Time // 12:50 p.m.
Place // At my desk in my freshly-cleaned and reorganized office/dining room
Eating // Nothing for the moment, but I did start the day out pretty healthy with a Green Monster Smoothie and Rainier cherries.
Drinking // Water
Reading // This week was all about a couple of August releases that ended up being a study in opposites — one book started out great and finished with a thud, while another started out slowly but ended up being informative and a lot of fun. I was pretty disappointed in Very Recent History by Choire Sicha, an anthropological-ish look at New York in 2009 and a group of young, gay men living in the city. The style of the book was neat, but after while the more personal side of it got pretty grating. I’m on a tour for this one in August, so I’ll have to save full thoughts until then.
On the other hand, I really enjoyed Hothouse by Boris Kachka, a history of the publishing house Farrar, Straus and Giroux. The early chapters — mostly the family history of the two main partners, Roger Straus and Robert Giroux — were pretty slow. But after Straus and Giroux finally become partners and start to built FSG, the book picks up tremendously. If you’re at all interested in the history of publishing, I think this is a good read.
Watching // The reason I missed writing a post last Sunday is because I spent the day in a super lazy Netflix marathon of Ugly Betty. I think my brain just needed a day of rest, or something. This week I’ve been continuing with season four (although not quite at the same pace). The boyfriend and I also re-watched Inception with a friend last night (not as good as the first time, but still a fun caper movie).
Listening // I am really enjoying Siege and Storm, the second book in Leigh Bardugo’s Grisha Trilogy. The book is managing to surprise me in a good way and I can’t wait to keep listening.
Cooking // I signed up for a CSA for the first time this year, so I’ve been having many adventures cooking vegetables lately. This week the boyfriend and I tried grilling cabbage (delicious), and I’m going to work on an improvised quiche with zucchini, Swiss chard, and sage this afternoon. We still have a lot of cabbage left, so any recipe suggestions are welcome!
Blogging // I feel like I’ve been flying by the seat of my pants when it comes to blogging. I’m frustratingly behind on review copies and writing reviews of the books that I have been reading — so far behind that I’m not even sure how many unreviewed books I actually have. I’m hoping to settle in this afternoon to get organized, but I’m sort of enjoying being more casual about what I read for awhile.
Hating // Mosquitoes! Minnesota is only nice like, three months of the year. I hate that those three months are also dominated by these little buzzing bloodsuckers. They feel way worse than usual this year, which is really saying something.
Loving // I found a really wonderful quote this week that I can’t stop thinking about. I need to put this on some posters and hang them up around my house and at work because, seriously, true:
“Be master of your petty annoyances and conserve your energies for the big, worthwhile things. It isn’t the mountain ahead that wears you out — it’s the grain of sand in your shoe.” — Robert Service
Organizing // As part of a general goal to get rid of the grains of sand in my shoes, so to speak, I spent some time yesterday rearranging the main floor of our house (living room and dining room/office) to get rid of wasted space and spaces that clutter accumulates. It’s a work in progress, but it’s already making me feel a little more on top of things.
Wanting // I’m combining all of my birthday present money into buying myself a new tablet! I haven’t quite decided, but I’m leaning heavily towards the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0. It’s smaller than my current tablet, but I think it will be more portable and more convenient to use taking notes and reading. We’ll see if I can pull the trigger this week or not.
Anticipating // My sister and I bought tickets to see Pride and Prejudice at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis in a couple of weeks. I am really excited about it! I’m also excited that I finished a book this morning and get to start a new one this afternoon. I have no idea what to pick, but isn’t that the best feeling?
Happy Sunday, everyone! What are you reading today?
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I went through the entire series of Ugly Betty in a sadly short amount of time. In my defense, I was recovering from surgery and couldn’t go anywhere… but it was still sad. I am currently on a Bones marathon on Netflix. I tend to rotate between that, Ugly Better, and the Law & Order’s 😀
Oh my gosh, I watched that show fast… it couldn’t have been more than six weeks, probably more like a month. I loved it though.
I absolutely adore that quote that you shared! Isn’t that the truth? And I’m unbelievably behind in both reviews and review copies. It makes me crazy at times but then I just have to step back and remind myself to relax. Because if it isn’t fun then it isn’t worth it 🙂 But thanks once again for that quote because I definitely need to remind myself of that once in awhile!
As soon as I saw that one I just thought yes, this is exactly it. It’s been really calming to revisit and think about the last week or so.
I’d love to know what you think of the Galaxy if you buy it.
Of course! I’m sure I’ll end up writing about it at some point.
I love the moment of choosing my next read. My favorite thing is to have a pile of books in front of me, reading excerpts from each so I can choose my next book. I’m doing that right now actually!
I like to do that too, although usually I end up reading the first one I picked up because I am still a book finisher.
One, I want those cherries. They sound so refreshing to me right now!
Two, a mosquito JUST bit my finger about 3 minutes ago. 🙁 Hate that!
Three, being casual sounds so good. I’m on a bit of a CLEAR THE SHELVES of review books mission right now so I can get back to being casual. Soon. I hope.
Four, that quote!! Oh I love it!
They’re so good. I’ve been devouring them for like a week.
I really need to do a “clear the shelves” cleaning and reading binge at some point. I’ve been neglecting review copies pretty spectacularly this month.
Cali is hot almost all year long but I’m thankful that I don’t see mosquitoes often. Those cherries look so good. 🙂 I think this weather is killing everyone’s blogging mojos. Maybe you can write some mini-reviews? Have a good week.
Ugh, they are the worst. It makes it so hard to enjoy the nice weather we do have.
I love the quote, very true. 🙂
I’m glad!
Thanks for that green smoothie link, looks yummy! I started drinking green smoothies a while back, but I seem to have stopped. I make mine the same way, but always throw in some frozen raspberries or blueberries too.
When I have leftover cabbage, I make one of those oriental salads – google it, there are several versions, most have cabbage, carrots and a dressing made of sesame oil. Some add uncooked ramen noodles too and although it sounds weird, it’s really good!
Thanks for the recommendation! We’ve got a little Napa cabbage left so I might try it in a salad rather than doing stir fry or something again.
Mmmm, cherries.
At the moment I’m on a Terry Pratchett kick (again), but I think I feel an Agatha Christie marathon coming up! I’ve been promising myself to reread the Tommy and Tuppence books, so now seems to be the right time to do that.
Those all sound fun — enjoy!
I *think* my friend has that tablet you are eyeing. It does look cool. Happy Birthday.
It is beautiful. I need to start learning all the features.
What an exciting week, full of relaxation 😀
I’m on an organizing spree as well. I love the idea of it being like a grain of sand in your shoe. Too true and it does take up too much of our time and energy.
I forget how much mental energy dealing with clutter takes until I consciously remind myself. I hate to clean, but I always feel so much less anxious when my spaces feel neat.