The Weekend Re-Boot

We had a pretty low key weekend which is code for me spending much of it plopped and propped on the couch resting my ankle.  Slow and steady wins the boot race, right? 

I missed the monthly share your shelf book link up this month, so thought today I'd combine the weekend recap with my June books reviews. I didn't read as much in the month of June as I would have liked, but we were busy going and doing and that was fun too. 

Fun of course until I learned I'd been walking on a fracture, but I'm on the road to recovery now. 

So first the weekend...

Friday I rested. I was going to meet two college friends for lunch but then I remembered I'm not driving, so they came here. It was nice, and afterwards we sat on the porch for a few hours catching up and making plans. I didn't think to take a picture. 

Hubs and I did make a delicious pasta for dinner, all from memory-ha. Our collective memory I should say. He'd seen the recipe online somewhere and was certain he'd sent it to me, but I went through all the many, many, many things he sends me and couldn't find it. 

Anyway it was simple and I think we were close to correct. It was basically garlic, onion, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, shrimp, and a diced red chili with tagliatelle, which I didn't have so we used Fettucine. It was all topped with freshly grated parm and tasted so good. Definitely got the spice from the chili but we like spicy. 

Saturday I rested. Some. Hubs made us breakfast on the griddle (bacon and eggs) and he carried everything up and down the stairs so I didn't have to. Once we'd eaten he got the grill ready and some ribs prepped for smoking. 

Daughter1's hubs was on call this weekend so she came over late morning to swim in the lake with her kiddos. I made one trip to the dock and one trip back to dry land. It was hot and the lake felt good. Hubs got the paddle boards out and the boys (and little miss too) had a grand time paddling around the cove. 

It goes without saying I did not paddle board. 

We had lunch then they went back to their house and I returned to the couch. We had the most delicious ribs for dinner...

Afterwards we popped over to Daughter1's house for dessert. We brought them ribs and they treated us to their fantastic homemade peach ice cream. It was so yummy hubs and I decided to put peach picking on our to do list this week. Depending on the orchard set up it might be more peach buying but we'll see. 

We came home and watched a couple more episodes of our current show-Department Q. Hubs thought it got off to a slow start, but he's hooked now too. Maybe not hooked, but he's watching. I'm hooked. 

Sunday we went to church, then out to breakfast with the kids and their momma. My son-in-law was still on call, which on a weekend pretty much means you'll be operating. We came home and I propped my leg up once more.  Sunday night we finished Department Q-it's so good. Hubs agrees. It's a little raw, lots of language, and pretty intense, but I recommend and hope there's a season 2 in the works. 

And look at me now...ten paragraphs talking about pretty much nothing. It's my superpower. Let's change topic and talk books. Here's what I read in June-

1. Drunkish: A Memoir of Loving and Leaving Alcohol by Stefanie Wilder-Taylor

This was our July book club selection and a different sort of read for us. This is a candid account of one woman 'breaking up' with alcohol for good. After spending a lifetime wrestling with the question of whether or not she's a real alcoholic, one night brings Stefanie close to the edge of losing it all. The event wakes her up and she decides she doesn't need to hit actual rock bottom before deciding to stop drinking. She wants a better life and if sobriety is what gets her there she's all in.   

I don't like to rate a memoir, as it's someone's personal story. That being said, this wasn't a bad read, there's language (she comes from the world of stand up comedy), and I admire someone who admits and confronts a difficult problem.  

2. The Favorites by Layne Fargo

Childhood friends Katerina Shaw and Heath Rocha rise through the ranks of ice dancing to become Olympic stars. Their tumultuous relationship is fueled by love, ambition, and a desire to flee from their painful shared past. An incident at the Olympics ends their partnership, and then a documentary ten years later forces Kat to confront the past and tell her side of the story. 

The story is told in a documentary interview style format, with multiple characters talking about Katerina's and Heath's careers ten years after the Olympics. Initially I wasn't sure I would like the format, but ended up loving it. In this case it definitely worked, and I think helped the story along. 

I kinda loved this one and also kinda didn't. I found the world of skating interesting and really fun to read about. I'd never given a lot of thought to ice dancing and feel like the author really did her homework here. I think she captured the drive, focus, and ambition Olympic athletes in any sport must have and the story moved.  That being said, I think maybe I'm just a little too old for the 'coming of age' storyline when that's the focus. This one teetered on too much of that for me, but it also had enough of the skating-competition/friendship piece to keep me reading. 

3.  The Southern Trial (Joe Hennessey legal thriller #4) by Peter O'Mahoney

This is the fourth in a six-book series featuring Charleston lawyer Joe Hennessey. Hubs and I have listened to this series on Audible and we've both enjoyed all of the books to date. 

While I liked this one a lot, I thought the first three were better. This one wraps up a personal story line that's been running throughout, and while that was satisfying I missed the way he incorporated other cases into the previous books alongside the personal tale. 

I gave the first three in the series four stars, but this fourth book just three. Still a good read and I will happily read the last two in the series. 

4.  Speak To Me Of Home by Jeanine Cummins

Did you read American Dirt? I really liked it, and this book is by the same author. Enjoyed it a lot, but probably not quite as much as American Dirt. 

Speak To Me Of Home is the story of mothers and daughters, of three generations of Puerto Rican women whose family secrets are revealed as the story unfolds. Rafaela is the matriarch who left Puerto Rico for the midwest and the promise of a new life in the 1970's. We also meet Rafaela's daughter Ruth and Ruth's daughter Daisy, whose accident brings the three women together in Puerto Rico where those secrets come to light.  Themes of displacement, identity, prejudice, and the need to belong are all addressed in this touching story. 

I gave it four stars. There are multiple timelines happening, or maybe multiple multiple multiple timelines would be a more accurate description, and I did find that confusing at times. Hence the four stars as opposed to five. 

I missed the link up in June, but you can see what others read last month by visiting the host blogs listed here-

And for more weekend recap fun visit Holly (Pink Lady Blog) and Sarah (Sunshine and Books) to see what others have been up to. 

Have a great week everyone!