Pandemic Thoughts

      It will probably not come as a surprise to anyone, but I have stressed a lot about writing any posts about this pandemic situation. I have composed so many things in my head and never actually typed them. Mentally deleted them if you will. There are simply too many things and too many ways to offend people. But I think the time has come, at least for me, that my words have to come out, and if someone is offended by them, so be it. 

     We are living in an unusual time. A historic time. And obviously history is often not fun or pretty. We end up finding the shiny parts, and sometimes turning a blind eye to some of the messier parts (a whole OTHER thing going on right now), and I wonder how this time will look 50 years from now. Will we have Pandemic recipes like we have Depression era pie recipes? Will we tell our great grandchildren how we "suffered"? The reality is that for most people, the pandemic has resulted in many things that have been uncomfortable, but they have not suffered. Not in a true sense of the word. Worried, yes. Stressed, absolutely. But suffered, not so much.

     I do not in any way mean to discount people who have been ill, and of course those who have lost their lives. I am aware that this illness can be deadly. My mil is a nurse, believe me, I know. I've had friends who have lost family members (not Covid related) who have not been able to have a "normal" funeral service. I've seen on the internet where some people were extremely upset about not being able to attend a prenatal checkup with their person. All upsetting, for sure. But I think that with the perspective of time, we will see that these things are not as critical to our lives as they seem right now. During previous epidemics when hundreds of thousands of people died, funerals were not even held. People were buried in mass graves. We are so much farther ahead than we realize sometimes. 

     Social media can be both the best and worst things in a time of crisis. We can get up to the minute information, and make informed decisions. But if the effort is not taken to make sure the info is from a reliable source, that decision may not have been for the best. And every move you make is up for criticism and debate depending on how much you post, tweet, and blog. (Yes, I am aware of the irony here.) There will always be someone to tell you how right you are, or how wrong you are, and sometimes both at the same time. 

     So. My point. Everything is always changing. What is a disaster today will be history tomorrow. Our perspectives will change, our stories will change. The world is fluid, and things like politics, equality, the pandemic, social justice, and religion will always be debated. My personal goal is to try to extend grace in the conversations. 

     The above is solely MY opinion. 'Cause it's my blog. Get your own and you can say what YOU want. ((Wink))

I'm a Bookstagrammer

     So I recently decided to add another aspect to my social media world that I have every intention of keeping current and very well may not. I am now a Bookstagrammer, For the uninitiated, that is an Instagram account that is dedicated to all things books. I learned really quickly that there are a lot of accounts that are promoting "giveaways" for following their pages, and some that are only for self promotion. But the are many that are simply about sharing what they are enjoying reading. And even when they share about books they didn't enjoy, the reviews and reasons are helpful. It's only been a week, but I've enjoyed the adventure so far. If you want to follow, I'm at @haloheartspages.

      Onto the most recent reads.
I have always been fascinated by all things JFK and JKO, and this book did not disappoint. Although it is plainly stated that it is a novel, it is written from the point of view of Jackie, starting from the time that Jack and Jackie meet. The book is written so well that Jackie's voice as narrator is very believable. I found myself hoping that this is actually how she felt about things, and that these conversations did in fact happen. The author does take liberties with some facts, but she explains when and why at the end of the book, and those changes do make sense. Overall, I felt this novel was an enjoyable read, and added a human aspect to historical figures.


I also listened to The Goldfinch on Audible. It was a loooong 32 hours. I have started this book 3 times and finally finished. The Goldfinch received a lot of reviews and so I thought I should try to finish it. Sometimes I rebel and don't finish a book that many people find amazing, just because I don't like it. Life is just too short. But The Goldfinch had just enough to keep me coming back, and the freaking pandemic gave me 32 hours. So I finished it. And I am glad I got through it. It turns out that the Goldfinch is a painting. There are so many twists and turns in this story, but they are well done, and just when you think you know what will happen, something else occurs. The bottom line, in my opinion, this is a long story, but hang in there, it is worth it.


         That is what is what I'm reading now.

What I've Been Reading

      Since we have been quarantined for 643 years, I have been doing even more reading than usual, but I decided not to post all of the books I was reading since some of them are old trashy novels. Nobody wants to read about that. Or maybe you do. Nora Roberts hasn't sold 6 billion books to just me. 

     Anyway, I've read a few books that are due to be released in a week or so. Reviewing books, and writing a blog gets you some perks like that. Sometime you get some garbage books too, but luckily that hasn't happened in a while. 

     Brave Girl, Quiet Girl is a book about a little girl that is taken in a carjacking. She is then found by a homeless teenage girl, and the ensuing story is about how the mother, the child, and the teen are all linked from that point. Or are they? It was a good read, and was on point with one of my pet peeves. If a story is going to address police matters, I want the research done correctly. This book had the facts pretty straight as far as police procedure would go. 

 

     I have read Ann Rule's true crime book's since I was in high school. Many of them were made into movies. Specifically ones about Ted Bundy and Diane Downs. Leslie Rule is her daughter, and grew up as her research assistant, and wrote a different genre. I was several chapters into A Tangled Web when I realized I had seen this exact story on 48 Hours less than a week before. I am not quite through with this book, because honestly it is a difficult read. I don't believe it has much to do with poor writing, but more to do with the fact that this story is very convoluted. It truly was a tangled web. I know how it ends, because I saw it on TV, but the book does have a lot of details that were left out, I imagine purely for time. Leslie Rule's writing style will no doubt be compared to her mother's, but I think she can hold her own. 

      I also listened to a few new Audible books, Me Before You by JoJo Moyes (very good), and When She Returned by Lucinda Berry (also very good). 

    

    Be well!

 

What I'm Reading

     I'm not real sure how I managed to get all the way to March without blogging anything since I write pretty consistently in my head. I guess there is a glitch in the system. Anyway, I'm going to ease into 2020 blogging by telling you about what I'm reading now.

     This was available on Netgalley, and was a pre-release. It will be published next month, and if you are a fan of island stories, or families, or the Irish, then I suggest you read it. It drew me in, and I finished it in about 2 days, with A LOT going on in my house.
      This one is a book launch I am part of, and I have not finished it yet. I am getting a lot out of it. If you know me at all, you know that so much has happened in our lives in the last 10 years and I do feel that I should write about it at some point. This book really seems like it will help me do that in the best way possible. So many people don't realize that reading books about writing is a thing. Writing is a skill that can be honed, and hopefully I will get better. Reading books like this one helps ( I think!), and I'm glad to have it in my arsenal. It releases April 7th.

     I also bought a copy of The Great Gatsby. Somehow I never read it in high school. We will see.