News from the Nest, July 18

Here’s what I’ve read thus far and whether I’m thumbs up 👍🏻, thumbs down 👎🏻 or neutral 👉🏻on it.

• Magpie Murders, Anthony Horowitz 👎🏻 really dragged on, I quit reading with about 100 pages left.
• The Plot, Jean Korelitz👉🏻 good story, but predictable ending
• Black-Eyed Susan, Susan Heaberlin👉🏻 hard to follow
• Juliet, Naked, Nick Hornby👍🏻 a charming, light-hearted tale
• Hour of the Witch, Chris Bohjalian👍🏻 👍🏻quick moving
• Murder as a Fine Art, David Morrell👍🏻👍🏻 loved the weave of history and a good mystery
• Inspector of the Dead, David Morrell 👍🏻👍🏻 a good follow-up to the previous book, but I needed a break before I tackled the third. I will get to it soon.
• Brotherhood of the Rose, David Morrell 👍🏻 Same author as above, but completely different premise. Much more of a contemporary spy/counterintelligence novel.

• Pompeii, Robert Harris 👍🏻👍🏻 I read this historical fiction right before we toured Pompeii and it was a great primer.
• The Black House, Peter May👍🏻👍🏻These next three books are set on several islands in the Hebrides, of the coast of Scotland. I read them right before I spent several days with my dear friend. They are murder mysteries, but more than that they really gave me a sense of the place.
• The Lewis Man, Peter May👍🏻👍🏻
• The Chess Men, Peter May👍🏻👍🏻
• The Lincoln Highway, Amor Towles👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 It has been a LONG time since I enjoyed a book as much as I enjoyed this one. It has a Huckleberry Finn/Tom Sawyer feel to it, in that the main characters are young men coming of age in the 1950s. It is just a lovely story with dynamic and complicated characters. This was my first Amor Towles book, and I was a bit sad when I finished it. His writing style is just beautiful. So, I immediately jumped into…
• A Gentleman in Moscow, Amore Towles👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻If you like Dickens-type novels, sweeping stories with interesting characters, you’ll love this one. This story focuses on Count Rostov, who has been confined to a hotel in Moscow, and the associated staff and residents of the hotel. Once again, Towles writing style and his character development really speak to me.
• Rules of Civility, Amor Towles👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 I really did like it, but not quite as much as the other two. Set in 1938 New York, the main character is a young woman who is trying to navigate the time and characters of her orbit.
• Cloud Cuckoo Land👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 This is a challenging book to review. I am typically averse to ‘science fiction’ and almost discarded it because the jacket referred to a character living in the future on a spaceship. If you are similarly averse to futuristic novels, do not let that deter you! Trust me on this! This book wraps up several different characters in different settings and time periods so neatly and with a common thread that really comes together at the end. Several nice ‘aha’ moments and a clear message at the end.
• The Elegance of the Hedgehog 👍🏻👍🏻I very much enjoyed it. Not gonna lie; some of the philosophical ramblings lost me a bit. But I still found it a charming, sometimes humorous book with an uplifting message. Lovely and sympathetic main characters.

a new word

When I picked up My Brilliant Friend last night, the excerpted review on the book’s cover included a word that stopped me in my tracks and took me promptly to the Googler to define it!

BILDUNGSROMAN – (n) a novel dealing with one person’s formative years or spiritual education.

huh…don’t you wonder who decided that that word would mean that? and what a specialized word it is, too!

music

What are you listening to? I would call my music choices ‘eclectic’ or some would say ‘all over the place’!

While writing, I tell Alexa to play the Stacey Kent station. Stacey is an American Jazz Singer, and the station plays primarily female jazz singers with a little Michael Buble and Tony Bennet thrown in for good measure. This music calms my soul but does not distract me.

In the car, I play the 70s on 7 station because it is fun and brings back such fun memories and good feelings!

When doing ‘things’ other than writing, I play my own ‘curated’ Amazon Music Playlist of 277 of my favorite songs. This playlist is all over the place, from bluegrassy Allison Krauss and country Keith Urban & Chris Stapleton to the Beatles, Elton John and Michael Jackson and EVERYTHING in between. I just realized I could share this if you are interested.

other favorite things

I appreciate tried and true recommendations from friends and family. To that end, here are a few of my tried and true favorite products, tips and things that make my world work. What are some of your tried and trues? I love crowd-sourcing helpful tips and products.

personal care

• Remember, at the beginning of the year, when I told you about my nail dip fiasco? How, after getting my nails dipped three times, they were paper thin and splitting? In my efforts to build them back up, I tried a couple of products. Some worked, and some I’m not sure about.
  • I am a believer in Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides! In my effort to make it more economical, I started using only half of the recommended dose and didn’t notice anything dramatic. When I decided to pull out all stops to repair my nails, I started using it at the recommended higher dose of 2 scoops daily, adding to my morning tea. Not only are my nails remarkably improved, but I notice the old-lady skin on my arms looks less old lady. But what really made an impression on me was the dramatic improvement of the skin on my feet! I have been trying to improve the skin on my feet and heels for my entire life. For the first time ever, I get into bed and notice how smooth my heels are against my sheets. It looks like it may be on sale at Amazon right now, but I buy mine at Costco.
  • When I was in ‘triage’ mode with my nails and was just trying to stop them from splitting even more, this nail repair kit did the job. Granted, it wasn’t pretty, but it was a good stop-gap while they slowly grew out and got stronger.
• I am a routine girl! This is why I think I do love being home for extended periods of time. Find a routine that works for you, its a great way to reduce the stress in your world. Here are some other ways to reduce stress.
• This next idea is only if YOU DON’T HAVE CHILDREN IN THE HOUSE! I’m always looking for ways to streamline daily processes. To that end, I ‘decanted’ my daily medications so they are easy for me to grab in the morning. I write the name of each prescription on the front of the little dish.