I usually read or listen to A Christmas Carol every Christmas. This year I listened to Hugh Grant narrating it. Although he does a good job, this version feels as if it‘s missing something; I can‘t pinpoint what. Maybe Grant just isn‘t as emotional with the characters as other narrators have been.

Christmas Eve reading! Happy Holidays to everyone! 🎄

This morning‘s walk was vey foggy! I was wondering if there was going to be a dual timeline in this book because it didn‘t seem like it at first. I‘m having a little trouble figuring out why the sisters care so much about this missing sister. They‘ve never known her, and she‘s never known or heard of them. We‘ll see. #audiowalk

It‘s back to The Missing Sister for my #audiowalk book. I love this nice weather we‘re having right now. I was wearing shorts and flip flops today.

I highly recommend the audio version of this book. Crowe does a great job conveying the emotions he experienced, mostly through the rock journalist part of his life. The giddiness and sometimes sadness of getting to interview his heroes comes across well. There are short sections on his movie career and on his relationship with his family as well. #audiowalk

Cameron Crowe‘s memoir of his early years becoming a rock music journalist is a lot of fun. He‘s mined this time period fictionally before in the movie Almost Famous, but the story hasn‘t lost its charm. I‘ve got a little over 3 hours left and haven‘t been bored yet. #audiowalk

Steven Rowley is always weird for me. I often have a hard time getting into his books but start liking them around the middle. With this novella, I got into it in the beginning, got a little bored in the middle, and liked the end. It really doesn‘t have a plot; it‘s a character study of a man trying to find himself after a divorce.I liked this cover. I read the ebook; Neil Patrick Harris reads the audio.

As you can probably tell from previous posts, I really enjoyed this book. Sandy‘s and Ellie‘s friendship was lovely, and their attitudes toward the cultures and people they encountered were nice to see. #audiowalk. I love the flying pig Christmas decoration.

News shows have now gotten interested in the traveling grannies. Probably because they are a breath of fresh air. 😊. They are fixing to leave Zanzibar; it‘ll be interesting to see where they go next. #audiowalk

I was a little put off when, in the introduction, these ladies said they were Christians. What we see in the USA of Christians publicly is mainly meanness and hate. Sandy and Ellie are the complete opposite of that. Their respect for the cultures and people they visit shines through. #audiowalk

I switched Here We Go to my night time book and started listening to The Missing Sister for my walking book. It was supposed to be 50° outside today, but the “feels like” temperature was 30° and it was windy. #audiowalk

I used to love this series, but it has gone downhill in the last few years — since Brooklyn and Derek got married. This one was just boring. The stolen books get little mention, and the wrap up to that mystery is ridiculous. The motives for the murders are weak, and Brooklyn and her friends and family just come off as mean. Claire, who has been a bad-ass in previous books, is afraid of a staff member? I won‘t continue with this series.

I really enjoyed this book — I loved the characters, the setting, the tone, all of it. The reveal was a little unexpected. I finished it in the middle of my walk, so I started Here We Go. I want to be those old ladies when I grow up. 😄 #audiowalk

I‘m really enjoying this book and especially like the train setting. It‘s such a different tone from The Woman in the Library, which I also liked. #audiowalk

Meredith and her brother, Joe (a mystery writer) are traveling on the Orient Express. So far this book reminds me of a cross between Murder on the Orient Express and Benjamin Stevenson‘s Everyone on This Train is a Suspect. I walked for the first time today in over a week. Yay! It felt so good! #audiowalk

How to Piss Off Men is a nice antidote to Men Who Hate Women. I highly recommend listening to it since it‘s got a nice bonus section with the author and his mother. It was a little jarring to hear that Prue had read one of the books, The Game by Neil Strauss, mentioned in MWHW. I think he said he was around 12 . The book is light-hearted but also has a serious message to it.

I enjoyed this book about walking literal paths instead of metaphorical ones. It would have been even better if I‘d listened to it while walking, but I‘m recovering from the flu, so that wasn‘t happening. The author discusses the mental benefits of walking slowly and observing the path you‘re on. He also talks about the nomadic nature of humans and how we‘ve shifted away from that walking.

Reading I Am Malala as an ebook. Switching between it and Men Who Hate Women. I‘m listening to In Praise of Paths. The author was diagnosed with epilepsy and had to stop driving, so he took to walking everywhere. The book is meditative and calm. #weekendreads

I still like this book, but I noticed some issues that didn‘t bother me when I first read it. In The Body, the use of Gordie‘s short stories is completely unnecessary; it just makes the story longer than it needs to be. The Breathing Method, about pregnancy and birth, is just odd. I‘m not sure it needed the framing with old men telling stories in a creepy club — what exactly that club is is left hanging. #audiowalk

I learned a lot from this book. I always think of tuberculosis (consumption) as a disease of the past, but, even though we have a cure, millions of people still die of it every year — mostly in poor countries. It‘s a disease that been both romanticized (think a poet like Keats) and stigmatized, and it‘s influenced fashion. Eradicating tuberculosis on a global scale is something we could do, but we need a change of attitude.

Beloved — print. Determined to finish this weekend.
A Death in Diamonds —audio
Everything is Tuberculosis — ebook
Men Who Hate Women
Different Seasons — audio. Not pictured. It‘s my walking book.
#weekendreads

I don‘t really know how to talk about this book. It‘s part memoir and part journalism. El Akkad takes the Western world to task for ignoring what is going on in Gaza, using lovely prose and horrific examples. It‘s a short book, but it took me a pretty long time to read because the topic is so difficult. It deserves its National Book Award win.

It‘s getting chilly again. I had to wear a jacket for the first part of my walk. It‘s been a long time since I read The Body, and I‘m not sure how much I remember is from the movie. I cannot picture these kids as anyone other than the actors who played them. It was jarring, though, to hear Gordie say, “F**k the World Trade Center” given 9/11, which hadn‘t happened when this story was written. #audiowalk

Today‘s “relaxing” reading.

Today I started The Body — the second novella in this collection to be made into an excellent movie, Stand By Me. (The Apt Pupil movie was just okay.) There‘s one of adult Gordie‘s short stories inserted into the story so far, and I didn‘t remember that at all. Not sure of the necessity of it. #audiowalk

There are some things I noticed this time around that I didn‘t on the first read. I always hate gross sex or rape scenes as a shortcut to denote evil, and there‘s some of that. The ending is also rushed. I still found Apt Pupil to be one of King‘s most chilling stories as the evil is entirely human. #audiowalk

Almost finished with Apt Pupil. Every time I read the title of this story, I hear Cordelia (from Buffy and Angel) calling Jeremy Renner‘s character, “Apt Pupil boy.” #audiowalk

Whoa! I completely forgot that, in Apt Pupil, we learn about Todd‘s nature almost immediately instead of having a slow buildup. #audiowalk

I finished this story from Different Seasons on my walk. I still like it, but it‘s really too long. I also wasn‘t really rooting for Andy as much as I do when I watch the movie. Up next in this collection is Apt Pupil. #audiowalk

I‘ve never read Ann Cleeves before; this one looked interesting, so I‘m starting with it. So far, so good. Also listened to Different Seasons on the shorter walk. This is one I‘ve never reread even though I loved every story in it — except for possibly The Breathing Method as it‘s the only one I have no memory of. I still vividly remember my reaction to Apt Pupil. #audiowalk

While this is not my favorite of Webber‘s books, I still enjoyed the characters and the story. I think it‘s not my favorite because the two male love interests, Jake and Callum, aren‘t really fully drawn. Reny, who‘s a side character, is much more interesting. #audiowalk

It was so beautiful today that instead of doing our planned all day meal prep for the coming week, we went across the bay, walked, and had lunch out. I think what I like about Heather Webber‘s books is that they calm me and give me a sense that there are good people in the world. #audiowalk

It was a pretty warm walk today; the temperature was in the 70s. So far, nothing in this book has been surprising, but I don‘t really look for that in Webber‘s books. I look for warmth, and it‘s got that. #audiowalk

I like Heather Webber for a bit of light reading touched with a little magic. In this one, the town of Forget-Me-Not, AL, attracts people who are feeling lost so the residents can help them. I just started it, but I think I will like it. #audiowalk

Something happens near the end of this book that I think is highly unbelievable; however, I still liked this story of second chances. I loved the characters and the parrots. Night #audiowalk today.

I‘ve got about 2 hours left in this book. Troy is a hateful one. It was quite chilly this morning. I even had to wear a jacket! #audiowalk

Because of this book, I am also simultaneously reading Spoon River Anthology, which I apparently never read in school. I‘m enjoying it too and am reminded of Lincoln in the Bardo. #audiowalk

It was 43° when I left the house this morning; it eventually got up to 74°. Still liking this book. #audiowalk

I generally don‘t like books like this, but I love Mackesy‘s art, so I read the books. I particularly related to these two panels on the right — “you will always have critics; try not to be one of them” and “One day you‘ll look back and realise how hard it was and just how well you did.”

I think I‘m going to like this book; I feel invested in the characters. I picked up my granddaughter from school, and we went for a walk by the bay and out to dinner for sushi (her) and ramen (me). What a lovely day! #audiowalk

This collection of short stories from Fannie Flagg is a mixed bag — some are touching, some are surprising, some are just pedantic, and others are pointless. The ones featuring Cathy and Velma contrast life in the city to life in the country. How to Read a Book is my new #audiowalk listen.

I really enjoyed being back with Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron, and Ibrahim again. The story was interesting, although the murderer seemed kind of lame. The side plot with Ron‘s family was resolved in a satisfactory way. #audiowalk

This is a low pick. I wanted to like it more than I did. It‘s the story of Anne Frank and her family before they went into hiding. The problem I think is in the writing — it keeps us at an emotional distance from Anne, so we never really connect to her. Maybe because it‘s children‘s fiction? I didn‘t really know that until I looked at the subject headings before I returned it.

I went to the bookstore today and got King Sorrow, Nobody‘s Girl, and The Land of Sweet Forever. I‘ve been eagerly awaiting King Sorrow. I feel like I should read Nobody‘s Girl, even though I know it will be painful. I like reading essays and short stories for a quick read, so I also got the latest Harper Lee.

I am clearly going to have to find a jacket — my walk was a bit chilly this evening. To my mind, Stephen was the person who kept Elizabeth connected to humanity; it looks like Joyce is now doing double duty in that regard. #audiowalk

The latest Thursday Murder Club book is my new #audiowalk book. As it opens, Joyce is planning a wedding. Elizabeth, still grieving, decides to go and gets a new case. So far I like it, but I‘m only a few chapters in.

Two of my favorite characters in this book are the children, Vinny and Alf. They are some troublesome kids, but likeable. The story, near the end, took an interesting and unexpected turn involving them. I liked both Blackout and this book, but I still think they are both too long. #audiowalk

The track in the rec center is above the basketball and volleyball courts, so I can‘t hear much when games are going on. I had to walk there because of rain and got little listening done. I did, however, do some other reading because it rained all day. Ebook: When We Flew Away. Print book: One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This. #audiowalk

Today‘s “it‘s probably going to rain, so I might as well stay inside and read” book.

I like the Brooklyn Wainwright series better than this one. Shannon is a contractor who goes on a bad date, and people start turning up dead — people she doesn‘t like — and they are murdered with her tools. Shannon and her friends (and enemies) are quite immature; they‘re in their 30s but still have high school drama going on. The killer‘s motive was incredibly weak. We‘re also set up for a love triangle. Bleck. #audiowalk