Weekly Mews: A Quick Trip to Utah, COVID, and November's TBR List Poll Winner

I am linking up to the Sunday Post hosted by Kim of Caffeinated Book Reviewer and The Sunday Salon (TSS) hosted by Deb Nance of Readerbuzz  where participants recap our week, talk about what we are reading, share any new books that have come our way, and whatever else we want to talk about. I am also linking It's Monday! What Are you Reading? hosted by Kathryn of Book Date where readers talk about what they have been, are and will be reading.

I hope November has been treating you well so far. Last weekend my family and I, including my mom, drove out to Utah for my father-in-law's memorial service. We left after Mouse got out of school Friday, stopped in North Las Vegas for a late dinner, and made it to our hotel in Utah late that night. The service was Saturday at my mother-in-law's church. It was a nice service, one my father-in-law would have liked, with a reception after, and it was nice to hear all the heartfelt memories and thoughts people have of him. It was a quick trip because of work and school commitments, and we drove home to California on Sunday. The weather was perfect. Sunny days with cool evenings. Then on Wednesday, Anjin began to feel ill and tested positive for COVID. I have tested a couple of times and have been negative so far, although I am symptomatic.  I was given permission to work from home Thursday as a result. If Friday hadn't been a work holiday for me, I likely would have had to call off. I am still feeling crummy. Worse today than the last two days. Anjin feels more human again, at least. And Mouse reports she is feeling good. Fingers crossed it stays that way!

I recently read the cozy mystery The Fatal Folio (Cambridge Bookshop #3) by Elizabeth Penney and loved it. You can read my thoughts on it here. 

At the moment, I am reading the middle grade fantasy novel Flashback (Keeper of the Lost Cities #7) by Shannon Messenger and a cozy mystery called Death by Demo (A Home Renovation #1) by Callie Carpenter. I also slipped in a couple of short stories from Reader, I Married Him: Stories Inspired by Jane Eyre, edited by Tracy Chevalier. 

What have you been reading recently?

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Thank you to everyone who voted in my November TBR List Poll! It was a very close race. One of the books was ahead for most of the week, but at the last minute, the winner came from behind and took the first spot. Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande received four votes and Trail of Lightning (The Sixth World #1) by Rebecca Roanhorse got seven votes. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel won with 8 votes. 

While I eventually plan to read all three of these books, I am looking forward to diving into Station Eleven soon!  Thank you again to all who voted!

My TBR List is hosted by the awesome Michelle  at Because Reading. It’s a fun way to choose a book from your TBR pile to read. The 1st Saturday of every month, I will list 3 books I am considering reading and let you vote for my next read during that month. My review will follow (unfortunately, not likely in the same month, but eventually--that's all I can promise). 

It was my hope to share my thoughts on a couple of poems I read this week, but with everything going on, it did not work out. Instead, I would like to share a Book Central Podcast I listened to recently and enjoyed by fellow blogger, Juli of A Universe in Words, in which she reads and discusses the beautiful poem "Often Rebuked, Yet Always Back Returning" by Emily Brontë. I hope you will check it out! 

Have you read any poetry you would recommend lately?

This year I have been slowly working my way through the short story anthology, Reader, I Married Him: Stories Inspired by Jane Eyre, and I recently read a couple more of the stories in between my other reading, both by authors I haven't read before. 

Patricia Park's "The China from Buenos Aires" centers around a young Korean immigrant from Argentina now living and studying in the United States. The author captures Teresa's diasporic feelings well. She doesn't quite fit in anywhere and is struggling with homesickness and loneliness. She finds a friend in Juan, a familiar person from her past, who has also made a home in America. His feelings for her are much stronger than hers are for him, and when a family emergency arises in Argentina, Teresa has a difficult decision to make. In just a few short pages, Patricia Park was able to create a character I came to care for, and I really felt for her in her situation. I still find myself thinking of this story and Teresa days after finishing the story.  

The second story I read was "Reader, She Married Me" by Sally Vickers. This was a different twist on the original Jane Eyre. The story is written from the point of view of Edward Rochester. It takes place after he is married to Jane, as he looks back on his life with his first wife, Bertha, the fire, and his ultimate marriage to Jane. As fond as I am of Jane, I was not too keen on this take on Jane, but I appreciated the creative take on familiar characters. Edward is painted in a somewhat more sympathetic view, but I felt more so for Bertha. This story touches on issues of child loss, post partum depression, and grief. It's heartbreaking. I wanted to feel for Edward, especially since he feels remorse after all this time, but it was too little, too late. 

Have you read any short stories you would recommend lately?

I hope you have a great week! Let me know what you have been reading!

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