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What Are You Reading?

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This morning in the secret garden. That golden light is one of the best parts of autumn.

There’s more mowing to do, but I’m not sure whether I’ll tackle that today or tomorrow. I’ll wait to see if my perpetual state of congestion clears up. As I look out the window in the den, I see leaves gently falling from the maple. It’s quite lovely. As Don said the other day, “We really do live in a beautiful part of the country.”

Don went to a specialist about his hand. There’s a swelling on the tendon and it’s making it hard for him to straighten his thumb. It’s called trigger finger. Contrary to what he was told before, this doctor wants  him to use his hand, to work the thumb back and forth, and to go ahead with all of his activities including playing the guitar. He got a shot of cortisone and will go back to see the doctor in three weeks.

I learned that there are a lot more preview performances for the show than I previously thought there were, including next Sunday at 2 pm. So, I put in a request for two tickets and, if they’re available, we’ll go to next Sunday’s performance, where I’ll take notes. Don knows Jim, of course, and he wants to see the show, so this would be perfect. Fingers crossed!

I finished reading the Simenon this morning and I’ll start Maggie O’Farrell’s newest later today. I also have a New Yorker puzzle ready and waiting.

Since I’m back in reading mode, it’s time to ask a question I haven’t asked for too long.

What are you reading?

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

 

Comments

  1. I devour books on Netgalley…always new ones…
    There is a little one room bookstore where my daughter and I go and trade books…we pay also…she gets tons of books from publishers and some on Netgalley like I do. She sends me some of the books…we read them together…she also buys books with gift cards which we trade at the little book store here…I use the library also. However Netgalley has been a gift to me.

      • I read much, so lately I have been reading some Ashley Maxwell’s lady and lady’s maid books. For my book groups I have read The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner and reread Lightning Strike by Krueger and will reread Killers of the Flower Moon by Gann. I have a Miss Pollifax and The Sentence by Louise Erdrich waiting.

      • Claudia, I read one book a day as I read too too fast…too many to list…mysteries…biographies…psycho thrillers…you name it…I get up at four or five…I go to bed 11 or 12…I teach grandsons after school…I tutor a little boy on East coast.. I work with youngest grand girl, a senior home schooled, on FaceTime…puzzles…crafts…needlework…puzzles…puzzle books. I walk…in pain…3-6 miles a day one step at a time. I cook for ,y self every day. Correspondence daily…journal daily…my day is full. However, the books…I have done this for years….my favorite books of all time…Little Women…Jane Austen…Jane Eyre…Wuthering Heights…Nancy Drew…Little House books…Shakespeare of course…to teach…lol…last two years favs. Hamnet…Louise Penny with H Clinton…The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek. Love that latter one loved…am also rereading Agatha Christie…I will admit I clean way way way too much and too often also

        • The Book Woman’s Daughter is good also…I grew up near where these books took place… never knowing about the Blue People…I do not do social media but if you type in No Bookend in sight it will take you to my daughter’s Facebook and she has thousands of followers on the nstagram by the same name no bookend in sight
          Katheryne Taylor or Katheryne Kristen
          You will like her websites

        • hey, brenda! :)

          a week or so ago, i was sick (thanking God it wasn’t covid) and decided to read something classic. went back to agatha christie as an easier start (i enjoy mysteries), plus i had some of her stories here. same with the full set of “little house on the prairie” books (a Christmas present from family last december) … but i also ordered two books. after rather unexpectedly coming across reviews of wuthering heights and jane eyre, i thought about getting them, but instead ordered little women and anne of green gables. :)

          i wish they would have arrived by now. oh, well … something to look forward to!

          anyway, given all you read and with what you listed above, i feel even more pleased with my choices. :)

          hope you and your family are well, that your son had a good birthday on friday and you all had another nice get-together. also that you get enough rest and sleep … your schedule sounds exhausting. fun, kind and helpful, but exhausting!

          stay safe, too.

          kathy

          • Awww Kathy….I just let my youngest grandson have Farmer Boy. He really liked it. I am elderly truthfully…and the older I get, the less sleep I need…I have time for tons of rest. My family treats me like a queen and I love that. Enjoy your books… The Big Winter is my fav Little House-book…Little Women my fav book ever…gave my copies to the grand girls. Exc for one…I live in a tiny condo so my books went to family…

  2. I hope Don’s hand improves now.

    I just finished Still Life by Louise Penny. Very good. I am waiting for the next in order from the library. So, I read The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian. Also very good, finished it in a couple days. Next up is We Are Water by Wally Lamb.
    Take care

    • You know how much I love Louise Penny. That was her first.

      Thanks so much, Marilyn.

      Stay safe.

  4. I’ve heard all about trigger finger and I’m sorry Don has to deal with it. I’m glad he was able to get a shot, which I hope eases it and that things will work through over time. I’m glad you got into a preview matinee. Sounds much better.

    I just finished the Kevin Kelly bio of Michael Bennett (I can’t decide if it’s sleazy, accurate, vindictive or all of the above); then since I’m at the lake and selection is limited, doing some Agatha. After “Mysterious Affair at Styles,” Poirot’s first, I read “Curtain,” his last. Now I’m doing the same with Miss Marple — “Murder at the Vicarage” with “Sleeping Murder” to come. I’ll be glad to get home to my own library!

  5. I’m reading The retreat by Sarah Pearse and Local Gone Missing by Fiona Barton. Have my eye on Maggie O’Farrell’s new book.

    For Don, I had two trigger fingers on my right hand. At first annoying and then really painful. My shot lasted about three months. The hand specialist did a very small surgery while I was awake and they have been really fine since. It’s been several years.

  6. Your secret garden looks lovely in the Autumn sunshine. Hope the cortisone shot will relieve the pain in Don’s hand so he can use it without so much discomfort. Glad Dan can go with you to New York next Sunday.

    I’m currently reading “Snow” by John Banville. Did you hear that Peter Robinson, author of the Inspector Banks series, passed away in Toronto on October 4th? He was only 72. I’ve read all his books.

    Enjoy your Sunday afternoon.
    Hugs, Elaine

    • I loved Snow.

      Yes, Louise Penny announced his passing on her Facebook page. They were close friends and she was going to interview him soon at a book festival. Such, sad news! He was too young.

      Stay safe, Elaine.

  7. I am reading The House Across The Lake by Riley Sager. It’s been a real page turning mystery!

  8. I reading Olive Kitteredge again as I wanted to refresh my memory before beginning Strout’s next book, Olive, Again.

  9. I just finished reading “A Town Named Solace” by Mary Lawson. She is a Canadian living in the U.K. I have read all her books and liked them all. I was especially taken with this one.
    I hope all goes well for you and Don.

    Take Care,
    Kaye
    Park City, UT

    • That’s a name I’m unfamiliar with. I’ll have to do some research, Kaye.

      Thanks so much.

      Stay safe.

  10. I just finished “The Bullet That Missed” by Richard Osman. Just love this British series!

  11. glad to hear that don went to a specialist about his hand. will be praying that the new advice helps don right away! praying for your back and congestion and everyone else here, too.

    also glad that there are more opportunities to work on/see the show in nyc and that you and don can go together!

    to your question … i am reading the Bible, also some of agatha christie’s short stories. all good, of course. i appreciate that you write about books (among many other things), your asking the question today and everyone else’s book suggestions, too … my “to be read” list is very, very long! and the cooler weather here makes it very tempting to get under a blanket and read, read, read!

    hope everyone has a comfy, safe, easy day today!

    kathy

  12. Happy Sunday! It is a gorgeous day. Football in our house. We need our Cardinals to win! It is so nice to be working out in the yard without sweating to death. I am reading two easy books, Little Matches by Maryanne O’Hara and Susan Branches new book, Distilled Genius, her book of quotes. I love saving quotes so I was thrilled when she wrote this book. I love her art too.
    Love to see falling leaves.

  13. After a very long spell of not reading I decided to return to some favorite authors. I’m currently reading Louise Penny’s “The Long Way Home.” I have tried to read her Gamache books in order, but my library has a very limited collection of her books. So I try to catch them as they become available at a reduced price for my Kindle. Another favorite is the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evonovich.

    • I read a lot of the Stephanie Plum books but haven’t read one in a long time.

      Thanks, Denise.

      Stay safe.

  14. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Sutterfield. It is a great gothic. Perfect for this time of year.

  15. It sounds like good advice from the doctor for Don. Hopefully he will have some improvement.

    I have recently finished The Ruin of All Witches by Malcolm Gaskill. Non fiction, about the life of early Puritan settlers in 1640s New England and how easily the accusations of witchcraft arose.

    Whilst searching through reserve stock in the library basement, I came across Peyton Place and Valley of the Dolls. I read these when I was about 16 and thought I would read them again 50 years later! So they’re next on my list.

    Happy Sunday

    • Oh, Dee Dee, I do remember reading those when I was about the same age. We thought they were so naughty!!!! What a good and fun idea to read them again. Let us know what your thoughts are 50 yrs later!!

    • I remember reading Valley of the Dolls! I felt slightly wicked! Let us know what you think after rereading them.

      Thanks so much, Dee Dee.

      Stay safe.

  16. I just went to the bone specialist 2 weeks ago with the same problem as Don. Got the shot and just in the last 24 hours has it gotten better. It was like “frozen” in the mornings and then popped every time it bent. So. Just hang in there Don and hopefully you’ll have the same results. Good luck.

  17. Just finished the last book of Beartown series called, The Winners. Fredrik Backman is a very get down to emotions writer. It was an amazing book even though I cried at times. I think I need something lighter for next read. I have The Matchmaker’s Gift by Lynda Cohen Loigman on mt kindle so I will start that one tonight.
    I’m glad Don got some answers for his trigger finger.

  18. Thanks to you,Claudia,I have just finished The Postscript Murders of Elly Griffiths.Awhile back I read her entire Ruth Galloway series. I’ve begun to reread books on my shelf that I loved in the past: An Episode of Sparrows by Rumer Godden,How it All Began by Penelope Lively and the Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett.The last book mentioned was especially touching to read again because of Queen Elizabeth’s death.xo

  19. Always so excited when you ask this question! Once again I have added a few books to my list!

    I am reading The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle by Jennifer Ryan. (I loved The Chilbury Ladies Choir, and this one is just as good.) Recently finished What Happened to the Bennetts by Lisa Scottoline, The Mayfair Bookshop, The Reading List (loved it!!), The Bookwoman’s Daughter (fantastic) and The Maid.

    Good to hear Don has a diagnosis and a plan! Take care.

  21. I have looked up several of these suggestions
    What a great blog Claudia
    I have read most of the books.
    I also love all the new WWII books although most light…I like mysteries by the Lisa’s
    Scottoline and Unger and Jackson… thanks Claudia…

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