Sunday, October 2, 2011

Sunday Salon: A whiff of fall

I woke up to a glorious COOL morning this morning (relatively anyway, like 59 degrees).  I was talking a little about this on Twitter this week, but back when I lived in Indiana, we would all be ready to hurl our bodies of the closest window right about February, when everything was dead and cold and ugly.  Down here in Florida, that type of depression comes for us about...now.  We're going on what?  Six months or so of heat and humidity, and we ache to open our windows, wear a sweater, not break a sweat as we walk out to get the mail.  We received nature's bounty this weekend and it came just in the nick of time, as always.  I'm sure the cool temps will be yanked away from us before long, but it is this first sign of fall that keeps us focused on the finish line (i.e. winter).

So we languished in our 80 degrees yesterday, at my son's football game, where his team beat the only undefeated team in the conference, 16-8.  Those last 8 points of ours came with 8 seconds left in the game.  Holy moly.  I about shoved my BFF off her bleacher and screamed until my throat blew up.  So that was good.

Earlier in the week, though, it was miserable.  I stayed inside, except to do some serious ER on my pool, and a sweaty golf game on Thursday.  Not much else was accomplished this past week, except for a hair cut and a happy hour Friday night.  If that counts.

What DID work this week was my reading.  I finished "Dominance" (finally) by Will Lavender, then attacked some shorter books.  I read "A Monster Calls" by Patrick Ness (completely devastated me), and "The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt" by Caroline Preston (charming, cool cleverness).  I'm now about halfway through "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer, and I've decided I've never met a kid protagonist quite so mesmerizing.  Wow. I just sit there with my mouth hanging open. 

In audio land, I finished up the gobsmacker of all audios "The Snowman" by Jo Nesbo, and was pretty much blown away with the narration of Robin Sachs.  So blown away in fact that I immediately started "The Last Werewolf" which is narrated by him as well.  I'm not quite as taken with this second audio, even though many loved it.  But I could listen to Sachs recite the phone book, so there.  I even got a tweet back from Sachs during one of my gushings, which made me run around the house like my hair was on fire.  Why are narrators like rock stars to us audio addicts?  I'm a little embarrassed about it, but at the same time I can't help myself.  I also wrapped up "Loving Frank" by Nancy Horan for my book club next Tuesday.  That one made me just shake my head.  I have no clue what I'm going to say in that review.  Maybe my book club will help me resolve my emotions.

So what is up for today?  Church, horseback riding lessons, two birthday parties, and maybe perhaps a relaxing evening.  What is on your agenda for today?    

23 comments:

Ana S. said...

Enjoy the fall weather! Over here the weather was bonkers - it was hotter this week than it was all summer, but since there was no summer to begin with, I took it with no complaints and tried to enjoy it while I could. I was hoping for one last afternoon reading in the park today, but alas, the rain is back. Oh well... time for soups and apple baked goodies.

Unknown said...

How exciting to get a response from Robin Sachs! I can imagine you jumping up and down with excitement!

I agree with Nymeth about the weather here being bonkers - it is so hot. We can't do much apart from sit around reading (shame ;-) ) Although I'm sure you'd think it was pretty cool here - you are used to far hotter temps over in Florida. Hope you have a lovely October.

bermudaonion said...

We have some fall this weekend too. I'm glad someone had a good football game yesterday, because we sure didn't.

You're hitting those SIBA books hot and heavy!

rhapsodyinbooks said...

I've never heard Robin Sachs - guess I have to fix that!

Jenny said...

I'm so glad you're reading EL&IC!! I can't wait to hear what you think!! I just watched the trailer for the movie last night and about cried just at that. I'm ridiculous, lol. I plan on reading it again soon before I see the movie.

Natalie~Coffee and a Book Chick said...

I am loving my cooler weather in Va Beach. Right now, it's 51 degrees -- ahh, winter! Of course, when it does start to get colder, I'm going to miss the North Florida winters immediately. I need to read Jo Nesbo, whether via audio or printed. The work sounds right up my alley.

Trisha said...

It's so funny that "the grass is always greener" with weather. Every time I hear people hoping for some cooler weather, I want to trade places with them. The hubby and I had to turn on the heat today!

I read A Monster Calls this week too, and like you...devastated.

Peppermint Ph.D. said...

Cooler temps in MS as well this week :) I love to open the door to the back porch and just let the fresh air take over my house :) It won't get too cold around here until late December or early January. I try not to cut on my heat until then.

Alyce said...

Horseback riding lessons sound fun! I've always wanted to ride a horse, but am intimidated by their size.

I'm going to be cleaning and putting a grocery list together while my amazing hubby takes the kids out popcorn selling and then does the grocery shopping for me. He's so cool about doing things that bother my arm with the tendinitis (mainly heavy lifting at this point).

We've been having cloudy weather all day, but at least it's not cold - only 63, which is quite nice for a fall day around here.

Amy said...

It sounds like you're reading some really great books! I need to read A Monster Calls soon.

Marie Cloutier said...

Loving Frank was a strange book. I liked it OK but it was weird. I'll be interested to hear your take on it. And a hair cut and happy hour definitely counts! :-)

Zibilee said...

I am a little miffed by this tease of cooler weather, though I did wear a sweater this morning for a little while! I am also listening to The Last Werewolf, and haven't gotten that deep into it yet, so I am not sure what to think. It certainly is a lot more literary than I had been expecting. I think it's very cool that you got a tweet back from Sachs! That must have made your day! Looking forward to book club this week and our chat with Gabe Rotter. I will be gushing, I am sure!

Unknown said...

I've spent most of the day grading papers. Paragraph tests that were pretty good over all and poems about the Medieval church that were not very good. Oh, well. It looks like our heat wave is taking a break in favor of rain very soon. We're looking forward to it.

Melody said...

Enjoy the cooler weather! So envious!!

I look forward to reading your reviews, especially "A Monster Calls"!

Jenners said...

Oskar is something isn't he? I just loved him!

And wow … when you focus on something, you burn through the books!

And that sounds like one nailbiter of a football game!

Julie P. said...

We spent the day with my grandparents in western PA. They woke up to 2 inches of snow!

Ti said...

It's been freakin' hot here! It was 98 degrees yesterday, and today was about 95. It's supposed to drop to like 60 and rain like hell on Wednesday but right now, I just don't see it. My son put up all the fall decorations and I sat there, dripping sweat, glad that it was him and not me doing it.

I have Last Werewolf and it's not grabbing me. Can't figure out why.

The Bumbles said...

Congrats on the football victory! Proud mama :0)

I can't wait for your Loving Frank thoughts - I have been eager to read that one for quite a while...

Kathleen said...

We just had our first whiff of fall here in California and it was so nice. I'm tired of the heat and the sunshine and I'm ready for cooler weather.

Heidenkind said...

59 degrees is freezing! I didn't know people wore sweaters in Florida...

Anonymous said...

We have a slight chance of rain this week. I've got my fingers crossed.

And happy hour totally counts as an accomplishment.

Darlene said...

Wow I can't imagine being that hot right now. I've hauled out all my winter sweaters and pants because it's freezing here. I always smile when you say winter - I'd love your winter with no snow.

I'm curious if you liked Loving Frank. I know a lot of people did but I've always shied away from picking it up. Hope you have a good week.

Melissa (Avid Reader) said...

I can completely identify with the "narrators are rockstars" feeling you're talking about. You sit there and have someone read a story to you and it does feel like they're a celeb!