I would say I don’t know how I only read three books this month, but honestly I’m SURPRISED I read even that many, so yeah. May was an incredibly busy and hectic month, but there were also a few moments of pure relaxation.
After celebrating our 5th anniversary in Salem/Rockport, MA, Tim and I spent Memorial Day weekend with friends up in Maine (see lovely view above). In between, I purchased a condo (WTF?!) which included a whirlwind 24 hour trip down to VA, and got a whole lot of crap done at work.
Books and Bookish Things
Like I said, I don’t know how I got anything read, but I did. I finished the fifth book in Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series and read a great Pride and Prejudice adaptation:
- Wolves of the Calla (The Dark Tower #5) – Stephen King
- Pride – Ibi Zoboi
- Bob’s Burgers: Pan Fried (Bob’s Burgers #4) – Jeff Drake, Brian Hall, Rachel Hastings, Mike Olsen, and Anneliese Waddington
I’m about 3/4 of the way through Brandon Turner’s The Book on Rental Property Investing (see comment about condo purchasing) and it’s interesting, but feels rushed. I’ll be glad to be done with it.
The only book I picked up this month was a galley of The Children of Harvey Milk: How LGBTQ Politicians Changed the World by Andrew Reynolds. I did request a copy The Vanished Bride by Bella Ellis which looks like it’s going to be a start of a mystery series with Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë solving mysteries.
These three things really stood out to me on social media this month. I really liked the first one even though I’m pretty sure it’s British it’s universal. The second once again reminded me how wonderful the Future Library project is. And the third was just great to see—some of those books sound really interesting.
Things I have learned about the general public whilst working at the library:
1. A huge number of people under 20 can't read face clocks, having grown up with only digital one.
2. Many people don't know how to spell "library." It's in our email address. This causes problems— Cybergrump 2020 (@grumpwitch) May 15, 2019
Culture Corner
I’ve spent most of the month listening to Lucy Spraggan’s new album, Today Was a Good Day, on repeat (Amazon link). It’s wonderful and we got a preview of it when she was in Boston back in September 2018.
I also, as part of our anniversary mini-vacation, got to see the Yin Yu Tang house as the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA. I’ve wanted to see it for ages, but it was closed last time I was there. It was a wonderful experience and the audio tour was incredibly detailed. I wish we had more time in the actual house, especially as it wasn’t busy, but we didn’t, and I wish they would’ve taken us in the right way instead of half way through the house, but they didn’t.
And to close off may, as I mentioned above with the scenic photo we spent a long Memorial Day weekend up in Maine on Sebago and Thompson lakes. We even rented a boat for a half day on Sunday!
We ran from the rain a few times, but in general it was a beautiful day on the lake and I like to think I’ve got a bit of a tan 🙂
What’s Next?
Work is going to get even busier due to the end of our fiscal year and we’re off to Portland, Oregon for a friend’s wedding, a family members birthday, and to visit other friends. So, hopefully I’ll get to read more on the long flights, but probably won’t read as much as I want to because of the busy vacations!
That’s a fabulous view Geoff. I’ve not spent much time in Maine but have always meant to return..
And that was only part of it! There was so much view. I loved the picture windows the house had and spent so much time just enjoying the view.
It’s not that big a state that you feel you can only get to see a tiny portion of it