Bookish Update - 7/5/20

We had a lovely low-keyed 4th of July.  R really outdid himself  He went out on Friday to buy fireworks.  The usual places weren't around and he had to really hunt to find them.  He also is trying to get the hang of his Big Green Egg that he got for Father's Day.  So for the third time he tried smoking ribs.  Ribs are really work intensive, starting the day before.  Anyway this was the most successful attempt so far.  He also got the meat from this local organic butcher shop that we'd never bought from before.  Wow, the meat was really delicious.  The hot dogs made by the butcher shop were the best I have ever eaten.  Man, I'm not kidding.  I am not even particularly a hot dog fan!

But also the 4th of July was sweet because of D.  He played in the big blow up pool with his Mama.  He misses her so much during the week that it was really nice for him to have an extended time with her.  And then she bought him a star spangled pin wheel, an Uncle Sam hat, and some red, white and blue pom pom type things that he loved.  And he ran around playing with them for hours.  He loved Rick's BBQ and then staying up for the fireworks.  He kept pronouncing it as the BEST, DAY. EVER!  LOL.  He is so darling and such an incredible blessing to us.

We ended the day by watching Hamilton, though it is quite long so we only managed to watch the first half.  I had heard some of the music but had never seen it.  It's a weird, anachronistic take on Hamilton's life.  I found it at times quite clever and catchy and other times rather clunky and I kept laughing at the wrong moments which I think annoyed B who is a deeply devoted fan.  I was underwhelmed by Lin-Manuel which surprised me!  But the guy who played King George, and the guy who plays Burr were outstanding.  And Hamilton's wife, Eliza, has the loveliest voice!  I could listen to her all day.  Hopefully we'll finish watching this evening.

Anyway, to catch up on my reading.   I am more focused on my youtube channel than blogging about books here. I love being part of the booktube world.  It gives a whole rich dimension to reading for me.  So I have posted about all these books over there.

Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome:  I find the life of Ransome himself very interesting and would like to read a biography about him.  I got a slow start on this book which is well written and charming but paced slowly and so gentle it wasn't holding my attention until about half way and then I really got into it and wound up finding it quite delightful.  I am looking forwarding to reading Swallowdale, the next installment of the series, some time this month.

A Long, Fatal Love Chase by Louisa May Alcott:  This book was rejected by publishers when she wrote it back in 1866.  It finally got published in 1995!  It is a Gothic romance of an innocent young woman who gets trapped into a bad marriage and her attempt to flee from her evil husband.  It's quite dark in that quaint, Victorian way.  I found it quite enjoyable though it did go on a bit too long.  

John Adams by David McCullough:  Oh how I loved this book.  It was hard to read at times because so much of Adams life actually touches on issues we are living today in the wake of George Floyd protests.  Fascinating and highly readable account of the great man's life which includes his fascinating and great partner in life, Abigail Adams.  I learned a lot.  

*Blogger has updated and now I can't figure out how to link books to Amazon or other sites.  Sorry!