There’s something about gardening that I love. While it is hard work, I find myself relaxing, my mind emptying, my stress levels lowering. It is still a bit early in the season to really start planting anything as the threat of morning frost will be around until mid-May. Instead, I took advantage of some nice weather and started cleaning out my planters and cutting back the damned blackberry bushes that want to overtake the yard.
But I may have overdone it on Sunday; I woke up Monday stiff and sore with a throbbing ankle from twisting it on some rocks. So I took it as a sign to relax for the day. I spent some downtime catching up on some television shows (my latest obsessions being What We Do In The Shadows and Happy) and doing a bit of reading. I seem to be going into a reading slump, but I did manage to finish a few this past week.
Field of Bones by J. A. Jance — 4 out of 5 stars!
The 18th installment in Jance’s Joanna Brady series, I devoured this book in an afternoon. Great pacing, good character development….and one of the things I like best is you don’t have to read previous books to get into this one. Jance does a great job of adding enough backstory to inform a new reader while keeping the story moving along.
Currency of Souls by Kealan Patrick Burke — 4 out of 5 stars!
I love me some weird horror, and this one definitely fits the bill! The small town of Milestone is one messed up place, but one I would gladly revisit (on paper only, of course!).
The White Lioness by Henning Mankell — 4 out of 5 stars!
The third book in the Kurt Wallender series. Once again, Mankell combines local mystery with international ties to make for an intriguing read.
Carsick by John Waters — 2 1/2 to 3 stars out of 5
I was a bit disappointed with this one. I was expecting a nonfiction account of Waters hitchhiking across America. Only the last third was his actual retelling of the journey. The first two parts were his fictionalized ideas of best- and worst-case scenarios. And while I am very familiar with Waters’ raunchy, over-the-top, often gross humor, there were a few times where even I was thinking “this is getting to be too much.” Maybe a recommend for die-hard Waters fans.
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Local upcoming events include the annual plant and book sale at my local library on Saturday, May 4. I’m looking forward to it, I always find a few good books and some greenery for the house and yard!
Until next time, Happy Reading!