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This SITREP will be a little different. It feels like my life was turned upside down this past week. I returned to work, and so did my back pain. I have a new schedule and a new treatment plan. We also have a possible new addition to the family. With everything that’s been going on around here, I’ve barely read anything!! Therefore, this week will be a casual check-in.
First, the work schedule: it's been years since I’ve worked a 9-5 schedule, and I forgot how much I hate having only two days off a week. Twelve-hour shifts aren’t for everyone, but there’s something nice about cranking out a couple of long shifts and then having a few days off to do whatever you want. Now that I’m back to a Monday-to-Friday schedule, I have no time for reading and filming. The fact that I have to add physical therapy two evenings a week makes it even worse. It’s not all horrible; I at least have some consistency, which helps me plan out my life. Regardless, I need to get this back healed up as quickly as possible so I can return my normal life.
Second, I’ve barely read anything this week, and for the first time in years, I haven’t finished a book during the week! I’m still chugging along in the same books as last week.
I did make a significant dent in Fool’s Errand by Robin Hobb this week, as it’s my only audiobook, and I’m driving more on this schedule. I love this story and how Hobb pulls from the previous two series to build out this world. I need Fitz and Fool to get it on already because they’re soulmates, and no one will convince me otherwise! I hope to finish this week, but I’m scared Hobb will kill off a character I love. Ok, I know she will do that, but I want to get through one book before she breaks my heart.
I’m continuing with Guard Your Daughters by Diana Tutton, but I’m still confused about what this story is supposed to be. There should be something sinister underneath this charming story about a strange family in post-war England. Unfortunately, I don’t think this book has that much depth. There’s nothing wrong with the writing, but I don’t get what Tutton is doing with this story. I fear I will get to the end and be disappointed.
I’m very annoyed that I haven’t had time to sit down with Emma by Jane Austen. I need to prioritize this more this week. Last week was stressful, and reading Jane Austen always feels like a warm hug. I could have used some of that comfort during my crazy week. Also, it’s November, so it’s time to start Persuasion, the final book of My Year with Jane Austen.
I completely neglected Dead Relatives by Lucie McKnight Hardy because I started buddy reading The Nenoquich by Henry Bean with
and BitterPurl this week. I’m woefully behind in our buddy read, but I will get there. This is a strange novel about a man obsessed with another man’s wife. I don’t really like the narrator, but I’m also intrigued by his obsession. So far, this is like watching a car crash in slow motion. You don’t want to watch, but you can’t look away.Do we need to talk about Lies and Sorcery by Elsa Morante? I didn’t even think about picking this up all week!
And finally, the potential new addition to our little family. I received an email from the greyhound rescue group I’ve worked with for years. A sweet girl was available for adoption that no one was interested in. She needed a home, and her little face melted our hearts. We drove out yesterday to her foster dad’s, about an hour from us, to introduce my pack, and they all loved each other.
We brought her home for a one-week trial yesterday to see if we can all manage in a three-dog household. You’re probably reading this and thinking, “There’s no way they’re going to be able to bring her back,” you’re correct. So she’s not officially ours yet, but please allow me to introduce you to Vaughan, now known as Bonnie.
Just in from publishers:
(Thank you to all the publishers who send me books for spotlight and review. I will never get over how bonkers it is that this happens.)
I got some book mail this week, including two books that would be perfect for your Nonfiction November reading TBRs.
Blood, Fire, & Gold: The Story of Elizabeth I & Catherine de Medici by Estelle Paranque (Out November 12, 2024, in paperback from Hachette Books):
Blood, Fire, & Gold examines the complicated relationship between Elizabeth I and Catherine de Medici, two of the most powerful women in Renaissance Europe. Historian Estelle Paranque examines these influential women through the eyes of the other. Despite their rivalry, Elizabeth and Catherine admired each other. “This is a story of love and rivalry, of war and wisdom, and--above all else--of the courage and sacrifice it takes to secure and sustain power as a woman in a male-dominated world.” Yes, please!
Thorns, Lust, and Glory: The Betrayal of Anne Boleyn by Estelle Paranque (Out November 12, 2024, from Hachette Books):
I love Anne Boleyn, so of course, I jumped on this new biography, which looks at her downfall and how she became the vilified and misunderstood Queen that many of us know and love. “While many stories of Anne's downfall have been told, few have truly traced the origins of her grim fate. In Thorns, Lust, and Glory, Estelle Paranque takes us back to where it all started: to France, where Anne learned the lessons that would set her on the path to becoming one of England's most infamous queens.” It is a must-read for all fans of Anne Boleyn and Tudor history.
The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica (translated by Sarah Moses) (Out March 4, 2025, from Scribner):
I loved Tender Is the Flesh and Bazterrica’s short story collection, Nineteen Claws and a Black Bird, and was thrilled to see we will get a new novel from her in 2025! The Unworthy is a literary horror about a woman cloistered in a secretive, violent religious order. Meanwhile, the outside world has fallen into chaos. It’s a dystopian tale about climate change and ideological extremism from one of my favorite writers of feminist horror. I need to start this now!
Final Thoughts:
This week has been quite an adjustment, but there were some highlights. Of course, Bonnie is one of those highlights. But I also ended my week with a Battle of the Booktubers Booktube Trivia night hosted by Alex from The Disco King. I love that Alex hosts these. They’re so much fun, and the questions are wacky. When I started making content for YouTube, it felt like a very lonely place. Over time, I found a fantastic community of fellow readers, and these trivia nights have become some of my favorite parts of making Booktube content. It’s incredible that books can bring together people from around the world! I wish we could all “hang out” more to talk shit (and books).
In other BookTube news, my little channel hit 3,000 subscribers this week! It will always feel crazy that anyone cares to hear my thoughts on books (and things). Thank you to everyone who’s subscribed to that channel and this newsletter. I appreciate you all and love talking to you in the comments. Should I do something special to celebrate 3,000 subs? I see a lot of people hosting Q&As. Would that be interesting to watch?
Finally, if you’re in the United States, please remember to get out and vote!
I will wrap this up now as it’s Sunday, and I have much to do to prepare for the work week. But I also want to chase the Sunday scaries away with some reading. I will finish a book this week so we can return to our regular format.
Thank you for reading! I hope you all have a wonderful week.
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See you next week!
All things have a season. Hang in there! You are taking care of you!!
I'm inclined to agree with you about the slightly unsatisfying nature of "Guard Your Daughters". The book is well written and entertaining, and the five Harvey sisters are all very interesting and attractive characters, but you have the sense that you're reading the low-fat version of what the novel could have been.
The most plausible backstory I could come up with to explain the parents' behaviour is that the family was living in London during the Blitz back in 1940, and mater and pater became so concerned for their daughters' welfare that they bought that large, vacant home out in the comparative safety of the English countryside, even though it cost more than they could really afford. I can imagine the mother having been so rattled by the sound of German aeroplanes overhead and the blast of falling bombs while living in London that she demanded a life of complete peace and quiet, even though her daughters had to pay such a heavy price for it that you wonder if Diana Tutton fully understood the nature of the sacrifice the girls were called upon to make for the sake of their mother. Or would her author's attitude to the sisters have been, "Suck it up, buttercup!"
I appreciate the link you left to Persephone Books with that editorial piece about the book and its author. Perhaps you'll recall the comment I sent you a while ago stating my wish that Diana Tutton had written a sequel to "Guard Your Daughters". I suggested the title "Guard Your Wives" and proposed that the new novel be set five years after the end of the first one, and that it describe how the five Harvey sisters are doing in the big, brand new outside world.
So, I couldn't help but be a little pleased with myself to read that Diana Tutton had actually written a sequel titled "Unguarded Moments" set in London seven years after "Guard Your Daughters", and that the plot includes a married Morgan with two children. But as the editorial says, alas, this sequel was never published. Quel dommage!