The Sunday Salon: Two Wonderful Re-reads; Persian Food; Jury Duty; and a New Ukulele

 

Welcome to the Sunday Salon! We're glad you joined us here.

What is the Sunday Salon? The Sunday Salon is a place to link up and share what we have been doing during the week. It's also a great opportunity to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there. 

I thought life would slow down in August, but it hasn't yet. I went to a Seed and Plant Exchange on Sunday, I had jury duty on Monday (the case was settled out of court, so yay!), we went to dinner at a Persian restaurant in Houston with old friends on Tuesday, we went with my dad to an appointment to see if he might be a candidate for an ultrasound procedure to reduce his hand tremors on Wednesday (he was!), I swam on Thursday, I went to a class on poet Wallace Stevens on Friday, and we did our butterfly count on Saturday.

I reread two wonderful books this week, one because a friend said it was her favorite book (Peace Like a River) and the other because I will be leading a book club discussion of it next week (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency).

What I Read Last Week:

Peace Like a River by Leif Enger (Fiction)

No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith (Fiction)

What I'm Reading Now:

The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook by Hampton Sides (Nonfiction)

The Otherwhere Post by Emily J. Taylor (Dark Fantasy)

What I Posted Last Week Here at Readerbuzz:

The Sunday Salon: Three Five-Star Books Completed

Beautiful Illustrated Books Set In or Near Paris

The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook by Hampton Sides: Book Beginnings on Fridays, First Line Friday, The Friday 56, and Book Blogger Hop

I began to list 3 Good Things every day during the pandemic. Now I've established a regular routine of writing down my 3 Good Things. Here are 3 Good Things from last week:

Good Thing #1:

I bought a ukulele.

Good Thing #2:

Bastani (Persian ice cream).

We also tried koobideh kabobs and 

tahdig (Persian crispy rice).

Good Thing #3:

I took a class on 

taking photos for iNaturalist.

I'm thinking about getting a macro lens for my phone.

Weekend linkup spots are listed below. Click on the picture to visit the site.

        

I hope you will join the linkup for Sunday Salon below.

The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook by Hampton Sides: Book Beginnings on Fridays, First Line Friday, The Friday 56, and Book Blogger Hop

Today's Featured Book: 

The Wide Wide Sea:

Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook

by Hampton Sides

Genre: History

Published: April 9, 2024

Page Count: 411 pages

Summary: 

On July 12th, 1776, Captain James Cook, already lionized as the greatest explorer in British history, set off on his third voyage in his ship the HMS Resolution. Two-and-a-half years later, on a beach on the island of Hawaii, Cook was killed in a conflict with native Hawaiians. How did Cook, who was unique among captains for his respect for Indigenous peoples and cultures, come to that fatal moment?

 

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY is hosted by Rose City Reader. What book are you happy about reading this week? Please share the opening sentence (or so) on BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY! Add the link to your blog or social media post and visit other blogs to see what others are reading.

Happy Friday and welcome to the FIRST LINE FRIDAY, hosted by Reading is My Superpower! It’s time to grab the book nearest to you and leave a comment with the first line.

It was the start of a very important year---1776---and James Cook had become a very important figure, a celebrity, a champion, a hero.

THE FRIDAY 56 is hosted by Anne of Head Full of Books. To play, open a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% on your e-reader). Find a sentence or two and post them, along with the book title and author. Then link up on Head Full of Books and visit others in the linky. 

One day James Boswell (the Scottish lawyer and diariest) dropped by Cook's house on Mile End Road and had a pleasant visit, sipping tea in the garden, while a blackbird trilled a song. Boswell would recall, "It was curious to see Cook, a grave, steady man, and his wife, a decent plump Englishwoman, and think that he was preparing to sail around the world."

The purpose of THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, and befriend other bloggers. THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is hosted by Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer.    

Do you see yourself more as an editor, a writer, or just a reader?   (submitted by Billy @ Coffee-Addicted Writer)

Just a reader. 

 

Beautiful Illustrated Books Set In or Near Paris

Yes, I know, I know, Paris in July is over---it's already August. But I really wanted to share my favorite illustrated books set in or near Paris this week, so I did.

Paris in Winter: An Illustrated Memoir by David Coggins (Memoir)

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick (A 544 Page Fiction Picture Book)

Dear Paris: The Paris Letters Collection by Janice MacLeod (Memoir)

Coco Chanel (Little People, Big Dreams) by Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara (Biography Board Book)

Marlaguette by Gerda Muller (Fiction Picture Book)

 Crêpes by Suzette by Monica Wellington (Fiction Picture Book)

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (Fantasy)

Le Road Trip: A Traveler's Journal of Love and France by Vivian Swift (Travel)

750 Years in Paris by Vincent Mahé (History)

Bon Appetit: The Delicious Life of Julia Child by Jessie Hartland (Biography Picture Book)

Ooh-la-la: Max in Love by Maira Kalman (Fiction Picture Book)

Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans (Fiction Picture Book)

Linnea in Monet's Garden by Christina Björk (Fiction Picture Book)

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.   

The Sunday Salon: Three Five-Star Books Completed

 

Welcome! I am happy you joined us at the Sunday Salon. 

What is the Sunday Salon? The Sunday Salon is a place to link up and share what we have been doing during the week. It's also a great opportunity to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there. 

I did a little of everything this week. Drove to Dallas. Celebrated Lucy's happy birthday. Visited with my aunt and uncle. Came home. Swam. Visited with my sister. Got paperwork for my attempt to obtain Italian citizenship. Visited with my husband's cousin. Went to my writing group in Galveston. Had a picnic with my friend in Galveston. Ate blueberry pie and ice cream with my dad and his wife. Finished three five-star books: Candide and Zola's The Earth and Ann Patchett's Whistler. Wrapped up Paris in July.

What I Read Last Week:

The Earth by Émile Zola 

Candide by Voltaire

Whistler by Ann Patchett

What I'm Reading Now:

Peace Like a River by Leif Enger

The Wide, Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact, and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook by Hampton Sides

I read eighteen books for Paris in July this year.

I didn't really have time to do much more this year than read.

The Earth by Émile Zola (Fiction)

Candide, or Optimism by Voltaire (Fiction in French)

Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes by Robert Louis Stevenson (Travel Memoir)

The Paris Bookshop for the Brokenhearted by Rebecca Raisin (Fiction)

My Four Seasons in France: A Year of the Good Life by Janine Marsh (Memoir)

The Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham (Fiction)

My Good Life in France by Janine Marsh (Memoir)

The Shortest History of France by Colin Jones (History)

Toujours la France! by Janine Marsh (Memoir)

The War of the Buttons by Louis Pergaud (Children's Fiction)

Thirty Days in Paris by Veronica Henry (Fiction)

One Summer in Paris by Sarah Morgan (Fiction)

My Year in Paris with Gertrude Stein: A Fiction by Deborah Levy (Fiction)

Quartet by Jean Rhys (Fiction)

Moveable Feasts: A Story of Paris in Twenty Meals by Chris Newens (Travel)

En Route: A Journey Through France in the Company of Great Writers by Peter Fiennes (Travel) 

Poilâne: The Secrets of the World-Famous Bread Bakery by Apollonia Poilâne (Cookbook)

L'Enfance de Bécassine by Jacqueline Rivière (Children's Cartoon)

I visited to Paris via the Rick Steves' episode, Paris of the Parisians, coupled with the Daytripper's episode on Paris, Texas. 

I practiced my French on Duolingo at least one time a day.

I made my first batch of sourdough bread based on a recipe from Poilâne. It was okay, but I think I'll try a different sourdough recipe next time.

And that's it. Thank you, Emma, from Words and Peace for hosting this wonderful event.

What I Posted Last Week Here at Readerbuzz:

The Sunday Salon: Fun with Turtles, Snakes, and Alligators

Books I HAD to Have Immediately but Still Haven’t Read

Whistler by Ann Patchett: Book Beginnings on Fridays, First Line Friday, The Friday 56, and Book Blogger Hop

I began to list 3 Good Things every day during the pandemic. Now I've established a regular routine of writing down my 3 Good Things. Here are 3 Good Things from last week:

Good Thing #1:

What do you wear to a dinosaur and snake birthday party?

There are not as many snake shirts out there as you might expect.

But Wal-Mart, I learned, has some pretty cool dino shirts

in the boys' department.

Good Thing #2:

My new reading chair.

Good Thing #3:

My Finch, Zip, visited Paris in July.

Weekend linkup spots are listed below. Click on the picture to visit the site.

        

I hope you will join the linkup for Sunday Salon below.