Monday, April 10, 2017

Monday Musings

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My week: I had a busy week at work getting things around for the April/May wall display in the kids' section. It's April Showers Bring May Flowers and I made a bunch of big paper flowers, paper clouds and a grass border. It's mostly done; I just need to add some paper butterflies, bumblebees and ladybugs at work today. (Not-great picture below that I snapped in a hurry right before close Friday. I'll post nicer ones once I get it totally finished.)

Otherwise, it was puppy, cleaning, errands, a bit of reading... Alohi got to go on a few car adventures this week. Thursday night after work we decided to go to one of our favorite places for dinner, but then we just couldn't bear to put Alohi back in her crate so we ordered it to go and took her with us to pick it up. She's not spoiled at all! ;)

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Reading: I had just started "The Weight of Feathers" this time last week; I had to read it for the adult book club I co-host at the library where I work. And ugh -- I hated it! The plot, which is can be summed up as blood feud + traveling performers + star-crossed lovers + magical realism, sounds like it might have potential but... it was painfully slow-moving, I didn't feel the slightest bit connected to the characters, the plot was a weird and the writing was overly ostentatious, like the author was trying way too hard to write a "beautiful" novel. When I went to rate the book on Goodreads (2 stars for me, by the way), I was shocked to see how many of my GR friends had marked it to-read. I'd say pass!

At the end of the week I finished up my advance copy of "Sputnik's Children" (out tomorrow), about a comic book author, alternate universes, growing up in the '60s and '70s under the threat of mutually assured destruction via nuclear weapons, and saving humanity. It was a fun, quirky read, and I'll have a review up this week.

Now I'm reading "The Dry" by Jane Harper, a mystery set in Australia. I'm about 100 pages in and so far, so good! It's a fast read, and the mystery is intriguing -- I've got no idea yet whodunit!


Knitting: I worked a little bit on the Newt Scamander scarf this week, but I'm really itching to dive into a more interesting project and I've got my eye on a sweater pattern that I saved a while back. Maybe I'll do a little online yarn browsing this week.

Buying: One of my goals for 2017 was to take up a new hobby and, after being inspired by friends on Instagram, I'm going to try embroidery! I ordered three kits from Etsy; two are regular flat embroidery (a colorful puffin and a cheerful fox) and the other is a little stuffed raccoon. I'm soooooo excited for the kits to arrive in the mail!

(From Etsy)

Watching: We finally saw "Passengers" and, while it was ok, I'm so glad we didn't spend money to see it at the theater. It wasn't nearly as intense or mysterious as the preview made it seem. I also watched an episode each of "Grey's Anatomy" and "This Is Us" from the DVR, and we're caught up on "Designated Survivor."

Listening to: "Year Zero" by Moon Taxi, a new addition to my playlist thanks to Discover Weekly on Spotify.


Blogging:

Looking forward to: Memorial Day? I could desperately use a three-day weekend! (Also, it's kinda crazy to note that Memorial Day is actually less than two months away already!)

*I'm linking up with Kathryn of Book Date for It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

16 comments:

  1. So, I know all too well how hard it is to out them in a crate and leave them when you've been gone all day. We can't bear to do it either and is probably one of the reasons we stay home a lot (which we don't really mind). Sorry you had such a disappointing read this week but it sounds like things are picking up with "The Dry." When I watched Passengers, even though I thought it was ok, I don't think it was what it was advertised as and I felt it was more of a love story.

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    1. It's SO hard to put her in her crate -- even on days when we've been home the whole time! That's why we've yet to see "Beauty and the Beast." We really need to get her crate trained and comfortable going in there, though. In two years we'll be moving and she'll have to fly back to the Mainland, so it's for her own good!

      I'm enjoying "The Dry"! It's a good, straightforward mystery. I've read so many disappointing "thrillers" lately and it's nice to be back to a true mystery.

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  2. Sounds like you are keeping busy. I hate it when a book with potential just doesn't work for me. Come see my week here. Happy reading!

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  3. So many people I know are taking up embroidery. I used to do it years ago and have been itching to start again. I'd like to design some of my own from photographs I've taken.

    I'm adding the Weight of Feathers to my wishlist.

    I'm posting while on my road trip, thanks to my trusty smart phone. It's Monday! What are your reading?

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    1. What a great idea to design embroidery patterns based on photos! I'm hoping after I do a couple kits I'll be competent enough to do my own thing.

      I actually didn't like "The Weight of Feathers" at all -- you saw that, right?

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  4. Your library April/May display background looks great and such fun to be creative at work. Love that you are trying embroidery, I did a little of it last year as part of a quilt and loved the experience. Thanks for your comment about Kate Morton on my blog, I have the two books you mention so it has made me want to read them more. I did like The Lake House but it was just a bit long!!

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    1. Thank you so much, Kathryn! I do love having a job where I get to be creative. My last job was at a public library and I didn't really have the chance to do anything crafty.

      Kate Morton is fantastic -- her books are so atmospheric! "The Forgotten Garden" is a bit wordy and long too, so you might want a bit of a break before diving into that one. It was really good, though!

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  5. I need to catch up on Designated Survivor! I'm still in Season 1. And your puppy is adorable!!

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    1. Thanks Casey! I pretty much think she's the cutest thing ever. ;)

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  6. Great puppy photo. Love the bulletin board, so colorful and pretty. Just brought The Dry home and look forward to it.

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    1. I read some more of "The Dry" today and I'm enjoying it! I've read a lot of disappointing thrillers lately and it's nice to be back to a traditional mystery.

      Thanks for complimenting the board! It was so fun to put together, and those giant paper flowers were surprisingly easy after I got the hang of it!

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  7. I used to do some embroidery but never found it...useful? I focused on knitting because you can actually wear the stuff when you're done (assuming it comes out well!) But I've been kind of wanting to embroider or cross-stitch recently - there's something so satisfying about making those perfect little stitches!

    I actually rather liked Passengers though I realize it was quite imperfect. That guy was sort of creepy/stalker and that thing he did was pretty unforgivable, yet....it still somehow worked for me.

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    1. You know, I can totally see what you mean about embroidery. You can only hang up so many pieces as artwork! Though to be honest, my knitting isn't particularly useful either, especially now that we're back in Hawaii. I hardly ever wear the things I make!

      I definitely didn't DISlike "Passengers," I just thought it was kinda different from how it was advertised. I did enjoy the ending!

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  8. Ugh...I hate it when I can't stand the book *I* suggest for my book club--and that has happened for the past 2-3 years!

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    1. Ha -- that would be a bummer! I actually didn't choose this book; a bunch of the books were already selected and purchased for the club I inherited (all YA -- not my thing). I totally know what you mean, though! I just chose four adult books to add to the rotation, and there's a lot of pressure! What if everyone hates my choices?! What if I do?!

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  9. My book club reads some books I hate, but I just don't finish them. :)

    ENJOY your week.

    Elizabeth
    Silver's Reviews
    My It's Monday, What Are You Reading

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