Paris in July -- Première mise à jour

Paris in July -- Première Mise à Jour -- First Update

We are a third of the way through the month. Here is what I've been doing for the Paris is July Challenge:

Books:

1. Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett

Though Fawcett writes in English, her characters in the book live in Montreal and speak French. Occasionally they have to do business in English or have trouble with the French/English translation. The narrator of the audiobook had one of those nice French accents, too. I'll claim it for the month. 

2. The Stranger by Albert Camus

The Stranger is an important classic book in the absurdist style. Camus, a Frenchman, won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1957. The audiobook I listened to was translated by Matthew Ward. His translation is thought to be much closer to Camus' intent than the first (previous) translation we all read in high school. Look for my review this week.

3. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

This classic was my CC Spin book of the Spring. Click on the title for my review.

Movie:

Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris

I read the book last July and we watched the movie last night starring Lesley Manville. I loved it!

Music:

1. I've been listening to a lot of classical music lately as part of the musical project associated with the book Year of Wonder: Classical Music for Every Day of the Year by Burton-Hill. Every time I come across a French composer I add the selection to my Classical Paris in July playlist on Spotify, which I started last year. Help yourself. France has contributed so much wonderful music to the world over the years.

2. I have started listening to the opera "Candide" by Leonard Bernstein. Bernstein is an American composer and the opera was written in English, but the story is by Voltaire, the famous French philosopher. I've noticed that the Paris in July read-along is Candide this year. Perhaps you'd like to listen to the opera while you read the book? Here's the Spotify list.

Sports:

I haven't made myself get up early enough to watch the Tour du France yet this year but I have been watching a lot of World Cup. I truly believe that France will win it all this year. They are so strong with Kylian Mbappé leading the charge.

-Anne

GOLDFINCHES (+Friday56 LinkUp)

*I am going to a very important T-Ball game tonight and don't have the time to get a full book review up and ready for the Friday56 LinkUp before we leave so I'm breaking with my usual combo review/link. Instead here is a quick look at a new favorite children's book, Goldfinches by Mary Oliver and Melissa Sweet.

Mary Oliver, a favorite poet, is known for her poems about nature. In this poem she focuses on the small goldfinches which arrive en masse in her area when the thistle down is ready for use by the birds in midsummer.

Melissa Stewart is a celebrated illustrator and author of children's books. She wrote and illustrated another favorite of mine, The Story of E.B. White.

"Goldfinches" the poem was originally published in Poetry magazine in 1992 and in a volume of White Pines by Oliver in 1994.

First page of the poem.

Last line of the poem. Ever felt that way? I have.

The educational piece.

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Sign up for The Friday56 on the Inlinkz below. 

RULES:

*Grab a book, any book

*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your e-reader (If you want to improvise, go ahead!)

*Find a snippet, but no spoilers!

*Post it to your blog and add your url to the Linky below. If you do not add the specific url for your post, we may miss it! 

*Visit other blogs and leave comments about their snippets. Expand the community. Please leave a comment for me, too!  

Also visit Book Beginnings on Friday hosted by Rose City Reader and First Line Friday hosted by Reading is My Super Power to share the beginning quote from your book.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

-Anne

TTT: The World is Getting HOTTER. Books On Climate Change.

Top Ten Tuesday:

Books That Touch on the Topic of Climate Change

Our world is getting HOTTER each year. Here are some some books, both fiction and nonfiction, which touch on the subject of climate change or global warming.

How to Survive the End of the World: A Graphic Exploration of How to (Maybe) Avoid Extinction by Katy Doughty. Nonfiction. Graphic/illustrated.
"For apocalypse aficionados, the morbidly curious, and the just plain curious, this is your antidote to existential dread—a timely, imaginative, and ultimately hopeful take on humankind’s ability to survive the odds."

A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar. Fiction.
"The story is set in a near-future Kolkata, India, ravaged by climate change and food scarcity, in which two families seeking to protect their children must battle each other."

Playground by Richard Powers. Fiction.
"Set in the world’s largest ocean, this awe-filled book explores that last wild place we have yet to colonize in a still-unfolding oceanic game, and interweaves beautiful writing, rich characterization, profound themes of technology and the environment, and a deep exploration of our shared humanity."

The Story of More: How We Got to Climate Change and Where to Go From Here by Hope Jahren. Nonfiction.
This a slim, urgent missive on the defining issue of our time: climate change, our timeless pursuit of more, and how the same human ambition that got us here can also be our salvation.

I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger. Fiction.
Set in a not-too-distant America, this is the story of a man setting sail on Lake Superior in search of his departed, deeply beloved wife. He seeks refuge in the harbors, fogs, and remote islands of the inland sea. After encountering lunatic storms and rising corpses from the warming depths he finally finds the courage to face his future and fight for his rights.

The Loneliest Polar Bear: A True Story of Survival and Peril on the Edge of a Warming World by Kale Williams. Nonfiction.
"The heartbreaking and ultimately hopeful story of an abandoned polar bear cub named Nora and the humans working tirelessly to save her and her species, whose uncertain future in the accelerating climate crisis is closely tied to our own."

The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert. Nonfiction.
"Over the last half-billion years, there have been five mass extinctions, when the diversity of life on earth suddenly and dramatically contracted. Scientists around the world are currently monitoring the sixth extinction, predicted to be the most devastating extinction event since the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs. This time around, the cataclysm is us."

Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future by Elizabeth Kolbert. Nonfiction.
"The Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Sixth Extinction returns to humanity’s transformative impact on the environment, now asking: After doing so much damage, can we change nature, this time to save it?"

A Life on Our Planet: My Witness Statement and a Vision for the Future by David Attenborough. Nonfiction.
"A Life on Our Planet is my witness statement, and my vision for the future. It is the story of how we came to make this, our greatest mistake -- and how, if we act now, we can yet put it right. We have one final chance to create the perfect home for ourselves and restore the wonderful world we inherited. All we need is the will to do so."

Plasticus Maritimus: An Invasive Species by Ana Pego. Nonfiction.
"Inspired by Pêgo’s life’s work, and filled with engaging science and colorful photographs, this foundational look at ocean plastics explains why they are such an urgent contemporary issue. She offers a critical look at our current “solutions” to plastic contamination and in her most important proposal calls for deep changes in our habits, motivating young and old alike to make a difference, together. An artificial and almost indestructible species, Plasticus maritimus deserves to have its days numbered! Together, we can send it packing."

The Twenty One: The True Story of the Youth Who Sued the US Government Over Climate Change by Elizabeth Rusch. Nonfiction. YA. 
"Compelling and timely, The Twenty-One tells the gripping inside story of the ongoing landmark federal climate change lawsuit, Juliana vs. The United States of America. The Twenty-One is for readers interested in the environment and climate change, as well as youth activism, politics and government, and the law."

-Anne

Sunday Salon -- USA is 250 years old

Our grandson and his cousin enjoying the 4th of July parade yesterday in their hometown. 

Weather: Lovely, possibly too warm. We'll see. Our air conditioner pooped out and our new setup is coming the end of the week but until then we are lobbying for cooler than normal temperatures.

Happy July 3rd! Yes, you read that right. The small community where our daughter and her family live do the big fireworks show on July 3rd, instead of the 4th. We attended this year with them and had so much fun. The above video is a speeded up version of a portion of the fireworks display.

Gig Harbor, Washington

Lest you think it always rains in this part of the country: This photo of the Puget Sound with Mt. Rainier in the background will disavow you of this notion. We took the photo as we were leaving Gig Harbor and a fun afternoon with friends and new acquaintances.

Books since last update:

• Completed:
• Kin by Jones. Two Black girls who consider each other kin since neither has a mother. Motherhood becomes one of many themes. The other is the poor treatment of Blacks in America, especially in the South. Rating: 4 stars.
• Madame Bovary by Flaubert. I finished this classic eventually but found myself really dreading it. Madame Bovary is really a pathetic character. Rating: 3 stars.
• Agnes Aubert's Mystical Cat Shelter by Fawcett. This fun, cozy fantasy involves magic and cats.What's not to love? Review pending. Rating 4 stars.
• Goldfinches by Mary Oliver and Melissa Sweet. A darling illustrated book using Oliver's poem for its text. Love. Love. Rating: 5 stars.
• Currently reading/listening: 
• The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Desai. I only have this book for a few more days from the library so I will likely have to get back in line for it to finish it up. It is for book club in August, so I will have some time.
• Enormous Wings by Frankel. Another book (audio) will will return to the library before I am finished with it. Back in line I go.
• Year of Wonder: Classical Music for Everyone by Burton-Hill. I am loving this book which I am reading with a Spotify program open so I can listen to each classical piece as the author talks about the composer, the time period of the piece, how this music fits in the history of music. I have already found some new pieces which I hope to listen to again after I am done racing through them for this books sense.
• Lies My Teacher Told Me: A Graphic Adaptation by Loewen and Powell. Oh boy. This book is timely!

Have a lovely day!

-Anne

Review: KIN (+Friday56 LinkUp)

Title: Kin by Tayari Jones

Book Beginning/ First Line Friday snippet:

My first word was "mother," spoken out loud and with texture. MOTHER.

Friday56 snippet:

All the other women were gathered around Annie's grandmother, petting her and circling her in hymns.

Summary: Vernice and Annie are two motherless girls. Annie is raised by her grandmother, Vernice by her aunt. Both girls feel the loss profoundly but they do have each other, they will always have their best cradle friend. But after high school their stories diverge and the difference become very stark.

Review: Oddly I was reading this novel, one of the hit books of 2026, when my husband and I started listening to the nonfiction audiobook of The Warmth of Other Suns by Wilkerson. Both books tell a similar story of what it was/is like growing up in the South if one is Black. The injustice is just galling. When I would say as much to my husband he would remind me that it is okay to read stories about hard things and that I shouldn't shy away from reading books that make me feel uncomfortable or sad. I agree with him but it became pretty hard for me. The timing of reading the two books at the same time was too much. I got pretty trapped in my own feelings so I had a hard time wanting to read the book, though I recognized its literary excellence. For this reason today I am sharing a few thoughts from other reviewers on Goodreads. They seem to have a better perspective than I do.

This book is the literary hit of 2026—full stop. It’s gut-wrenching, thought-provoking, empowering, heartbreakingly realistic, deeply embracing, and profoundly resonant. It takes the word kin and restores its true meaning: kin isn’t defined by blood, but by the people who truly see you, who hear the words you can’t say, who touch your soul, who hold space for your flaws, your mistakes, your missteps, and still call you theirs. -Nilufer

In novel after novel, [Jones] explores the dynamic quality of love without questioning its persistence. How we relate to one another — even those most dear to us — is not “an ever-fixèd mark.” Given the vicissitudes of time, she asks, how could it be? Our affections are altered by distance, thinned in some places, amplified in others, the way sound changes as it travels. -Ron

Three things stand out—how vivid and believable the characters are (it’s a great character study), how beautiful the language is, and how much I felt the place and time. -Debbie

The theme is deep female friendships and how those can be kinships that go even deeper than biological ties. But what stood out for me, even more than the "cradle" friendship of Niecy and Annie K, was the writing. Beautiful, lyrical prose in which the similes and metaphors were so apt, so surprising, so so so perfect, I felt chillbumps rising on my arms a few times while listening to the audiobook. The dialect and narrator accents were spot on as well. -Emily

Thank you Goodreads reviewers for the assist.

My rating: 4 stars.

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Sign up for The Friday56 on the Inlinkz below. 

RULES:

*Grab a book, any book

*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your e-reader (If you want to improvise, go ahead!)

*Find a snippet, but no spoilers!

*Post it to your blog and add your url to the Linky below. If you do not add the specific url for your post, we may miss it! 

*Visit other blogs and leave comments about their snippets. Expand the community. Please leave a comment for me, too!  

Also visit Book Beginnings on Friday hosted by Rose City Reader and First Line Friday hosted by Reading is My Super Power to share the beginning quote from your book.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

-Anne