You know what there is to do four (almost five) months in to winter? Nothing. Pretty much nothing when you have a brand new baby and a whole stack of medical bills to keep you from straying too far from home. Next year when she's older, doing more during these sub zero months will be easier and a lot more practical, but this year we've mostly just been staying home.
Not that I'm complaining. Staring at a baby all day is pretty high on my list of favorite ways to spend a Saturday. I knew having a November due date that this quiet period would follow. Happily home bound with our purse strings squeezed a little tighter than normal for the season. With that in mind, I'm just trying my best to enjoy the slow, the quiet, the predictable days while they last.
What you can do four (almost five) months in to winter is read, of course. Or listen. Or a combination of both, which is what I prefer. I usually have one audio book cued up and one paper back/kindle on the nightstand at the same time. Although I admit the audiobooks get finished a whole lot quicker since you can listen while cooking dinner, folding laundry or heating up that millionth cup of hot chocolate. Here's what I've been up to lately.
This one is right in the vein of The Fault In Our Stars. Young adult, tragic, heart breaking stuff. I can't say I loved it, because it's kind of a hard story to love, but the ending got me good.
Wowza. This book totally lived up to all the hype. How is this really someone's life? It makes you fully appreciate how resilient the human spirit can be even under seemingly impossible circumstances. It called to mind the first time I read Man's Search for Meaning. Very inspiring. Also, (captain obvious here) wars are just generally a terrible idea. Just throwing that out there.
This one came recommended to me from a friend (hiya Kate!) and I really, really liked it. This is so out of the realm of things I typically read. First of all, it's written by a man and I typically gravitate toward female authors 95% of the time. And it felt like it was a man's man kind of book, but also totally great. It's a thriller/mystery and had a few good plot twists and shocking moments. Highly recommend it.
Here's another author I'm embarrassed to admit it's taken me 31 years to get around to reading. Didion's writing is all about the craft. She's a writer's writer. The story and structure were interesting, following the downward spiral of a Hollywood starlet and underscoring the emptiness and superficiality life in LA has come to represent. But to be honest, it's so far removed from my actual life and experiences that I kind of just observed it from afar. That said, I'm totally up for more and I've got Slouching Toward Bethlehem cued up and ready to go next.
This one I really enjoyed. But then again anything Rachael recommends is bound to be good. An unfurling mystery and a walk back though time, full of secrets and aha moments. It was just really fun. Plus, I happen to live in a hundred year old house and it made me think about all those people who have inhabited it before us and what stories this house would tell if the walls could talk.
Whoa, this one. You guys, I was totally not ready for that ending. I am not going to give anything away here but hooooooly mooooooly. So this book was one of the Daily Deals on Audible and was purchased on a whim. I hadn't heard about it before but mention Frank Lloyd Wright and I'm in. It's a novel but it follows the true life of FLW's mistress, Mamah Borthwick. It's based on true events so don't go googling her if you don't want spoilers. I'd definitely recommend this one. It delivered so much more than I expected.
And that's all for now. I'm currently reading The Maze Runner, dystopic YA lit, so you know I'm into it. What have you all been reading?
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