NYC hit 90 degrees this week, which aligned with the start of a very full summer social calendar for the next several weeks and months. Graham and I went camping this weekend with our friends Dara, Chris and Craig at Harriman State Park. We had a fantastic weekend camping, campfire cooking, hiking, swimming, and taking some rowboats out for a (slow and awkward) spin.
This week my dear friend Emma arrives and we’re heading out on a road trip / literary pilgrimage to Prince Edward Island: home of our beloved Anne Shirley and L. M. Montgomery. We’ll also be swinging through Boston on the way there and back to see our dear friend Emily (together the 3 of us make up the Red Shoe Cult, established 2002 at Michigan State University). Graham will be holding down the fort in Brooklyn, and once Emma and I are back we’ll be doing a bit of low-key summer traveling in the States.
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This week I shared a recipe for one of my favorite desserts: lemon poppy seed cake. (Top it with strawberries for a perfect summer dessert.) I also wrote about my favorite audiobooks of classic novels, and posted a travelogue about the day I spent in Mindo, Ecuador.
READING
I’ve just finished The Truth According to Us by Annie Barrows, and will be posting a review of it this coming week. Now I’m starting Anna Karenina – my friend Emma and I are tackling this one together over the summer and I need to read part one before she arrives in New York for our trip. (Speaking of classic novels on audio – I really wish that the Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky translation of Anna Karenina was available on audiobook – it would make starting this giant novel a bit less intimidating.)
WATCHING
Graham and I have been re-watching favorite movies this week: O Brother, Where Art Thou?, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and Back to the Future.
LISTENING
I’ve just started listening to The Art of Communicating by Thích Nhất Hạnh. I’ve been on a Buddhism / Mindfulness / Meditation kick, and I’ve been wanting to read more by the prolific and awesome Thích Nhất Hạnh.
LINKING (Book Blogger Edition)
- Lauren’s Strictly Positive post is a wonderful read this week, as always, and even features an article nominated by yours truly.
- Tomorrow the #BlumeALong, hosted by Kerry @ Entomology of a bookworm, starts! I’m excited to follow along on the fun, even though I’m not formally participating (see Anna Karenina & P.E.I. trip above – I’ll be on the road & with a nose in Mr. Tolstoy’s novel for the next few weeks).
- A post that I very much related to by Leah @ Books Speak Volumes: On Rethinking Chick Lit and Judging Books By Their Covers.
- Shaina @ Shaina Reads shared thoughts on mixing up our book selections and reading outside of our comfort zones.
- Shannon @ River City Reading shared 3 reviews of books under 200 pages. I’m about to start an 817 page novel, and I think I’m going to be looking for some good short books afterwords to recover!
And that’s the week! How was your week? What’s new?
90 degrees. Nope. ;) I’m not a fan of hot weather. Good thing I live in Wisconsin and only have to deal with it for a few weeks out of the year!
I hope you’re enjoying Anna Karenina. It’s such a great read, well worth the time you’ll invest.
Have a fantastic week!
I’m not a fan of it either – it’s miserable! My first few summers in NYC I was absolutely miserable, but I’ve learned to be more zen about it. My English boyfriend though, is still a bit shell shocked by the humidity. :D We’re going to escape the city for basically the entire month of July though – a few weeks in Michigan and a week in New Jersey house-sitting (with a pool!).
I’m not very far in AK yet, but really enjoy it so far!
Aw, thanks so much for the share! :)
I saw some of the pics of camping on Facebook. It looks like you guys had a blast. Where do you plan to go on your low-key summer travels?
Of course! I’ve also been playing around with the book bingo board – it’s so fun! I think I’m going to give it a shot. I’m not going to post about it yet though, or I’ll jinx myself. (I’m SO bad at reading lists that I set in advance – here’s a post from 2013 where I set a goal of reading 5 classics – to this day I’ve read exactly 1 of those 5 books: http://www.booksuniverseeverything.com/2013/11/05/2013-five-book-bucket-list-challenge/ )
Our low-key travels are: Michigan again for 2 or 3 weeks (taking advantage of the last bit of remaining unemployed time!) and house sitting in New Jersey for 1.5 weeks – we’ll be in a wonderful house with a great backyard and pool, and cute dogs to watch! It will be a nice break from the heat/concrete of the city. :D
Your upcoming travels sound wonderful! (Thanks for linking to my post!)
Thank you and you’re welcome! :D
You have some wonderful busy times coming up! Your Red Shoe Cult get-together sounds particularly special, can’t wait to read what you girls get up to. Thanks so much for the shout out. I, of course, forgot to link to your site. Seems I’m destined to do wrong by you in my posting. Someday we’ll LAUGH! :)
I’m so very excited for the Red Shoe Cult reunions – we’ve been friends for 13 years, and we don’t get to be all in the same place very often, but when we do it’s the best time ever. :)
You’re most welcome for the share, and no worries at all about the link my dear! :D
I adore Anne of Green Gables and have always dreamed of traveling to PEI! Hope you take some pictures and share about your experience…and that you can take a stroll down the White Way of Delight, row across the Lake of Shining Waters, and get to sleep in a wild cherry tree. :)
I will 100% share photos & highlights from PEI – this trip is 12 years in the making! I’m so very excited, and hope to do everything you mentioned, with the possible exception of the cherry tree snooze! :D
Ugh, it’s been SO hot here, too…I can’t imagine camping right now, but it looks like you had a great time. Reading Anna K with a buddy is a great idea. It’s a wonderful book, but it’s easy to get distracted, too.
Thanks for sharing my post, too!
We lucked out majorly – it was very hot when we were setting up camping and going to sleep the first night, but then it cooled off overnight and was gorgeous the next two days.
I’m happy to be reading AK with a friend, and we’re spreading out our reading schedule enough so that I’ll be able to continue reading other books along with it, so I hopefully won’t get burned out. I’m not very far in, but enjoying it a lot so far!
And you’re most welcome! :)
Ahhhh I love seeing your camping photos! I’ve taken this coming week off, so my boyfriend and I can camp here in Minnesota. Excited!
That’s awesome! I hope you’ll share camping photos as well – I’d love to see some Minnesota photos. I hope to make it there to camp someday, I haven’t seen very much of the state.