Hello, I'm linking back to The sunday salon held by Deb at Readerbuzz. Click on the links to access the posts and discover plenty
of great bloggers who are dying to share their book reviews, and other things, with you !
*°*° LIFE UPDATES °*°*
Well, my windows are open on the warmish air and the blazing sun, we're listening to Bob Marley, I can spot a few trees in bloom from my chair, the birds are singing and the grass is sprinkled with little daisies and dandelions. We woke up seemingly late, but we remembered that the clocks have been reset this night.
I won't even mention the "lockdown" and the "curfew" in France because it would make me angry. I'll just say that Parisian libraries are closing one after the other because of the right to withdraw due to the pandemic. Librarians are putting themselves and their families at risk and by remaining open, they are putting our readers at risk, who will endanger the health of everybody they meet and so on. We're supposed to be on lockdown !! One of my coworkers says she's uneasy because people get too close and don't wear their masks properly. The libraries were supposed to remain open (some still do), but the purpose is to make the Paris townhall think about click & collect : order books on line or by phone, have them prepared for you, take an appointment to get them. Less risks for everyone, people still get books, CDs and DVDs. All the librarians don't have to be present at the same moment, so they can part work from home.
I haven't been much on the net this week, with my daughters home, studying, writing application letters for universities, me helping them, cooking, baking, grocery shopping and, fortunately, reading ! It seems I've been reading a lot, but those below were short books. Anyway, I'm happy to see my physical TBR decrease.
I finished watching season 1 of Grandpa in space ( Picard), we started watching The boys and my, is it trash but we love it ! The soundtrack is fantastic and I like that different approach on superheroes.
*°*° RECENTLY ON THE BLOG °*°*
This short novel is a punch in the gut...
*°*° BOOKS READ °*°*
Martha Wells : Compulsory - The Murderbot diaries #0.5
This classic of Japanese youth literature
I stopped resisting and finally read this much talked about novel !
*°*° CURRENTLY READING °*°*
A classic mystery, but not the best I've read, even by this author (paperback)
My current Kindle read, I'm happy to dive into this universe again
Book buying ban, ha, what a joke !
OK, this one I know I would buy because I want to read the whole series
and since I started reading it before the book buying ban, I'm good
I adored book #1, I therefore bought book #2
I checked out your French-English review. Good practice for me! Do you have a preference for reading Japanese lit translated into French vs. English? I suppose they are equally far from the original, but maybe for you one feels more congenial.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad my bilingual reviews are of use ;) I don't mind reading Japanese novels in French or English. Maybe rather in French, because I can find them pretty easily and stack their pretty covers on my shelves, except for Before the coffee gets cold, that hasn't been translated into French yet. I'll write a post someday about the difference languages make you feel toward a text.
DeleteI've just opened all my windows. A cool front pushed through in the last few hours and the temps are pleasantly nippy. I must enjoy the cool weather while I can.
ReplyDeleteI love curbside library service, which is the same as what you are calling click and collect. Our county commissioners (local politicians) opened up our libraries fully and none of the employees at the library have gotten vaccinated. I was enraged and wrote letters to everyone I could think of.
I am sorry Diary of a Nobody was such a disappointment. I've had that one on my list for a while and I had high hopes for it.
Before the Coffee Gets Cold is diverting and thoughtful, I think. I've enjoyed reading Emma's discussion of it at Words & Peace.
Have a lovely week, Iza. See you on down the road.
Thanks Deb, I agree with you about the employees not vaccinated. Curbside, a new word for my personal dictionary :) I expected so much from the Diary of a Nobody ! Oh well, Before the coffee gets cold amply made up for it. Have a lovely week too <3
DeleteI work at a small town library in Pennsylvania here in the states and while we are open for browsing, it's only by appointment. We also still offer curbside (click and collect, as you call it).
DeleteCurbside and open on appointment seem like a logical *and* sensible way of functioning, I wish we would do the same !
DeleteSpring has definitely arrived here in Southeast Texas and is most welcome after an unusually hard winter for us.
ReplyDeleteI read Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 last year. It was one of my favorite books of the year and I agree that it is a punch in the gut.
I am glad to have found you. Thanks for stopping by my blog.
Thanks Dorothy, I love the themes of your blog :) I'll try to post some photos of our springtime here when I can. Spring feels so good ! No birds photos by me, though, but I know someone who takes great pictures, that's giving me ideas ^^
DeleteHI IzaBzh! Nope, I'm starting to close my windows now. Today is a terrible, windy and rainy autumn day here with us. Sigh...
ReplyDeleteYou jumped up and down like the Easter Bunny on my blog now regarding the book with the sailsboat on. I had a good laugh at you! But it is a fun read and here's the link to the review copies. Contact Lola and ask away! http://www.lolasblogtours.net/review-opportunity-death-island-the-journey-by-kelsey-ketch/
Hope the link works, otherwise - just let me know and I'll see what I can do for you!
Have a good week!
It was 35° yesterday in the sun without wind ! I luuuuurve sailsboat and I'm proud of it :p Thanks for the link, but I'm cutting down (or trying to) my physical TBR pile, but thanks Mareli !
DeleteWe liked the first season of The Boys well enough but we gave up before finishing the second, it gets trashier! Love Picard though :)
ReplyDeleteWishing you a great reading week, stay Covid free!
We finished season 2 yesterday, yes, trashy ! We're waiting for season 3 because hey, Jensen Ackles is coming. I loved Picard too, it was a different Star Trek approach :) Thanks Shelleyrae !
DeleteGlad your able to help your daughter with applicaion letters. I have been trying my best to look into daycare for the summer. wish me luck!
ReplyDeleteI do, all my fingers are crossed, feet included ^^
DeleteBefore the Coffee Gets Cold is one of my book club's selections later this year. I'm looking forward to it :) Thanks for sharing and enjoy your week!
ReplyDeleteI hope you appreciate it as much as I did, you're welcome Becki :)
DeleteYay for windows open and balmy breezes! I love that spring is finally arriving. Your music is a nice choice as well. :)
ReplyDeleteOh I need to get to the next Murderbot. I think the first novel is the next one for me, but ooh those little in- between ones I haven't read. Yikesss...
They are free online, I put the links in my reviews to make it easier for you to stop resisting temptation ^^ The first novel is next for me too, I have it here and will start reading it as soon as I've finished the Patrick Rothfuss (1000 pages !) :)
DeleteI was supposed to go to France this summer, but just today postponed my trip until 2022. I am just not convinced that Europe will be safe and vaccinated. I am so bummed!
ReplyDeleteWell, with Macron's discourse this evening, I think we're (finally, I hope ?) heading for a complete lockdown. We heard last week that there will be no extra hospital beds because... more people would die from Covid consequently ! I hope you'll be able to travel safely again soon :/
DeleteI'm sorry about all the lockdown problems. Since I only read e-books, I only use my library to download books. So, that's a plus for me. Everything is open here anyway. The numbers are rising but they keep everything open as if it's not. Kind of scary. I will be happy after I get my 2nd shot.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a great week.
Everything open while the numbers are rising ? Sounds like France :/ Thanks Yvonne, have a great week too and take care :)
DeleteMy library in Florida is open, but masks are required. Thankfully they still offer curbside pickup. I don't planning on going in to browse until I am fully vaccinated.
ReplyDeleteHooray for opening your windows! Funny, I just closed mine and turned on the air for the first time this year.
I've got both Kin Jiyoung, Born 1982 and Before the Coffee Gets Cold on my lists. Let's see how long it takes me to read them! ;-)
Masks are required everywhere in Paris too, but some people just don't want to wear them, properly or at all :( Ah, enjoy both novels, they are great in different ways :)
DeleteDid you enjoy Before the Coffee Gets Cold? I liked it more than I thought I would. My library is still encouraging people to put holds on books and then pick them up either curbside or during the grab & go hours (when you can go inside for a short bit to browse).
ReplyDeleteOh yes I did ! The style surprised me at first but it was perfect for the stories and I grabbed the next, Tales from the café. It seems like libraries from all over the world have more sense than in my own country. But the Paris librarians keep up the fight for safety ^^
DeleteI can't wait for the next season of Picard - loved the first one and just love TNG. You've had an awesome week - look at all that book activity!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the time with your daughters! It's a bummer about the lockdown. On the contrary, the US is more open than ever for business, covid be damned. If people could be more careful, lockdowns could have been less restrictive and also less impacting emotionally. Though I don't know if lockdowns have necessarily worked well.
The first lockdown really worked well in France, the best numbers were reached but as it was lifted, things went down the rabbit hole. Curfew doesn't work because well, everybody still goes out, and the next "lockdowns" we had didn't deserve this name : everybody was out ! Well, springtime is coming, blue sky, sunshine, and I'm dying to go to a restaurant and have somebody cook for me for once, lol !
DeleteMy library is open but it's the only one in the county that stopped delivering books to your car. Thankfully masks are mandatory and there are usually only a few people there at the time that I go.
ReplyDeleteI've put a hold on If Cats Disappeared from the World and Before the Coffee Gets Cold, at my library.
I just hope there comes a day when we will all go back to a "normal" life, this is getting tiresome. Oh great for the Japanese books, I do hope you love them too !
DeleteCovid is this big dark cloud that just won't go away! It's really bringing me down but we're fortunate to be slowly climbing out of lockdown here now (still a LONG way to go though).
ReplyDeleteThe Boys isn't a show I've watched yet but the trailers look so funny that I'll definitely give it a watch at some point.
You sound super busy at the moment but I'm glad you've still been able to read! :)
The Boys is definitely funny in a trashy way, I love that different look upon superheroes ! The weather wasn't terrible these last weeks but hopefully, it's getting better : we're seeing sunshine again ! With all that bad weather, it was great to stay under the duvet and read a lot ^^
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