Fri (8/31) weekly recap

[minzy]

What have you read this week?

QOTW: What do you and your family do to reduce, reuse, recycle or otherwise “save the earth”? In what areas could you improve?

[charlatti]

I finished Vox by Christina Dalcher, which is a sort of Handmaid’s-Tale-inspired dystopian novel set in our near future. The world was chillingly believable but it shifted a bit too much toward a thriller as it developed. Just started America for Beginners.

Qotw: We compost, which reduces our waste a lot and also makes us more conscious of preventing food waste. We have our own composter and are part of a city pilot program. I would love to drive less, partly because I hate driving, but public transport here is lousy. We live in a walkable area so we walk and bike as much as possible. My new school does not seem to have paper recycling, which is ridiculous and something I hope to help change. I use as little paper as possible, but the tech isnt reliable or fast enough to go fully paperless.

[spedrunner]

This week has been very difficult for me to focus or find the energy to read!   I just returned from PARIS (Pics and reviews in my blog)and have had jet lag, so when I start to read, I pass out
* Shakespeare and Company was the COOLESt and cutest bookstore in Paris ever, if you go to Paris, MUST go!

I did read:

The Clarity Cleanse: 12 Steps to Finding Renewed Energy, Spiritual Fulfillment, and Emotional Healing (Hardcover)

by Habib Sadeghi
3.5 stars. I really did enjoy this, filled with tons of self help/growth exercises. Some were a bit too much for me (Like asking strangers for money to get used to feeling uncomfortable) 

Currently Reading:
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Shaffer, Mary Ann

Can You Keep A Secret by Sophia Kinsella

QOTD: 
I try to bike as often as I can instead of using the car, difficult though.  Use reusuable water bottles, compost, I def. could/should do more

[ufcasey]

Read:
Jane Doe by Victoria Helen Stone
4 stars/thriller
This reminded me a little bit of Caroline Kepnes' 'You', only maybe even better. Jane is a sociopath who is out to get revenge against her best friend's a-hole boyfriend. It's great!

Force of Nature (#2 in series) by Jane Harper
4 stars/mystery
I liked this one better than the first book ('The Dry'). Corporate retreat in the wilderness gone horribly wrong!

Magic Triumphs (#10 in series) by Ilona Andrews
5 stars/paranormal romance-urban fiction
This is the end, so of course it had to give it a five star sendoff. It was so good and I am so sad!

Total so far for the year: 98

Currently Reading:
The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker - contemporary romance; I am REALLY liking this

And the Miss Ran Away With the Rake by Elizabeth Boyle - historical romance; just started

QOTW:
We recycle quite a bit. If we're out and about and buy a can or bottle of drink and there is not a recycling bin, we keep it with us and take it home so we can recycle it there. I refuse to throw them in the trash just for convenience. There's not nearly enough public recycling bins! Oh and my husband and I both work from home, and one kid rides the bus so that cuts down on gas usage/exhaust.

I can do better by cutting out straws, I'm waiting for my stainless steel one to arrive! Oh and sometimes I leave my cloth bags at home when I am out grocery shopping, I need to be better about that.

[rainbowchip]

I read the prequels for the new JR Ward book Consumed that comes out in October.
I'm also still slowly working through The Drawing of the Three. I do like this book better so far than the first one. I actually sort of understand what is going on.

QOTW: I'm pretty lucky that they are super accommodating to recycling in my area. We have two large dumpsters, one for intermingled recycling and one for trash. Our recycling is overflowing while we go through about 1 bag of trash a week.

I use cloth bags for grocery shopping. I need to get better on it for other shopping though. I also need to start using my reusable produce bags again.

We switched to a tankless water heater which I'm not convinced is more ecofriendly. We have to run so much water before it gets hot. It feels more wasteful. And a plumber friend said that with the insulation they have on the tanks now, your water heater is only kicking on once or twice a day if you aren't using it anyway.

I also am a telecommuter so no driving to work every day. We don't have public transportation where we live except for the buses to school which we use for our kids.

[minzy]

This week I read This Changes Everything - Capitalism vs The Climate by Naomi Klein. It was so well done and absolutely terrifying. In a nutshell, the planet is completely screwed unless we can stop pumping carbon into the atmosphere immediately (and the book is four years old, pre-Trump). A lot was stuff we already know, but she really goes into detail about the way our economies and societies are set up to grow grow grow, whereas the Earth has finite limits and we are reaching and breaching them. I am sufficiently spooked, hence my QOTW, looking for ideas.

QOTW: I use canvas bags whenever possible, recycle avidly (routinely used to carry trash across state lines to recycle it), pass all my kids’ clothes on (but probably buy too much in the first place), my husband buys a lot of used items, I turn lights off at home and at the gym if I am last to leave, we hardly ever use our outdoor lights at night since there’s a streetlight nearby, the kids and I often “share a flush” if we’re together going to the bathroom, I use a diva cup for my period (and wish I had started decades earlier), I have an IUD so not planning on more kids. I try to wash laundry on cold and the quick wash (which shaves a few minutes off), and after a week at my sister’s, I’m thinking more about giving up paper towels or significantly cutting back. My family planted 1000 trees when I was a kid, and I’ve taken my own kids tree planting a few times and have plans to do it again. We have some stock in Tesla for now, though Elon Musk’s recent gross behavior has me questioning that. We had locally grown tomatoes, watermelon and peaches this week, but also peppers from Canada, an orange from South Africa, bananas from Guatemala, something else I’m forgetting from Chile. Other “problem areas,” well, we live in single family, not small house, both drive cars (sedans), don’t compost at this point, he flies everywhere for work, and I do still want to see parts of the world with my kids. I think if I inherit land from my father someday, I will retain the mineral rights and never exercise them. And, I will vote.

[gummybear]

What have you read this week?
This was a slow week for me because I FORGOT MY BOOKS WHEN I WENT DOWN THE SHORE!!!!! The horror! But I read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. I'd give the 3.5 stars. I really did enjoy the story but nothing really wowed me or stood out for me in either a negative or positive way. It was kind of a forgettable book for me.

And I am starting The Home For Unwanted Girls today.

QOTW: What do you and your family do to reduce, reuse, recycle or otherwise “save the earth”? In what areas could you improve?
We do a lot of recycling. I line dry what I can outside on my clothesline (I am kind of obsessed). My entire garden is designed for native pollinators (I cannot take credit for this - the previous owner did it and let's just say I do not have a green thumb). On the flip side, we both drive gas guzzlers

[doxies]

I finished PS I Still Love You last weekend. It's the sequel to To All The Boys I've Loved Before. It was great. I'm trying to wait a little bit before I read the third book in the series.

I'm reading Tower of Dawn and so far I am enjoying it. I still don't quite remember everything that happened before, but I think I remember enough for things to make sense.

QOTW: I recycle and try to be aware of what is actually recyclable when I do it (a lot of people don't and I am horrified when I read online comments about it). I also started composting at home this summer, which has reduced our waste at ton but involves a bit of a learning curve for me. Hopefully when the leaves fall, I can store up some dried leaves to help balance it out.

[minzy]

Aug 31, 2018 9:04:58 GMT -5 rainbowchip said:

We have to run so much water before it gets hot. It feels more wasteful.

I was inspired to “save” the cold shower water before the hot water this week, so I kept the cold water in a bucket and then dumped it into the top of my toilet after a flush. That night we found a toad(!!) in that toilet, (on the second floor of our house so he must have had quite a climb) which scared the living crap out of my kids. Perhaps I’ll just try to shower faster and save a gallon of water that way. 😛

[tacokick]

Coming to My Senses: The Making of a Counterculture Cook Alice Waters (better than expected)


If You see Me, Don’t Say Hi Neel Patel (short stories, liked some more than others)


Two Girls Down Louisa Luna (not bad, seemed like the unofficial start of a new series)

The Foremost Good Fortune Susan Conley (interesting peek at living in China, sort of light weight)

Little Disasters Randell Klein (pretty good, I wish it wasn’t just the men’s perspectives, it told vs shown a lot of the traits of the women)

The Last Time I Lied Riley Sager (the main character didn’t make an obvious connection that it was so obvious, I didn’t realize they missed it until they figured it out which annoyed me)


Started: Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win. A couple of the ebooks I had from the library were duds so some of that pressure is off!

QOTD: we focus on recycling, reusing containers, reusable bags, trying to buy things with less packaging, and grow naive plants, have a bee, bird and butterfly friendly yard here in the city.

I’d like to compost more and use less paper towels.

[tacokick]

Aug 31, 2018 9:16:59 GMT -5 gummybear said:

What have you read this week?
This was a slow week for me because I FORGOT MY BOOKS WHEN I WENT DOWN THE SHORE!!!!! The horror! But I read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. I'd give the 3.5 stars. I really did enjoy the story but nothing really wowed me or stood out for me in either a negative or positive way. It was kind of a forgettable book for me.

And I am starting The Home For Unwanted Girls today.

QOTW: What do you and your family do to reduce, reuse, recycle or otherwise “save the earth”? In what areas could you improve?
We do a lot of recycling. I line dry what I can outside on my clothesline (I am kind of obsessed). My entire garden is designed for native pollinators (I cannot take credit for this - the previous owner did it and let's just say I do not have a green thumb). On the flip side, we both drive gas guzzlers

Growing up we had library cards for the county the beach we went (for a week or less!) to was in and would get books out. Since it was in MD too, we could return them at home and they’d send them back to the beach for us! #nerds

[msmerymac]

I'm in the middle of a lot of stuff right now, I think. I have a 6-hour drive each way to Boston this week, so I'm sure I'll listen to an audiobook, too.

I'm currently in the middle of We Were Eight Years in Power by Ta-Nehisi Coates and The Merry Spinster: Tales of Everyday Horror by (Daniel) Mallory Ortberg.

QOTW: We recycle more than we throw away, we compost kitchen scraps, we use our own grocery bags, and we try to buy local products (through our co-op grocery store and our CSA we get at the farmer's market) and grow, cook and can some of our own stuff. We live in a house that many would consider small. I could work on reducing the packaging I actually buy (even though I recycle what I can), shipments, and travel. My H and I both drive, separately, to work because we work in the suburbs. But we use bikes and public transit a lot when we can. I also plan to get an electric or hybrid car when I replace mine, and solar panels someday.

[bex]

I did not manage my library loans well lol so I have like 4 books going at once (which I try not to do, I try to only read one at a time.)

Killers of the Flower Moon
The World As It Is
Still Waters (one of the free books from amazon on world book day)
Warcross

I haven't finished a book in a while because I'm like 50 pages into each of those lol.

[monkeyfeet]

I finished China Rich Girlfriend and started An American Marriage, but haven’t had enough time to donate to it.

QOTW - we recycle, try to avoid driving, reusable grocery bags, try to buy less in general, but I still feel like there is so much excess!

[mie]

I just finished Always and Forever, Lara Jean and am starting To All the Boys I've Loved Before. I had a hold on all three books at the library and will be reading them out of order.

We recycle what we can and are a one car family.

[mx27]

Finished "Sharp Objects" by Gillian Flynn (Not bad, but I liked "Gone Girl" better)

Currently reading "All We Ever Wanted" by Emily Giffin (I am finding the main female character annoying - reading her thoughts/comments are like being hit over the head with a giant liberal caricature. I get it, she's progressive!!!

[snshne322]

Aug 31, 2018 8:59:45 GMT -5 ufcasey said:

Read:
Jane Doe by Victoria Helen Stone
4 stars/thriller
This reminded me a little bit of Caroline Kepnes' 'You', only maybe even better. Jane is a sociopath who is out to get revenge against her best friend's a-hole boyfriend. It's great!

Force of Nature (#2 in series) by Jane Harper
4 stars/mystery
I liked this one better than the first book ('The Dry'). Corporate retreat in the wilderness gone horribly wrong!

Magic Triumphs (#10 in series) by Ilona Andrews
5 stars/paranormal romance-urban fiction
This is the end, so of course it had to give it a five star sendoff. It was so good and I am so sad!

Total so far for the year: 98

Currently Reading:
The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker - contemporary romance; I am REALLY liking this

And the Miss Ran Away With the Rake by Elizabeth Boyle - historical romance; just started

QOTW:
We recycle quite a bit. If we're out and about and buy a can or bottle of drink and there is not a recycling bin, we keep it with us and take it home so we can recycle it there. I refuse to throw them in the trash just for convenience. There's not nearly enough public recycling bins! Oh and my husband and I both work from home, and one kid rides the bus so that cuts down on gas usage/exhaust.

I can do better by cutting out straws, I'm waiting for my stainless steel one to arrive! Oh and sometimes I leave my cloth bags at home when I am out grocery shopping, I need to be better about that.

I'm in the middle of KD # 4.  I just finished THE BEST PART (you know which I mean).  I have a ways to go before getting to the new one, but I'm loving the reread.

[mx27]

Aug 31, 2018 8:47:50 GMT -5 spedrunner said:

This week has been very difficult for me to focus or find the energy to read!   I just returned from PARIS (Pics and reviews in my blog)and have had jet lag, so when I start to read, I pass out
* Shakespeare and Company was the COOLESt and cutest bookstore in Paris ever, if you go to Paris, MUST go!

I did read:

The Clarity Cleanse: 12 Steps to Finding Renewed Energy, Spiritual Fulfillment, and Emotional Healing (Hardcover)

by Habib Sadeghi
3.5 stars. I really did enjoy this, filled with tons of self help/growth exercises. Some were a bit too much for me (Like asking strangers for money to get used to feeling uncomfortable) 

Currently Reading:
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Shaffer, Mary Ann

Can You Keep A Secret by Sophia Kinsella

QOTD: 
I try to bike as often as I can instead of using the car, difficult though.  Use reusuable water bottles, compost, I def. could/should do more

I just reviewed your Paris blog posts...all of your outfits were adorable!  Also, you have killer calves!

[snshne322]

I'm rereading Magic Strikes and I'm still loving it as much as the first and second time around.

I'm listening to All Your Perfects and it's already painful. Painful as in emotional, not bad. I'm anxious about finishing it.

QOTW: We do a pretty good job at home with recycling and composting. I'm fully switched out to silicone straws for any refills I get when I'm out, but I want to get one of those pocket ones for on the road. I recently bought the Bambooee reusable towels and I've significantly reduced my paper towel waste. I'd really like to convince DH to do better at the store using reusable bags. I have some that I keep in my purse, but he's the one that goes shopping the most. I'm always up for more ideas on how to reduce my footprint. I'm making progress, but I want to keep getting better.

[spedrunner]

Aug 31, 2018 14:24:48 GMT -5 mx27 said:

Aug 31, 2018 8:47:50 GMT -5 spedrunner said:

This week has been very difficult for me to focus or find the energy to read!   I just returned from PARIS (Pics and reviews in my blog)and have had jet lag, so when I start to read, I pass out
* Shakespeare and Company was the COOLESt and cutest bookstore in Paris ever, if you go to Paris, MUST go!

I did read:

The Clarity Cleanse: 12 Steps to Finding Renewed Energy, Spiritual Fulfillment, and Emotional Healing (Hardcover)

by Habib Sadeghi
3.5 stars. I really did enjoy this, filled with tons of self help/growth exercises. Some were a bit too much for me (Like asking strangers for money to get used to feeling uncomfortable) 

Currently Reading:
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Shaffer, Mary Ann

Can You Keep A Secret by Sophia Kinsella

QOTD: 
I try to bike as often as I can instead of using the car, difficult though.  Use reusuable water bottles, compost, I def. could/should do more

I just reviewed your Paris blog posts...all of your outfits were adorable!  Also, you have killer calve

Haha, thank you!! YOu are too kind, yes, lots of comments on my calves, not so awesome when they dont fit into pants and boots thought !

[aurora]

In the past week, I finished

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate (see discussion thread)
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (see discussion thread)
The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon (a fun re-read)

I'm currently "reading"

My Own Words by Ruth Bader Ginsburg (I had started this a while back and put it down out of inability to concentrate, but now I feel like I've read enough fiction to pick it up again) - interesting, but definitely takes focus. I am enjoying the more recent decisions now since I remember them from the news and discussions on CEP so I can relate better to what she says about them.
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Steig Larsson (audiobook re-read) - I had forgotten so much of this story!

QOTW
Saving the Earth is really one of my life drivers. I work in renewable energy, commute by bus, recycle, reuse, compost, garden,...so, I do a lot.

I also take a lot of airplane trips, still eat meat, we own two gas-powered cars (one of which is a truck), and do a lot of other American things, so I'm far far far from perfect. I try not to judge others as a result.

[aurora]

Aug 31, 2018 9:14:22 GMT -5 minzy said:

This week I read This Changes Everything - Capitalism vs The Climate by Naomi Klein. It was so well done and absolutely terrifying. In a nutshell, the planet is completely screwed unless we can stop pumping carbon into the atmosphere immediately (and the book is four years old, pre-Trump). A lot was stuff we already know, but she really goes into detail about the way our economies and societies are set up to grow grow grow, whereas the Earth has finite limits and we are reaching and breaching them. I am sufficiently spooked, hence my QOTW, looking for ideas.

...

This sounds interesting! I am adding it to my list.

And yes, we're in a really bad spot, frankly terrifying, but I haven't given up fighting.

[aurora]

Aug 31, 2018 9:25:11 GMT -5 tacokick said:

...
QOTD: we focus on recycling, reusing containers, reusable bags, trying to buy things with less packaging, and grow naive plants, have a bee, bird and butterfly friendly yard here in the city.
...

I know you meant native, but this typo made me laugh.

[aurora]

Aug 31, 2018 12:12:38 GMT -5 bex said:

I did not manage my library loans well lol so I have like 4 books going at once (which I try not to do, I try to only read one at a time.)

Killers of the Flower Moon
The World As It Is
Still Waters (one of the free books from amazon on world book day)
Warcross

I haven't finished a book in a while because I'm like 50 pages into each of those lol.

I hate when this happens! I am fine if I'm reading one on paper (or Kindle) and listening to another, but really can't keep track of four at once.

[tacokick]

Aug 31, 2018 15:28:18 GMT -5 aurora said:

Aug 31, 2018 9:25:11 GMT -5 tacokick said:

...
QOTD: we focus on recycling, reusing containers, reusable bags, trying to buy things with less packaging, and grow naive plants, have a bee, bird and butterfly friendly yard here in the city.
...

I know you meant native, but this typo made me laugh.

Well, they don’t get out much!

[travella]

I finished I'll Be Gone By Dark, 1*. I hated the lack of continuity and the constant jumping around in the timeline. The only part of the book that I enjoyed was the letter written by the author to the Golden State Killer. I think the book would have been a lot better had she been able to finish the book herself.

I'm about 70% of the way through The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

[tacokick]

Aug 31, 2018 16:55:01 GMT -5 travella said:

I finished I'll Be Gone By Dark, 1*. I hated the lack of continuity and the constant jumping around in the timeline. The only part of the book that I enjoyed was the letter written by the author to the Golden State Killer. I think the book would have been a lot better had she been able to finish the book herself.

I think did too! It seemed very unfinished to me, which of course, it was. I can understand wanting it to be published but really, it wasn’t ready and didn’t contain any solid leads IMO.

I wonder how much was actually written by her vs written by the ghostwriters. She was on a lot of drugs at he time of her death and I wonder if that made if difficult for her to focus and skip around a bunch.

[rootbeerfloat]

I just started An American Marriage.

QOTW: We have solar panels, recycle, use reusable bags. I need to break my addiction to paper towels and could probably drive less, though I would like my next car to be hybrid or electric.

[monkeyfeet]

Aug 31, 2018 14:29:42 GMT -5 snshne322 said:

I'm rereading Magic Strikes and I'm still loving it as much as the first and second time around.

I'm listening to All Your Perfects and it's already painful. Painful as in emotional, not bad. I'm anxious about finishing it.

QOTW: We do a pretty good job at home with recycling and composting. I'm fully switched out to silicone straws for any refills I get when I'm out, but I want to get one of those pocket ones for on the road. I recently bought the Bambooee reusable towels and I've significantly reduced my paper towel waste. I'd really like to convince DH to do better at the store using reusable bags. I have some that I keep in my purse, but he's the one that goes shopping the most. I'm always up for more ideas on how to reduce my footprint. I'm making progress, but I want to keep getting better.

I’ve never heard of those towels! Thanks!

[sassypants]

I finished The Immortalists the other day (I liked it but could have used a sad (though not dead) animal warning). I'm now reading When Life Gives You Lululemons. It's much better than the first follow up she did to Devil Wears Prada. I'm about halfway through.

QOTW: We recycle, use reusable bags and water bottles, and have a Brita. I also try to consciously avoid overpackaged things when I can. We have an HE washer, too, and our cars get 33ish MPG which isn't terrible since we can't afford hybrids.