Book Chatter

Sunday Matters, a latte on a wooden tray against greenery.

What a week this has been!! Politically charged. We can all use a little good news.

My son’s non-profit Bunker Arts Collective won the 2024 Mayor’s Arts Award by both the mayor and the cultural arts commission for the city of Everett, Wa! He didn’t even know his non-profit was nominated. He will be doing an interview and a video showcasing their work. Very exciting. Hopefully this will give them the visibility they need to really make a difference. Even his cat Root Beer, the CEO was mentioned.

Check out one of the murals that was installed. It was installed in pieces to be portable because the target building, a school is about to be closed.

Right Now:

Hosting an online ministry service and then I will spend the rest of the morning in student ministry. My normal Sunday routine. Camp registration opened and all the students are so excited!

This Week:

I am having lunch with a friend on Monday to catch-up on stuff. Haven’t been able to meet for a bit so that will be good.

Friday, taking my MIL back to the doctor. Both in-laws are not great health wise. One we knew, a cancer diagnosis that is terminal. The other was not completely unknown to us but the pace in which decline hit was immediate and swift and we did not anticipate caring for both of them at the same time. So anyway, my husband is doing his share, and I am doing mine in the form of doctor’s visits and the like. You do what you have to do. They are in denial which makes care difficult. Our nephew is also helping as well of my FIL’s daughter.

Reading:

Finished The Brothers Karamazov! What a book. It was pretty good, I will work on getting my review up soon but man, did it sidetrack me for other reads. 900+ pages. Oooof.

I am also done with Lucy by the Sea. Review is here. I’ve decided that I really like Elizabeth Strout.

My book club read for February is Trust. I know nothing about the book. It just sounded good to me but I heard it was a doozy!

Watching:

Still watching Lockerbie on Peacock. Very good but heavy. Can only watch an episode here and there. Plane crashes and their aftermath is a tough subject.

Some friends mentioned Severance to me. I’ve heard of it but have not watched it. I looked it up and it sounds like something I’d like. Might check that out.

Grateful for:

The little bit of rain we got last weekend. Both of the largest fires are still at 95% containment. Unbelievable that there are still hot spots.
Like-minded friends who I can vent to about this political clown show we are calling the President’s office.
All the great books coming out this year. I was looking at my review copies and they are just so good. Lots to look forward to.
BLTs. The perfect sandwich. Crisp lettuce, the perfect amount of mayo and perfectly cooked bacon atop a slice of tomato. Perfection.

With everything going on around us, do what moms tell their kids, “Find the good people” because they are out there.

Lucy by the Sea
By Elizabeth Strout
Random House, 9780593446089, September 2023, 304 pp.

The Short of It:

Strout’s books are like a warm, comforting hug.

The Rest of It:

The COVID pandemic is just ramping up and as the world goes into lockdown, Lucy Barton leaves her life in Manhattan for a small town in Maine. With her? Her ex-husband-friend, William. William insists that she leave town with him. NYC is too crowded, too dangerous to wait out the lockdowns. Lucy at first feels that William is overreacting but then settles into their decision to go off the grid, so to speak.

This is my third Strout book and let me tell you, I am really liking her writing. It’s quiet, and thoughtful and falls into a genre that I completely made up. I call it “episodic domesticity”. As they learn to live together once again in this tiny place, we are invited into their daily routines, their innermost thoughts about family, politics, the pandemic, the locals in town. I love the minutiae of everyday life.

As the pandemic ramps up, the tension does too. To say that Lucy is unsettled is an understatement. She worries about their adult daughters. Are they doing well? Taking care of themselves? She considers her friends and how the are doing. Loneliness sets in. Yes, she has William but William is a man of few words and yes at times, she feels quite lonely.

This story is filled with fear and isolation but also hope. In these quiet moments, Lucy comes to terms with who she is and who she wants to be. Strout is so good at setting the tone and creating likable characters. Lucy is a person I’d love to meet. She feels that real.

One note, I listened to part of this on audio and I did not feel that the reader captured Lucy well. The image that I had of her in my head did not at all match the voice that I was hearing. That said, I’d stick to print but I highly recommend Strout’s books.

Source: Borrowed
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Chatting with friends about books and life…