Bookish Talk | Book Chatter

Pool Side Gossip — Slim Aarons’ iconic Poolside Gossip as seen on the Glam Pad blog.

We haven’t had much of a winter here in Southern California but it doesn’t quite feel like spring either. It’s a little too cool in the mornings for it to feel like spring, but according to my calendar spring break is right around the corner and that means…

Reading. Movies. Eating.

See that photo above? I love the name of it, Poolside Gossip. I want to be one of those ladies and pretty soon, I’ll have my chance because Palm Desert is one of our destinations. I don’t think it’s very warm there and last week they had one heck of a wind storm but it’s nice to get away.

Part of the fun is choosing which books will go with me. I have a lot of good ones to choose from:

Spring Break Collage

The Martian by Andy Weir
The Painter by Peter Heller
A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami
The Vacationers by Emma Straub
Under a Summer Sky by Nan Rossiter
Up at Butternut Lake by Mary McNear
The Fever by Megan Abbott
Driftwood by Elizabeth Dutton

Never in my wildest dreams will all of these be read but I hope to get to at least two of them. I think two, is a realistic expectation and if I get to more, then that will be the the icing on the cake. That’s how I see it. I never know what mood I will be in while away so I have back-ups to choose from. Plus, I seem to like books about vacations, whenever I am ON vacation. Funny, huh?

Do you have any special reading plans coming up? If you need some reading motivation, Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon is just around the corner. I haven’t been able to participate properly in a couple of years but it’s always a lot of fun and a good way to go through your shelves and get those books read.

Anyway, off to begin my Friday. Friday at work, but hey… it’s Friday.

Well, it’s been a fun but crazy weekend. Friday, a retired co-worker came for a visit so a group of co-workers and I headed to a local restaurant for dinner. That was a nice way to start off the weekend. Lots of laughs for sure.

Saturday, we had another track meet. This time, it was an away meet and about a 45-minute drive to get there but the surrounding campus was very pretty. I didn’t mind the view one bit. And this time we brought the umbrella so sun was not an issue. Thank goodness. We got there around 7:45 am and it ended around 3pm. The Girl did great! No injuries and no tossing her cookies! It was a good meet. And that red thing you see is not a tent. They are called Sport Brellas and are low profile umbrella/tents. They are all over the place and we will be getting one real soon.

The Teen was not able to come with us due to a mandatory dress rehearsal but he called us to tell us about the 3rd or 4th earthquake that hit while he was taking a shower. I think it spooked him a little but as many as we’ve head in the past 72 hours, this is nothing compared to the Northridge quake. It does make me wonder if something larger is just around the corner though.

Last night, we attended a movie event at our church. They showed the movie Soul Surfer, which is about Bethany Hamilton, a surfer who was attacked by a shark back in 2003 at the age of thirteen. She lost an arm in that attack and our church scheduled the movie night in anticipation of her visit. I was worried The Girl would not be able to watch parts of it but she was okay.

We had a great time at the movie event. The Girl invited a friend and her family to come and we all had a really good time. But on the way home, the church sent an email warning of large crowds for Sunday services. This morning, we decided to stay home and watch her speak online. I really wanted to go to the service but the line wait was over an hour-long and they were only letting 1000 people in for sure so watching online was the next best option. It was a good talk but I think watching online was fine.

What’s going on for the rest of the day? Laundry and cleaning and maybe some reading. The Teen is off for more rehearsing and later he is performing in a Master Chorale performance.

I am rather happy because this is a three-day weekend for me since my campus is closed on Monday in observance of Cesar Chavez day. Yay!! And guess what? The kids have school which means it’s a ME day.

What am I reading?

I am reading lots of good stuff. I started Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell and love it. I am almost done with Casebook by Mona Simpson and really, really love it. I am about to start a third book but don’t know what yet. I don’t want to break my reading mojo by choosing the wrong book.

What am I cooking?

Nothing. Just not in the mood. I am going to try to convince The Hub to pick-up something for dinner later. Chinese or maybe some chopped salads. Scratch that. He just told me NO on Chinese take-out. Drats!

What am I watching?

Tonight is the season finale of The Walking Dead. The rumors are flying that a major, beloved character will be killed. I will totally lose it if my beloved Daryl Dixon gets killed off!! I can’t even bear to think about it.

Well, the washer is ready for the next load so off I go. What do you have planned for today? Something more glamorous than laundry, I hope.