Saturday, June 12, 2021

The Rain Stops and the Heat Begins; Birding for Fun; and Jacqueline Woodson is Coming

  





The rain stopped this week, and the temperatures climbed. We got up to 90 degrees C every day last week, and it only cooled down to 80 degrees C at night. One of my friends told me she got sixteen inches of rain in May, so, I don't know...what's harder, lots of rain or lots of heat?








1001 Children's Books You Must Read:

Grover by Vera Cleaver ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thunder and Lightnings by Jan Mark ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Wool-Pack by Cynthia Harnett
In Lane Three, Alex Archer by Tessa Duder ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Friends by Rosa Guy ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Clockwork by Philip Pullman ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Knight's Fee by Rosemary Sutcliff ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rowan of Rin by Emily Rodda ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Honestly, these were all great, but I especially liked Rowan of Rin and The Little White Horse and The Devil's Arithmetic. Clockwork was a beautiful jigsaw puzzle of a story. 

Have you read any of these?








Bewilderment: A Novel by Richard Powers...9% 

The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman (Nonfiction Challenge)...47%

Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz (Chapter-a-Day Read)...36%

Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants (Naturalist Book Club)...72%


I've been busy with 1001 Children's Books, and I've neglected my ongoing reads. Next week I will get some of these read.





Houston Inprint will be hosting a Cool Brains Event for Young People with the fabulous Jacqueline Woodson on June 27 at 4 pm. The event is online and free. Register here. Buy your copy of Jacqueline Woodson's new book from Houston independent bookstore, Blue Willow Books, here.






Swimming...counting butterflies...giving away tomatoes...baking lemon-blueberry bread and banana pecan bread...walking...planting some pecan trees...taking a Beginning Birding class online at the library...





When I start a challenge, I like to start big. I read books from my 1001 Children's Books list like crazy last week. That puts me at 10/20 books read for my 20 Books of Summer challenge.

It also brings me down to 275/1001 books left to read in my 1001 Children's Books challenge.






Good Thing #1: Have a Little Pun---and Groan a Little with Bonnie's Books. I adore puns. Even though sometimes I don't get them. I'm the clueless person who insisted on buying a Life's a Beach t-shirt, even though my sister said over and over, But you don't cuss. Huh? Because, well, life is a beach, right? 



Good Thing #2: I shared The Superior Person's Second Book of Weird & Wondrous Words last week. If you don't know CATACRESIS or HESTERNOPOTHIA, and you want to continue to call yourself a Superior Person, you better take a look at my post.




Good Thing #3: And speaking of Wondrous Words, why haven't you posted about your favorites? Mareli offers a Wondrous Words Wednesday every other week on her blog that's primarily run by her beautiful white cat, Elza Reads. Her next post will be on June 23. Hope you will join us!




I thank each and every one of you 
who has stopped by Sunday Salon
and left a comment
and linked up 
over the last year.
You have kept me going.




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. 

68 comments:

  1. Hey, what fun to discover I contributed a good thing for you this week, as Good Thing #1. Puns ARE fun. Yes, sometimes we have to think about it to "get" it. Here's another one from my blog. Do you eat iceberg lettuce? https://bonniesbooks.blogspot.com/2018/09/punday-on-monday.html

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  2. That is a load of rain! We are experiencing the high 90’s now as well, with daily afternoon thunderstorms. Sigh

    The pun book is absolutely perfect for a friend’s daughter, she loves them. I’d like to get that for a birthday gift.
    Ooooo.... an online birding class?! I would love that. Maybe I link in with your library as ours doesn’t have it. I am going to make a suggestion they get that class.

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    1. I am learning so much from Kristine's birding class.

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  3. Oops, my link doesn’t show up. Here’s my Sunday Salon
    http://tinaculbertson.blogspot.com/2021/06/cottage-time-is-over-only-nine-days.html?m=1

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    1. It finally showed up. Not sure why there's a lag sometimes. Sigh.

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  4. Jacqueline Woodson has a new book? That is indeed good news! And I'm hoping to get to Bewilderment soon.

    The heat really came in a blast this week. As I struggled to weed my garden, I was completely drenched in sweat. Yes, summer has definitely arrived.

    Love those puns. My day is made when I can actually manage to come up with one on my own.

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    1. I have always wanted to be a clever, pun-nish sort. Sadly, no.

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  5. I love Woodson. So prolific and powerful are her books! Good to know I can look forward to another one soon. I need to keep in my mind Wondrous Words. I keep forgetting to write any new or strange words I find. I hope one day I do! Love the posts from you and Mareli.

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    1. I hope you will pop in for Wondrous Words soon, Heather.

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  6. Good luck with birding. We find it enormously enjoyable and relaxing, as well as challenging. Maybe you'll continue as we have, including guided bird trips.

    best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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    1. On Monday, the birding session is about picking a field guide and binoculars. I will be ordering a pair of binoculars Tuesday.

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  7. The Devil's Arithmetic by Yellen is a wonderful novel; I am glad you had time to read it. I am also doing pretty well on my 15 Books of Summer having read 4 so far.

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  8. We've been having 90ish weather here. It's been hot to say the least. Now we're getting rain, but it's still hot. I hope you have a great week!

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    1. I'm glad it finally stopped raining here. Hurricane season is just beginning, and that's not a way to start.

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  9. The heat has started here too. 90s this weekend and over 100 later this week. I am not looking forward to it. Nights have still been comfortable, so I hope it stays that way... I remember having to read The Devil's Arithmetic for a college class, and I loved it. Happy reading this week!

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    1. It would help so much if it would just cool off a bit at night.

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  10. We were in the mid to high 80s every day this past week, way up here in Southern Ontario and it has definitely been humid, but the pool cools me off. You are doing awesome with your 1001 list. Way to go. Have a great week Deb.

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  11. I loved Jacqueline Woodson's prev book, and I have been watching out for her next. Thanks for news about her event. I will be attending it. Stay safe!

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  12. I love Jacqueline Woodson's books, and I love puns!

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    1. My favorite Jacqueline Woodson book is The Other Side.

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  13. Was hot and humid but the humidity has died down and we have had some wonderful days.

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  14. I always enjoy your "good things." Let's savor them this week. Thanks for sharing, and enjoy the week.

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    1. My weekly good things have carried me through this year.

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  15. Great to have reading challenges. This year I've seen to read more self help books and books on humanity and society in general. Throw any of those my way.

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  16. It has been super hot here and we could really use some rain. Have a great week. Stay cool!

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    1. May was nothing but rain, so, for now, I'll take heat over rain.

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  17. Haha, I love the cantaloupe pun. That’s awesome. Have a great week!

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  18. I would much rather have lots of rain than the heat we are getting next week. It's going to be 117 next week. Bring on the rain I say. lol

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  19. Rainy season is very slow getting started here this year and it's way too dry! Rain is in the forecast every day this week, so our fingers are crossed. You've got a lot of great books in progress. I'm going to look up the Richard Powers... haven't heard of that title. The birding class sounds great. Would love to join some Audubon walks here this fall. Hope you have a wonderful week, Deb!

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    1. The Richard Powers book will be published in September.

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  20. I do love the rain. My area gets so little of it. I do not like high humidity though. I have been wanting to read The Little White Horse for awhile now. I was hoping to interest my daughter in reading it with me, but she has her own ideas of what she wants to read. I'm just happy she wants to read. It hasn't always been like that.

    It sounds like your summer is off to a good start. Swimming and butterflies, gardening, and good books. :-)

    I hope you have a great week!

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    1. I was disappointed that Homer Price, one of my childhood favorites, didn't work for kids at my school. Each to our own, I suppose.

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  21. We only had a couple of sunny days recently since the start of the year, the rainy and cloudy weather did get me down a little. However, next week we would get up to 30°C, which is too hot for me, especially to teach in.
    The Guns of August looks interesting, I hope you're enjoying it!
    Your Wondrous Words post was so fun to read!

    Have a wonderful week!

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  22. As you read the 1001 children's books that are must-reads do you find that some of them haven't aged well? I always worry about that when I am reading off list created a while ago.

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    1. The books that were written as contemporary fiction within the last 20-40 years are the ones that are the most jarring. The authors of the 1001 Children's Books list made a concerted effort to select books from around the world, and that helps a lot.

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  23. It got to 88 here and I thoguht that was bad! Summer has arrived. I loved that graphic too- made me laugh. :)

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  24. Oh I love the pun! I think that's one of the reasons I love cozy mysteries - they all have pun titles. I'm fascinated by the idea of an online birding class. That sounds wonderful. I hope you have a wonderful week.

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  25. Summer has arrived! I love all of your summery sounding activities. :) And..I prefer rain I guess? I am not much for heat. :)

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  26. I haven't read any of your choices from 1001 books... but I've read others by Vera Cleaver, Jane Yolen and Philip Pullman. I also had a chance to hear Woodson speak a number of years ago and remember how inspiring she was. I don't generally enjoy puns but will admit that there are some quite clever ones. Come see my week here. Happy reading!

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    1. I think Devil's Arithmetic is my favorite of Jane Yolen.

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  27. The worst is the combination of rain and heat! It’s been in the low 40’s every night here though, which is freezing cold as far as I’m concerned.
    I had a t-shirt as a teen that said Life’s a beach..and then you die :) Here’s a pun you might like - Practice safe text: use commas.

    Wishing you a great reading week

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  28. Hi there Debbie! Aaah, you are such a great advocate for Wondrous Words Wednesdays! Don't worry, I'm sure it will pick up again. All across the globe, it appears to be a busy time of the year. We took a long weekend and it was just perfect. We are heading home tomorrow and the rest of the week will probably be a bit busy.

    We had some lovely weather, but I know that it will be dreadfully cold when we hit home. Enjoy the summer for our sake!

    You really go all out for something if it caught your attention! Glad you are enjoying the birding so much.

    Hope you will have a wonderful week ahead!

    Lots of love,

    Elza Reads

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    1. Going full tilt into something...my mom and my aunt and my sister all have it, too. Good thing I never used drugs.

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  29. Rick is headed to Dallas next week for a week of working with his brothers to prep their mom's house for sale. That heat sounds like a killer. It's hot here -- but not like that! You'd probably kill for our 80s and 90s! Do your best to keep cool. Lots of books on your pile!

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    1. Hope your husband is able to stay cool in Dallas. Very hot there, too.

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  30. Love a good pun anytime!! And I am going to look for the wondrous words book as well. I keep meaning to join the wednesday meme and hope I can do so this week.. And love that personalized mug..

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  31. Hmm lots of rain and hot heat - neither. I love moderation!! Love your 3 good things. Like a gratitude list but somehow better. Think i will use that for my journal. Have a good reading week Deb.

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    1. We did 3 Good Things before every meeting at school and I hated it, oddly. But I've settled into doing it on my blog quite happily during the pandemic.

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  32. It's supposed to hit 109 today here and we have already had a few fires these past few days. Small ones. Our fire dept is really on top of it this summer because we are surrounded by dead brush, everywhere you look. It's gonna be a brutal summer.

    Haven't really done any bookish things. Haven't even been to the used bookstore lately. My book club read, although good, took me out of my summer reading mood. I am finishing that book today so I can hopefully fall right back into summer reading.

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    1. Sending some good wishes and prayers to keep fire away from you. I'd appreciate any good wishes and prayers to keep hurricanes away from me.

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  33. What - life’s a beach does not just mean that? How did I not know, lol! I love puns though but I may not always see them.

    Challenges - I love to plan big but I don’t actually make much progress sadly.

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  34. I always enjoy the Sunday Salon but don't always take the time to comment. Count me as a fan.

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