Happy Wednesday my bookish friends! I am gearing up for our first Halloween in a neighborhood since 1991 - yikes! We haven't had trick-or-treaters in so long so we have been buying candy on each of our grocery trips. Decorating was fun.
Loki had a dental procedure on Friday and he took forever to get back to normal. We were worried because he was supposed to bounce back the next day. He wouldn't eat or drink for 2 days. Here he is making my life easy in the kitchen...my foot makes a decent pillow.
📚 Book Chat 📚
I finished The Elements by John Boyne. A page turner of a novel and I am glad I didn't discover these individual stories until he put them all together. Unbeknownst to me, these four stories Air, Fire, Earth and Water were previously published as novellas. Putting them all together links up certain characters throughout each "Element."
I liked the settings in Ireland, especially in the first story titled Water where a woman took time to heal and evaluate her life on a remote island off Ireland's west coast . The stories are disturbing but not graphic. Triggers for rape, spousal abuse and revenge are present. The writing is fantastic.
Thank you Jackie at Junkboat Travels for alerting me to another Graham Norton book. I am reading Frankie and may be caught up with Norton's fiction.
📚Upcoming 📚
I played along with the Classic Club Spin which I listed HERE and my book will be The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford.
My next nonfiction is The Art Thief by Michael Finkel and eventually a buddy read with Susan at The Cue Card.
What is on your reading agenda for the rest of the month?
Linking up with:
Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon
Joy for British Isles Friday
Oh poor Loki! I burn through sedation pretty quickly but it takes my husband FOREVER. I guess it's the same with dogs? They have different speeds I guess. I read The Art Thief and it was interesting and maddening. I look forward to seeing your thoughts on it.
ReplyDeleteKatherine, I was really worried when he wouldn't drink. I know he can survive days without food but he wouldn't take in water , milk or broth to hydrate. Whew! He's better now. That sedation and sore gums sent him for a loop.
DeleteI've started the Art Thief and am hooked! It's an interesting nonfiction.
I'll bet you have fun with the trick-or-treaters! We used to sit outside on our walkway, in our rocking chairs, eating chili as we handed out candy to the kids. Since moving to Oregon, w no longer have trick-or-treaters since we're in a gated community with no little kids. Part of me misses it, but it's nice not to have to buy so much candy! It adds up quickly.
ReplyDeleteAww, poor Loki. I hope he's doing better now that more time has passed.
I have the four novellas of Boyne's on my tbr list, so now I'll look for The Elements and read them back-to-back. He's such a good writer! Maybe he'll be the author I focus on in 2026, although I've already read a lot of his books (and re-reading them is a commitment since they're pretty long!).
Les, I am looking forward to the trick-or-treaters and also loving all the decorations in our neighborhood. You are correct, the candy prices add up.
DeleteMy advice on the Boyne book is if you don't get the book The Elements then read the novellas in order because the characters pop up and intersect. I will get your opinion on which Boyne book to start next but it will be a while. I have started on the classic spin book by Ford Madox Ford and am als reading a nonfiction right now.
Thank you for the kind thoughts about Loki - he is much better now!
Is Loki all right now? I'm sure you two were worried. He is the cutest guy. I wish him well with his recovery. He's sweet. You have given me a few ideas for our upcoming reads as to when and what. I will email you thoughts. And it must be really weird to plan for Halloween trick-or-treaters after such a long time rurally. You'll probably get a lot! We haven't had any here in past years, but I'll get a bag of candy just in case. Cheers.
ReplyDeleteSusan, Loki is much better now but the lack of hydration had us worried. We called the emergency vet and they gave advice but we almost took him in. Glad he is better but he's gotten picky about his food, what he'll eat. Spolied is probably the issue there. ha.
DeleteWe have been told 80 to 100 kids showed up last year and yes, it's weird having been down a long dark road Nobody came down for decades! I've gotten all suburban and boought a little lawn flag holder and can change that out. I;ve taken to this area like duck ot water.
Look forward to chatting about books :-)
Oh my goodness, poor Loki. My dog has terrible dental issues. She's 16 now and most of her teeth have fallen out but every time one does she makes sure I know it and lies around like this for days. Poor baby.
ReplyDeleteTi, he's doing much better now. It's hard as they get older.
DeleteOh, poor Loki! I'm glad he's improving now, but that must have given you an awful scare. The Elements is on my list. We're in NYC now visiting our daughter and I had it in my hands for a while, but decided against bringing a hardcover book home in my suitcase. We don't get trick-or-treaters in our CT neighborhood, but there's an outside chance a neighbor will stop by with grandkids. We'll have a little candy just in case... I'll be sure to get something I like!
ReplyDeleteJoAnn, I just discovered FSU has Homecoming Nov 1 so I'm not sure if it will change things for Friday. Sometimes Tallahassee has what they call a Downtown Getdown with vendors, food, music the Friday before. We will see.
DeleteDon't blame you for not wanting to drag a book around during travel. I think the Kindle version is too expensive. Loki iscdoing much better now, thanks!
The last two books listed here sound great. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Emma!
DeleteI am happiest when I visit your blog and discover all new-to-me books. And that is what happened to me today. Yay!
ReplyDeleteDeb, I am happy to be of assistance with book revelations ! That's where I get many ideas, from other book bloggers.
DeleteI hope Loki is feeling much better now.
ReplyDeleteHalloween isn’t really done here but I always have a pack of lollipops on hand just in case.
Have a fabulous week!
Shelleyrae, I didn;t know Halloween wasn't a thing where you live. I grew up with it and I guess, as a kid, thought everyone did. We are expecting 80 to 100 trick-or-treaters - yikes!
DeleteOh poor Lokiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiil Is hims all better now???????????????????
ReplyDeleteJinjer, yes he is much better thankfully! It was an awful weekend though. Why does this stuff always happen on a weekend?!
DeleteThe Boyne book sounds fascinating. I have heard good things about The Good Soldier.
ReplyDeleteJoy, I liked Boyne's style and have more of his work lined up nw. Couldn't get into the Good Soldier, but I am in the minority.
DeleteWhen I was 4 yrs old there was a subdivision being built nearby and my mom and dad bought a plot of land and had a house built. There weren't very many Trick Or Treaters the first year because not many houses were finished yet, but then after a year or so my mom had at least 300 trick or treaters every year. There was an apartment building around the corner of the subdivision so I'm sure a lot of the kids from there came to our houses.
ReplyDeleteVicki, wow! 300 kids!!! We would have run out of cnady for sure.
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