Thanks to the flu and now being home all day, every day you'd think I would've gotten a bit more reading in than usual. But this month was pretty much on par with a typical month. When I was in bed with the flu I spent most of the day sleeping and when I was awake I was too miserable to read. That's when I knew I needed to go back to Urgent Care, I didn't even want to read! Looking back over the books from this month I realize I had quite a few books I didn't like very much and I think that played a big part in not getting more books than other months in.When I don't like a book it takes me longer to get through it. I also wasn't running so I didn't get through as many audiobooks as I normally would, so lots of factors in play. I'm pretty sure I have the perfect personality to be stuck at home. I don't really mind that much. I can still get out to run or walk. I get to spend all day with Ty and my kids. I'm used to spending all day with kids and not having much interaction with adults, so I'm okay not seeing other adults during the day. I'm sure by May, I'll be so ready to see other people, but for now I'm good. This is one time when being mostly an introvert has worked hugely to my advantage!
Books:
- The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin- This was one I picked up at Goodwill. I was hooked from the start. The premise was so interesting. These siblings go to a gypsy woman and are each given the date they will die. The story then goes into each of their lives in the order they die in. It got a bit weird and I ended up not liking it as much as I thought I would, but it was still good.
- Him, Me, Muhammad Ali by Randa Jarrar- This one I bought in the sale stack at the library. With the library being closed most of my books will be ones from Goodwill or from the discarded books I bought at the library. It was a book of short stories. There were some stories I really enjoyed but others I wasn't very into. I'd say this one was so-so, but the cover sure was pretty!
- What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty- The last time I was at Goodwill they had 3 Liane Moriarty books so I bought them all. The first one I read was Nine Perfect Strangers and I didn't really like it. I was a little worried Big Little Lies was an outlier and I wouldn't really like her other books. Thankfully I loved this book. It was so good! I started it right as I was starting to feel a little better coming off the flu. I was still tired and needed to be in bed, but I felt good enough to read. I ended up finishing this one in just a few days because I couldn't stop reading it!
- The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold- This one I got on the sale rack at the library a while back. I got really excited because I liked The Lovely Bones and Lucky by Sebold so much. I hadn't heard of this book and couldn't wait to read it. I was shocked by how much I hated it. I usually wouldn't say hate, I would say disliked, but I actually hated this book. I was still feeling rough so I'd say that played a part in disliking it but I loved What Alice Forgot which I read before this one. Even thinking about finishing this book irritates me now, like I'm angry at the book for how it treated me, haha! I wouldn't have read the whole thing but it was less than 300 pages so I went ahead and powered through it. It was terrible and one of those times it would be nice to not be so stubborn and allow myself to just give up on a book!
- I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella- After the terribleness that was reading The Almost Moon, I turned to an old favorite author, Sophie Kinsella. I needed something fun and silly. This one was a little hard to read at first because the main character let everyone just step all over her and it was irritating to me. But it turned out being so cute, just like all her other books. This was one of my least favorite books of hers I've read, but I still enjoyed it and it was exactly what I needed at the time.
eBooks:
- The Light Over London by Julia Kelly- This was our book club pick for our February meeting. I could only get it as an ebook and didn't start on it right away. By the time I started reading it I only had a few days left and was also reading a regular book I was really into, so I didn't finish it before it was due. I put it back on hold and it took weeks to get it again. I was a bit bummed about that because it was so good! I ended up really liking it. The format reminded me of Kate Quinn's books I've read because the chapters flipped back and forth between a woman in the past and a woman in current times.
- The Dutch House by Ann Patchett- I put this on hold thinking it was an audiobook. It took a long time to get it and I remembered I'd specifically wanted it as an audiobook but couldn't remember why. Since it took such a long time to get it with all the holds there were on the book, I decided to go ahead and read the ebook version. After I was 100 pages into the book I realized the reason I wanted it as an audiobook was because it was narrated by Tom Hanks. I was a bit bummed when I realized that because the audiobook would have been so good. I still really enjoyed the book and was glad I went ahead and read it. Although part of me wonders how amazing Tom Hanks would be as a narrator.
Audiobooks:
- Gold Fame Citrus by Claire Vaye Watkins- I started out liking this one well enough and then ended up not really liking it much. I was a bit surprised because I swear I saw it on book lists somewhere. That's why when I saw it available on my app, I chose it.
- Finding Chika: A Little Girl, an Earthquake, and the Making of a Family by Mitch Albom- I love Mitch Albom's books so I wanted to read this when I saw it had come out. I chose it as an audiobook because it was read by Albom himself. There were audio clips of Chika's voice which I liked, but other than that I think I would have liked it more as a regular book.
- The River by Peter Heller- I loved The Dog Stars and thought The Painter was so-so. When I saw The River getting good reviews, I thought I'd give Heller another try. I didn't really like this one that much either. I think The Dog Stars may have just been an outlier and his only book that was for me. This one I felt like anytime we got to a point where there was a lot of action, he'd switch over to share the thoughts of one of the main characters which distracted from the flow. I think the narrator of the audiobook didn't help either. There wasn't much inflection in his voice and it was pretty monotone.
When you get older, you'll be able to quit a book easier. :) That's too bad about Peter Heller and Alice Seybold. At least I know what not to even try.
ReplyDeleteI'd be interested to see what you think of The River if you read the actual book. I think a lot of the issue I had with it was that the narrator wasn't very good. I'm curious if the book is better as an actual book.
DeleteLike you, I really don't mind staying at home. If I weren't injured I'd probably be running 100 miles every week though, hah.
ReplyDeleteI don't doubt that at all! I'm loving the flexibility of being able to run at times other than the pitch black, freezing early hours of the morning.
DeleteFlexibility is nice! I've been biking some on my lunch breaks, which I wouldn't be able to do in Springfield. I biked 225 miles this week which is probably like running about 75 - if I can't run soon I think I'll hit a 300 mile bike week at least. ;-) Are you doing any virtual races or anything to kind of peak when Boston was supposed to be and reset for Sep.?
DeleteDang, that is so awesome! You have been killing that biking. Is your booty used to it now or does it get sore? I never could stick with biking long enough to get past the booty soreness.
DeleteI thought about doing a marathon on my own, kind of like a virtual marathon, since all the big workouts and training were already in. But it took me so long to get back to feeling like myself after being sick and out for 10 days that I decided not to. Yesterday was the first day I felt back to normal on a run and I'm still not back to where I was. I'm going to try out a short tempo run this week to gauge where I'm at. I just don't feel nearly as fit and fast as I did before I got sick. If the Joplin Memorial Run is able to be held, I may run the half there just for fun.
That makes sense with your illness recovery - and a solo marathon would be tough! I think if I had been healthy and training I'd probably do a half time trial but definitely not a full. I'm sure your strength will come back after being sick but it will just take a bit. Your Boston cycle (take 2) will start in a better place having done what you did.
DeleteI'm kind of surprised they haven't cancelled the Joplin Memorial Run yet, since Grandma's already got cancelled at the end of June. I really wonder when races will start again! Three races that I was planning to run got postponed to the end of August/beginning of September.
As far as biking, I think a big key is learning how to sit properly on the bike. My butt doesn't bother me if I'm sitting the way you're supposed to - you kind of tuck your pelvis a bit and get on your sit bones. I didn't do it correctly for a long time. I have also gotten far more used to being in the riding position lately. When I first started this doing 20 miles outside was really long, and now that's a really nice distance - far enough that I feel like I've done something but not fatiguing (kind of like an easy 8 mile run).
I'm hoping my 2nd cycle will be stronger, thanks to the work I did this spring. That's part of the reason why I decided not to do a solo marathon, I didn't want to over-work my body and wanted to go into my next cycle fresher.
DeleteI'm surprised they haven't cancelled Joplin either. I think they were hoping things would clear up by then. I really don't think it will though.
That makes sense, I've never known how to appropriately ride a bike. That must be the difference.
I think your decision was a good one! It would be kind of rough to run a marathon PR but not "officially" be able to count it too.
DeleteI didn't know how to appropriately ride a bike for years either! It makes a huge difference in comfort level. Another thing that I think also helped me was becoming stronger on the bike, because pedaling at a higher resistance not only allows you to go faster but also puts more weight/pressure on your legs, taking weight off your butt and arms. I was in great running shape when I started biking I but had NO power on the bike; it just doesn't translate because when running there is no resistance pushing down (in fact, gravity aids you with your foot "falling" to the ground). I hope you never have running injuries that make you take up biking, but if you do I now have lots of advice!
I hope I don't as well because I just don't think I could ever love biking like I love running. But it is good to know you could give me tips if I ever need to!
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