Book Chatter

Sunday Matters

I am always so excited when the weekend is finally here. After a long week there is nothing better than waking up to a hot cup of coffee. One that you can truly enjoy and savor. My favorite thing.

Right Now:

You guessed it. Coffee! In a little bit I shall start my day. I’ve been a little out of sorts. Nothing major just a tiny bit off. Maybe it’s all the weight I gained on this new nutrition program I am on. I lost and then I gained it all back in one day! What is up with that. I feel like a total slug.

This Week:

The callback list for The Wizard of Oz will be posted on Tuesday. Cross your fingers that The Girl is on it. I think she has two games this week. I also have my life group meeting and some volunteering to do but that’s it.

Reading:

I am reading a fun book, The Boy at the Keyhole and I am enjoying it a lot. It kind of sits on the edge of the R.I.P Challenge wall but I am going to count it towards that challenge anyway. I think the new Kingsolver book is up next.

Watching:

I watch a lot of the same stuff because I just don’t have time to watch much more. Fear The Walking Dead keeps trying to be something but I am getting tired of it not being anything. It has a decent cast now so do something with them!

American Horror Story is always a crap shoot. Will it be good this season? With it be way over-the-top and weird or will it be really clever and smart? It can go either way at this point but last week’s episode gave me hope.

Trying:

I changed this category from “Making” to “Trying” because that is what I do these days! I try different things and products and time-saving tips and some are great and some not. So “Trying” is what I am calling this space now.

This week I tried the Trader Joe’s gluten-free crispbreads I heard about. They are pretty good! Very substantial and hold up to toppings well. I topped them with the Almond Dip I found there. It’s vegan and a sub for spreadable cheese. It’s spicy and the texture is good for those crispbreads but the flavor is a little weird. Lime, almonds and jalapenos. Not sure I’ll buy it again.

Grateful for:

My bookshelves are overflowing with physical books. This hardly ever happens. I only keep what I love and usually my review copies are in Kindle format. But I’ve gotten so many review copies in print lately and my shelves are bursting! I need to get them read and off to a good home because there is no space. I’m so grateful to have them though. So many beautiful covers which you just don’t get with a Kindle.

What’s new with you?

Fierce Kingdom
By Gin Phillips
Penguin Books, 9780735224520, July 2018, 288pp.

The Short of It:

A tense, gripping story about a woman and her young son fighting to stay alive during an active shooting situation at the zoo.

The Rest of It:

After a lovely day at the zoo, Joan and her four-year-old son Lincoln, slowly make their way to the exit when shots ring out. At first, the sounds do not make any sense. Fireworks? At the zoo? At the end of the day? As Lincoln chatters away, Joan sees the first body. She’s barely had time to process what’s she’s seen before she is picking Lincoln up and running for their lives.

This book will have you sitting on the edge of your seat. I chose it for my birthday read but it was far from relaxing! Phillips does an awesome job of setting the scene. It’s the zoo, after all and while reading I could “see” all of the animals, the foliage, the enclosures and I could “smell” everything too. I was right there with Joan and Lincoln and let me tell you, it was like I was living it myself.

The entire book is Joan and her son trying to survive. As you can imagine, keeping a four-year-old entertained and quiet is hard on any day but when you are trapped in an enclosure and every sound could give you away, finding ways to keep your son happy becomes a priority. Lincoln is a great kid but he gets hungry, thirsty and needs to go to the bathroom. He doesn’t understand what is going on or why they have to hide even though he’s clear who the bad guys are. It’s all an adventure to him but for Joan, she is beside herself with worry. Will they make it out alive?

I really enjoyed this book. It gave me such anxiety to read it but I read it in one sitting and it just seemed so authentically written. The mom stuff, the kid stuff, and the setting. With so few characters, I’m sure the challenge was how to keep it going but Phillips did.

If you want to spend a few hours totally riveted, then pick up a copy of Fierce Kingdom. It’s been picked up for a movie adaptation too.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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