Readathon Revised

So…

…those plans I had yesterday for today’s readathon?

Um, yeah, about that.

I’m revising the stack to be more realistic than it was and not as heavy in terms of pages, although you might think that the subject matter is heavy with murder at the center of all three of my choices. They’re really not, but are comfort reads, of a kind for me and just what I need today. Here is the revised stack:

The Potter’s Field, the 13th in the Inspector Montalbano series, by Andrea Camilleri
Rogue Protocol, the third in the Murderbot series, by Martha Wells
Exit Strategy, the fourth in the Murderbot series, also by Wells.

As I’m writing this at about 9 a.m., I still have to get breakfast, and I am adding two other components to my own readathon with meditation and journaling (therapeutic and much needed after a week full of…well, everything), realistically I probably won’t be getting started until at least noon. The plan from there is to read as much as I can until at least midnight, mixed with the meditation and journaling. It won’t be 12 hours of reading, but I’ll read what I can. If I finish these three (doubtful, even though they’re short), I do have a backup or two in the wings. We’ll see if it/they are needed.

Are you participating in today’s readathon? If so, what are you reading? If not, what are you reading lately anyway?

Where I am right now…

…is in a good place.

I’m off from work until this coming Thursday. I’m celebrating Easter, my wife’s birthday on Tuesday, and receiving my second COVID-19 vaccine shot this past Thursday.

Yesterday, I went to the Good Friday service at Washington National Cathedral and then received the Sacrament of Reconciliation (confession/absolution) from a priest via Zoom. This isn’t to brag. It’s just that I like to attend Good Friday services…and I haven’t been to confession in several years. It felt good.

Today, I plan on continuing to read the Inspector Montalbano series by Andrea Camilleri. I’m now up to the 12th in the series, The Track of Sand. I also am getting together tonight with a former college roommate Joe to play board games online.

Tomorrow morning, I plan on attending the Easter service at Washington National Cathedral too. Then in the afternoon, I’ll probably read more Camilleri.

I also plan on getting out for a walk this weekend, probably both days since the weather is finally clearing after a little snow on April 1.

The last three days of my holiday/vacation/celebration will be spent mostly with my wife. Even though I am off from work, I will be attending a staff meeting Tuesday morning. As for me and my wife, we have no plans other than to eat, drink, and be merry.

In one of those “in-between” times

Almost every Sunday since mid-May 2020 with a few exceptions, I have been taking my own personal Sabbath, where I tune out of the news and social media and turn off my ringer and all notifications on my phone. Throughout the day and/or sometimes the next day, I share what I am reading, listening to or watching during my Sabbath. As I have done other weekends, I am extending my Sabbath by one day, into Saturday. This will my 35th Sabbath since starting last year.

This weekend, I’m in one of those “in-between” times as in between this and that or more accurately that and that. This past week, I was on vacation on a virtual trip around the world, ending in Ireland, and my next vacation is only next week, as I have off from Good Friday, April 2, through Easter Sunday and Monday and then Tuesday, April 6, which is my wife’s birthday…and finally Wednesday, April 7, just for good measure.

I also am in between shots, as I got my first covid shot on March 11 and my second covid shot on April 1, right before my vacation.

But at least, I’m not between a rock and a hard place. *rimshot*

So…my plan to read during my vacation last week didn’t happen. As a result, I still am reading The Wings of The Sphinx, the 11th in the Inspector Montalbano series, by Andrea Camilleri. After that, I have the 12th, 13th, and 14th in the series already checked out from the Free Library of Philadelphia, which are in order, The Track of Sand, The Potter’s Field, and The Age of Doubt

When I finish The Wings of the Sphinx, it will be my sixth book of the year. So if I am a book blogger, it is in name only, with which I am okay.

Photo by Grafixart_photo Samir BELHAMRA on Pexels.com

About that vacation last week: Over the first four nights, we went to northern England, Italy, Spain and Greece, using as our guide The Trip, the British TV/film series with Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, that started in 2010 and ended last year with The Trip To Greece. I enjoyed the first two films, but I was wearying of the pair by the time we got to Spain and Greece, especially their repeated impressions of Michael Caine and other celebrities. Also, the last one ended on the death of Coogan’s father, which, although true to life, was a bit of a downer for the series. I think they also showed more of Italy than they did of Spain and Greece. Maybe it was just watching all four so close together. *insert shrugs emoji*

Nothing else comes to mind that I need to share so I think I’ll leave it there for today. How are you doing this weekend? Any big plans? Any little plans? Reading, watching, listening to anything good? Share in the comments.

My Own Personal Sabbath #34

This past Thursday, I finished August Heat, the tenth in the Inspector Montalbano series, by Andrea Camilleri and today I am starting the eleventh, The Wings of the Sphinx. I started the year with the sixth in the series, The Smell of the Night, and then continued with the seventh, eighth, and ninth, Rounding the Mark, The Patience of the Spider, and The Paper Moon before finishing August Heat.

Seeing a few episodes last year of the Italian TV series based on the books rekindled my interest in the books. Then when the Free Library of Philadelphia (FLP) added most of the book series to its OverDrive collection at the end of last year, right before Christmas, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to dive back in.

I have not been disappointed yet as other books have taken a back seat to the Italian commissario. I have flirted with the idea of reading and continuing other series, but for now I only have eyes for the late Camilleri’s creation. I am completely and utterly captivated by Montalbano for now. I already have the 12th, The Track of Sand, checked out and waiting in the wings. And I have the 13th and 14th, The Potter’s Field and The Age of Doubt on hold. That is how much I love this series…

…but I probably will take a break after that since FLP has only 24 of the 27 books in the series to borrow (so far). That way, I have something to look forward to to later in the year or even next year.

What have you been reading lately that you have loved or are loving?