Welcome to Thursday, a day that once seemed lost, with nothing exciting happening anywhere. But then that changed, and today I am celebrating a couple of the bookish events around the blogosphere, like Lexxie’s Thirsty Thursday & Hungry Hearts; and Christine’s Bookish (and not so Bookish) Thoughts.
Thirsty Thursday & Hungry Hearts:
Today’s featured book is an e-ARC I just finished reading. Cruel & Beautiful World, by Caroline Leavitt (click for my review), is set in 1969, near Boston, and takes us into the lives of several characters, including a sixteen-year-old girl named Lucy, her eighteen-year-old sister Charlotte, and their caretaker, Iris. Lucy has run away with her high school teacher, living off the grid, while her family tries to manage despite her absence.
Iris sells her house and moves into a senior residential center. She rediscovers companionship, and in this excerpt, she is preparing dinner for a gentleman caller.
The following night, Iris stood at her stove, panicking. She had chicken breasts roasting in the oven and string beans frying in olive oil. She had made a salad with dark lettuce instead of iceberg and had thrown in some walnuts to make it different. Her little table was set with her good china and silverware, and she was wearing a rose-colored dress that Charlotte had bought her. She’d fixed her hair with a rhinestone barrette, which she hoped didn’t look ridiculous. She kept looking at her watch, and then at the door, and once or twice she even opened it to peer down the hall, which was silent as a bottle…She was about to peel off her apron and take his plate from the table when there was a knock on the door, and when she opened it, there he was, in a suit jacket, his hair combed back so she could see the rake marks from his comb.
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It had been years since Iris had “entertained” a gentleman caller, so she was understandably nervous. Her planning and attention to detail was rather sweet.
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My Bookish (and Not So Bookish) Thoughts:
- This week has been especially busy with outside appointments and activities.
- Last Friday and this Monday, I had appointments to see new homes, since I have been contemplating a move. They were lovely, but the more I think of the hassle of moving, I am probably stepping back from that idea. For now.
- On Tuesday, I went in for my flu shot…and an eye exam. I’ll be getting new eyeglasses, which I’m excited about, as I’ve had my current frames for a few years. I kept them whenever the lenses needed to change because I really liked them. But now I am ready for something new.
- Today I had lunch with a friend at The Olive Garden. Delicious things!
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- I finished watching Offspring on Netflix, and I’m halfway done with Season 5 of Longmire.
- So far this week, I finished Sunshine Beach, by Wendy Wax (click title for my review) (in addition to Cruel Beautiful World).
- Tomorrow, I want to stay home all day! I have a stack of books to choose from, and hope to do some serious reading.
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That’s it for my week. What did yours look like?
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SERENDIPITY 
This is a great quote, Laurel-Rain. And I think first dates are nerve-wrecking no matter how old or young we are. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Have a terrific Thursday and happy reading.
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Oh, definitely, Lexxie. Thanks for hosting…and for stopping by. Enjoy your reading, too.
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You’ve had an eventful week. That food looks yummy. So far, I have just been commuting between work and home. I read Pretty Wicked by Charron and I am still reading Jane Eyre. Cruel and Beautiful World is up next on my reading week. Have a wonderful weekend ahead and good-luck with the move whether you decide to do it soon or later. Cheers:-)
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Thanks, Diana, looking back on how busy every day has been, I’m eagerly anticipating curling up with books and movies today. And the cozier I feel, the less I want to move! lol. Enjoy your week!
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Busy week! I with you about the trouble of moving. When we moved the last time I swore we’d never move again and we did look at the house with the knowledge that we’d be empty nesters and would it work for that. I’m staying home today and it’s so nice. I’m not getting much reading done but I’m getting caught up on blog stuff and laundry and it’s been so restful!
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It is so odd how much I tend to settle in and not want to budge, but perhaps that feeling comes from the unsettled life I led in the 60s and 70s. Moving all the time, with no hired help at all. When I look at some of the relics from that time that I kept for sentimental reasons, I am surprised that they survived.
Thanks for visiting, Katherine, and enjoy your week. Most weeks are less busy with outside stuff, so I am really relishing my stay-at-home day, which fits nicely with my comfort zone.
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I’m looking forward to starting Cruel Beautiful World – admittedly, I picked it up because of the cover and then, when I read the blurb, I did wonder if it was similar to Emma Cline’s The Girls?? I guess I’ll find out soon!
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There are similarities to The Girls…the era, and the naivete of some of the girls back then. But the story is also quite different, and I enjoyed it more than The Girls. Primarily because the author explored many characters, nicely filling in the world around these “hippie-like” characters. Thanks for visiting, Kate, and I hope you like it.
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I haven’t seen anyone compare it to The Girls (which I guess is a good sign that they are quite different books) but it’s odd given that the blurbs seem similar in many ways – perhaps the publicists for Cruel Beautiful World were trying to capitalise on some of The Girls acclaim?
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In The Girls, the group reminded me of the Manson Family….and in Cruel Beautiful World, the Manson family news is being heard by the various characters, like a stream of reminders of the dangers in the world.
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