The Sunday Salon: Garden excitement

Yet another Sunday Salon from me. It's getting harder for me to blog, not least because of time constraints, but also because I rarely sit on my computer after getting home from work. 8+ hours of coding at work tires me enough that all I like to do after getting home is watch TV and sleep. Those weeknights get even more perfect when the husband volunteers to make dinner. Whining aside, I am not close to giving up on reading or blogging and just probably need to work out a routine that works.

This past Thursday we had a close repeat of the Irene aftermath last year. Whichever thunderstorm that was that passed through town - wasn't even that strong - knocked out our power for a day. At least, it wasn't like last year, when we didn't have power for a week (and I had to do the icky task of cleaning the freezer of all those melted gooeys). Still, no power is no fun, considering how every damn thing runs on electricity. Friday, I could go to work, where there was power, but the husband and my brother (who is staying with us while he looks for a job) had a fun day outside watching movies, and hitting cafes. We then had dinner at Panera Bread, and I swear the whole town was in there.

This morning, we had a friend-cum-ex-colleague of mine stop by our house with her husband, and we spent a delightful hour catching up on stuff and other gossip. I spent sometime after that cleaning our backyard, which we had never worked on yet. It's a lot of back-breaking work that we can do only in spurts but we hope to get it ready for seeding before Fall. Nevertheless, we did plant some vegetables early in spring and we just tasted the first of our produce today (sugar snap peas). It's my first time having my own vegetable garden and eating the peas has me super excited. Even though they're not my favorite variety of peas, I can't wait to cook them.

This week, I'm hoping to post a couple of book reviews - I just haven't decided which. I was a quarter of my way into Stonewall by Martin Duberman (which is very good) when I decided that what I really wanted was to read some trash or really-silly book. Which is how I started reading The Vampire Diaries. I already devour the TV show so the book should actually not be that silly.

The Sunday Salon: Where I try to bore you talking mostly about work

Does anyone ever get Sunday blues? I'm sure many of you may have the Monday blues but Sunday blues? There's one thing I don't like about Sunday at all - and that's the fact that it comes before Monday. Just the knowledge that the weekend is ending can make the mood around me feel very somber on a Sunday morning. It is a lot better now - I actually love going to work nowadays after how my career direction changed more than a year ago. But there used to be a time when I brooded at home from Sunday AM already dreading the return to school or work the next day. Still, even now, it's no fun thinking I can't stay in my pajamas one more day.

Speaking of work, I was thrilled to learn that we will be enjoying summer hours again this year. It's my third year doing it and even though it can be hellish working 10 hours a day, it feels all worth it when Friday rolls around and there's a long three-day weekend ahead of me. I hope the husband and I make some good plans over the weekends during the next two months.

The past week was very busy at work as usual. (What's wrong with me - third paragraph of this post and I'm still talking about work.) Our BIG deadline is coming up in less than two months and it feels like there is still so much to do. There seems to be every indication that I may end up doing overtime, although management is trying hard to see if that can be avoided.

I ended up temporarily putting down two books this week (Appointment in Samarra and The Travel Auction) - both good books but not fast moving enough. I really want something that reads blazing fast without being a boring literature. Part of me is thinking Dan Brown's Inferno would fit the bill perfectly but it already has 48 holds at one library and 38 at another. I need something right now and I don't fancy the idea of buying the book. I have four books on my NetGalley account that I need to read. There were a lot more actually at one point but because I'm so bad with reading ebooks that they got archived before I could download them. Part of the reason is how much work it is to move an ebook to my first gen nook and maybe that's fodder for a whole different post. For now, these are what I have - Stonewall, Transatlantic, The Boy Who Could See Demons and Anonymous Sources. Have you read any? Do you think one of these could get me out of the rut I seem to have gotten into.

What I'm Reading Now (June 3 2013)

Hello all ye wonderful readers and bloggers! Did you go to BEA this year? I didn't catch up with any of that buzz this year, so I hope you had fun, either at BEA or ArmchairBEA or both.

Since I haven't done my weekly housekeeping Week In Books post for a while, I thought I'll talk randomly about the books I'm reading now. I had been poring through John O'Hara's Appointment in Samarra for quite a few weeks. It's certainly a fast-paced book but it's moving way too slow for me. I think the characters aren't intriguing me in any manner, making me not so interested in the book or it could be the slightly jarring pacing of the story that's making me disoriented. Either ways, I have put it down for now, and may return to it some other time.

Couple of days ago, I started reading The Travel Auction by Mark Green. While not exactly the type of book I would pick at a bookstore, Judith's review convinced that it is probably one that I would enjoy. So far, this book is actually quite fun. I'm enjoying the back and forth narrating style - both the protagonists take turns sharing the mike. Some of the story certainly feels far-fetched but in a fun way.

I'm currently on the lookout for some audiobook titles. The last one I finished was Unbroken by Lauren Hillenbrand, which turned out to be as captivating as all the hype had made it out to be. I'm still shocked about a lot of aspects of Louis Zamperini's story and those of several other men too who show up in his book. I seem to have very good success with nonfiction audiobook. So I'll have to look around for any that intrigue me.

Last few weeks, the husband and I went to the movies quite a few times (After Earth, Star Trek, Iron Man 3, Oblivion), and one of the trailers that we saw (World War Z) makes me want to read the book. The husband feels that the movie isn't that true to the book - that usually makes the movie after reading the book a bad experience for me. So I'm still debating that. How about you?

We Bought a Zoo by Benjamin Mee

You know, sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it.

Soon after finishing We Bought a Zoo, I began to fancy adopting some really crazy project. Like buying a zoo or a restaurant. Or a big farm. Or living 100% on homemade food. Of course, I wouldn't do any of those. At least not in the forseeable future. But reading this book did get me thinking about how wonderful it would be to take on such a huge project and watch it arrive at fruition.

I first heard about this book after the movie based on it and of the same title was released. There are typically two simultaneous reactions I have to books like these:
1. What? They bought a zoo? They are absolutely nuts!
2. But, how wonderful it is - to buy something that's on the verge of extinction and to transform it into something beautiful? *go starry-eyed*

So, when I saw this audiobook in the library, I had to take a crack at it. The author, Benjamin Mee, and his wife, Katherine, saw the ad for a rundown zoo and applied for it. Their application was rejected and then they promptly forgot about it. Until they chanced upon another ad for the same zoo, a few weeks later, this time with the implication that the animals may be killed if the zoo gets no buyers. This time, their application was accepted and they became the new owners of the zoo.

A lot of the book focuses on the challenges the new owners face at the zoo. The workers at the zoo are not used to giving their opinions and Mee tries to change that. There is a lot of redesign work involved - enclosures that need to be moved, animals that are better off at other zoos, even rethinking which animals can be allowed to interact due to jealousy or compatibility issues. The zoo also brought with it a lot of baggage, thanks to issues under the previous owner and simply poor execution.

There's also the animal aspect of the book. Owning a zoo means coming in contact with a whole host of animals - from the timid to the murderous ones. It also means forming a bond with many of them, be it with a jaguar or a tiger. The author also points out the "special" animals - those that are endangered and need to be bred in captivity to continue their species. And then there are those that are released into the wild - after years of being within closed enclosures, this is not a natural concept for any of the animals.

The other focal point of the book was Katherine. She was diagnosed with a brain tumor shortly before the zoo was purchased. The tumor was successfully removed but there was an increased risk that it would come back. And kill her. It did come back more vehemently than before and the decline of Katherine was a pretty hard part to listen to. Mee talks about his emotions while grappling with the danger of losing Katherine without making it over-dramatic (although one can be excused for behaving any way when they are losing someone they love).

Much as I loved the story of this book, I wasn't a fan of the writing. I found it way too informal than I liked it to be and if I were reading this book (as opposed to listening to the audio), I would have put it down very early. We Bought a Zoo made for a wonderful book to listen to in the car - I found myself rooting for Mee when he was dealing with the challenges of the zoo and crying with him when he was battling his wife's cancer.


I borrowed this audiobook from the good old library.

Snapshots from a long break

After a long road trip that involved driving for more than 1700 miles, it is wonderful to be home finally. We started at Raleigh and went all the way to the Niagara Falls before returning. There was a lot of driving in two cars which was tiring (our parents and the husband's brother were also with us) and the husband had to work from home during some of the days (boo!) but it was still a fun trip with no drama this time.

View from the 86th floor of the Empire State Building. We did go up to the
102nd floor as well, but honestly, there wasn't much difference.

We headed first to Raleigh, where two of our buddies stay. We spent the wet weekend leisurely, playing bowling and mini golf and eating great food. On Monday was the husband's brother's convocation in Winston-Salem. We drove to New York next after spending the night at our home, to attend my brother's convocation. That evening, we hung around Times Square, visiting Madame Tussauds, the Empire State Building and the 911 memorial. Madame Tussauds was an anticlimax, mainly because I knew so much about the wax works that the artifacts didn't impress me too much when I finally saw them. The memorial, however, was simply breathtaking, with the two pools appropriately majestic and profound. The names of all who lost their lives that day were etched along the border of the pools. It was very moving being at the site of the attacks and I thought the memorial paid a proper tribute to those who died that day.

The North and South pools at the 911 memorial site.

We then spent the last leg of our vacation in Niagara Falls, which I was visiting for the first time and the husband for the second time. The Falls were also overwhelmingly beautiful and even that's an understatement. We took the boat ride to the center of the Falls and that was an amazing experience - to be so close to the Falls. I'm glad that I can cross that out of my bucket list.

Niagara falls

The parents are leaving for India today, after a nice long stay with us. It's going to be really quiet around here now - our dog is definitely going to miss them. On the plus side, I will hopefully get more reading time.