Reading

 I have been in a bit of a reading slump for months now. I just haven’t been able to completely “get lost” in a book. It’s not necessarily a bad thing because it means that I have had time to do other things – like cleaning (meh but needs to get done), hanging out with kids, watching TV (meh but sometimes that’s all I am in the mood for at the end of a day), or catching up on work.

• I finally finished “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” by Barbara Kingsolver. 

It was a good read and it definitely made me pay more attention to where my food comes from (and I am hoping to expand our garden to plant asparagus and rhubarb). It was entertaining, too. 

• The Saturday Morning Murder: A Psychoanalytic Case by Batya Gur

This was a slow read, both in terms of pacing and because it took me a couple of months to finish. I liked it! It’s just, like I said, I haven’t been able to get into the page-turning zone where I forget about everything else. 

A couple of quotes:

“He had an answer to everything, even when he had nothing to say.” 

[Yes! I know people like that!]

“She smiled and added with great sadness that it never occurred to her that it would be their last meeting. Her eyes filled with tears as she said that it was always like that; one always felt, she said as if to herself, that one had all the time in the world.”

• Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir.

I was not a huge fan of The Martian – not exactly sure why, just wasn’t my cup of tea. Project Hail Mary – I read it after my son’s raving reviews (he absolutely loved it). It is geared toward a somewhat younger audience (young teens, probably?) There were some aspects of it I absolutely loved, like the main character using very real science, real logic, and very real calculations to solve problems in the first few chapters. Overall, the book was just OK. I liked the mostly believable science based on actual scientific facts (science fiction as it should be!). The main character was a bit… too cheerful and too naive? Attempting to be humorous a bit too much? Not sure, but something felt off.

I think I am in the mood for some solid sci-fi.

Dear Reader, do you have a favorite science fiction book that you love to re-read?