"Outside a dog a book is man's best friend, inside a dog it is too dark to read!" -Groucho Marx========="The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." -Jane Austen========="I don’t believe in the kind of magic in my books. But I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book."-JK Rowling========"I spend a lot of time reading." -Bill Gates=========“Ahhh. Bed, book, kitten, sandwich. All one needed in life, really.” -Jacqueline Kelly=========

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Sunday Salon, Nov.16th


Photo by Rachel Edson
Weather: Cold and clear. I drove to Portland today and had the sun in my eyes the whole way.

Family wedding photo: The above photo was taken after my nephew's wedding last month. All my siblings and their spouses were present but a few of the nieces and nephews weren't able to make the celebration. Welcome to the family Alyssa and Tati!

Portland: As I mentioned already, I drove to Portland today to meet up with one of my best girlfriends from high school days. She lives in Singapore so a long drive on a Sunday to see her is totally worth it. We ate brunch at a French restaurant with delightful ambiance and pastries.

x1.25: The Pierce County Public Library System subscribes to a cool service called Hoopla. Members can download movies, books, and audiobooks. The catalog of audiobooks isn't huge but has a fairly big collection of books in which I want to listen. I've already listened to one book through Hoopla: A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki, which I loved.  A very cool feature on Hoopla allows the listener to speed up the rate the book is played. I clicked x1.25. At first it was like listening to mice but when my brain adjusted I was able to listen to 14 hours of narration in under 12 hours. Cool.

D.R.S.: Yesterday Don and I attended a day-long seminar by the Department of Retirement Systems for the State of Washington.  We have begun the process of THINKING ABOUT retirement. Eek! There is so much to think about.  We went in thinking we'd retire in two to three years and left thinking it would be more like five. Sigh.

Books completed this week:
  • Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer---Sometimes the stories we tell ourselves, the ones that form our memories, are not accurate.
  • The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Watson---my third book in the Magical Realism genre of the year. (Audiobook)
Currently reading:
  • Landline by Rainbow Rowell---an audiobook by a favorite author. Progress: on disc 7 of 7.
  • Glory O'Brien's History of the Future by A.S. King---she drinks a pulverized bat and now Glory can see into the future and what she sees is very disturbing.

For your listening enjoyment: Besame Mucho by Pearl Django. What a treat.


 

3 comments:

  1. Glad you got to meet with your friend - sounds like a wonderful day!

    I've tried the 1.5 speed listening on my iPod and didn't really like it. Besides I sometimes get distracted and miss stuff when listening so I think I better stick to normal speed!

    I really want to read the Glory O'Brien book - just listened to an interview with A.S. King on the Bookrageous podcast and it sounds amazing!

    Enjoy your books this week -

    Sue

    Book By Book

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  2. Anne, I LOVE your dress--what a beautiful color and style. You look amazing! Have you ever read The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson? A friend just finished it and thought it was heartbreaking and yet full of hope. It's tough for me to read books that I know will be heartbreaking. I did love Tale for The Time Being though and that had some heartbreaking parts.

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    Replies
    1. Yes, I;ve read THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE. I liked it and cried a lot. If you are feeling tender you might want to avoid it for a while.

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