Sarah Sammis of the blog Puss Reboots answered the often-asked question: “What are you reading this weekend?” with the fact that she doesn’t. Instead, she spends time with family, binges TV, and paints, she said. My own circumstance is a little different in that my wife and I have no children (by choice), she works a 12-hour shift Saturday (8 p.m.) into Sunday (8 a.m.) and then Sunday (8 p.m.) into Monday (8 p.m.) — which means she is sleeping for much of the day both days of a weekend, and I’m not an artist. So my own weekends usually but not always go like thism
If I’m not working at the library on a Saturday, usually once or twice a month, then I spend part of that day running errands and maybe some reading later in the day. Yesterday was different, though, as it was my wife’s birthday and I spent all day with her as she has a couple of days off from work. Growing up, I was taught and conditioned that Sundays are a day of rest. As an adult, I still try to adhere to that conditioning, because while my job isn’t as stressful as countless others, I deal with people a lot throughout the week and as an introvert, I need a day to rest. That rest includes, but is not limited to, reading.
I start my Sundays with reading and commenting on Sunday Salon posts, of which Sarah’s posts was one for this week, while listening to Guido’s Lounge Cafe on Mixcloud.
Then in the afternoon, if I’m not going to watch a NASCAR with my neighbor Mike in his ManCave, I read a book. For example, this afternoon I plan to start All Things Wise and Wonderful by James Herriot.
For Lent, I am reading Leaving Church: A Memoir by Barbara Brown Taylor, which I will read later this morning as part of my morning devotions, part of my everyday reading routine. I also plan to continue reading “Like This or Die: The Decline of Criticism in the Age of The Algorithm” by Christian Lorentzen from the April 1, 2019 edition of Harper’s Magazine, which was offered free via Amazon Prime Reading this past week. From what I’ve read so far, it might good for other book bloggers, especially those who do or continue to review books regularly, to read.
So that’s what I’m reading this weekend or what I plan to read anyway. What about you? What are you reading this weekend? Or are you reading this weekend? If not, what are you up to and what are you reading during the week?
Still an unfinished person... 
I used to devour Harper’s magazine but haven’t read it in last few years. I’ll have to investigate this issue.
I read for work so my print/digital reading is more limited than my audiobook reading. Still, Mr. BFR and I try to indulge in a nightly no-media hour after dinner. Reading and music are allowed on devices, but no videos, television, games, etc. Sometimes we opt to do a jigsaw puzzle or play cards or do a project together, but usually we are reading.
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I like that idea of a no-media hour or maybe even couple of hours. I’m trying to develop a morning and evening routine, in an effort to limit screen time, and so far it’s going slowly. And we (Kim and I) need to get back to playing cards and games too– and, of course, read together too.
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Saturday is for grocery shopping, which takes a few hours, prepping food for the week ahead while it’s fresh and running the kids here and there. Sunday my husband does Archery so he is gone most of the day and as we only have the one car it gives me the perfect excuse to lay on the lounge and read.
Have a great reading week 🙂
Shelleyrae @ Book’d Out- MY POST
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Does archery? Is he a competitive archer? Just curious. We only have one car too so we can relate.
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“Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith” by Barbara Brown Taylor is excellent. Here’s a link to what I wrote on my blog about the book when I read it in 2007:
https://bonniesbooks.blogspot.com/2007/06/leaving-church-memoir-of-faith_26.html
This weekend, I’m reading a couple of books. The first is nonfiction, and I need to read one chapter for discussion with a small group on Tuesday.
“Outlandish: An Unlikely Messiah, a Messy Ministry, and the Call to Mobilize” by Derek Penwell, 2018 (192 pages)
The second is fiction, and I need to read the whole thing before a book club discussion on Thursday. I guess I’d better start reading it, huh?
“The Dinner” by Herman Koch, 2009 (translation 2012)
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Wow. I had no idea, Bonnie. The things you don’t know about the people behind the blog sometimes. I think that’s what I’m learning now that I’m off Facebook and delving (redelving) into the book blogging world: more about the people behind the blog. How is your reading going as of today?
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I did have a very nice birthday! Always nice spending time with family and friends. Working just one shift tonight and then it is my normal 3 days off. Thanks for the birthday wishes, everyone!
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I love James Herriot’s books. They are so well written. I hope you enjoy it and have a great week.
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I will…when I get to it. I didn’t actually get to it. I’ve been making my way slowly through the series that I started last year.
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Happy birthday to your wife! I hope she had a wonderful birthday. I think of Sundays as rest days too. I think, in part, because that is usually the one day a week we don’t have something scheduled going on. I think today my daughter is hoping we’ll let her run through the sprinklers. Hopefully it will be warm enough. Although the way things are going so far, she may decide staying in her pajamas all day is a better option. Haha.
I hope you have a wonderful week, Bryan. Enjoy your reading today. Leaving Church sounds interesting.
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I sometimes like to stay in pajamas all day, especially during the winter. Today, I had to go outside, plus it was too nice not to so I did put on shorts. And my wife did have a wonderful birthday…at least *I* think so. 😉
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It is interesting to see how you spend your weekends. I was taken aback a bit by Sarah’s post at first; I can’t imagine a day without a bit of reading. But I thought about it more after my initial reaction and realized that not all of us are the same, not even those of us who love books.
I always had to spend a chunk of the weekend on lesson plans when I was a school librarian, but planning was something I loved to do as much as working at the library, so it was okay. Now that my husband and I are retired, we sometimes forget what day it is, and weekends feel quite a bit like weekdays, though I almost always go to church on Sunday. I remember Sunday afternoons as a child feeling like they lasted a million years, as, like Kathy of BermudaOnion, we had blue laws here in Texas that kept everything closed.
By the way, thank you for adding this music to your post. I loved listening to it as I read your post.
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I sometimes go all week without reading and only read on the weekends, which probably is a post for another time. After looking closely at a computer all day, I sometimes don’t want to do reading up close too. Plus I’m not a good reader in short spurts. I like to have longer periods of time to read, but again a post for another time. 🙂 My father, who also is retired, tells me he doesn’t know what day it is sometimes either, so I can relate, and my wife who works midnight shifts when she works sometimes loses track of the days too. And you’re welcome for the music. I don’t know how I discovered MixCloud or Guido, but I’m glad that I did. It makes my Sunday mornings a lot more peaceful.
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I’ve been having a hard time reading on the weekends lately. I think a lot of chores and errands get shoved there, and then I’m often tired and would rather watch tv or a movie instead. But this weekend was the Readathon, and I managed to squeeze in six hours of reading on Saturday. It was glorious! I need to get back in the back in the habit because I definitely miss it.
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Yay for readathons…well, when they coincide with my schedule. 😉 But really I’m glad that you got six hours in yesterday. That’s really good. I miss it too.
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I loooooooove glimpse-into-life posts so much! Thanks for sharing a glimpse into your weekend life.
This weekend is a bit out of the norm for me as well. TYPICALLY I read Sunday Salon posts first thing Sunday morning, but since yesterday was the readathon AND I put in 4 hours of overtime at work, THIS Sunday I had to catch up with some household chores and am JUST NOW (at almost Noon) reading blogs.
Sundays are also my meal-planning, grocery shopping days. Walmart is the only supermarket we have (we have two small grocery stores) so I like to go there around 4:30pm when it’s usually pretty dead.
So, due to my screwed up schedule this weekend, I don’t anticipate having any time to read a book today. When I get home from Walmart I will put away groceries, gather trash, take cans out to the curb, eat dinner with Mom and watch our Sunday evening shows.
But yah, Saturday is my usual book-reading day.
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I didn’t actually get to much reading today: a couple of chapters in the book I’ve been reading for Lent, Leaving Church: A Memoir. I then went to a neighbor’s to watch a little NASCAR, and my wife’s home until she goes to work later. She usually goes in earlier, but tonight doesn’t have to go in until 11:30. So no more reading for me.
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I hope your wife had a terrific birthday.
I grew up with blue laws so there wasn’t a lot to do on Sundays. My family would stay home and do things together and it was really pretty wonderful. I’m opposed to blue laws but do miss the slower pace and the relaxing Sundays we had back then. I sound like an old fuddy-duddy now, don’t I?
I’ve got a book I want to finish today and then I’d like to see the women’s basketball championship game.
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Weird. I thought I responded, but not showing up here. I’ll try again. We had blue laws here too…and you don’t sound like an “old fuddy-duddy” to me at all. I agree. I think sometimes it’s good to have a day of rest.
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