Great suggestions for a genre that I enjoy dabbling in, especially during Fall. I recently read Peggy Orenstein’s memoir Unraveling and really loved it. The words resonated deeply with me, I highly recommend this book.
Thank you for the rec, I remember seeing this book- with the top of the sheep's head:) but I wasn't sure what it's about. I just grabbed it on audio on Libby
I follow @thechateauchronicles channel on You Tube and the creator Abigail “Abby” Carter is an artist and author. Part of her background story is that she is a mother of two and 911 widow who bought a chateau in France with the goal of creating artist retreats, which she has now achieved! I am late finding her 2008 book: The Alchemy of Loss (a young widow’s transformation), which I have just begun reading and like. She is just an interesting lady and I admire her courage. She wrote the book not only as a record of the events for her children, but because she “secretly hoped my story would be more-something that could help others to cope with their own losses. I wanted to write the book I had not found, the one that would give me hope that my grief would not be permanent and that a whole new life might emerge from the ashes of loss.” As I said, I have only just begun reading, but I can already say I admire Abby’s honesty and courage for sharing her story of loss and personal growth.
I also just picked up; totally different non-fiction: Liliana’s Invincible Summer (a sister’s search for justice) by Cristina Rivera Garza, was just listed as a National Book Awards finalist. I know nothing about it, but the title and cover grabbed me. I think it was published in Feb. of this year.
I am in a bit of a “between books slump” right now, despite having 18 (not kidding!!) library books checked out and at my disposal. I do love the pursuit of all my books though! And I guess if that makes me happy, it is a harmless but sometimes overwhelming habit.
I could go on, and will wrap this up with what you would think would be a non-fiction book, but this one is historical fiction about the real event of what is referred to as the Darien scheme. A part of Scottish history I only recently stumbled upon while reading The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley (which I liked, but DNF’d for now). She mentions the failed Darien expeditions in her story and it immediately grabbed my attention. I think all this took place in 1698, when Scotland attempted to form a colony in what is now Panama. They failed miserably and many lost their lives in the attempted adventure.
Oh, I almost forgot, the title: The Rising Sun by Douglas Galbraith is a novel, but I know there are several books out there that are non-fiction accounts, and I found the topic to be interesting enough to mention, for those who might go down reading rabbit holes like me.
Hope these are an inspiration for others. I love seeing what others are reading.
Thank you for these recs and for sharing the information, I love hearing the behind the story details. Several people have mentioned reading The Winter Sea recently - I'm curious why you set it aside? Lilian's Invincible Summer and The Alchemy of Loss I'm definitely looking up asap. I also keep a large rotating amount of library books in Libby App- I love reading on my Kindle as well as listening to audiobooks so I need a lot of choices- I think I have 35 books checked out just on Libby- like you said it makes me happy and I enjoy having a lot of reading options
Glad I am not the only one with an ongoing TBR pile. I prefer hardcovers and am a huge fan of my local library. They know me well, from all the hold requests I make. I am always at my limit at any given time, with at least 10 ongoing requests. I enjoyed the podcast that mentioned the anticipation aspect of finding our next reads. For the most part I really enjoy the quest!!
I am almost continually reading, so that is one reason I have a variety of books on hand at any given time. Just in case nothing “hits.” I can move on.
The Winter Sea is good. The writing is easy to follow. At one point in the story, the main character, a writer, explains what leads her from one topic to another. I could totally relate to that, because I constantly find one subject or another, or a recommendation to follow.
It is hard to get into details about the book without giving anything away. It is an interesting premise where the main character inexplicably knows details about the past. Some of the explanation about this happening feels a little repetitive. I also found myself a little distracted and had to think about who a couple of the male characters were. And the love interests don’t do much for me. For the most part, the mix of past and present is well balanced and the chapters are short, I definitely liked it enough that I might get back to it.
I visited Scotland for the first time last year and fell in love with Edinburgh in particular. I love history!
I really loved Diana Gabaldon’s books and have read all the Outlander series, which I find hard to believe now, bc they are not short books. Diana keeps us in the past more and of course there are Jamie and Claire. We can never get enough of those two. She does move back and forth in time too, just enough to keep things interesting.
I really do need to take a breath and focus on fewer books at a time for a bit. Hard to do when there are so many good books!
My daughter is home after graduating University last Spring and she and I are both reading frantically!!
I have a questions about the book Human Design. Do you need to know your exact time of birth? I am unable to get mine. Can you still benefit from your particular human design without knowing your date of birth. If you have the magic solution for how not to get caught up in reading, buzzy books, and exploring outside of your usual genre, I would love to see you right about that.
You do need to know your birth time, hour and minute, the author suggests calling the hospital where you were born if it's not on your birth certificate or relatives don't know. Even a general time would be fine if nothing else. I don't think I have one magic solution but I do have some strategies I've been thinking about so I hope to write up a post soon:)
Great suggestions for a genre that I enjoy dabbling in, especially during Fall. I recently read Peggy Orenstein’s memoir Unraveling and really loved it. The words resonated deeply with me, I highly recommend this book.
Thank you for the rec, I remember seeing this book- with the top of the sheep's head:) but I wasn't sure what it's about. I just grabbed it on audio on Libby
Unraveling is about so many things, I hope you enjoy listening!
Love me some Maggie Smith!! Thanks for sharing Renee!
I’ll definitely be listening to Keep Moving.
I think you’ll love it!!
I follow @thechateauchronicles channel on You Tube and the creator Abigail “Abby” Carter is an artist and author. Part of her background story is that she is a mother of two and 911 widow who bought a chateau in France with the goal of creating artist retreats, which she has now achieved! I am late finding her 2008 book: The Alchemy of Loss (a young widow’s transformation), which I have just begun reading and like. She is just an interesting lady and I admire her courage. She wrote the book not only as a record of the events for her children, but because she “secretly hoped my story would be more-something that could help others to cope with their own losses. I wanted to write the book I had not found, the one that would give me hope that my grief would not be permanent and that a whole new life might emerge from the ashes of loss.” As I said, I have only just begun reading, but I can already say I admire Abby’s honesty and courage for sharing her story of loss and personal growth.
I also just picked up; totally different non-fiction: Liliana’s Invincible Summer (a sister’s search for justice) by Cristina Rivera Garza, was just listed as a National Book Awards finalist. I know nothing about it, but the title and cover grabbed me. I think it was published in Feb. of this year.
I am in a bit of a “between books slump” right now, despite having 18 (not kidding!!) library books checked out and at my disposal. I do love the pursuit of all my books though! And I guess if that makes me happy, it is a harmless but sometimes overwhelming habit.
I could go on, and will wrap this up with what you would think would be a non-fiction book, but this one is historical fiction about the real event of what is referred to as the Darien scheme. A part of Scottish history I only recently stumbled upon while reading The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley (which I liked, but DNF’d for now). She mentions the failed Darien expeditions in her story and it immediately grabbed my attention. I think all this took place in 1698, when Scotland attempted to form a colony in what is now Panama. They failed miserably and many lost their lives in the attempted adventure.
Oh, I almost forgot, the title: The Rising Sun by Douglas Galbraith is a novel, but I know there are several books out there that are non-fiction accounts, and I found the topic to be interesting enough to mention, for those who might go down reading rabbit holes like me.
Hope these are an inspiration for others. I love seeing what others are reading.
Thank you for these recs and for sharing the information, I love hearing the behind the story details. Several people have mentioned reading The Winter Sea recently - I'm curious why you set it aside? Lilian's Invincible Summer and The Alchemy of Loss I'm definitely looking up asap. I also keep a large rotating amount of library books in Libby App- I love reading on my Kindle as well as listening to audiobooks so I need a lot of choices- I think I have 35 books checked out just on Libby- like you said it makes me happy and I enjoy having a lot of reading options
Glad I am not the only one with an ongoing TBR pile. I prefer hardcovers and am a huge fan of my local library. They know me well, from all the hold requests I make. I am always at my limit at any given time, with at least 10 ongoing requests. I enjoyed the podcast that mentioned the anticipation aspect of finding our next reads. For the most part I really enjoy the quest!!
I am almost continually reading, so that is one reason I have a variety of books on hand at any given time. Just in case nothing “hits.” I can move on.
The Winter Sea is good. The writing is easy to follow. At one point in the story, the main character, a writer, explains what leads her from one topic to another. I could totally relate to that, because I constantly find one subject or another, or a recommendation to follow.
It is hard to get into details about the book without giving anything away. It is an interesting premise where the main character inexplicably knows details about the past. Some of the explanation about this happening feels a little repetitive. I also found myself a little distracted and had to think about who a couple of the male characters were. And the love interests don’t do much for me. For the most part, the mix of past and present is well balanced and the chapters are short, I definitely liked it enough that I might get back to it.
I visited Scotland for the first time last year and fell in love with Edinburgh in particular. I love history!
I really loved Diana Gabaldon’s books and have read all the Outlander series, which I find hard to believe now, bc they are not short books. Diana keeps us in the past more and of course there are Jamie and Claire. We can never get enough of those two. She does move back and forth in time too, just enough to keep things interesting.
I really do need to take a breath and focus on fewer books at a time for a bit. Hard to do when there are so many good books!
My daughter is home after graduating University last Spring and she and I are both reading frantically!!
I have a questions about the book Human Design. Do you need to know your exact time of birth? I am unable to get mine. Can you still benefit from your particular human design without knowing your date of birth. If you have the magic solution for how not to get caught up in reading, buzzy books, and exploring outside of your usual genre, I would love to see you right about that.
You do need to know your birth time, hour and minute, the author suggests calling the hospital where you were born if it's not on your birth certificate or relatives don't know. Even a general time would be fine if nothing else. I don't think I have one magic solution but I do have some strategies I've been thinking about so I hope to write up a post soon:)