WEEKLY UPDATES: A GREAT WEEK FOR READING & BLOGGING…

On By Laurel-Rain SnowIn weekly updates

Good morning! Today’s post will link up to The Sunday Salon, The Sunday Post and Stacking the Shelves, for weekly updates.

**Mailbox Monday is hosted at the home site: Mailbox Monday.

And let’s join Kathryn, our leader in It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?, at Book Date.

 

Another great week for reading!  Four books, read and reviewed, each as great as the last one.  Blog posts seemed to grow on their own, ending up with seven of them.  Viewing movies and shows on Hulu, Prime, and Netflix are keeping me happy when I’m not reading…and Marcella, Season 3 on Netflix, starts on Sunday.

The alternating days in the dining room are working out better than when we went every day.  I am liking a slow movement back to whatever the “new normal” will be.

As I write this post, I keep noticing the message in the sidebar that says “the Block Editor is ready when you are.”  I am taking that to mean it is optional.  I definitely don’t want to use it!

Let’s take a closer look at my week…and maybe you would like to be caffeinated, so here goes:

LAST WEEK ON THE BLOGS:

Tuesday Excerpts:  “Remain Silent”

Tuesday Potpourri:  Books & Moments…

Hump Day Potpourri:  Reinventing My Space…

Hump Day Reading…

Another Book from the Backlog…

Bookish Friday:  “You Can’t Catch Me”

Coffee Chat:  Reading, Purging, & Living in the Moment

Review:  The Flatshare, by Beth O’LearyReview:  This Is How I Lied, by Heather GudenkaufReview: The Closer You Get, by Mary TorjussenReview:  A Week at the Shore, by Barbara Delinsky

***

INCOMING BOOKS:

One book came in my physical mailbox…and I downloaded 3 e-books:

This Is Big, by Marisa Meltzer

You Can’t Catch Me, by Catherine McKenzie

Stranger in the Lake, by Kimberly Belle

Swan Song, by Lisa Alther

***

CURRENTLY READING:  Pretty Things, by Janelle Brown

Two wildly different women—one a grifter, the other an heiress—are brought together by the scam of a lifetime in a page-turner from the New York Times bestselling author of Watch Me Disappear.

***

That was my week. What did yours look like?   Since we no longer get to go out to restaurants, I scroll through photos of my favorites from previously normal times.  Here I was enjoying lunch with my granddaughter Fiona.

***

70 thoughts on “WEEKLY UPDATES: A GREAT WEEK FOR READING & BLOGGING…”

  1. Glad you had a great reading week. And that things are getting better in the dining room! Food is important after all haha and if that ain’t right, nothing is right lol. Or at least that’s what I’d be thinking probably haha. 🙂

    Seriously though- and wait! Did you say Marcella S3? YES!!! That is awesome news. Love that show!!!!!

    Love that pic you shared. Yes restaurants. I miss ’em. Got chinese today and curbside pickup was fine but not the same as eating there lol. Ah well… first world problem I guess Greg. :):):)

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    1. I can’t even leave this facility to get pickup, but luckily I have my grocery app….and added Uber Eats, but haven’t used it yet.

      Thanks for visiting, Greg, and I am really missing those cocktails we used to have at dine-in restaurants. Sigh.

      I love Marcella, too! Will probably watch all of Season 3 today. LOL.

      Enjoy your week.

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  2. Gayathri Lakshminarayanan

    Oh give the block editor a chance. I did and I am loving it. Yes, it does have a bit of learning curve but it is worth it. I am yet to watch Marcella, but the trailer seems intriguing. Elbow hugs.

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    1. I tried it once, briefly, when I couldn’t get my photos to upload properly, but I was not impressed. I just hope it remains optional. I don’t like being forced to do anything, lol.

      Enjoy your week, Gayathri, and I’ll bet you would enjoy Marcella. Elbow hugs back!

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  3. Hmm I am not sure about the Block Editor either, just ignoring it. Happy with how it all works as it is!! A great set of incoming books. I recognise some of the authors. Thank goodness for books and good shows.

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    1. Oh, yes, I am definitely not eager to try Block Editor. They made that one change a few years ago, and we had to figure out how to go into the dashboard to write our posts. So glad that is still working!

      Thanks for visiting, Kathryn, and I am definitely happy for good books and good shows! Enjoy your week, and stay safe.

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  4. Hey Laurel-Rain, glad to hear it has been a good week of reading, viewing and time in the dining hall! My week has been good, too, although the weather has been changeable to say the least! And I have to agree about the block editor, I had a go at it and hated it, so have switched back to the classic editor. Take care and happy reading. 😃

    Here’s my Sunday Post: https://thebookwormchronicles.wordpress.com/2020/06/14/sunday-reflection-14th-june-2020/ 🙂

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    1. It is not that I hate new things, but WP seems to make such drastic changes that I feel completely frustrated trying to work them out. Definitely staying away from Block Editor! If you’re watching, WP, don’t try anything funny! LOL.

      Thanks for visiting, Jessica, and stay safe.

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    1. Thanks, Cathy, as usual for me lately, I was reading my final (fourth) book until evening, so I felt a bit of pressure to get the update done. I needed a glass of wine, but didn’t open my bottle. Saving it for a day when they don’t serve wine in the kitchen here. LOL.

      Have a great week, and stay safe.

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    1. I am considering slowing down, as I don’t like having to read my final book on the day I write my update! I have some longer books to read, and it’s time to crack them open. However, I love Catherine McKenzie, too, and will have to read that one.

      Thanks for visiting, Emma, and stay safe!

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  7. You have had a good week. All your reads were great, and you did a lot of blogging. That’s a good week for me.

    I’m glad they are opening back up your dine-in areas slowly. I hope your food is getting more tasty. I know that was a problem in the past.

    I love to look through old photos. I’m glad I took a lot of them in the past.

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  11. Sounds like a very good week for reading, blogging, and viewing! I’m glad the alternating days in the dining room are working out… seems like any return to normal will involve baby steps. We ate outdoors at a restaurant for the first time last week. I was nervous, but it still felt like such a treat. Hope you have a good week.

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  13. I don’t know how you have to do all that reading and still have time to write the reviews and watch programs too. We haven’t eaten out nor plan too in the near future. it seems weird since we used to eat out twice a week- I’ve been doing a lot of cooking!

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  17. Susan

    You are on a roll, Laurel. 4 books, nice! I never understand what wordpress is telling me to do. I just want it to work! I’m not sure which TV series we’re going to start next after The Morning Show …which we liked, excellent. Maybe Little Fires Everywhere? Would my husband like it …. or is it just a chick series? I did read the book … a lot of family drama there. But he did like the TV series Big Little Lies. so there is hope. Enjoy your week!

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  18. I haven’t used the block editor yet either. I plan to keep using the one I’m comfortable with until they force me on to the new one.
    The new Kimberly Belle book is on my wish list!

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  19. I’m glad the alternating days in the dining room is working out for you. I wonder what the “new normal” is going to be for all of us. Stranger in the Lake looks really good. I hope you have a great week and enjoy your books.

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    1. Thanks, Bea, it is good that we don’t go to the dining room every day. It is a nice change, but going more often would be a shock to the system after more than three months of not leaving our apartments! LOL

      I loved This Is How I Lied.

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  22. Oh my gosh, do I miss eating out! And food from restaurants. Lol. I am glad you are able to get out to your dining room and eat – it’s got to be nice to be near people like that again. Eating is such a social thing! Looks like you had a great week of reading! Stay safe and have a good one. 🙂

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    1. Thanks, Erin, I am glad we are slowly moving into a “socialization” stage during this horrific, yet strangely awakening time in our lives. I have read the perspective from others that 2020 has been horrible in many ways, but good, in that we are also seeing some big changes around us.

      Enjoy your week, and stay safe. Thanks for visiting.

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  24. What a great reading and blogging week, Laurel! And spending every other day in the dining room sounds like an ideal option.

    I am slowly getting to grips with the Block Editor and hopefully, the changes I’ve made are compensating for being unable to text wrap around my images. But now I am beginning to cope, it isn’t quite so daunting – thank goodness…

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    1. Oh, I am glad you’re working it out; I have only tried it a couple of times, because I had trouble with some of my photos not sizing properly. But I didn’t enjoy it!

      It was a great week, Sarah, and I’m glad the dining room experience is moving slowly. After total lockdown for more than three months, it is good to make it a gradual movement.

      Have a great week!

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      1. Yes, glad to hear that everything is slowly returning to normal.

        As for the block editor – yes, I found a couple of REALLY helpful videos on YouTube. Photos are the same as with the classic editor, unless you want to go Custom – but there is also a gallery option, too, which is what I am now increasingly using. Having had to get to grips with it, I am finding it easier…

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  25. Just a little bit of socializing makes a huge difference. We had a get together with a few friends and it was great. I hope you will be able to have some sort of lunches out soon!! They will look a bit different for sure. The Kimberly Belle book screams pick me up! We have plans to watch season 3 of Marcella on the next rainy day!! Getting into Handmaid’s Tale now as our son shared Hulu with us.

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    1. Oh, I like Hulu, and have seen some great shows there. Enjoy! I am also eager to read the Kimberly Belle book.

      Lunches out, even in a very limited way, is something I hope to enjoy eventually. They are not letting us out yet, though. Sigh.

      Enjoy your week, Nise.

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  26. I definitely want to read You Can’t Catch Me once its out (I think it’s coming here by the end of the month?). And I added Stranger in the Lake to my shelves this week too. Have a great week and happy reading!

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  27. Kathy Martin

    I’m glad things are getting back to sort-of normal for you. Things are gradually reopening here but I’ve still put less than 150 miles on the new car I bought at the beginning of March. I’m really content to stay at home. Of course, it helps that my brother goes out and does most of the grocery shopping and cooking. Come see my week here. Happy reading!

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    1. I am glad for the alternating days in the dining room, so nothing is moving too abruptly. I also have an app for groceries on my phone, so that helps. Yes, they prepare meals for us, but I need supplemental items that they don’t provide.

      Enjoy your reading, Kathy, and soon you can travel more with your new car. Hopefully.

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  28. Ugh! I’m finally getting used to the Block Editor, and now WordPress wants me to do an update again, which better not change everything again! I used to clone my posts and edit them instead of creating a whole new post each time. That stopped working well, so I finally had to convert an entire post to blocks before editing it. Now I can clone a post and it’s already in the darn block format. I hate that photos have to be resized before importing them into the post now, too. Ah, well! Congrats on another great week of reading and reviewing!

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    1. I hate the sound of it, Laurie. I dealt with it a little when I had trouble getting photos to upload properly…they were squashed and out of whack with the classic editor. That didn’t happen often, but WP support team said Block Editor would fix it. It was almost more than it was worth.

      Let me just say I HATED the experience.

      Why do they keep changing something that is working for most of us?

      Good luck!

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  29. I bit the bullet and have switched to the block editor. I tried it once when it was first introduced (late 2018?) and it has improved since then. But still, much cursing is occurring around here as I try to make it do what I want to do.

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  31. I’m glad that you are still enjoying the meals at the dining center. It also sounds like you are enjoying your reading. Good books coming in too. All looks positive.
    I hope you have another good week with Happy Reading!

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  32. Veronica @ The Burgeoning Bookshelf

    Four books read in one week would be my dream week. I hope you loved them all. I read I Thought I Knew You in one day. (Which is good for this slow reader) It was such an easy read and a page turner. I hope the coming week is just as productive for you.

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    1. So far, I’m not off to a great start this week; still on the first book. But I’ve been distracted and doing other things. The week will be slower, perhaps, but I am enjoying the bits I’ve read.

      Thanks for visiting, Veronica, and have a great week.

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  33. Literary Feline

    It sounds like you had good last week. 🙂 I hope this week will be a good one for you as well.I hope you are enjoying Pretty Things and your new books! Take care, Laurel-Rain. Stay safe and well.

    Liked by 1 person

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