Passed My Bloggaversary

Or is it blogiversary? Anyway, I restarted this blog on August 12, 2024 with my review of It Ends With Us (the movie). Next week is my 24th anniversary at my workplace. I think I will bring muffins in on Tuesday when most coworkers show up (many work from home on other days). I've started to finally understand that maintaining and nurturing friendships and connections beyond my immediate family is a good thing and not something to be so wary of. I was repeatedly hurt by friends dipping and dates ghosting in the past and became very guarded. It's normal to go through bad experiences, but it's important to persevere (imo). The more I read about aging and brain health, the more I get that connections are crucial. It's not enough to simply do puzzles alone to keep the mind sharp. People need people ~ even introverts like me ~ for their emotional well being.

To be clear, I am talking about friendship not datingship. That ship has sailed.

I binge-watched The Hunting Wives on Netflix this week and enjoyed it a lot, though it got a bit kooky and farfetched by the end. Still, it was something different, plus I always love Malin Anderson (the sister in 27 Dresses), who had a lead role. The best thing about the show (limited series of 8 episodes) is that it seems at first to be tilted toward making the gun-toting, pro-life, wealthy Republican women appear more sympathetic than the awkwardly liberal Boston newcomer, but just wait... Spoiler: it is an epic takedown! Kudos to Mary Cobb, who wrote the novel, and to Rebecca Perry Cutter, who wrote the series. There's loads of nudity, sex (including graphic FF sex), violence, swearing, drinking, drugs, politics, and SMOKING. So, basically a fun time all around. I'm not sure if I want to deal with a second season however (supposedly on the way). One seems like plenty.

I read Kate White's mystery novel A Body to Die For, which is a fun romp through an upstate New York spa in beautiful autumn. It almost made me long for the change of seasons. Almost! Bailey Weggins, a crime journalist, intends to visit her beloved aunt at the spa she runs, but instead becomes embroiled in a murder investigation. She's also juggling a romance back in the city. We have all kinds of interesting characters to get to know, as well as a very handsome detective, and loads of twisty turns. Four stars. I may read some more books in this series, when I make further progress in getting through my enormous TBR pile.

I gave five stars to William Penrose's A Stranger to Earth. I don't read much science fiction, but this one really hooked me. It wasn't so much about aliens and space travel as it was about our human selves and how inhumanely we often treat each other. It was also frequently hilarious. Bill is a longtime FB friend, and he casually mentioned his book a little bit ago, which made me curious enough to go grab it for my Kindle. I'm glad I did!

Going forward, I think I'm only going to review the books I enjoy a lot, unless there is some particular point of interest to discuss in a book I find mediocre or worse. 

Looking forward to a birthday party tomorrow and some family time on Sunday.