Family | Book Chatter

Yesterday we met my son in Solvang. We four (the pup joined us) met him there because it’s about an hour away from him. They have shops, restaurants and Danish bakeries galore! They also have a quaint little book shop. It was so good to see him. Editing note: WordPress got rid of the Classic Editor and the Block editor leaves a lot to be desired. Images and things may be out of whack.

Right Now:

Church and youth group. Possibly a quick lunch afterward and then a long walk for the pup.

This Week:

We are leading up to Easter aren’t we? My daughter requested a typical ham dinner, like we always have. I am now vegetarian so I will do all that and then make myself a tiny Salisbury Steak made out of Impossible Burger meat. The recipe is here but it has a ton of ingredients. I am going to just use it as a guide. All the sides should go well with my addition.

This week I will shop for all the ingredients. Last Easter our Honeybaked Ham meal barely arrived in time. It was such a weird, sad time. No church services. Nobody outside. The delivery guy was way late, it was delivered Saturday at 9pm. Then I worried because the ham was not cold. It was fine but this year will be quite different.

I have a day off from work this week for Cesar Chavez day. If I can help it, I plan to do nothing on Wednesday. Just read and lounge around. Maybe make a special dinner, the kind that cooks all day long.

I’ve got nothing else going on this week.

College Decision:

She will be attending Missouri State University this fall for their BFA in Musical Theatre program.

Missouri State Acceptance Photo — Emma will be a Bear at MSU!

So many things contributed to this. I can’t even tell you. All I can say is that you want your kids to be treated well and you want to know that wherever they go, they are wanted and will be cared for and that she will get the best training she can get. That’s what it came down to. Yay!

Reading:

I finished The New Neighbors. I should have that review up soon.

I am about to pick up this beauty which was delivered to my door this past week. Thank you Henry Holt!

And then, Care and Melissa announced this read-along. #The GreenMileAlong begins in April. I went online and found an ebook version that has all the installments so I am ready to go!

Watching:

I am finishing up WandaVision and then my son wants us to watch Barry.

Our Netflix plan still has a DVD option attached to it which was grandfathered in. It’s good for those movies that aren’t streaming. I had The Big Chill set to arrive but my daughter was playing the song Maniac the other day and it occurred to me that she has never seen Flashdance! So, we have that coming in instead.

Grateful for:

The upcoming Easter services. We will probably attend the Saturday before because of potential crowds but it’s not Easter without a church service.
The Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service has announced that the federal income tax filing due date for individuals for the 2020 tax year will be automatically extended from April 15, 2021, to May 17, 2021. We already filed but we ended up owing quite a bit more than last year. Not a fan of that but yay for not having to pay it to soon.

Are you reading anything really good right now? Will you be joining this Stephen King read with us? I’ve read The Green Mile before but it was when it first came out so a re-read is welcomed.

Good Company
By Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney
Ecco, 9780062876003, April 6, 2021, 320pp.

The Short of It:

Marriage for some, is like walking a tightrope without a net.

The Rest of It:

When Julian and Flora first met, they were both struggling artists in the process of finding themselves. Scraping to get by was never enjoyable but there was something to be said for blood, sweat and tears and being able to build something together meant something. Good Company, a small theatre group born out of Julian’s dreams to run his own theatre took center stage for many years but when they each started to have their own successes with acting and then had a beautiful daughter of their own, they moved to Los Angeles and there, the romantic lure of acting wasn’t as shiny as it was when they were newly married yet still an important part of who they were.

The benefit to being in Los Angeles is that Flora is once again close to her dear friends Margo and David. Margo, also an actress but much more recognizable than Flora had ever been, is the friend that always grounds Flora no matter what is going on. Years and years of friendship and Margot’s own challenges with her husband who suffered a stroke, do nothing but bond them tighter together. That’s why Flora finds herself completely lost when a secret comes out and she’s not sure if she can turn to Margot for support.

This is one of those dishy reads that you zip through. There is a lot of mature drama. Marriage difficulties, insecurities, trying to keep up appearances for your adult child, the threat of an empty nest, success and what happens to a relationship when it’s been strained. Flora and Julian’s story is intermingled with that of Margot’s and I found it to be a good balance. This isn’t an “escape” read because it’s too rooted in real life for that feeling to overcome you but I didn’t mind spending time with these characters and felt that the ending was appropriately realistic.

I think I felt the same way about Sweeney’s previous book, The Nest. A good read but probably not one that will stick with me. I would have liked the story to go a bit deeper into Flora’s character. She had a lot going on and was presented with some very difficult choices. I would have appreciated more of her.

I don’t usually give starred ratings here on the blog, but I do on GoodReads and I’d give this one a solid three stars if that helps.

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

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