The Sunday Salon: Visiting My Sister in Waco

 

Welcome! I am delighted that you joined us here 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. 

My sister and I in Waco, in 2024.

I'm just returning home after spending this week with my sister and her husband in Waco.

What I Read Last Week:

Coming Up Short: A Memoir of My America by Robert B. Reich

What I'm Reading Now:

An African History of Africa by Zeinab Badawi

What I Posted Last Week Here at Readerbuzz:

Good Things!

The Sunday Salon: Hackberry Emperors and Pipevine Swallowtails and Limpkins and Black-bellied Whistling Ducks

I finished up two of my summer challenges:

When Cathy of 746 books announced last year that she would not host 20 Books of Summer this year after ten successful years, Emma of Words and Peace and Annabel of AnnaBookBel both volunteered to take it on. Summer reading IS the 20, 15 or 10 Books challenge to all of us.

• The #20BooksofSummer2025 challenge runs from Sunday June 1st to Sunday August 31st
• The first rule of 20 Books is that there are no real rules, other than signing up for 10, 15, or 20 books and trying to read from your TBR.
• Just enjoy a summer of great reading and make a bit of space on your shelves!

Here are my 20 Books of Summer:

James by Percival Everett.     The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. 

Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson.    The Love Haters by Katherine Center.

The Mirror Crack'd by Agatha Christie.    Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty

Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945 by Tony Judt.    A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.

Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor.    The Crow Trap by Ann Cleeves.

Raising Hare: A Memoir by Chloe Dalton.    Aflame: Learning from Silence by Pico Iyer.

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry.     The Light Eaters by Zoë Schlanger.

A Bakery in Paris by Aimee K. Runyan.     The Swish of the Curtain by Pamela Brown.

The Other Side of Now by Paige Harbison.   Sanditon by Jane Austen.

The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang.     Pigeon Post by Arthur Ransome.

20/20

The idea behind this reading challenge is simple: Use the ease of summer to tackle a Big Book (400+ pages) or two or ... however many you want! You set your own goals. And if it is the start of winter where you live, then it's your Big Book Winter Challenge. Everyone is welcome to participate.

The Details:

• Anything 400 pages or more qualifies as a big book.
• The challenge runs from the Friday of Memorial Day weekend (May 23 this year) through Labor Day (September 1 this year).

What kind of books "count"? All kinds! Middle-grade, YA, graphic novels, classics, all genres, all types--as long as they are at least 400 pages. Yes, e-books and audio books count, too--just check online for the number of pages in the print edition.  

My big book reads this summer:

• Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry - 964 pages 

• The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang - 545 pages 

• Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty - 505 pages 

• Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945 by Tony Judt - 955 pages 

• Pigeon Post by Arthur Ransome - 548 pages

• Mark Twain by Ron Chernow - 1200 pages  

• The Crow Trap by Ann Cleeves - 560 pages  

• A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens - 590 pages  

• Dream Count by Chiamamanda Ngozi Adichie - 474 pages 

• Coming Up Short: A Memoir of My America by Robert B. Reich - 416 pages

Ten books for a total of 6,757 pages!

It is unusual for me to read so many big books.

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...all memories...

My sister and I, with our husbands, have been on many adventures together.

Good Thing #1:

The four of us on a Colorado trip (1983)

Good Thing #2:

Hiking together in Utah (2021)

Good Thing #3:

Together in Paris (2023).

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.