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August is upon us and my month started out with a very eventful week. It was my birthday on Thursday and that night I got together with friends for cocktails and celebration. The next day one of my sons and his little family came for a short visit. But, the day before my birthday, I had a small mishap that left me with bruised ribs, a sprained wrist, stitches in my forehead, and the worst black-eye you’ve ever seen. The gash in my forehead tore a small artery and the amount of bleeding was amazing! I feel moistly fine now, but look horrendous. Even big sunglasses don’t fully cover the bruising. I wish I could just hideout with books for the next couple weeks, but that’s not going to be possible. I hope your week was not quite as eventful!
Last Week’s Reads
I finished both these books before all the drama began. A River of Stars by debut author, Vanessa Hua, had much to like about it. Hers is the story of a pregnant Chinese woman sent to the U.S. to insure that the son she’s carrying will have U.S. citizenship. As you’d suspect, her journey turns out to be much more complicated than that. A River of Stars publishes on 8/14 and my review will be near that date. Jo Piazza did an amazing job with perhaps the most timely novel I’ve ever read, Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win. I listened to this one and don’t want to say anything about it today, but come back tomorrow for my full audiobook review.
Currently Reading
I’m nearly finished with The Distance Home by Paula Saunders. Her debut follows a very dysfunctional South Dakota family in the years following WWII. The story is both beautiful and harsh, with much to appreciate about Saunders’s writing. I’d gone five or six days with no audiobook and was itching to do some listening, so just started A Double Life by Flynn Berry. I’ve had a bit of trouble focusing and thought a smart, thriller would be just the thing to grab my attention. After only an hour, I think it’s working!
Likely to Read Next
Next up for me is definitely Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. Sarah at Sarah’s Bookshelves has gone from saying this book was great to saying it was actually one of those books that left her with a hangover. I NEED a hangover! Where the Crawdads Sing is yet another debut, this one part coming-of-age, part mystery, all beautifully written. From there I think I’ll need something a little different and that’s exactly what Vox by Christina Dalcher promises to be. August seems to be a huge month for debuts and Vox is yet another. This dystopian novel is set in a future U.S. in which women are only allowed 100 words a day. Can you imagine?!?
I hope you have a great week in books!
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Oh goodness, hope you are feeling better and on the mend! Yikes, right before your birthday. Hope it was good otherwise!
Thanks, Kayo. Mostly better, but the black eye is going to take a long time.
Happy Birthday!! And, Annie Jones liked A Double Life too…I might need to pick that up if you end up liking it! And let me know how Vox goes too.
Thanks, Sarah. I’m enjoying A Double Life. It’s just the sort of book I like for listening.
Oh my goodness, Susie!! What a way to celebrate your birthday.
Wishing you quick healing and a belated happy birthday 🙂
Thank you, JoAnn.
Happy belated birthday and hope you heal quickly! I’m looking forward to Crawdads.
I’m LOVING Crawdads!
Oh, no! I hope you heal up quickly! Happy birthday!
Thanks, Angela.
Yikes!!!! Hope you’ll mend quickly.
I have Crawdads on my list — and bumped it up after hearing Sarah gush about it. H
Sarah was right about Crawdads. It’s wonderful so far.
Sorry to hear about your mishap. I hope you heal quickly. My birthday was last Thursday too. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
Ah, another person who shares my birthday. I know quite a few. Happy birthday, to you, too.
Happy birthday! So sorry to hear about your injuries–I hope you heal up and feel better soon!
I’m looking forward to Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win. I think it will be frustrating and infuriating, but it also sounds really good.
I didn’t feel that frustrated by Charlotte Walsh. I think I’d have been more frustrated if everything went smoothly for her. That wouldn’t have been real.
Wow! What a horrific mishap! Hope all is better soon. Happy birthday!
Enjoy your week of healing…and I am curious about Vox.
Here are MY WEEKLY UPDATES
I’m curious about Vox, too. Hopefully I’ll get to it in a few days. Have a great week.
Happy belated birthday. My weekly updates
Happy birthday! That injury sounds pretty horrific, though. Hopefully it heals quickly. I’m curious about both of your upcoming reads, so I’ll be interested in what you think of them.
Thanks, AJ and have a great week.
So sorry to hear about your accident Susie, I hope you’re doing better this week! Happy Birthday! You and Sarah have got me very excited about Crawdads and I had also started A Double Life but put it aside for Jane Doe (loved!) but I’ll be picking it back up because it does feel like a smart thriller which are the best types!
Happy belated birthday! Hope you feel better soon! It seems like your reading is on a roll.
Well, if you are going to do it, do it right!
Happy belated birthday!
I’m not sure I could handle Vox after finishing Before She Sleeps, but I’m intrigued by the premise. Is it vocal only? If that were the case, I might survive, but if it were written too, I’d be sunk!