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Infinite Country by Patricia Engel | Thoughts

   Published : 2021   ||    Format : print   ||    Location : Colombia ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆   What was it about the country that kept everyone hostage to its fantasy? The previous month, on its own soil, an American man went to his job at a plant and gunned down fourteen coworkers, and last spring alone there were four different school shootings. A nation at war with itself, yet people still spoke of it as some kind of paradise.. Thoughts : Infinite Country follows two characters - young Talia, who at the beginning of this book, escapes a girl’s reform school in North Colombia so that she can make her previously booked flight to the US. Before she can do that, she needs to travel many miles to reach her father and get her ticket to the rest of her family. As we follow Talia’s treacherous journey south, we learn about how she ended up in the reform school in the first place and why half her family resides in the US. Infinite Country tells the...

The Sunday Salon: At the end of this long week

The Sunday 
Salon.com

This past week has felt like the longest week ever. I returned to work on Monday but it already feels like I never had the holidays in between. And just to stay in sync, the weekends seem to be ending very soon.

How have you all done on your New Year resolutions? I was surprised by how many I saw on weight-loss regimes and revisiting the gyms but then that's to be expected after the pigging-out hols. I didn't make any resolutions - I have a bad record with any such plans but the surge of healthy recipes I see all around is certainly encouraging me to shed some unhealthy eating habits I managed to pick up over the last few years. I'm also listening to The Story of the Human Body in the car, thanks to Jill's recommendation, and hearing about all the ways our human body is not adapted to certain "foods" helps a lot.

My reading this year has gotten off to a slow start. I did listen to The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and am in between two books - Gail Tsukiyama's Night of Many Dreams and Rachel Joyce's new book, Perfect. After loving Joyce's first book, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, I have been waiting for her to write her next. Halfway through Perfect, I can say that Rachel Joyce is an author to look out for. Her writing in Perfect is as engaging as it was in Harold Fry and her characters are as dynamic as ever. I cannot wait to finish this one and discuss it with you.

Other than reading, I've been knitting an afghan and a winter scarf, reading the New Yorker magazine, and making plans to build a website for the guy who did our garden and landscaping last year. The new year feels great so far. Sure, it's just another day in the long scheme of things but there's something optimistic about this time of the year. The rest of today, I hope to make great progress on the website I'm building, and read more of Night of Many Dreams.



Comments

Ti Reed said…
My work week is going to be hellish with me coming back after three weeks off but I hope to fill it with lots of socializing and visiting. LOL. I requested Perfect just the other day when I realized who the author was. I hope I get it. I love her writing.
Diane D said…
I can't wait to try PERFECT -- loved Harold Fry.

My first week back after 16 days off actually went fast and I was amazed how little work I had waiting for me all week ---yay. Classes don't resume until 1/21

Have a great week.
Bryan G. said…
I still have to read Harold Fry after a friend of mine recommended it to me. He told me it was really good and that I should read it, but as I don't read books that are too long, it might be a while before I get to it. However, I hope to get to it before the end of the year.
iliana said…
I'm with you, last week seemed to go on forever! So glad to hear you are enjoying Perfect! I've got it on my Kindle and am looking forward to it. Here's to a good work week!
Jenny @ Reading the End said…
The weekends do seem like they are just flying by. Luckily the next one's a long one! MLK Day is a kind holiday to have a few weeks after Christmas break is over.

I've been doing pretty well on resolutions so far! Well, I've been doing okay. I'm behind on reading non-white authors, but I've been keeping my planner current very successfully.
Helen Murdoch said…
I haven't read a Gail Tsukiyama book in a long time, I think it's time to read one again.
Valeriya Baeva said…
Can not wait to read "Perfect" ! :) I think Joyce is one of the most talented authors nowdays.

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Athira / Aths said…
Let's hope that you and I get a lot of reading done during the rest of this month.
Athira / Aths said…
I hope you get Perfect. The book is great so far! Hope your first day back is going well!
Athira / Aths said…
Yay! Glad you had a good return to work week!
Athira / Aths said…
Oh, you should read it! That book will blaze by.
Athira / Aths said…
Thank you! Hope you enjoy Perfect!
Athira / Aths said…
I don't have holiday for MLK day, boo! I used to have the day off when I was in school but not anymore. My next long weekend is in May.
Athira / Aths said…
I'm enjoying this one a lot - I am looking forward to reading more of her works.
Sam_TinyLibrary said…
The first proper week back always feels like the longest! Hopefully this week will feel a bit easier....
Athira / Aths said…
This week is certainly feeling a lot easier! It's already Wednesday! Yay!
I need to listen to Walter Mitty. I LOVED the movie. Good luck knitting. Share it with us when you're done.