Sunday, April 2, 2017

Middling March

I'm having an awful time reading at the moment.  I've been distracted by several things.  Sometimes that means that I can lose myself in a book, but other times it means that I'm stuck in the real world.  In a fit of discontent, I've started and tossed several books, not even giving some of them the 20 or 50 pages I normally would.  'Off with their heads!'

I did finish two books, one of which I'm not going to review.  It was about a British couple and their two dogs.  They're looking for a retirement estate in France, someplace where they can shoot wildlife.    I tried to overlook that, but it colored my feelings about the book.  There were some funny incidences, but I wasn't enjoying myself.  Enough said.


The other book I read was The Mill on the Shore by Ann Cleeves.  I haven't read a lot of hers, but I think I prefer the ones that take place in the Shetlands.  The Mill on the Shore wasn't a compelling read, but I was surprised when the murderer was revealed.

I hope I'll do better in April.  I'm still reading Don Quixote and The Travels of William Bartram, both of which I started over a year ago.

Yesterday was the birthday of my first dog, a gorgeous blonde Afghan hound named Sinya's Wild Child.  She was my companion when I was a mid-teen, about 50 years ago.  I often think about her and the other animals I've loved and lost.  Maybe I think about them too much.  Gone but definitely not forgotten.

Happy April!  Where are those spring flowers?!

6 comments:

  1. I am sorry that reading has not been working for you in March and hope things get better in April. I have read a couple of Ann Cleeves earlier books, and I agree that they are not as good as the Shetland books. But I do remember enjoying them.

    Here in Santa Barbara, California we are getting lots of flowers, but our allergies are really bad, so hard to enjoy them.

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    1. Take each day as it comes, that's what I tell myself. The weather was beautiful yesterday and we saw ruddy ducks and noted that the tree swallows have returned.
      I'm sorry about your allergies. I know they can make one's life miserable.

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  2. I think I've read one Ann Cleeves Shetland book, I should get back to them but I've seen some of then on TV. The spring flowers are all here!

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    1. Send some of those flowers over here! Actually, I've been noticing more flowering trees and daffodils. The weather is so bizarre. We had a sleet / slush storm two weeks ago and today, at 9:00 AM, it's already 61F.

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  3. Hi, Joan. I am watching "Shetland" on Netflix. I haven't read any of the books in the series, but I am loving the scenery and the dour characters. All the insulation and isolation makes for some strange folk. Maybe I will give the books a try.

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    1. Hi, Belle. I wasn't aware that there was a TV series based on the Shetland books. I've just added the series to my List. Thanks! I imagine that the scenery is gorgeous.

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