dodgers owner who hired him in a successful attempt to integrate major league baseball. The film was excellent, and both Boseman and Ford were amazing. Earlier in the week, we watched an episode or two each of Warehouse 13 and Aerial America. I’m starting to tire of the latter. If they focused mostly on natural beauty and historical sites, that would be fine. But I don’t need to know about sports stadiums and industrial sites.

Added to the Hoard

For Review or Consideration

Book cover: The Windsor Knot, by S. J. Bennett

The Windsor Knot kicks off a new cozy mystery series starring Queen Elizabeth II, and it sounds like great fun. (Click title for Goodreads page or my review.)

Purchased (Kindle, print, or audio)

Print: Kindle: The Duke Who Didn’t; The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics; Summer at the Garden Cafe; Murder in an Irish Village; Murder in an Irish Churchyard; Audiobooks (Audible, Libro.fm, or Chirp): His Burial Too (Audible). (Click title for Goodreads page or my review.)

I had to buy The Duke Who Didn’t after reading this review at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. And also, I am so here for historical romance with POC characters. For too long, historical romances set in Britain have ignored the fact that there were people of color in 18th- and 19th-century Britain (and even earlier.) This one may not be strictly historically accurate, but then, how historically accurate are all those series positing whole swaths of highly eligible, handsome, intelligent peers in their late 20s and 30s?

Stay safe, stay healthy, stay kind… and may you find books a haven in the coming weeks.

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11 Responses to “Sunday Post – 9/27/2020”

  1. jessicabookworm

    Sounds like you have had a good week, Lark: socialising with family and friends, using your new treadmill, reading lots and enjoying some viewing, too! I really hope your car can be fixed 🤞🙏 I had my last car for over 9 years and it was 10 years old when I bought it. 😅 Take care and happy reading in the coming week. 😃
    jessicabookworm recently posted…Sunday Reflection | 27th September 2020My Profile

  3. Angela

    Ugh, cars can be so annoying! It can be so hard to know when it’s time to finally give in and buy a new one.

  4. Michelle@BecauseReading

    We need a new car so bad. Ours sounds like it is about to fall apart but I just don’t want to spend the money right now or have a monthly payment so we are hoping we can keep it for a few more months and decided next year.

    I have been wanting to walk but just can’t seem to find the time to do it. I am always doing something, I really should invest in a treadmill. I wonder if that would make it easier.

    Have a great week, Lark! Happy Reading! xx

  5. Ruby Jo

    Yay for building up your stamina and leg muscles! I also need to get back into the habit of working out. I worked out a lot during the summer, but then I just stopped mid August and I kind of miss it. So I’m starting back up again slow.
    I hope you’ll enjoy all of your reads! Happy reading and have a wonderful week <3
    Ruby Jo recently posted…Sunday Post #12: Welcome, Autumn!!My Profile

  8. Katherine

    I kind of burned out on Ariel America when they did one on Alabama and a lot of the more cultural information was completely wrong. It wasn’t really anything that mattered but to talk about sports rivalries and not mention the Auburn/Alabama rivalry (which there was actually an ESPN documentary because it is fierce) just seemed crazy. There were several details wrong in the one on Mississippi as well and it got me wondering if there where that many errors on states I know quite a bit about what other details were wrong? After that I got kind of disenchanted with it – and like you I really wish they’d just focus on natural beauty and leave the rest out of it. I need to do a massive Catherine Aird read. I’ve only read two books by her and I loved them.
    I got your incredibly kind note and have emailed you but have gotten a delay error. Just know how much I appreciate your support. Fingers crossed on the van and I hope you have a great week.

  11. Nicole @ BookWyrmKnits

    I need to go for walks around the neighborhood — we don’t have a treadmill, so that’s how I’d been getting my exercise. I stopped because of the heat and the smoke in the air, but it might be safe to go for walks outside again.

    Hooray for Zoom calls! I’ve only done one birthday over Zoom so far. We celebrated my young nephew that way. The rest of us have just mailed things to each other and then called to chat afterward. Still fun, even if it’s very weird.
    Nicole @ BookWyrmKnits recently posted…BookWyrm’s Alphabeticals ~ TMy Profile