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?
Currently: We’re Having a Heat Wave is a post from Kim Ukura of Sophisticated Dorkiness, © 2013.