Highway 18
Oregon
April 2022
In preparation for this post, I scrolled through my photos in search of a local shot to use at the top and only found a couple of possibilities. We were either traveling or it was raining, so I didn't have very many to choose from. The above scene was taken as we were driving home from Washington. The Pacific Northwest had a spring snowstorm and our local mountains got more than just a dusting. I love that we live so close to the ocean, but still have the mountains just a few miles away from home.
As I mentioned, we were traveling in April, spending a week in Tennessee visiting our daughter and son-in-law in Franklin. We had a fabulous time catching up with them, as well as playing tourists in Franklin and Nashville. You can read about that vacation here.
My reading didn't suffer as a result of our travels, but my numbers were down simply due the length of my final book of the month. I loved three of the four books and would be hard pressed to name a favorite.
Books Read (click on the title for my review):
Monogamy by Sue Miller (4.5/5)
The Absolutist by John Boyne (5/5)
The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue (3/5)
The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher (5/5)
Movies & TV Series:
Puzzlemania:
I had fun creating this post, and I got a lot of good recommendations in the comments. I plan to do more of this sort of round-up in the coming months, so stay tuned!
You had some quality reads for sure in April and I loved that post header taken during your travels. The Absolutist and Monogamy were winners for me and as I mentioned Shell Seekers is on my summer list. Pull of the Stars doesn't seem like one I would enjoy for some reason. I enjoyed your WWII post as well; I think I've read (7) from my recollection. Hope May is a great month for you.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Diane. I really enjoyed my books this past month. I'm anxious to hear how you like The Shell Seekers. Perfect summer book! I wish I could recommend Pull of the Stars, but it was a miss for me. Have a good week, my friend.
DeleteLove the pics at the top - both the mountains and flowers above. Nice spring touch! We also really liked the Slow Horses series. Enjoyable action. And I'm glad you told me about the Boyne book. Once I clean my slate I'd like to read it. Cheers.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Susan. I just realized that those pictures are a nice juxtaposition of spring. I like seeing snow on the mountains, but am glad we didn't have to drive through it. A few days ago, the Nebraska panhandle got 15" of snow. So glad we no longer live in the Midwest! My husband's reading the Boyne book and seems to be enjoying it. I love it when I can recommend a winner to him and he enjoys it as much as I did.
DeleteYeah maybe I can give the Boyne book to my husband too .... after I get to it. Great idea. It's the type of historical fiction they might like right?
DeleteSusan, yeah. It's not the type of historical fiction with two timelines narrated by two women. My husband would not enjoy that!
DeleteWow. You did have a good month, with two 5/5 reads. I was crazy about Heart's Invisible Furies so I think I should look for The Absolutist. And I've always been interested in reading Shell Seekers, but I've never gotten around to it.
ReplyDeleteThe Black-capped Chickadee (I thought it was our local brand of this, the Carolina Chickadee, at first) puzzle is lovely.
Deb, I could almost say I had three 5-star books, as I continue to think about Monogamy and think it's very close to a 5-star read. Wasn't The Heart's Invisible Furies marvelous? I'd love to read it again. A Ladder to the Sky is also exceptional. Between me, JoAnn and Diane, I feel like we've started a Rosamunde Pilcher revival. I hope you get a chance to read The Shell Seekers. It's such a wonderful story. Aren't those Chickadees sweet? They devour the seed in our four feeders before a week has passed. A couple are building nests in our bird houses, too. Love them!
DeleteI just finished watching Slow Horses, too, and thought it was really well done. I look forward to the next season.
ReplyDeleteHelen, it took a couple of episodes for us to get hooked, but we thought it was really good. Now we're watching Traces, which I like, but it's nothing great.
DeleteGorgeous photo! The Pacific Northwest is an area we really want to explore... sure hope we can think about travel the way we used to before too many more years pass. I'm impressed you had so many great reads even with the travels.
ReplyDeleteA Rosamunde Pilcher revival sounds like a fine idea to me. Rereading The Shell Seekers was such a wonderful experience for me and I want to reread another of her books this year. Most likely Winter Solstice - it'll seem strange if I get to it over the summer, but who cares? I'm reading The Absolutist now (almost 85% through) and enjoying it very much! Hoping to finish later today or tomorrow... but I can already thank you for recommending it!
Love the chickadee puzzle! The New York Puzzle Co has such great puzzles. I'm working on one now (a Sunset magazine cover with fishing boats) that I picked up at our library puzzle exchange. Hope your May is off to a great start. It's starting to heat up here, but we'll be off to CT next month.
Thanks, JoAnn! I think you would love the PNW. Glad you're enjoying The Absolutist. I'm still thinking about the characters... I love those Sunset magazine puzzles. I used to get Sunset when we lived in San Diego, but stopped when we moved to Nebraska. We're enjoying our first round of summer visitors, but unfortunately, it's been raining almost the entire time they've been here. Make a mental note that the best time to visit the PNW is in August & September. :)
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