As predicted, there was no September book review. We took a two-week road trip from MN / WI to the Blue Ridge Parkway starting in NC and driving north. We toured the Biltmore Estate, the National D-Day Museum, Appomattox Court House and Monticello. We fit a lot in and stayed in a new place almost every night. It exposed differing travel preferences between my husband and I so suffice to say we will not likely undertake that ambitious of a trip again. My main takeaway is that the Parkway is a must-see - I loved the mountains, exposure to new places and people, and general comradery amongst fellow road trippers.
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus definitely lived up to the hype. I wanted to be sure and read this before the Apple TV limited series came out and I finished just in the nick of time. Elizabeth Zott is a science geek lacking social skills (so probably on the spectrum) living in a midcentury male-dominated profession (let's face it, the world was male-dominated in the midcentury). She's no-nonsense, ambitious and curious - my favorite type of person! The story is quirky, funny and educational. Elizabeth grows up with a lack of love, boundaries and structure, she eventually finds a like-minded genius scientist and a dog named six-thirty with whom she can settle down in their unconventional version of normal. Then life throws some curveballs, and she ends up with a TV cooking show because of the complex and nutritious school lunches she makes for her daughter. The banter between Elizabeth and Walter, the other single parent at her daughter's school who happens to run a TV station, caused numerous laugh-out-loud moments. The TV series veers a bit from the book but so far very enjoyable.I was excited to read Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia while on my recent Mexican vacation. The premise is an independent socialite from Mexico City, Noemie, is dispensed by her father to see if her cousin, Catalina, is being taken advantage of financially by her new husband's family. Noemie finds Catalina in a web of odd family dynamics and a house with wallpaper that moves. Sadly, it was like wading through sludge - I wanted to like it and stuck through to the end, but honestly it was a huge waste of time. The narration was bland, the characters lacked depth and the story line was convoluted and drawn out. Maybe the upcoming Hulu limited series will be better than the book.
TBR List
- Violeta by Isabel Allende, Frances Riddle
- Sparks Like Stars by Nadia Hashimi
- The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
- Blue Love: Blue Valley High by MJ Fields
- Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
- Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau
- Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson
- Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami
