Yes, I am obsessed with Spring. Now, with daylight savings time, I still struggle in the morning but am relishing the evening light.
I have five flats started under grow lights--Roma tomatoes, Moneymaker tomatoes, cherry tomatoes jalapeno peppers, yellow bell peppers, ancho peppers, coleus, and viola. Everthing sprouted in less than a week. I love those Botanical Interests seeds! This weekend I plan to get the snapdragons, marigolds, impatiens, tomatillos, and anaheims started. Last year I put in my native (to my region in CO) flower garden, and things are starting to green up!
Now on to what I've been reading...
The Last Ranger, by Peter Heller
Ren is a park ranger in Yellowstone, working hard to keep the park, its fauna, and the people who love and study them safe from ruffians and those who want to exploit the land and its resources. I found the plot reasonably interesting, with lots of tension, and I loved learning about the ways of the wolf packs that have been gaining a foothold in the park. I liked reading about the life of a park ranger in one of the premier national parks, and one that I have visited several times and love. I don't love Heller, and I definitely am not interested in his dystopian stuff, but this was a good solid outdoor adventure novel.
The Spy Coast (The Martini Club, #1), by Tess Gerritsen
Definitely a story inspired by the massive success of The Thursday Murder Club--the latter was published in 2020 and took off like a rocket, and The Spy Coast was published in 2023. Maybe I'm just cynical, but the premises of both are so similar. The Spy Coast is set in Maine and features a group of retired CIA spies who all live in the same village and have to dust off their spy skills when the past catches up with them. I'm not saying I didn't really enjoy the book and am looking forward to reading the second in the series. It has a good, interesting set of characters with a good, interesting plot. Appealing to us aging Baby Boomers is definitely a good idea!
The Berry Pickers, by Amanda Peters
Loved this book--also set in Maine. The story is narrated by two characters--a Native American girl/woman, kidnapped when she was five years old and raised by adoptive parents, and her brother, who was the last person to see her before she went missing. The two stories run parallel as the sister and brother live out their lives, struggling to figure out their place in the world. Reading about the treatment of Native Americans is rough, but I definitely feel I understand a bit more of how life was in Maine and maritime Canada in the mid/late 20th century. This is a debut novel, so I am eager to see what Peters writes next.
Death at the Sign of the Rook (Jackson Brody, #6), by Kate Atkinson
I just love Jackson Brody novels, and this one was such a treat to read. Jackson is his usual self-deprecating self, Reggie is there with all her baggage and snark and earnestness (which is a charming combination), and the premise is such fun. A murder mystery evening set at a dilapidated Downton Abbey-esque estate, with actual murders as well as stolen art (one of my favorite themes anyway) and goofy characters. Just so much fun!
My JASNA regional book club decided to read Emma for our March book, so I decided to read the annotations by David Shapard while listening to an audio version. The older I got, the more I love Emma--she is just delightful to watch growing up. The annotations were pretty good--Shapard promised not to interpret but to try to illuminate details that a 21st reader might not get. He did a good job.
That's all for now, folks! Hope you are finding some great books that put a spring in your step as well.
Congratulations on your garden and the vegetables sound delicious!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean about novels having very similar plots I ran into that recently myself. I suppose there is nothing wrong with it provided the plot isn't so similar that it's practically a replica of the original novel.
There are virtually no really original ideas, so similar plots are inevitable. The Martini Club does have lots of promise as a series in its own right.
DeleteI love Emma, too! It's such a humorous and fun book, and I love how Emma takes such good of her father; and her matchmaking missteps always make me smile. Good luck with your gardening and getting all your plants started! We've had snow the past few days, and more on the way, but March snow is always followed by such beautiful blue skies and warm sunshine I don't even mind. :D
ReplyDeleteEmma's care for her father makes her likeable despite her manifold faults.
DeleteI read The Berry Pickers for a book club and thought it raised some interesting issues especially among the indigenous people. I also have listened to the audio of The Last Ranger which was all right too. I'm interested to hear about your grow light ... we plan to plant veggie seeds in flats next weekend. We haven't started them in flats before ... so any thoughts are appreciated. We have a covered sunroom where we plan to put them.
ReplyDeleteI think your blog is where I first read about The Berry Pickers. It didn't really go on my tbr list, but it was the only book in the Sonoma bookstore that appealed at the time, and I am so glad I picked it up and read it!
DeleteWith regards to veggie starts--we use trays and then fill them with 6 packs. We put good new potting soil in a 5 gal bucket, and add water and stir--it should be pretty wet. Fill the 6 packs and then drop in the seeds. Some want a bit of soil on top and a few don't. Cover with plastic and put under grow lights (12 hours per day), and in a week you should have seedlings. I then take off the plastic and let them grow. Spaying with water as they dry out initially and then adding water to the tray so they can soak up from the bottom, which builds strong roots.
Good luck. It is so much fun to grow plants from seeds!
I enjoyed reading David Shapard 's annotations along with Persuasion last year and am thinking about rereading another Austen this summer. Maybe Emma or Mansfield Park. The Berry Pickers sounds like a novel I'd enjoy, too.
ReplyDeleteYou're responsible for giving Austen annotations a second chance, and now I am finding that I really like this approach. I really enjoyed the Emma reread. I'll probably do Mansfield Park next year. Have you tried out the Austen Chat podcast yet? I just started listening and am hooked!
DeleteI haven't heard of the Austen Chat podcast, but will check it out. Thank you!
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