Friday RNR 1/8/21

Happy Friday everyone! Hopefully you all are well and keeping safe/sane in all this. Books help.

Well, not all books… not when they are like…

Rating: 2/5 stars

What was this? Let me just get to the review.

What I liked:

The writing. I am still not put off classics because the writing is just… love it. I am just in love with words telling a story in such a beautiful way. The descriptions of the fields, nature. More please.

The edition I used to read it. Everyman’s Library makes beautiful books. My goodness. It’s a book lovers dream. I will definitely buy more books in this format.

What I Didn’t like:

The story. Let me be fair, the first half was not bad. I mean unfortunate, heartbreaking things happen but nothing too far out there for the time. Then, after Tess tells her new husband about her past after he confessed something similar but no wait…not even similar cuz it’s implied that Tess was NOT a willing participant when she lost her virginity ….this book swan dives into what. in. the. world. territory. I know Hardy was trying to demonstrate the double standard. But then he takes our main character and subjects her to bad decision after bad decision and then pure lunacy and I’m like what…just… happened… wait did she just… wait WHAT?! was my response to that ending. Talk about toxic relationships ALL AROUND.

Whelp, at least it got a response out of me. You canNOT passively read this book. Needless to say, this story will stay with me.

After this book I needed a palate cleanser: so I am halfway through:

Talk about just what I needed. I an LOVING this book! I read some of it out loud to my husband (to drive him crazy) and because there are so many I NEVER KNEW THAT moments. And I like non fiction that makes you appreciate how wonderfully our planet and our bodies were made. The chapters about the challenges of duplicating this wonderful environment our Creator has given us made me smile. There are plenty of laugh out loud moments too, Virts is a great story teller. I found this on a non fiction list by WIRED. I copied the list so I can pull from it throughout the year since this one is a big hit so far in my house.

After this, a friend of mine recommended:

She said she loves all the books in this series and she had been a reliable reviewer for me so I will dive into this historical mystery this week.

Other plans? We saw my grandmother today who is in rehab for a broken hip among other things. We had to place her favorite things on a table outside which the staff brought into her and talk to her through the window – but at least she is ok, and it reassures us that the rehab is taking the virus seriously. Just wish it was different. It has been difficult to deal with caregiving and the hospital through all this as you are severely limited by the restrictions. Every other time she has been in the hospital we were with her round the clock. For those of you who have experienced the same, I empathize and keep you in my prayers.

We will definitely be walking/hiking somewhere this weekend. Other than that – nothing big planned, just our usual spiritual and relaxing routine. We need it. I think we all need it.

Happy reading!