It’s snowing!

There’s still a few days left until winter officially starts, but earlier today Mother Nature decided to give us a bit of a preview in my little corner of the world.  Nothing nearly as heavy as this clip (thank God!!) but enough to blanket the yard and turn my steep driveway into a slippery slope.  We’re used to snowfall here in the foothills, but it seems like the first snow of the season always takes us by surprise.

One nice thing with all the white stuff is it makes it feel a bit more Christmas-y!  Will it still be around for the holidays?  I’ll keep you posted!

The Week in Books

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite — 4 out of 5 stars

I wasn’t sure about this one going in as I had heard some mixed reviews about it.  However, I wound up enjoying this quick read that focuses on family relationships (kind of a “Family — Ya Gotta Love ’em” theme).  The title pretty much sums up the story, and the short chapters are a breeze to go through, perfect for an afternoon read.  I’m not sure who exactly I would recommend this to, but if you come across it give it a try.

Managed Care by Joe Barrett — 4 out of 5 stars

One of my 20 + 1 For 2021 titles.  Fair warning: this book is not for anyone who is overly sensitive to anything.   Our protagonist, Frank, is one of those guys whose heart is in the right place but his enthusiasm often leads to pretty stupid decisions.  Currently living in a care facility for the elderly (and wearing a diaper out of principle), this thirty-something teams up with a couple of 12-year-olds and set out to turn the Catholic church upside down…at least, the local church anyways.  I found myself laughing out loud quite a bit, then feeling a bit uncomfortable a few pages later.  The overall story is a good one, but I thought it went off the rails in the last third or so.  If you’re looking for a quick read that you don’t have to put much thought into, this one fits the bill!

A Gesture Life by Chang-rae Lee — 3 out of 5 stars

One of my 20 + 1 For 2021 titles.  This “quiet” novel focuses on Franklin Hata, a Japanese man of Korean birth, who is currently living in a small American town but is haunted by the women in his past, from his failings with his adopted daughter and a brief romance with a neighbor, to the tragedy surrounding his  encounter with a young Korean “comfort girl”/prisoner he fell in love with during the war.  I really wanted to like this one more than I did but it just fell flat for me.  Part of me wanted something more, but at a sluggish 356 pages, I don’t know how much more I really could have taken.

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Stay safe and Happy Reading!