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Bookish (And Not So Bookish) Thoughts

Usually hosted at Bookishly Boisterous, who is vacationing this week instead!

Janeway and Picard, Space Station Mir
1. Insurance forms are such a pain, and it annoys the hell out of me because I'm pretty sure it's on purpose. But, really,why shouldn't you want me to pay you for something I will probably not need or at least not anytime soon? Seriously. Also, I resent that our society has created this need.

2. On a happier note, we adopted another dog! His name is Picard, and he and Janeway are already best friends.

3. For the Fourth of July, I made apple and apricot hand pies with the recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction.  I was pleased with how they turned out, especially the crust, and I will definitely be using the crust again for full-size pies!

4. I recently finished reading Tara Westover's memoir, Educated, about growing up in rural Idaho with a survivalist Mormon family, and--Wow. The writing is phenomenal, and her childhood is fascinating. It's even more weird to me because she's only a few years older than I am and we grew up in the same country, speaking the same language, but other than that, we may as well have been on different planets. When I was, say, seven, her life would have read to me like a historical fiction novel about pioneers. I do relate, though, to the complications of family and forging your own path against a cultural backdrop that may not align with your opinions as a grown person. She does a beautiful job of describing without too much judgment while expressing a clear message that it is entirely possible to grow up and be different from your family's expectations. She writes: "Life is not a thing unalterable."

5. I'm almost finished listening to Judy Blume's In the Unlikely Event and, woof, I did not expect such an emotional wallop.  This book pulls NO punches.

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