Sunday Salon

Last week, for the first time I participated in Rose City Reader’s Book Beginnings on Friday and this week, also for the first time I’ll be taking part in The Sunday Salon hosted by Deb Nance at Readerbuzz. Please bear with me as I use Helen’s post as a template and stumble through trying not to make too many rookie mistakes.

I quickly whipped through Penelope Lively’s Dancing Fish and Ammonites for Rose City Reader’s European Reading Challenge. If everything goes according to plan I should have my review up and posted in the next few days. I’m slowly working my way through Stuart Jeffries’s Grand Hotel Abyss: The Lives of the Frankfurt School which has been a bit of a slog. As of this morning I’m two thirds of the way into Siobhan Fallon’s debut novel The Confusion of Languages. To be honest,  going in I expected there’d be more intrigue of the international flavor and less of the the spousal variety but I can’t complain because Fallon’s clever thriller pulsates away at a slow burn. So far it’s looking like I’ve found myself yet another pleasant surprise.  Inspired by Claire’s recent Library Loot posting my next book up will probably be Helen Rappaport’s Caught in the Revolution: Petrograd, Russia, 1917 – A World on the Edge. 

 

Listening. As some of you might know, I didn’t become a regular listener of podcasts until just a few years ago. Political and news podcasts dominate my feed and I’ve written about it several times. However, there’s three podcasts over the last week or so I’ve been listening to quite actively and I’d like to mention them. For decades NPR’s Fresh Air has featured great interviews with fascinating guests. The episodes of late have been top-notch. In the last couple of weeks host Terry Gross and with her back-up Dave Davies have interviewed New York Times journalist Ruth Graham on the growing right wing political influence within the white evangelical church, author Hugh Ryan on the hidden history of LGBTQ life in New York City and New York Times journalist Nicholas Confessore on Tucker Carlson’s promotion of White Nationalist propaganda. A friend recommended I check out the BBC’s history podcast You’re Dead to Me and now I can’t get enough of its humorous yet informative take on everything from the Harlem Renaissance to Ivan the Terrible. Lastly, I’ve been doing a deep dive into MindShift. Dr. Clint Heacock is an American expat living in the UK and former evangelical christian pastor with a PhD in Theology who, after leaving the faith now hosts a podcast aimed at those who have left organized religion or are in the process of doing so. 

Watching. Because I live on a farm in a small valley in the middle of nowhere I get zero TV reception. Fortunately, I’m able to stream online services like Netflix, Tubi and the like. In addition, my area public libraries have a surprisingly good supply of DVDs I can borrow, providing me with a great supply of watching material. Recently, I finished up season 2 of Russian Doll. While maybe not as good as season one, after a slow start it picked up nicely and ended on a high note. Last week I watched the first episode of Mr. Robot and I’m 100 per cent hooked. After discovering Stranger Things only a few months ago I burned through every available episode and can’t wait for season 4 to drop May 27. 

Everything else. Late last week I picked up my new prescription glasses and I’m hoping it will make reading and blogging easier. Spring has come to the farm and currently there’s a nest of baby birds under the eaves of my cabin. As cool as this might be my goodness they’re noisy! Fortunately, they quiet down quickly in the evening. Throughout the day I see the momma bird flying back and forth bringing them their meals. (Providing no shortage of entertainment to my cat Orion.) Lastly, yesterday I spent a relaxing Saturday afternoon sitting in one of my favorite adult watering holes drinking beer and reading. Later a friend of mine happened to be in the area and was able to join me for a pint.