Briefly | This week was all about keeping my head above water. This weekend has been all about regrouping and resetting, hoping to get back into the groove I was so excited about early in 2016. The boyfriend was in Milwaukee all week, helping his mom and making funeral arrangements for his dad. My dad and I flew out Thursday morning for the funeral, then we drove back home on Friday.
Reading | It’s one of the weird ironies in life that it’s impossible to read during the stressful, emotional times when sinking into a good book would be the perfect remedy. I couldn’t pick up a book, at all, during the time the boyfriend was gone. But I seemed to find my groove late in the week with a book my sister recommended, These Vicious Masks by Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas, a totally silly Victorian-era adventure/romance described as “Jane Austen meets X-Men.” It was perfect airplane/road trip reading. This weekend I’ve been settling into The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert, which is just so beautifully written and feels like exactly what I needed.
Watching | The boyfriend and I went to see Deadpool last night — very funny, super gross, and not appropriate for children. I liked it, but I’m hoping it doesn’t lead to a bunch of new R-rated superhero movies like some people are suggesting… that’d be a real bummer.
Listening | On a friend’s recommendation, I started Red Rising by Pierce Brown, on audio book. It fits right into my young adult dystopian wheelhouse, but it’s more violent than I’m used to in that genre. Maybe a good comparison would be Harry Potter : The Hunger Games :: The Magicians : Red Rising.
Cooking | Yesterday I cooked up a batch of minestrone soup, which should be good for lunch throughout the week.
Blogging | I’m so bummed I didn’t get to participate in the community aspect of Book Blogger Appreciation Week as much as I wanted to, although I did get up three posts during the week: Five Books that Represent Me, Favorite Books Recommended by Bloggers, and Six Ways to Avoid Blogger Burnout. I’m hoping to catch up on comments and visit some new blogs later this afternoon.
Promoting | Major kudos to the wonderful bloggers who brought back Book Blogger Appreciation Week: Ana (Things Mean A Lot), Jenny (Reading the End), Heather (Capricious Reader), and Andi (Estella’s Revenge). I wasn’t as engaged as I hoped to be, but it was so fun seeing the blogger love online and throughout the blogosphere.
Hating | I love my community, but this was one of the weeks when I hate where it’s located because it’s so far from our families.
Loving | Despite not being together on Valentine’s Day, the boyfriend did surprise me with flowers when I got to Milwaukee on Thursday. It was really sweet.
Anticipating | I expect today is going to be a pretty quiet day. I have a ton of laundry to do and some other chores to catch up on, but otherwise I hope to spend most of the day getting back on track with the blog and settling in with a good book.
Happy Sunday, everyone! What are you reading today?
Some of the links in this post are affiliate links through Amazon. If you make a purchase through any of those links, I will receive a small commission.
Comments on this entry are closed.
I find I need fluff to read in stressful times like that. I always feel like I’m just trying to keep my head above water these days.
Sorry about your weekend. I hope the weekend can be a turning point to getting back to something close to normal!
oops. That should say sorry about your week.
It’s so, so hard to live far away from your families (we do too), and I feel like crisis time is when you feel it the most. We felt the same way when my father-in-law passed away.
Hope things settle down a bit for you this week.
My husband loves the Red Rising books but I am not so sure about it because of the violence factor. Maybe I’ll wait to see what you think about them. Hope things settle down for you this week. I always have to recharge at the end of a rough week.
Just wanted to stop by to say that Signature of All Things is absolutely wonderful. It was such a favorite of mine when I read it and I’ve been looking for something to fill the hole ever since. Enjoy it! I hope it’s just the sort of soothing comfort read you need.
Have a Zennish Sunday! May the coming week be kind to you. 🙂
And, I look forward to reading your thoughts on Gilbert’s book. I adore her. ‘Big Magic’ was wonderful.
I totally get the same way with struggling to read during stressful times (though it’s usually when I want to escape into a book most!). Hope this week looks up a bit.
We saw Deadpool last week, and I think after a few days of letting it sink in, I may be up for seeing it a second time. I totally agree with your assessment (and with the hope it doesn’t need to more R-rated superhero movies, because who needs that?). My husband posted quite the rant on Facebook about it not being for kids after we spotted several under-12-year-olds in the theater.
I hope your weekend of resetting and regrouping works out exactly right for you, and that things calm down a bit in the days ahead!
What a week you guys had. I’m sorry about your boyfriend’s loss.
Today I’m thinking about starting Voracious by Cara Nicolette. It’s a foodie memoir of sorts.
I’m so sorry to hear about your boyfriend’s loss. Hope things get back to more “normal” for you and of course turning to books to help is always good.
I missed out on BBAW too but there’s always next year!
I’m sorry about your boyfriends dad. I enjoyed your Reading Habits Survey-and just wrote my post for that-just for fun. I also just got my copy of Game of Thrones, and am curious about it now. I hope this week is better for you.
http://thebestbasicblogger.blogspot.com/2016/02/stacking-shelves-9_20.html
I’m sure a part of you was with your boyfriend all week – hard to focus on anything else when you are not all there.
That’s very true, my brain was definitely other places most of the week.
Sorry for your boyfriend’s loss. I was more involved with BBAW at the beginning of the week than at the end, but it was a lot of fun.
Today I’m reading Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by ZZ Packer (collection of short stories.)
Glad I could provide some silly escapist reading it is my favorite kind :). Did you finish the book?
I don’t read much during stressful times either. I think it has something to do with our ability to concentrate. Stress reduces our concentration or at least minimizes how much we can absorb at any given time. It is ironic that it is during these times when we need the chance to escape into books the most.
I hope you were able to rest and reset this weekend and that you are able to get back into the swing of things this weekend!
Yeah I think it’s nearly impossible to read during stressful and emotional times — too much in the head going on. Sometimes you just recognize it’s not a good time for reading and wait it out. The Liz Gilbert books seems like a good story. I’m still reading Americanah at the moment. Have a good week.
Americanah was so great! I hope you’re enjoying it still.
I’m sorry to hear about your boyfriend’s father passing. In stressful times I can listen to audio books and I can watch old movies, you know the ones you’ve seen a million time and can quote the dialogue. I hope your day was restful and settling.
Those are good suggestions! I’m not much of a movie person, but I can think of quite a few that are comforting that would probably cheer me up.
Still sending good thoughts your & your boyfriend’s way, girl! And BBAW will (I hope I hope!) still be here next year, which (again I hope) will be a better time for you to participate as much as you want to. Hugs!