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Currently | Long Weekends Are for Reading, Decluttering

currently may 24 2015.jpg

Time and Place | About 8:30 a.m. on my couch in the living room.

Eating and Drinking | Our tea stash has gotten a bit out of control, so I’m trying to make an effort to “drink down” the stuff we’ve had longest. My best rediscover is a cocoa chai from Good Earth. It smells amazing.

Reading | My brain was pretty well shot this week, so I mostly just read comic books — Nimona by Noelle Stevenson, She-Hulk, Vol. 1: Law and Disorder and She-Hulk, Vol. 2: Disorderly Conduct. I liked this run of She-Hulk, although I didn’t love the art in a couple issues and found some others hard to navigate — I wasn’t sure which panel to go to next. It was strange. Nimona, a subversive, funny fantasy story was a total delight — highly recommended. When I did finally find the mental space to settle in with a book, I chose A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson, which I thought was great. I can’t wait to read some of her backlist later this summer. Late last night I picked up Thank You for Your Service by David Finkel which I can already tell is going to be important and sad.

Watching | Now that the prime-time television season is over, I’m planning to be watching a lot less. The boyfriend and I are still into Orphan Black, but I’m getting less and less enamored with Game of Thrones.

Listening | I made the mistake of listening to an Andy Grammer playlist my sister put together and now I cannot get the lyrics of “Honey, I’m Good” out of my head. I love it and I hate it.

Decluttering | After I got home from the gym yesterday, I got hit hard with a spring cleaning bug… better late than never I suppose. I didn’t go full on Marie Kondo, but did manage to clear out some unneeded clothes, office supplies and toiletries. I still need to do a major book clearing and tackle the closet in my office, but it’s progress.

Blogging | Things on the blog were very quiet this week. In addition to our basement flooding problem, I had a busy week at work and some other stressful background noise. I’m hoping to use this long weekend to get ahead on some posts to keep things on track this summer.

Promoting | I’m often skeptical about age or gender-related book lists, but I was impressed with this post about 21 books from the last five years every woman should read. It’s diverse in lots of different ways, and has a bunch of books I’ve heard great things about. So far, I’ve read 11 of 21 on the list.

Hating | I had to deal with a few jerks this week. I hate that I always want to get the last word because, as I was reminded this week, that never works.

Loving | While I’m a little sad not to be at my parents’ cabin this weekend, having three days at home with nothing going on is kind of great.

Avoiding | I’m waaaay behind on blog comments. I am going to get caught up today!

Anticipating | I think the sun is going to come out for a bit this afternoon, which means sitting outside with a book. Happy day!

Happy Sunday, everyone! What are you reading today?

Comments on this entry are closed.

  • Trisha May 24, 2015, 9:41 am

    Three days with nothing going on sounds wonderful. The kids keep me busy and we are hosting the family at my house today (and yesterday) before heading to the grandparent’s tomorrow. In other words, things are busy.

    I’ve been neglecting commenting as well. Funny we both mention it in our update posts today.

    • Kim Ukura May 25, 2015, 2:53 pm

      We had a busy weekend last weekend, and will in a couple of weeks, so I’m enjoying the break in the middle. Once July hits, it’s non-stop until my big trip too. I hope your hosting duties go smoothly!

  • Beth May 24, 2015, 10:22 am

    I’ve got ‘A God in Ruins’ just waiting for me–my little ‘end of the school year’ present to myself. Kate Atkinson is my favorite writer so I actually bought it in hardback, something I never do. Glad to hear you enjoyed it!

    • Kim Ukura May 25, 2015, 2:56 pm

      Nice! It was a little slow to get into, but once I settled into the story I thought it was great.

  • Heather May 24, 2015, 10:27 am

    glad to learn that I am not the only person with an over flowing tea shelf.

  • Bryan G. Robinson May 24, 2015, 10:43 am

    We didn’t go anywhere either. My wife has to work all three days, but is on day shift (usually on midnight shift) for a change as they’re doing training for a new phone system, so I get to see her in the early afternoon and evenings when sometimes she’s sleeping. But while she’s at work, I’ve been – and am – reading – and napping, of course.

    I don’t like background noise or foreground noise, really, either. Even as I write this, I have our windows open and am hearing machines at a local factory…time for some noise-cancelling headphones. If only life were always that simple, huh? 😉 and 🙁

    • Kim Ukura May 25, 2015, 2:57 pm

      Yes, indeed. I wish there were noise-cancelling headphones for people who cause stress 🙂

  • Athira May 24, 2015, 10:53 am

    I was planning to spend this long weekend doing some decluttering of my spice cupboard, but I ended up reading most of the time, so now my long weekend is turning out to be more about reading than decluttering. I’ve had a patchy couple of weeks in reading, so I’m glad to be able to read something now.

  • AnneL May 24, 2015, 11:15 am

    All my grades are in, my herb garden is planted and I’m settling in to finish the second of Phil Rickman’s Merrily Watson novels (Midwinter of the Spirit) They are terrific gothic/mystery novels but they take me much longer to read because I can’t read them before I go to bed or I get nightmares! Also about halfway through One Summer: America, 1927 for my Read Harder Challenge – I’m at 15/24

    • Kim Ukura May 25, 2015, 2:58 pm

      Good for you on Read Harder! I got some great recommendations I’m hoping I can get to sometime this summer for that one.

  • Andi May 24, 2015, 12:04 pm

    It’s a very readerly weekend over here, and I started Nimona last night. I absolutely loooooove it!

  • Kay May 24, 2015, 1:05 pm

    OK, that cocoa chai sounds really, really good and I bet it does smell great. Glad your stressful week is over. Basement flooding sounds awful. We don’t have basements here in Central Texas. Too much limestone in the soil. You can’t believe what they have to do to install pools. But, we have had major, major rains – and flooding in parts of our area just last night. We can use the rain as we’ve been in severe drought for several years, but it always comes in these big lumps. Anyway, our lakes are up and that’s a good thing. Enjoy the rest of your weekend and the last pic with book and outdoor chair and the bare feet – perfect!

    • Kim Ukura May 25, 2015, 2:59 pm

      I saw some news coverage of Texas floods — oh my goodness! When it rains, it pours — literally, in this case. Stay safe!

  • Jeff May 24, 2015, 2:07 pm

    I’m a shaarkk! 😀

  • Lory @ Emerald City Book Review May 24, 2015, 2:52 pm

    If you haven’t discovered Kate Atkinson yet, you’re in for a treat. Did you already read Life After Life, or were you considering A God in Ruins as a standalone?

    • Kim Ukura May 25, 2015, 3:00 pm

      I had read Life After Life, but when it first came out, so I didn’t remember many of the details. I haven’t read any of her other writing, so I’m excited to dive in.

  • Vasilly May 24, 2015, 2:56 pm

    It sounds like you’re making a big dent in de-cluttering! I’m going to check out the 21 books link. You have me pretty curious. Today I’m reading a children’s book and relaxing. I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend!

  • Anita May 24, 2015, 4:52 pm

    I’m afraid to read the book on tidying. I need to but no great desire. My weekend has been quiet and a little reading has happened. I’ll check out the 21 books list

  • BermudaOnion(Kathy) May 24, 2015, 6:43 pm

    Now I’ve got “Honey I’m Good” stuck in my head. I love the video!

  • Heather @ Capricious Reader May 25, 2015, 9:16 am

    Seems like everyone is reading Nimona! I feel like I am missing the very bandwagon I want to be on. I must fix this. Enjoy the rest of the long weekend!

    • Kim Ukura May 25, 2015, 3:01 pm

      Nimona is delightful. So cute.

  • Sarah's Book Shelves May 25, 2015, 5:36 pm

    Oh my gosh – I absolutely loved Thank You For Your Service…so raw and heartbreaking, and definitely important, like you said!

  • Jenny @ Reading the End May 25, 2015, 8:57 pm

    I’ve been reading like a fiend the past few weeks, and now I am finding myself in a place where I just want to watch TV and work on my cross-stitching. (At least until my copy of Nimona arrives.) So I’ve been catching up on Archer and Bob’s Burgers (H. Jon Benjamin’s voice is just funny!) and doing a ton of cross-stitching, and it has been very nice.

    In conclusion: NIMONA! Yayyyyyy! I love it!

    • Kim Ukura May 30, 2015, 5:42 pm

      I go through spurts like that too. Sometimes it’s just too many books. Comics seem to be a good antidote for that if I want to read but can’t pick up prose.

  • susan May 27, 2015, 7:29 pm

    Sorry about the basement flooding, argh! I’ve had that before. I had to put a sump pump in when I lived in Va. Not fun. Good for you on A God in Ruins. Right now I got All the Light We Cannot See going on.