Sunday Post – May 23, 2021

May 23, 2021 Sunday Post 12

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!

This Week

Last Sunday’s online reading of As You Like It was great, even though only five of us showed up. We had to double and even triple up on parts, but everyone had fun doing different voices for the different roles. I played Rosalind (a breeches role I love, but would never get the chance to play in real life, given my age, lack of vertical inches, and, er, curviness.) I also read Amiens, one of the good Duke’s courtiers, whom I had forgotten sings several songs. I improvised them (not terribly well!) Luckily it was a kind and forgiving bunch of people, most of whom I have known for decades.

I enjoyed my first week off from indexing in a while. I started exercising again, spent some time reading, knitting and spinning, and accomplished a little paperwork, cleaning, and tidying up that I’ve been putting off because I’ve been so busy.

On Monday, I discovered that Gutenbee, a plugin I use for image galleries, had suddenly started distorting the ratio of the book-cover images I’ve been posting. They looked terrible! I contacted the developer, who was very nice. Eventually he figured out that it was probably because the images were lazy-loading. Sure enough, he was right! Another plugin (Smush) had added a lazy-load option, and either I opted in or they made it a default. I turned it off (just the lazy-load part, not the rest of Smush), and now everything looks fine again. (I’m sharing the details in case anyone else has the same problem.)

This weekend is my college reunion, which is being held online. I will miss being there in person, getting to talk with friends until late at night, sing Gilbert & Sullivan songs with my old theater group, and wander the campus that still feels so much like home. But at least our year-cluster is putting together both a recital for conservatory graduates and a virtual coffeehouse for everyone, and the G&S group is going to to get together on Zoom to chat, so I’ll get a chance to catch up with a few folks. (Three of my G&S friends have been involved in the play readings I have participated in this spring.)

Recent Posts

Looking Ahead

  • The Art of Betrayal, by Connie Berry – review
  • Top Ten Tuesday post, tentative
  • WIP Wednesday – tentative
  • REVIEW – review
  • News & Notes – 5/29/2021 – tentative
  • Sunday Post – 5/30/2021 – tentative

What I’m Reading/Watching

Reading: I plowed through Devil in Disguise (Lisa Kleypas; ARC) in a single night, and loved it! I read The Art of Betrayal by Connie Berry (ARC), which was really good. Then I started Castle Shade (Laurie R. King; ARC)—although I may pause that one to read Dracula, because it ties in, and I’ve never read it. (On the other hand, I may just settle for the Cliffs Notes summary.) And I started A Court of Thorns and Roses (Sarah J. Maas) for the COYER book club. Believe it or not, I have never read ACOTAR before, either.

Listening to: I had been listening to The Bookshop on the Corner (Jenny Colgan), but the library checkout ended before I had a chance to finish it. I’m on the hold list for it, and will try to finish it later—unless I get too impatient and just read the Kindlebook instead. While I wait, I’m listening to The Code of the Woosters by P. G. Wodehouse. It’s hilarious! Why on earth have I never read the Jeeves and Wooster books before?

I also listened to some podcasts: a 99% Invisible on abandoned cargo ships; Fated Mates talking about You Had Me at Hola, which totally sold me on reading it; Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me with guest Sen. Elizabeth Warren; a Sidedoor episode on portraits on US currency; Imaginary Worlds‘ interview with Andy Weir, and two Twenty Thousand Herz episodes, on on chord progression and one on auditory icons. There’s not enough time in the week to listen to all the podcasts I like, but if I alternate between podcasts and my audiobook, I can get at least some in while I’m doing laundry or housework, walking on the treadmill, or driving. (I actually drove to town this week, for the first time in months, to pick up my holds from the library.)

Watching: We watched Paddington, as well as several more episodes of Undiscovered Vistas, on the Bay of Fundy, the Welsh coastline, and Ireland. The series is misleadingly named; while there are lots of lovely vistas, it’s mostly about the geology of each region it covers: the geologic forces that shaped it millenia ago and continue to shape it today. (If you’re getting the sense, from my podcast list and what I watch, that I like learning new things… you’re right. 😉)

Added to the Hoard

For Review or Consideration

Many thanks to Berkley for Death at the Crystal Palace!

Purchased (Kindle, print, or audio)

Print: The Bab Ballads by W.S. Gilbert (a vintage edition circa 1818-1833, sent to me by a friend who also loves Gilbert & Sullivan, but didn’t want the book any longer. Thank you, Amy! Incidentally, that’s my photo on the linked Goodreads page; they didn’t have this edition listed, so I had to add it.)

Kindle: Well Played; The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie.

Audiobooks: The Code of the Woosters

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

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12 Responses to “Sunday Post – May 23, 2021”

  2. Tessa

    Your group sounds like so much fun! I’m sure you’ll enjoy your reunion even though it’s virtual. Maybe you can create break out rooms so a bunch of you can chat like you’d do if it was in person. Hope you enjoy it! Have a great reading week ❤️

  5. M. Ravenel

    Hey! Sounds like you had a productive week! I actually like the lazy load feature for images, as it makes things look cleaner. I never liked the Gutenberg features, but I’m glad you were able to make it work on your site!

  6. Nicole @ BookWyrm Knits

    Aahh, Dracula. One of those classics that’s better in theory than in practice (IMO). I really enjoyed the beginning of it, and then it seems to turn into a different book entirely. I guess just be aware that if you decide to read the book (and not the Cliff’s Notes) that it’s a slow-paced novel for most of it.
    Nicole @ BookWyrm Knits recently posted…Clear Your Sh*t Readathon 1.5My Profile

  7. Lory

    My virtual college reunion starts this week too. I haven’t looked at what the events are – I’m feeling Zoom fatigue though. Wondering if I should just wait for the next time I can go in person. Sounds like you have some fun events lined up, although it won’t be the same.
    Lory recently posted…You made me read it: Parable of the SowerMy Profile

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      Zoom fatigue is real… I can understand not wanting to deal with more Zooms at this point.

      I ended up with a headache most of Saturday and only attended one event. (I missed the one I was most looking forward to because I cut my finger and had to go to the ER to have it stitched up.) It was nice to see familiar faces at the virtual coffeehouse I did attend, though.

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      Thank you, Tanya. I missed the G&S Players reunion (cut my finger and had to go to the ER), but hopefully we’ll do another one in 6 months or a year.

      Glad to hear Well Played was fun! I read some good reviews when it came out.

  9. Katherine

    Glad you had a good week but I saw your Instagram post and hope your finger is okay! That bandage is dramatic! Though Will has some adhesive allergies so I’m familiar with how that fun can be. So many great books! I’m going to start the Connie Berry soon and I can’t wait for the Jennifer Ashley. I need to pick up that Jeeves. The last one I listened to didn’t have Bertie and I didn’t like it nearly as much! Hope you’re having a great week!

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      The bandage makes it look so much worse than it is. (I mean, it’s bad enough to need a stitch, but the damage is all between the last knuckle and the tip.) I’m down to just a bandaid now, and hoping I don’t react to the adhesive…