07/31/22
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General
Posted by:
Ann @ 11:04 am
The summer days are flying by, July has been a good and busy month. We’ve had good times with friends and family visiting from Maryland, Texas, California and North Carolina, plus a big graduation party for our youngest granddaughter July 23. And with our large family, it seems it’s always someone’s birthday. I also spent a lovely afternoon with my two best writing pals in St. Marys on July 16. All good times. The weather has been hot and mostly dry, so we’ve had a reprieve from weekly lawn mowing - can now stretch it to nearly two weeks between mowing. Woohoo!
I’ve read five books this month, however the last one listed was an audio book:
The Book Woman’s Daughter by Kim Michelle Richardson. 2022. Historical fiction. Sourcebook Publishers. It started out a bit slow for me but one of my best friends mailed it to me and I knew she would not have if it wasn’t worthwhile. It is book 2 after The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, which we all loved. An Appalachian story that takes place in the Kentucky hollers and mountains about a horseback visiting librarian. Great character development with plot twists that keep readers turning pages. The author is a Kentucky mountain girl, and the mountains are almost like a secondary constant character. I loved this book, even bought a copy for myself.
The Kennedy Heirs by J. Randy Taraborrelli. 2019. Nonfiction, biography. St. Martin’s Press. This 547 page book almost read like a novel, so many twists and turns in this large tribe of cousins with so much heartache, drug and alcohol addictions with it’s resulting dramas. My sister gave me this book to read, she said it was interesting and she thought I’d like it. That’s a bit of an understatement. It was provocative, eye opening and totally engrossing. Their grandfather had been the richest man in America in his day. His trust funds set the stage for a generation of entitled heirs whose parents were often less than honorable role models. An eye-opening and well-researched group biography.
The 36-Hour Day, A Family Guide for Caring for People Who Have Alzheimer Disease and Other Dementias by Nancy L Mace, MA and Peter V. Rabins, MD, MPH. Nonfiction. First edition - 1981, currently in 7th edition - 2021. Recommended by our neighbor and friend, Deb, an occupational therapist. I’m actually in the middle of this book, it is not light reading but it is a wonderful book. This is obviously an important book for anyone who loves someone with serious degenerative memory problems. It’s designed to help educate caregivers and help them with dialogue between the individual and their physician.
Irene in Danger by Judy Alter. 2021. Fiction/Suspense. Park Place Press. I love Judy Alter’s books! Her characters are well developed and likeable, well, except for Irene who is absolutely a hoot and unlikable as the day is long! The plot is fast paced with many twists and turns. It was a great little book, only 152 pages, not counting the great recipes at the end, a fast read and good escape. I recommend reading her first book in the series, Saving Irene, before reading this one.
Songteller by Dolly Parton. Memoir. 2020. I love to hear Dolly talk, so listening to this book was a real treat. It was 5 hours and 55 minutes long and went by almost too quickly as I listened while doing housework for a few days. A male interviewer asked questions and Dolly answered each one in depth. It almost seemed like she was sitting in my kitchen just talking to me! Each chapter ends with a song she wrote and discussed before it plays. I definitely encourage anyone who likes Dolly Parton, (and who doesn’t it??), to listen to this book rather than read it!
We went to see the Elvis movie, it was wonderful, though I left the theater in tears, the ending was so sad. We’re going to see it again this week. It is well done. The music is great and the actor who plays Elvis is awesome. We also finished watching the Longmire season for the second time. We’ve been searching for another series but haven’t found one we liked enough to watch yet. We also watched Wild Rose movie on Netflick; it was recommended by a friend and we both liked it, about a Scottish country singer who wants to go to Nashville. The actress had a great voice and it was a good movie.
Till next time, keep reading, my friends. And may you all stay safe and well.
Later, Ann