I would love to get the shingles vaccine but I have to wait a few more years. I'm terrified of getting shingles, it sounds wretched!
I did manage to finish a book recently, even while in Vegas with Nan, Andy, Zac and Brandi Cakes for Brandi's birthday. I was reading Palisades Park by Alan Brennert. I really enjoyed his previous works; Molokai, Daughter of Molokai, and Honolulu and this one was pretty good too.
Another writer I've been binging lately is Kazuo Ishiguro. I loved Remains of the Day, I read it while traveling in France and then quickly followed up with Never Let Me Go. Now I'm reading Klara and the Sun and really liking his style of writing. Do you do that too? Find a writer and go "oooh, that was lovely.... what else you got?" Thankfully with my Kindle and Libby app I'm always loaded up with books from the library so that even when I'm on vacation I never run out of something new to read!
Hope you're feeling better soon Aunt Verna! You were in our hearts and thoughts this trip and sending you so much love!!!
Good for you for reading while in Vegas! Great way to give yourself a little space from the Vegas hubbub. Vegas DOES want all your attention. And I'm so glad you got to be there to celebrate Brandi. She is so lucky to have you, Jenn.
I do author-binging, too. I'm about to start Iron Flame (Rebecca Yarros) and Silas Marner (George Eliot): from the ridiculous to the sublime! But they're both waiting for me at my local bookstore until I can wear clothes again. Shingles! PAH!
I never could get into Ishiguro. Which one do you think would be a good entry to his writing? I agree about Kindle/Libby: great way to have all the books you want or need when you're traveling--and it's so compact. I love it for sampling books, too, the only thing I do through Amazon these days. And I started a Check These Out TBR list for the books that subscribers tell me about.
Take good care of yourself, Jenn. I miss getting to see you. Big love to you!!
I thought The Remains of the Day was very pleasant and relaxing. Like a warm bath or a cuppa tea. It wasn't an exciting page turner but gentle reflection. If that isn't your thing I'm not sure his style of writing is going to do it for you. I didn't realize Never Let Me Go was a sci-fi novel when I started it. It felt really similar to an autobiography I had read around the same time; Cloistered: My Years as a Nun by Catherine Coldstream.
I'm really enjoying Klara and the Sun. I got about halfway through it just yesterday. It's from the perspective of an android built to be a companion to a child. So the reader is learning about the world the same way the android is. Major focus being observations on human interaction and deciphering behavioral cues.
I don't think I've read George Eliot yet. I may have to give one of her shorter novels a try than jumping feet first into Middlemarch without an introduction. It does seem like the type of story I'd be drawn to though.
Verna, so sorry to hear you have shingles. When my mother had it (decades ago), she said it was more painful than childbirth, and she had seven children! So a good kick from you to get my shot.
I just finished reading Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. I was impressed that she could sustain a character, so different from her, for 500 pages.
Wow! Your mom had a bad experience with shingles. I've heard that it's very painful, and I'm not through it yet, hoping it doesn't get worse. I wish I had gotten the shot. It could have some flu-like side effects, but that's gotta be better than this!
Kingsolver is a genius! I started to read Demon Copperhead and had to put it down. I still can't read books that describe difficult situations. I'm sad about that. I know I'm missing some really good stories. But I keep trying.
Shoot, Verna. I hate hearing that you've got shingles. I hate it for you (of course) but it alarms me, too, because (just like you), Buck and I keep putting off getting the vaccine. I've heard you need to arrange for several days of good books and stupid TV after the vaccine because you'll be sore and may feel like you have the flu. But you're very unlikely to ever get shingles. So, I guess your cautionary tale is going to push us over the edge to get the jab down at the grocery store. I hope you're past it soon, with no lingering side effects.
Thanks, Beth. I've heard that same thing about the side effects of the vaccine. But when I'm fully recovered from this, I'll go get it. I don't want to, but I will. If you and Buck get the vaccine, let me know how you fare, ok?
So far so good with your shingles and their mild effects. Hope it continues to go smoothly. I was one of those lucky 10% that after dealing with the painful shingles I got Post Herpetic Neuralgia. I could hardly walk. It was a super stressful time in my life. I got the shingles when I was 50. On the book side of life, one of the books I am enjoying is titled The Morville Hours by Katherine Swift. It is meditative reading.
I am so sorry to hear this, Santina. I was reading about Post Herpetic Neuralgia yesterday and had to tear myself away. It sounds awful. I've been surprised to hear that we can get shingles at just about any age. I had always thought it was more common in old people. But we just never know.
When I went to the hospital and the doctor diagnosed it, he was surprised. It is true anyone can get it but it is most likely in people over 60. However, it was a crazy stressful time for me and honestly I wasn't taking heed so my body made sure I did. It was the beginning of the end sort of speak. I had a complete break down months down the road.
Poor Verna! I'm so sorry you're shingling. (Shingle-shangle-shingle.) But I like that you're reading high (Silas Marner), bingeing low (FBI and medical melodrama). I'm with you on the fast-forwarding. I fast-forward through the sex scenes AND the surgeries, which doesn't leave much. Meanwhile, I'm reading "State of Paradise" by Laura van den Berg -- never heard of her, but it's a book group book, and I'm liking it a lot so far!
I would love to get the shingles vaccine but I have to wait a few more years. I'm terrified of getting shingles, it sounds wretched!
I did manage to finish a book recently, even while in Vegas with Nan, Andy, Zac and Brandi Cakes for Brandi's birthday. I was reading Palisades Park by Alan Brennert. I really enjoyed his previous works; Molokai, Daughter of Molokai, and Honolulu and this one was pretty good too.
Another writer I've been binging lately is Kazuo Ishiguro. I loved Remains of the Day, I read it while traveling in France and then quickly followed up with Never Let Me Go. Now I'm reading Klara and the Sun and really liking his style of writing. Do you do that too? Find a writer and go "oooh, that was lovely.... what else you got?" Thankfully with my Kindle and Libby app I'm always loaded up with books from the library so that even when I'm on vacation I never run out of something new to read!
Hope you're feeling better soon Aunt Verna! You were in our hearts and thoughts this trip and sending you so much love!!!
Good for you for reading while in Vegas! Great way to give yourself a little space from the Vegas hubbub. Vegas DOES want all your attention. And I'm so glad you got to be there to celebrate Brandi. She is so lucky to have you, Jenn.
I do author-binging, too. I'm about to start Iron Flame (Rebecca Yarros) and Silas Marner (George Eliot): from the ridiculous to the sublime! But they're both waiting for me at my local bookstore until I can wear clothes again. Shingles! PAH!
I never could get into Ishiguro. Which one do you think would be a good entry to his writing? I agree about Kindle/Libby: great way to have all the books you want or need when you're traveling--and it's so compact. I love it for sampling books, too, the only thing I do through Amazon these days. And I started a Check These Out TBR list for the books that subscribers tell me about.
Take good care of yourself, Jenn. I miss getting to see you. Big love to you!!
I thought The Remains of the Day was very pleasant and relaxing. Like a warm bath or a cuppa tea. It wasn't an exciting page turner but gentle reflection. If that isn't your thing I'm not sure his style of writing is going to do it for you. I didn't realize Never Let Me Go was a sci-fi novel when I started it. It felt really similar to an autobiography I had read around the same time; Cloistered: My Years as a Nun by Catherine Coldstream.
I'm really enjoying Klara and the Sun. I got about halfway through it just yesterday. It's from the perspective of an android built to be a companion to a child. So the reader is learning about the world the same way the android is. Major focus being observations on human interaction and deciphering behavioral cues.
I don't think I've read George Eliot yet. I may have to give one of her shorter novels a try than jumping feet first into Middlemarch without an introduction. It does seem like the type of story I'd be drawn to though.
Remains of the Day is on my list.
Have you read The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler? Also about an android--and an octopus community. I loved it, so maybe I'll try Klara and the Sun.
The Mountain in the Sea sounds like fun. I'll put a hold on the ebook at my library!
Let me know what you think!
Verna, so sorry to hear you have shingles. When my mother had it (decades ago), she said it was more painful than childbirth, and she had seven children! So a good kick from you to get my shot.
I just finished reading Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. I was impressed that she could sustain a character, so different from her, for 500 pages.
Wow! Your mom had a bad experience with shingles. I've heard that it's very painful, and I'm not through it yet, hoping it doesn't get worse. I wish I had gotten the shot. It could have some flu-like side effects, but that's gotta be better than this!
Kingsolver is a genius! I started to read Demon Copperhead and had to put it down. I still can't read books that describe difficult situations. I'm sad about that. I know I'm missing some really good stories. But I keep trying.
Luckily, Demon Copperhead has a happy ending. (hope I'm not giving anything away).
Shoot, Verna. I hate hearing that you've got shingles. I hate it for you (of course) but it alarms me, too, because (just like you), Buck and I keep putting off getting the vaccine. I've heard you need to arrange for several days of good books and stupid TV after the vaccine because you'll be sore and may feel like you have the flu. But you're very unlikely to ever get shingles. So, I guess your cautionary tale is going to push us over the edge to get the jab down at the grocery store. I hope you're past it soon, with no lingering side effects.
Thanks, Beth. I've heard that same thing about the side effects of the vaccine. But when I'm fully recovered from this, I'll go get it. I don't want to, but I will. If you and Buck get the vaccine, let me know how you fare, ok?
Will do, Verna, and I hope you'll be out the other side soon.
So far so good with your shingles and their mild effects. Hope it continues to go smoothly. I was one of those lucky 10% that after dealing with the painful shingles I got Post Herpetic Neuralgia. I could hardly walk. It was a super stressful time in my life. I got the shingles when I was 50. On the book side of life, one of the books I am enjoying is titled The Morville Hours by Katherine Swift. It is meditative reading.
I am so sorry to hear this, Santina. I was reading about Post Herpetic Neuralgia yesterday and had to tear myself away. It sounds awful. I've been surprised to hear that we can get shingles at just about any age. I had always thought it was more common in old people. But we just never know.
When I went to the hospital and the doctor diagnosed it, he was surprised. It is true anyone can get it but it is most likely in people over 60. However, it was a crazy stressful time for me and honestly I wasn't taking heed so my body made sure I did. It was the beginning of the end sort of speak. I had a complete break down months down the road.
Poor Verna! I'm so sorry you're shingling. (Shingle-shangle-shingle.) But I like that you're reading high (Silas Marner), bingeing low (FBI and medical melodrama). I'm with you on the fast-forwarding. I fast-forward through the sex scenes AND the surgeries, which doesn't leave much. Meanwhile, I'm reading "State of Paradise" by Laura van den Berg -- never heard of her, but it's a book group book, and I'm liking it a lot so far!
Thanks for mentioning the book you're reading. I'll check it out.
How to get through shingles: Stupid TV and Smart books. We do what we have to do.