Beautiful weather this week, and we spent lots of days outside, looking at water birds at Quintana Beach County Park, looking for pollinators for the Pollinator Project, looking for butterflies for Texas Butterfly Monitoring. My husband and I (truth alert: mostly my husband) spent one day putting together a cabinet to store the books I have collected for my Little Free Library. And I read and enjoyed five good books this week including Woman in White (thank you to all who recommended it), Wonderworks, and Dictionary for a Better World.
Wonderworks: The 25 Most Powerful Inventions in the History of Literature (Nonfiction Challenge)
Poems to See By: A Comic Artist Interprets Great Poetry (National Poetry Month)
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins (Classics Club)
I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron (Book Club)
The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman (Nonfiction Challenge)
Yes, and...Daily Meditations by Richard Rohr (Daily Meditation Reading)
Out of Eden: An Odyssey of Ecological Invasion (Naturalist Book Club)
Poemcrazy: Freeing Your Life With Words by Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge (National Poetry Month)
Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz (Chapter-a-Day Read)
The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain (Classics Club)
100 Poems to Break Your Heart (National Poetry Month)
This week has been the Los Angeles Festival of Books, the Texas Library Association Conference, and Dewey's 24-Hour Readathon. Whew! That's a lot of bookish events in one week.
Good Thing #1
We picnicked at Quintana Beach County Park with our friends.
Even masked, even socially distant, it was wonderful to see them.
Good Thing #2
Migratory birds are stopping by my house!
I was beyond excited.
L to r: Painted bunting; Scarlet tanager; Blue grosbeak.
Good Thing #3
We watched News of the World this week.
I've heard several negative reviews, but we liked it.
I'm happy you found your way to the Sunday Salon. Sunday Salon is a place for us to link up and to share what we have been doing during the week. It's a great way to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there.
Some of the things we often talk about at the Sunday Salon:
- What was your week like?
- Read any good books? Tell us about them.
- What other bookish things did you do?
- What else is going on in your life?
Other places where you may like to link up over the weekend are below. Click on the picture to visit the site.
My linkup for Sunday Salon is below.
Sounds lovely, and I love watching butterflies. Beautiful picture by the way, that first one. I can just imagine that bird trundling along on the beach. :)
ReplyDeleteIt was an incredibly beautiful day at the beach.
DeleteI'm loving the spring weather but with it comes hayfever and I'm not enjoying that, lol.
ReplyDeleteOh, golly, no. That's too bad.
DeleteOutside time is great, the weather is better here too, it’s good for the soul!
ReplyDeleteYou are right, Heather. It is good for the soul.
DeleteWow, you hit the trifecta with migratory birds this week! I've had tanagers of both varieties and Indigo Buntings this week and who knows what else that I didn't see. I'm having to fill my feeders frequently. The activity around them is brisk.
ReplyDeleteI was delighted to see my first Indigo Bunting this morning at my feeder.
DeleteOh my gosh, the birds, so cute. Thanks for sharing the pictures, glad you had lots of time outside and now can do a readathon. I think you have the perfect snacks lined up. If you need anymore, I suggest some nice chocolate covered pretzels. Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteI had more chocolate yesterday for the readathon than I have eaten in all of last year. It was delicious.
DeleteWhat terrific sightings! And good books, too.(I loved "I Feel Bad About My Neck." I miss Nora Ephron.)
ReplyDeleteHer book made me laugh.
DeleteSo many beautiful bird pics this week; what a treat. I loved Nora Ephron books and "I Feel Bad About My Neck" really resonated with me.
ReplyDeleteMe, too, Diane.
DeleteI'm jealous you have so many cute migratory birds stopping by your house. How fun is that! And I watched News of the World last month and I thought they did a good job of it. I liked it. Have a great weekend! :)
ReplyDeleteI was very impressed with the child actress.
DeleteA painted bunting is an incredible bird. I’ve only seen them a few times, so really love it that you have one at your feeder.
ReplyDeletebest... mae at maefood.blogspot.com
It may be the most beautiful bird.
DeleteMy granddaughter and I went for a walk to see what birds we could find. We saw robins, sparrows and a couple of hawks. We also found some eggs that had blown out of nests which was sad. I also enjoyed News of the World. Did you read the book, Deb? Have a wonderful week.
ReplyDeleteMy f-to-f book group read News of the World. Of course the book was even better than the movie, but I thought they did a good job.
DeleteQuintana Beach sounds like a gem! The Nora Ephron book is always terrific to go back to ... I need her humor sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI felt the young girl did a good job in the News of the World movie. It was a hard role but she seemed to nail it -- I thought. I liked the book a bit better than the movie but that's not unusual. Enjoy your week.
I thought the young actress did a great job. We are fortunate to be so close to the Gulf of Mexico.
DeleteSounds like beautiful weather! Wow, 5 good books in one week is great. I hope you have a great week!
ReplyDeleteI've read a lot even though I've been outside a lot, too.
DeleteHow lovely to get out and see your friends!
ReplyDeleteI love your pictures of the birds. I saw a painted bunting one time at our house but that's the only time. I don't think I've ever seen a scarlet tanager or a blue grosbeak.
Enjoy your week!
It was almost disconcerting to see them in my backyard...they were so beautiful and unexpected.
DeleteI’d love to see a blue grosbeak, we’ve seen a rose breasted one here but not in awhile. Gorgeous birds.
ReplyDeleteNews of the a world is our list and I’m glad to hear your enjoyed it.
I saw a rose-breasted grosbeak at my feeder this morning but he was gone before I could get a photo. He was stunning.
DeleteI read News of the World and thought it was ok. It was well done, but just not my kind of story.
ReplyDeleteI think part of the appeal for me was the Texas setting.
DeleteThat's a lot of reading for a week. One summer I volunteered at the library and I read a bunch of Mark Twain. I remember really enjoy the Prince and the Pauper.
ReplyDeleteMark Twain seems to be educating the poor boy about the difficulties of being rich and the rich book about the difficulties of being poor.
DeleteHaving just watched 1917 I have added Guns of August to my library wish list!!
ReplyDeleteWE had a VP at work who was always up on all the gossip and happy to share anything so we called her News of the World and referred to her in messages as NOTW from the UK newspaper News of the World.
Not a fan of westerns but John would love it, maybe we'll watch it this week at our Tuesday movie afternoon.
I will look for 1917.
DeleteThere are several scenes in News of the World that are achingly poignant, I thought.
Those birds are so cute! I never really noticed migratory birds over here, but I'm not sure if that's the climate or the fact that there are 3 barky dogs in our yard. They do a poor job at stopping local birds from eating out grass seeds though.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if birds stay away from areas with dogs. Probably, I'd think.
DeleteHi Debbie! Glad to hear you had such a good week. Your pictures are gorgeous! Keep them and make Birthday cards or something.
ReplyDeleteThe weather hasn't been all that nice here with us, but then again - it was perfect weather for the readathon. So glad you highlighted it last week, I had sooo much fun!
I also enjoyed News of the World, don't know if I will read the book though.
Hope you will have a good week!
Elza Reads
I'm so glad you enjoyed the readathon!
DeleteI love watching the birds come to our feeder. We have always had cardinals nearby but haven'seen any at this new house yet. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteIt took a while for the birds to find us. Now we seem to be on a bird map!
DeleteI long for a day at the beach! I am only two hours away from several beaches, but no way of getting there! Maybe as we are allowed more outings...
ReplyDeleteI think I should read The Woman in White.
I have enjoyed a few outings to restaurants (25% capacity) and we have been "released" from lockdown...cautiously.
Enjoy your week!
I can't wait to go to a restaurant. There was almost no one at the beach. We had the whole place to ourselves.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear you enjoyed The Woman in White. I loved I Feel Bad About my Neck, too... Ephron reads the audio version herself.Beautiful bird photos!
ReplyDeleteI was surprised to find that my whole book group enjoyed I Feel Bad About My Neck.
DeleteDeb, you left a comment on my post about not knowing there is an Australian Bake Off, there is also a NZ one called Kiwi and a Canadian one. I watch them either on YouTube or DailyMotion on my laptop.
ReplyDeleteThere is a season of the Canadian that is hosted by Dan Levy!!!!
Thanks so much, Jackie! I will look for them.
DeleteThat is awesome you are putting together a little free library. Our weather this week looks promising. Fingers crossed.
ReplyDeleteI've had my LFL for a while now, but I needed a place to store the books I've stockpiled for it.
DeleteI’m glad you’ve been able to enjoy fine weather, and friends, this past week :)
ReplyDeleteWishing you a great reading week
Nothing like fine weather and friends.
DeleteThose birds look lovely!
ReplyDeleteThe Prince and the Pauper has been on my to read list for years, I hope you're enjoying it!
I watched News of the World recently as well and enjoyed it too. I didn't even know there were bad reviews about that one.
Have a wonderful week!
I like the way both poor and rich get to experience the other extreme's life.
DeleteI am adding the poetry books you are reading to my list. I am excited about them. I am reading some really tough to understand ones.
ReplyDeleteThe graphic novel collection is one I think you would like.
DeleteOhhh what lovely birds have stopped by your feeder! Great that you could get out to the beach to see friends, too.
ReplyDeleteThose birds were amazing. I hope they keep coming.
DeleteCongrats on your new birds! That is so awesome! And so pretty too. :)
ReplyDeleteMy life list of birds is now at 56.
DeleteSnow kept me indoors most of the week. I keep saying that I don't read Classics but you are reading another one that I have read - The Prince and the Pauper. I think I was drawn to it after seeing a television or motion picture adaptation back when I was a teen. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteYou've read more classics than you thought.
DeleteHow wonderful that you are getting a little free library setup! Looking forward to pictures when you have it ready.
ReplyDeleteWe've been seeing some new birds in town too but I haven't seen any up close.
Enjoy your week - looks like a lot of good books!
I've actually had my LFL for a while but I needed a place to store the books for it.
DeleteThe Woman In White is high on my must-read list. It sounds awesome. Those birds are so colorful! Almost all of the birds here are brown or gray. I hope you have a great week!
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I've heard that Wilkie's The Moonstone is really good, too.
DeleteThe little free library is such a good idea. I love that so many are popping up.
ReplyDeleteIt has been one of the delights of pandemic life.
DeleteOh those birds!! so colorful and beautiful, I would be excited too if I saw them..
ReplyDeleteIt was as if someone gave me a gift each time a bird stopped by.
DeleteOh, how lucky are you to have spotted the tanager and bunting. But a blue grosbeak?! We have black-headed grosbeaks in our yard and I've seen rose-breasted when we lived in Nebraska, but I've never seen (nor heard of) a blue! What a treat! They look a bit like bluebirds, don't they? Isn't birding exciting?!
ReplyDeleteI saw your review for Nora Ephron's book on Goodreads, which prompted me to pull up my review and post it to Goodreads, as well. Now I'm eager to read it a second time. Lots of humor in her writing, that's for certain.
It's a perfect book to read at my age, I think.
Delete