five things Friday: November TBR edition

My reading time has already been reduced for October with Freddie being more alert and active throughout the day, and with November comes my return to work... so my TBR for the month isn't a list of all the books I hope to get to. Rather, it's the 5 books on my library holds list that I'm most looking forward to. Hopefully I'll get to read a couple of them, and I'll probably also be thankful for the new feature that allows me to postpone my Kindle holds if they become available when I'm not ready, rather than having to let them go to waste.

The Charm Offensive: An LGBTQ rom-com with Red, White & Royal Blue + One to Watch comparisons. This bodes well!

The Guncle: A story about an unexpected family tragedy that sounds like it will be feel-good and funny. Might hit the spot for something that's lighter (but not overly so, as clearly there are going to be some heavy themes with "tragedy" as part of the blurb).

The Paper Palace: Family secrets and a love triangle, and highly rated by Annie of From the Front Porch. Plus it involves a summer beach house, and as the weather gets colder, I might just want to relive those feels.

Where the Truth Lies: A literary crime novel that was blurbed by Paula Hawkins and Jane Harper, two of my favorite authors in the literary suspense/mystery category, and is billed as great for fans of Celeste Ng, another favorite.

State of Terror: An international political thriller co-written by Louise Penny and Hillary Rodham Clinton, real-life friends?! So intrigued.

Have you read any of these? If so, let me know what I should prioritize!

 

 

As for how I did on October's list - didn't finish it all, no surprise, but did decently well (not all slow going can be blamed on the baby - a couple of them moved slower than expected). Just haven't picked back up the Montessori parenting book that I'm partway through, and I decided that in my time sitting nursing, I just felt like watching The Babysitters Club on Netflix and starting the new season of Project Runway on my DVR, rather than listening to President Obama read his book to me... even if I do enjoy his reading.

Pumpkin was definitely an enjoyable entry into the "Dumplin" universe, but it felt kind of similar to me to other queer prom stories I've encountered, like You Should See Me in a Crown (great) and The Prom (Netflix musical movie - cheesy but fun), so it wasn't as stand-out as Dumplin' or Puddin' which felt more path-breaking in terms of the types of characters and such when I read them, so it's my 3rd favorite in the series... ★★★.5

Apples Never Fall was a good Liane Moriarty installment, but in my opinion not her best - a bit long and slow to unfold, so while it had a good mystery element and some family dynamics, it just wasn't quite as juicy reading as ones like Big Little Lies or What Alice Forgot. I was with it for the journey because I thought the way she told the story was clever, with the backstory told straight, and the current timeline told in snippets through community members' gossip or the police investigation into the missing 70-year-old mother of a family of 4 grown-up siblings - but then the plot ended and the book kept going for 50+ pages, and I had to take it down 1/2 a star. Overall though I felt like if you enjoyed Malibu Rising, this would be a good pick for you - it's a lot about the sibling dynamic, and the background of what growing up in their family was like. A bit more character-driven than other Liane Moriarty. Plus you have the bit of celebrity involved, as this family is locally well known for running a tennis academy. ★★★.5

God Spare the Girls had some of the themes of The Book of Essie (which I really loved) in terms of being about the daughter of a celebrity megachurch pastor and what it's like to navigate their (unsurprising) fallibility in terms of family relationships and also crises of faith. This one was much more character-driven and ended up being more about the relationship between the sisters, how it changed and grew after the instigating incident of finding out that their purity-preaching father had an affair. Some interesting meditations on faith and family, but not super plot driven. ★★★.5

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wearing lately: 90s mom

I may have been born in the 1980s, but I don't exactly remember much from the portion of that decade I lived through - it's the 90s where my nostalgia is at. And though I sometimes am quite shocked at actually how long ago the 90s were, I guess it's not too surprising when the styles are coming back around again - like this ribbed cardigan.

Admittedly I can do without revisiting some 90s styles and didn't exactly pick this top for the nod to the times - but I like it! In general I feel like this is a very "mom" kind of outfit with the sneakers and high-waisted straight-leg jeans, and then the cardigan-as-top is perfect for nursing (button-front stuff is all I wear these days). So here we are... mom style for a girl who came of age in the 90s.

Speaking of 90s nostalgia and being a parent, have you seen the album Lullabies: When 90s Kids Have Kids? I can't remember where I heard about it, but I saw it somewhere when pregnant and bookmarked for when Freddie was born, and I love it so much - soothing versions of some radio favorites from the era like "MmmBop" and "I Want It That Way." Perfect thing to put on when Freddie is fussy, and fun how it brings me back to the days when I would record songs from the radio on my tape deck, and rewind and relisten to my favorites over and over... So this album has also inspired a general music nostalgia tour via any Peloton rides with 90s playlists I can find lately. Perfect for when the momma gets a little time to herself!

backyard science birthday party

My big kid turned 8 last week! And while unfortunately he's on "pandemic birthday" year 2, I really wanted to find a way for him to be able to celebrate with some friends, which we didn't get to do last year. Enter the backyard science birthday gathering - works perfectly because scientists in labs wear masks a lot anyway, and also I didn't have to worry about any indoor cleanup. Ha! Most importantly, it was lots of fun for our science-loving birthday boy and his neighborhood friends.

Since we were in the backyard, there was minimal decorating - just found this fun themed banner on Amazon (though realized after the photos that the thing has a typo in it - did you spot it?) and covered up our patio table + a folding table with disposable tablecloths for our activities, and Hendrik was very excited to set out everyone's supplies on them beforehand, including some safety goggles and ID badge/lanyards to dress the part of scientist. And Hendrik of course had to wear his full Halloween costume, complete with lab coat.

My grandpa, a retired chemistry professor, was so kind to bring supplies and do some demonstrations for everyone with explanations of the science behind it, including the classic mentos + coke explosion, the non-newtonian fluid oobleck, and a quick + easy but really fun trick with surface tension where you put water on a plate, sprinkle in some pepper, and then dip in a toothpick that has a little dishsoap on the end. You should try it and see what happens... The kids loved them all!

And then I had fun with putting together the favor bags with some more scientist supplies and some treats - little notebooks and mechanical pencils, a science-themed pin that I put on a little thank-you card, some mini mentos packs as a souvenir of that fun activity, and some flask-shaped cookies that we made (so everyone could stay masked, we just did the treats to go!). They really make a cookie cutter for everything. Oh, and as a bonus, everyone got to go home with a baggie of the oobleck. 

currently

 

borrowing: plenty of baby gear, which has been so nice - less spending for us, but also getting to use some great products that weren't on our radar (or in existence) when Hendrik was a baby. Freddie and I are both especially loving the Loveevery play gym and Momaroo swing on loan from my sister, and also the aesthetically pleasing Baby Bjorn bassinet passed along by a friend.

buying: plenty of baby diapers - ha! And also some cold weather wardrobe updates for the fam... Hendrik needs a new winter coat this year, so I've got this all-season 3-in-1 jacket from LL Bean on order, especially perfect because he also needs a new rain coat. Freddie's getting this adorable fleece bear suit for the colder months. And I'm working on my cold-weather nursing wardrobe, since all my crewneck wool sweaters just aren't going to be convenient - am thinking lots of sweater blazer over button down, as shown here, and also the cardigan-as-top option is cute and convenient too.

planning: some 8th birthday fun for Hendrik. Sadly with the delta variant he's having another "covid birthday," but at least this year we feel more comfortable doing something outdoors with a couple of neighbor kids. And even if it's a small/simple backyard affair, you know I love a good birthday party theme. This year it's matching up with Hendrik's Halloween costume again - we're going science party. This inspiration party is way more involved, but I'm thinking flask/beaker-shaped cutout cookies, fun flask-shaped water bottle party favors, and some outdoor chemistry-type activities like making oobleck and making a mentos + diet coke rocket. That one never gets old.

prepping: for an out-of-town weekend with my parents and siblings at an AirBnB (covid permitting...we'll all be self-isolating as much as possible in the week leading up, to protect the unvaccinated little ones from any possible delta breakthrough in the vaccinated grownups). This will be our first big outing with baby, so I'm feeling like I need early prep to get my mind around this! At least I've got my great diaper bag ready to go...

reading: Sandra Boynton board books to Freddie, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse to Hendrik (we loved it - so sweet), and fun YA stuff when I get the chance to read myself: Prince Charming was the perfect YA romance/enemies-to-lovers/fake dating/royalty fun I needed last week; next up starting Julie Murphy's newest, Pumpkin (in the Dumplin' and Puddin' universe - loved both of those, so I'm sure this one will be great!).

 

What are you currently up to? Even if I am in a season of life in which I don't have much time to visit other posts, I love that you come and share - and hope you will visit each other's links and make some new friends! Or at least get some good book recommendations this month :)

Will be back in November on Wednesday the 3rd for a post on what I'm currently appreciating, getting, making, sharing, and wearing.

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five things Friday: October TBR edition

Well, unsurprisingly it has happened: my reading pace has definitely slowed these days, as Freddie is more awake between feedings and as the rest of life has picked up with school lunch packing and such for Hendrik. But I still wanted to put together a little October reading list to remind myself what I might pick up when I have the chance. More of an intentions list than a to do list...

YA stuff is working well for me right now in terms of concentration levels and small snippets of time to read, and the title of Julie Murphy's new book (in the universe of the Dumplin' and Puddin' books, which I loved, is perfect for October! Got Pumpkin on a kindle deal a while back and definitely hope to pick it up this month. Also on the fall-themed title, Liana Moriarty's new book, Apples Never Fall, is high on my reading wishlist. 

I've had The Montessori Baby in process for a while, and as Freddie gets a bit more active it seems like a good time to actually wrap it up. Also perhaps a good time to try an audiobook, much easier to do during feedings when he is squirmy, and a 2021 goal of mine was to pick up Barack Obama's A Promised Land. Finally, my book club will hopefully be able to meet up again soon, and we're hoping to talk about God Spare the Girls, which was a recommendation from Sarah's Bookshelves Live that sounded really interesting for discussion, and like an engaging read too.

 

As for my September reading list - not all that successful in getting through it. Not entirely surprsing given my time limitations, but also a couple of the books I really wanted to read (Very Sincerely Yours and A Slow Fire Burning) haven't come through on the library holds yet. So I will get to them eventually.

What I did read, though, I liked:

• Olympus, Texas is the kind of character-driven fiction that just works for me, for slightly hard to explain reasons. There wasn't any particular mystery or exciting plot arc, but somehow this family drama was such compelling reading that I didn't want to put it down, thanks to the . It's also the kind of character-driven fiction that doesn't really have much in the way of likeable characters, yet that feels totally fine rather than icky or tiresome; in this case I think it's because the characters are so well developed, and you can see where they are coming from with their foibles and faults, even if you disagree with their actions. The Briscoe family in this story is modeled a bit on Greek mythology, so as expected comes a lot of antics - infidelity, in-fighting, and so on. Mythology is essentially soap opera, in my opinion, and the event that kicks off this story fits that description: we see how the parents and siblings respond when March Briscoe returns to their small town for the first time after he left 2 years ago...when he was discovered sleeping with his brother's wife. The Texas setting works really well with the mythology tie-in as everything just feels larger-than-life. A really interesting exploration of family relationships, love, and psychology that manages to feel like an expansive saga even though the action takes place over the course of just a few days. ★★★★.5
• Body Talk is an exploration of embracing your body and reclaiming your narrative around it. I adored the look of the textual graphics and illustrations, and I liked Katie's snarky yet kinda peppy tone. You know the sentiment of "would you talk that negatively about a friend? Then don't talk this way about yourself!" - this is the friend who is giving you the positive talk to apply to yourself, in a wise and funny and fresh way, with lots of very practical action "homework" ideas to help reframe and retrain your thinking about your body, your self-esteem, etc. Pretty sure all women have some kind of body issues, but overall the ones around how people are made to feel shame about their size that she talks about in this book aren't exactly mine - so it didn't always feel 100% self-applicable (though I did take away some really good tidbits about how I can choose to acknowledge my body and talk to myself about it) - but even so I really appreciated learning the perspective of this experience of a body, and how our toxic cultural messages about bodies and dieting affect her. Also gave me food for thought about ways I might have bought in to the narrative society feeds us about body size and how it is related to self-worth. I need to reframe this value attachment about others, but also about myself... realizing when I receive "compliments" about being "tiny" during pregnancy or things like that, I also fall into this trap of equating size and my value, which has both consciously and subconsciously affected how I treat my body in negative ways. So as Katie teaches us, time to learn to say NOPE to that! ★★★★
  
• The Husbands wasn't as great for me as Chandler Baker's first book (The Whisper Network), but it was intriguing and twisty. It has gotten lots of comparisons to The Stepford Wives, but in reverse (that the husbands are the "housewives" in this gated neighborhood that seems fancy and nice at first glance but has some really weird twilight zone vibes running underneath); since I've never read/seen The Stepford Wives, I think I didn't quite know what I was getting into with the sort of weird or "off" elements of the setting, so I found it a little harder to digest perhaps, continually thinking, huh?, rather than realizing that the story was supposed to feel weird. I really felt seen with all of the examples and discussion of how mothers are often the "default" parent, having to constantly think of everything from packing lunches to turning in school forms to scheduling dentist appointments even on top of their own work - but much as I appreciated and nodded along with all of the examples, it did get a little bogged down with the venting about that and made the story slow down a bit, I thought. Overall, pretty enjoyable twisty neighborhood/mom drama with food for thought and also what I found to be an unexpected ending, but a little slow/weak in parts. ★★★

What have you got lined up for October? Wait, maybe don't tell me... I have way too many book ideas for how much time I have.