2020-11-01

My week in books #42

 

 
(Below are the books that I reviewed and/or read this week - click on the covers to access the links.)
 
 
First, I'm linking back to The sunday post held by Kim, The Caffeinated Reviewer. Click on the logo above to access her post and discover plenty of great bloggers who are dying to share their book reviews, and other things, with you !

Second : I'm sorry if I didn't answer comments quickly since the last Sunday post (I still have some left to answer to...), if I didn't visit more blogs than I did, but here it is : we're being locked down again here in France and I had to organize myself. I've been on special leave for medical reasons since tuesday evening, the lockdown has begun thursday night and will last... a certain time. So I took my daughters out visiting (again) the medieval little town of Provins while we still could, we went one last time to the restaurant, we visited bookshops and local shops to support them by buying and ordering books and things. All of this wearing masks, keeping our distances and washing our hands, of course. 


 

We also went to Sens to, once again, support the local bookshop. Here's the cathedral on the left, the first French gothic cathedral (Saint-Etienne), and the museum on the right with its typical Burgundy roof : 


The library where I work will be opened just for click and collect. In France, this is how strict lockdown works : we're all locked down. Oh, except for children : they all go to school. Oh, and for teachers, of course, and people who work in schools. And garages, supermarkets, public administrations (including libraries, obviously), construction workers, essential places (food, DIY stores). And yes, a lot of these people will have to travel in public transports to get to work (imagine the french "métro" - subway, and trains, in rush hour in a pandemic era...). And once they reach work, they'll have to be together (just like before) but take care. But working from home should be the priority ! Yet it's not mandatory. Sigh. No logic here. This is very frustrating. When we heard the president talking, we had to consult each other to translate what he said into something we could understand in a practical way. That said, my eldest daughter remains at home (she studies online at university). My youngest daughter will go to school. No comment.

Bookshops were locked down too and they protested because supermarkets remained open and could sell books so now : no books in supermarkets either. I wish they'd just let the bookshops open, they were very safe.

Lockdown is not hard for me : I live in the country, we have a pretty view on the countryside and the nearby wood, our appartment is big enough, we have plenty to occupy ourselves (including that huge physical TBR pile and working from home) and the cats will be delighted to have us at their service ! One drawback : my boyfriend, who works in a nursing home, has had a little accident last sunday and we're trying to get an appointment with a doctor that was impossible to have this week. We'll see how it goes. I'm afraid I won't be seeing my sister any more this year - we last met in february for her birthday...

On top of the lockdown, there were the attacks... I'm really afraid the way we are going, there will be a sort of civil war at some point... I personally have nothing against Muslims, some are my friends and coworkers and they would never do something like this, they are appalled as everybody is. But I do have something against crazy murderers who will jump at any reason to go on a slaughtering rampage and kill innocent people. Working near Charlie Hebdo, the Bataclan, La Belle Equipe (5mn walk from my library), the recent attack near the old Charlie Hebdo offices, I'm really tired of all this violence.

I hope you're safe, your families too, take care :)

To finish on an optimistic note, I unhauled many books from my physical TBR shelf so I hope, maybe, probably, to read the remaining novels/essays before the end of next year *fingers crossed*.

This week on the blog : not much, I'm afraid. The situation makes it hard for me to concentrate on reading books or researching. So I just watched stuff instead.




 



This week, I watched the entirety of this very funny BBC show. I recently saw the trailer for season 2, so I decided to give a try to season 1 and it was perfect to watch in those troubled times :


I started watching Victoria and really like it, much better than The crown (I couldn't stand more than a few episodes - sorry, Matt Smith) :

A Victober video that I loved is one of Kate's : 

She compares Victorian novels with contemporary Korean dramas and I think it's a great idea ! My eldest daughter is learning Korean, she loves dramas, and we both love watching Victorian tv series, so it would be something like birds and stones with no killing involved.

I read The history boys, so I felt like watching The history boys - loved it ! :


 

Grandma cat likes to keep her distances too :

"Don't you come any closer, you thoughtless youngster !"



32 comments:

  1. Same here, Billy, hope you had fun ;)

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  2. Oh my, Iza, that's a lot! I hope your boyfriend will be able to see a doctor very soon - even if it's not truly urgent, after an accident, it's still important to make sure things are in the place they're supposed to be.
    Here in Geneva, there is no lockdown (yet?) even if we have a lot of new cases each week - in Switzerland, on Friday, there were well over 9'000 new covid cases, but our government is kind of slow to make any decisions. Bars and restaurants are still open (until 22:00/ 10pm) and only four people can be seated together (apart from families who live together - and can prove that they live together).
    Schools are open, and quite a few of my colleagues, and even students live in nearby France, so they need an attestation so they can come to work and school.
    Stay safe and healthy, Iza. *hugs*

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  3. Thanks Linda, you also have a lot on your plate ! The really cool thing here, though, is that we can go out and for an hour each day (with a distance limit) and enjoy the colours of autumn - no risk of being shot by hunters ! Fingers crossed for your husband and daughter et une caresse aux toutous ;) Je t'embrase bien fort !

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  4. My goodness, you have a lot going on over there. While the lockdown might not be ideal in the US, we apparently like to ignore the entire pandemic altogether. Because it will just go away....So annoying. Schools are open but my kids stay home. My husband and I barely go out if we don't have to we don't. We've all spent a lot of time in the house together.

    I hope this week is a wonderful one for you Iza! Stay Safe and Happy Reading!

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    1. Thanks Michelle, I just drove my daughter to school then went straight back home. Take care :)

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  5. Oh dear, Iza - what a mess! We are joining you in the lockdown, here on the other side of the Channel, and I'm guessing book shops and libraries will once more shut *sigh*. Though children are still attending school - I think teachers are absolute heroes... I hope the coming week isn't too stressful and that your partner manages to get medical attention very soon!

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    1. Thanks Sjhigbee, good luck for the lockdown, I hope everything goes well for you and your family :)

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  6. I know this isn't true for a lot of places - in my town, schools have been the most successful at keeping Covid-19 cases down. When the Fall season started, I read somewhere that governments should have prioritized their reopening order differently - start with schools not with bars or restaurants. Looking at the case picture here, I see a lot of truth there. Cases are certainly low in many schools but it's hard to explain why. I hope the lockdown pays off - there's no point doing it if it doesn't get the desired effect, because then neither are the cases down but people are even more frustrated and the economy has tanked more. The US, though, which is seeing the same increase as the rest of the world, is likely not going to close again. I'd rather we close because when everything is open, no one is following any precaution. This is rough, either way!

    Hope you are able to get that appointment scheduled - those tend to be the hardest to set up during lockdowns.

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    1. Oh yes ! And my fingers are crossed for the results, too, though I'm not really optimistic for Christmas, shopkeepers... and the next lockdown...

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  7. Wow - I am from South Africa, and I tend to live in a bubble about what is going on to keep myself sane - but I heard you guys were going back into lock down. I am terrified of it happening here too. I get why it's happening but I seriously don't think financially our country will survive another hard lock down.

    I wish you and your family good health and hope you manage to stay safe!

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    1. Thanks, Angelicreader, I hope you and yours are well too, stay safe :)

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  8. I'm sorry to hear you're having to deal another lockdown. This pandemic is horrible on a lot of levels. We've been having a huge spike in cases here in the US, but I doubt they'll shut things down again. Although, who knows. When there are no more hospital beds they may have no choice. I think if everyone would just wear a mask while around others the numbers would go down. Hope your boyfriend gets the medical attention he needs to heal. Lol on your cats. The older ones don't have much patience for youthful exuberance. Haha.

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    1. I work in Paris where everybody is supposed to be wearing a mask and most people respect that, even in trains. Of course, there is always the occasional grumpy person who won't. But our cats are so happy I'm home ! Grandma cat is meowing under the window for me to come down and open the door - which is already open ! But it's better if I come down, lol !

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  9. I am so sorry. We rolled back some restrictions as cases rise here. I need to check out Ghosts on BBC. Hope the week is a good one and that the violence stops.

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    1. I hope you love Ghosts, it's really the thing to watch these days to keep the morale up ! I hear everyday about the situation in the USA, stay safe Kim :)

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  10. I’m sorry lockdown is necessary again, governments are really struggling to balance economic and health concerns. I’m grateful our govt. made the hard decisions early.
    I was shocked to learn of more violence in Paris, stay safe x

    Wishing you a great reading week

    Wishing you a great reading week

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    1. My reading week is starting out great with two good books ! Glad to see that you're in a better situation where you live, thanks and stay safe :)

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  11. Glad you got to have one more trip before another lockdown begins!

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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    1. It's a lovely little town, but there will be no Christmas market there this year. Maybe I'll show you last year's pictures next month :)

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  12. "cats will be delighted" haha! That's true, I think animals like it when their owners/ friends are home. I think our cats do anyway. But I'm sorry to hear about lockdown and I can understand your frustration. We have a lot of that here too with our "leadership". I hope things go in a good direction there... and the inconsistencies can be frustrating too. Like with schools.

    I love those village pictures!

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    1. Cats like to keep us around, ready to answer their each and every demand, lol ! Fingers crossed for your "leadership". I'm glad you liked the pictures, it's not as exotic as Tokyo but I love this place anyway :)

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  13. Oh, thanks for highlighting the Victober video. Interesting :-)

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    1. You're welcome, it was a completely unusual angle :)

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  14. I wish you strength and courage to get through this difficult winter. I hope you and your loved ones stay healthy and/or can get the care you need. I am grateful to feel safe at home, so many people don't even have that.

    On a more positive note, I'm glad you found some things to read/watch that helped you to endure. I have not seen The History Boys but that looks interesting!

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    1. I'm glad you're safe at home Lory, yes indeed, we are lucky to be able to. I really recommend The history boys, it doesn't last that long and it's very witty. Take care :)

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  15. I like how to translate the total French confusion right now about the illogical covid measures. I'm actually French, and each time I speak with relatives still living there, that's the same thing.
    I'm glad I discovered your blog, thanks to Lory.
    Take care, hopefully the confinement will help you do a dent on your TBR!

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  16. Hi Emma, it feels weird answering you in English so I'll switch to French :) Du coup, je vais aller visiter ton blog !

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  17. Here in The Netherlands we are also back in partial lockdown. If things don't go better, we are going in total lockdown again. As a nurse, I will be going to work as normal.. but I sure miss the 'normal' things.
    Have a great week and happy reading.

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  18. I don't think we'll go back to total again - a colleague who has asthma hasn't been allowed to remain home while she had the first time... Normal seems a long way away, these days... Take care - my partner is also at work in a nursing home. Happy reading too, Maureen :)

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  19. These are strange and difficult days. I believe if people followed the rules faithfully, lockdown wouldn't be necessary. But since they don't, we stay home and avoid going anywhere. If we much go out, we wear masks, distance and wash our hands and even our clothes and masks when we get home. We have our groceries and most things delivered. I have been enjoying reading and working on some projects at home. Emotionally, I am sometimes tired. But we aren't suffering and I don't mind too much.

    Have a lovely week and thanks for visiting my blog.

    Anne - Books of My Heart

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  20. I'm so sorry that France has to lock down again. It's very frustrating, I think. I wish people would all follow the rules.

    So glad you stopped in the Sunday Salon and I hope you will return soon.

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