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...
This has been one of those better weeks, busy yes, but good busy with several silver linings.
- Family arrived on Friday night amid some flight delays that got them home later than planned. My brother-in-law and his wife were also visiting us this weekend (their first time here after their wedding in April) and they just left a couple of hours ago.
- They brought so many delicacies from India that I'll have to watch my waistline for a good while. Not that I have a waistline anymore.
- We also had so much fun this weekend. Last night, we went for bowling, where everyone but me bowled. Fine by me though, I'm not that good at bowling and would have just sulked all evening while everyone else racked up scores in triple digits. I can be very competitive even when I am not good at something.
- We also spent this morning at the Smith Mountain Lake. Yours Truly stayed on the pontoon but almost everyone else rode the jet ski occasionally. Despite staying less than an hour from the lake, this was the first time we did any kind of boat rides there. Surprising, because everyone had so much fun today and want to do this more often.
- Over this week, we finished painting and setting up the baby room, assembled the crib, washed all the baby clothes, and are now more or less ready for the baby to arrive. I am shocked at how huge the crib is. I know the baby is supposed to grow into it but it doesn't help make it feel smaller. Our family also gifted us plenty of baby clothes and I've been beside myself thinking how cute they look. Definitely hard to hunt for them in the laundry though.
- Now that family has arrived to help with the baby, I have begun to feel some anxiety (okay, a lot of anxiety) about how our lives are going to change soon. Until now, the idea of our expanding family has been just that - an idea. I had completely romanticized versions of how I will be occupied with the baby - despite reading and hearing very different stories. Now though, those possibly fake visions have faded and for the first time, I'm beginning to realize that nothing is going to be the same again - of course, not in a bad way. I almost wished I had done more... stuff... before now, like traveled, seen the world, done more pet projects, read more, written more, achieved more at work, etc. I'm sure this is the anxiety speaking though.
- I will be finishing 37 weeks on Wednesday - yet another milestone that had at one time felt so far away. At my last appointment, I hadn't dilated at all so the doctor thinks there's still plenty of time. But we know this kind of thing can change status at any time. From here on out, I'll be having a check-up every week.
- On Thursday, the husband and I had a nice dinner date. Calling it a dinner date seems somewhat silly because we have such dinner dates a few times a week. What made this one special was that it was probably our last date alone - just the two of us before the family and the baby arrived.
- Work-wise, I am beginning to offload my responsibilities next week and am looking forward to that. I've always loved staying busy at work and I love what I do, so it's not going to be easy stepping down. On the other hand, I am looking forward to some quiet time at work. Pregnancy hasn't been a difficult factor at work yet but overall, it has been a bit tiring and trying lately that being able to downsize at work is probably what I need.
- Last night, we started watching episodes of The Strain. In case you are not aware, The Strain is a trilogy written by Guillermo Del Toro and has been adapted for the small screen. The second season starts next month but I had learnt of the TV show only last night. This book/show has one of the most dramatic openings I have ever read/watched - a plane lands at an airport with everyone on board dead. (Now that I think of it, even Nelson Demille's The Lion's Game has a similar beginning but has an entirely different cause.) So far, this show has been addicting and not super scary yet.
- I finished The Truth According to Us last night (yay, finally!) and also started reading Intisar Khanani's Sunbolt which has one of the easiest-to-read beginnings ever in the fantasy genre. Usually, I have to read the first few pages of fantasy books a few times before I can get a foothold in the story's universe.
After the tiring but wonderful weekend, I'm all ready to call it a night. How has your week been?
Comments
We had a pretty productive weekend though not in the reading department. I am not in a reading mood at the moment, I guess.
BEST to you with the upcoming excitement.