Tag Archives: @2024 Book Chatter

Sunday Matters: Blue Skies Ahead

Sunday Matters

Ahoy! I just finished reading I Cheerfully Refuse and it warrants a sea worth greeting.

Hey, it’s no secret but everyone is jumping ship from X/Twitter and leaving for Blue Sky. I am currently in both places and Threads as TiBookChatter. If you are on Blue Sky, please find me!

Right Now:

Today will be a fun morning. Coffee is being enjoyed and then I am hosting for the online church service and then, in student ministry we are having the Turkey Bowl! Flag football. No tackling. Will I participate? I could, but I am still being careful of my skull after brain surgery. It’s also a hoot to cheer from the sidelines.

This Week:

It’s already here! It’s Thanksgiving week here in the US. My daughter is flying to Seattle to be with my son. They have a friends-giving planned. I will cook a pared down meal of classics. The Hub and I, including the Otter Pup (who is hanging on by a thread) will enjoy it and then take food over for my in-laws. They are not doing well. Not comfortable enough to join us at our home so we will go there, feed them and maybe enjoy a slice of pie with them. That’s it. They can’t socialize for long these days.

Aging sucks. Aging pets and aging parents. My own have been gone for awhile but this is rough.

Reading:

Oh my gosh. I am a reading machine! I probably just jinxed myself by saying that. I have been reading four books at a time and I am loving it.

I just finished and reviewed:

I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger
Orbital by Samantha Harvey

I am in the final pages of Pete and Alice in Maine by Caitlin Shetterly. I love a good novel set in Maine.

I am about 25% in to Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. I am late to the party on this one but it’s so charming. I’ve had a copy for ages but needed to quickly find another book to keep up my pace and there it was.

Watching:

Did you watch the fight? I am glad that Paul didn’t hurt Tyson because he easily could have. In the end, he showed respect. I liked that.

Finished Season 2 of Tulsa King. Highly recommend. I was never a huge Stallone fan but he is just so good in it. Kind of humorous and brutal too.

Cobra Kai is back. I just watched the first episode. Yawn. It’s kind of corny and focused on the romance between two of the characters.

I have all my Hallmark Christmas stuff lined up but haven’t pulled the trigger yet. I am off all this week so hello, Hallmark! I’m coming for ya.

Making:

The only days I cook now are typically Mondays. I work remotely that day and it’s easy to simmer something on the stove while working.

Of course, I will be cooking for Thanksgiving. I like to introduce new things but this year, there is a lot on recall, like carrots! I make this really good brown sugar carrot thing but with the recall, I will sub sweet potatoes.

Grateful for:

Every minute that we have with this pup. She is trying so hard to stick around. My adult kids are coming for three days on 12/23. Hopefully they will see her. My son is bringing his cat Root Beer and she loved Chloe when she came as a kitten. We shall see!

Also, the other night the pup shot up out of bed, hopped off and took off down the hall. Hello!! She is not be able to walk much less hop off a bed. I was so half asleep and worried but she seemed pretty proud. See how she rallies? Fourteen and still a pistol.

To everyone who celebrates, Happy Thanksgiving week! Love you, all.

Happy Thanksgiving. An autumn scene with pumpkins and a candle. Bordered by leaves.

Review: Orbital

Orbital

Orbital
By Samantha Harvey
Grove Press, 9780802163622, October 2024, 224 pp.

The Short of It:

Slightly odd in the telling, but riveting nonetheless.

The Rest of It:

Orbital just won the Booker Prize and was getting a ton of buzz so when my library had it available, I snatched it up.

This is another slim book that packs a punch. At just over 200 pages, there is so much here. The story covers six men and women as they travel through space. These astronauts are from all around the world, Russia, Japan, Italy, the US. The story covers one day of their lives, but in space, one day equates to 16 sunrises and sunsets as they literally fall through space.

Harvey spends time with each person. We get a little of their backstory, their random thoughts and how they are faring from being so far away from their loved ones. Would they do it again? Yes, and no. They absolutely feels blessed to be a part of the program but at the same time, being in space takes its toll.

There is humor but there are also some deep thoughts about life back home. It has been said that this book is a love letter to earth. I would agree. Their perception of the big blue planet is sweet and sometimes a bit heartbreaking. As they gaze upon that beautiful sight, they can’t help but wonder what lies ahead for their beautiful home.

As far as stories go, it’s not terribly plot driven. It’s more of an observation and if you like that sort of thing, that day in the life, fly on the wall perspective, then you will be fascinated as I was.

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