Book Chatter

Sunday Matters

February came and went. Overall, it was a decent month. Since some of our activities have been reduced and the calendar is in a more manageable state. I’ve been able to cook more, read more, and just relax at home. Something I’ve really missed for the past few years.

Right Now:

I use my YouVersion Bible app a lot. This morning I am going to break out my actual Bible and maybe do a little journaling. I don’t like my penmanship. Which is why I never journal. I actually write neatly but in all block letters and it’s tiresome for my hand. LOL. I love the look of a well-used Bible though, one full of notes and the like so I am going to try to pick this up again.

This Week:

I have one little scheduling conflict for Monday which I will have to figure out. Outreach conflicts with my daughter’s Sign Language class and her teacher keeps ending the class early which means I have to leave in the middle of Outreach. Thinking that maybe I should take a break from Outreach until this class is over in May.

I have to get this kid in the car for driving practice. She’s not a big fan of it. But we want her to be licensed by June. So my goal this week is more practice. She’s actually pretty good when I can get her to practice.

Reading:

I finished The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley. It wasn’t what I thought it would be. I expected more of a suspense, thriller type story. It wasn’t that at all but I still enjoyed it. My review should post this week.

What do I read next? I feel like my pace slowed a bit since this last book wasn’t as much of a page turner as I expected it to be.

Watching:

The Crown continues to be great. We finished Season 1. On to Season 2.

The Walking Dead opened with the dumbest episode ever and included a seriously cringy scene between Alpha and Negan. Ew. I can’t unsee that.

New Things I’ve Tried:

When I went to Lush the other day they gave me a sample of a vegan facial cleanser called Ultraplant. I really love it. It’s one of those oil based balms that melts makeup off and it smells like oranges. I love it. I am using my sample sparingly. I plan to purchase it when my sample runs out.

Grateful for:

Friends who write me letters.
My pup’s little corn chip paws.
Easy to use home hair dye.
Trusted friends I can talk politics with.

That’s all I have. How was your week? What are you looking forward to in March? At the end of the month we are closed for Cesar Chavez day. Yay!

Before She Knew Him
By Peter Swanson
William Morrow Paperbacks, 9780062838162, February 2020, 320pp.

The Short of It:

Smart, clever, and hard to put down.

The Rest of It:

I don’t know where I’ve been or why I haven’t read Peter Swanson before but I am so very glad that Before She Knew Him made it into my hands.

Hen and Lloyd move to very nice, suburban neighborhood. Their neighbors, Mira and Matthew invite them over to dinner so they can get to know one another and while there, Hen can’t help but notice a fencing trophy on the mantle. Upon closer inspection, she’s almost positive it once belonged to a young man named Dustin. A young man who was murdered not long ago. Why would this couple have it in their house?

Before She Knew Him was a great read. Smartly written with well-developed characters and a story that includes a surprise or two and enough mystery to keep you guessing. This book could easily have been titled “Neighbors with Secrets” because both of these couples have something to hide and it makes for really good reading.

I highly recommend this one. Swanson uses all of the characters to tell this story and it’s so very good.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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