Grab the Lapels

Sunday Lowdown #110

WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS

I was very tired all week and had problems when I sat on the couch.

Thanks to Biscuit putting my dad on every wait list she could find, Dad got first covid shot, with no side effects. Biscuit is on the mend from the second shot, which her body did not handle quit as well (her symptoms pretty much matched Ignited Moth’s). To be fair, Biscuit knows she doesn’t handle any vaccine well (the medical person “pokes her temple,” you know) and doesn’t handle staying home sick the way most do. She’d rather be at work! That’s okay; I checked in on her lots of times. We also celebrated new CDC guidelines about vaccinated people: if everyone is vaccinated, they can get together with no masks. Nick and I are hoping that Biscuit and Dad could come to Indiana for my birthday the first week of May. It’s optimistic, possibly a stretch, but you never know.

For those of you who follow Jackie @ Death By Tsundoku, I keep up with her almost every day. She’s currently visiting family, so baby went on her first road trip. Jackie and I cheer each other up when we’re overwhelmed. Pretty soon we’ll be reading and reviewing our next #ReadingValdemar book.

THIS WEEK’S BLOG POSTS

It’s such a bummer that the original folks I talked to and read Paradise Cove with seem to have vanished, but I was happy to have the author, Jenny Holiday, on Grab the Lapels for a Meet the Writer feature. I’ve requested her newest novel from the library and will get to it as soon as it’s available.

Thanks to everyone for your wonderful comments about A Life Interrupted by Louise Mathewson. If the collection sounds interesting to you, please grab a copy (it’s available as an e-book and in paperback). The press is small and the poet’s writing is beautiful, rolling like a river in your heart as you read.

NEXT WEEK’S BLOG POSTS

I had to wait to get her on the blog because she had a book deadline to meet, but now she’s coming! Susan Allott, author of the excellent The Silence, a novel I read for Reading Australia month, will be visiting with her very own feature. Interview on Tuesday.

We met Dr. Leslie Moïse not long ago in a Meet the Writer feature. Now, I’m sharing my review of her memoir, Love is the Thread. I still vividly recall the opening of this powerful nonfiction work in which we meet Moïse after she’s fled an abusive partner who has threatened to murder her, and how Moïse is encouraged to meet another woman who is struggling. Review Thursday.

BOOKS ADDED TO THE TBR PILE

I get the feeling I’m going to be nodding a whole lot as I read the one book I added to my TBR.

Owned Books Still on TBR: 234
Owned Books Read/Reading This Year: 29

21 comments

  1. Glad Jackie’s doing well, glad Biscuit’s doing well. Hope you are awake and doing well too. I re-read The Silence review. Is that Susan Allott bottom left? I much prefer the house on that cover to the clearly American houses on your cover. I look forward to your interview with her (how could she not fit in in Australia? We love everyone. Perhaps she should have tried Melbourne).

    Like

    Reply

    • Yes, that is Allott holding a copy of her book. My cover looked very much like the white picket fence houses that are so idealized in the U.S., which did not match the setting described in The Silence, especially the two households lush backyards.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  2. That’s awesome that your parents are getting vaccinated. We received a small batch at our pharmacy and I got my dad in. He had to drive 3.5 hours one way to get it but there was no way I wasn’t getting him in given the chance. We also had an extra dose at the end of each bottle so I was able to force my husband to fly like a bat outta hell to the pharmacy to get his first dose too. It finally feels like we’re heading to some semblance of normalcy.

    Like

    Reply

      • The health department supplied us with the appropriate syringes but we were still getting an extra two doses per vial. The pharmacist doing it was on the dot for the correct dosage but our other pharmacist, using our own syringes was not getting any extra. There is a larger amount of dead space in the syringes we usually use apparently. But also, Pfizer knew there was potential for more doses in the bottles.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

  4. So if I am understanding your gif correctly, am I to assume you had trouble staying awake on the couch? Me too!!! Especially on weekends, I have to stay off the couch in the afternoon or I won’t get anything done, I’ll just nap and then I’m frustrated with myself (LOL).

    Like

    Reply

  5. So glad to hear about your parents’ vaccinations! Here we are celebrating that we’re allowed to gather outside in groups up to 10 again, plus our first day with no Covid deaths in the province since November!

    Like

    Reply

  6. Ooh, I’m also very excited to read Craft in the Real World! And happy to hear your parents are getting their vaccine doses already. I hope things will work out for you to see them on your birthday! Even if not, it must be exciting to have the prospect of seeing them face to face in the not-too-distant future back on the table. 🙂

    Like

    Reply

    • Absolutely. This year July 4th is on a Sunday, so I get Monday off, too. That might be a good long weekend for a visit if we miss my birthday.

      The description of Craft in the Real World hits SO HARD. I also want to read it because I think it would help with reviewing. For instance, the author notes that only describing someone’s race if they are not white is a form of racism, which I agree with and have been navigating in my brain for some time.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      • I’m glad to hear you have a backup plan already in place! I so hope at least one of them will work out for your family. 🙂

        YES, the synopsis sounds powerful and excellent, full of useful points for all sorts of writers, reviewers, and readers to keep in mind. I only had a few workshop classes in college but none of what I learned was anything like what it sounds like Salesses has to offer, and I’m definitely eager to fill in those gaps.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

    • I don’t know what it is about Indiana, but we’ve been super organized around this. I actually really like the governor here. When he ran, it was on a “I’m not doing social issues” platform, the reason being that his predecessor, Mike Pence, ran on loads of social issues related to anti-LGBTQ policies. In fact, loads of common sense legislation, like making it illegal to ask on a job application if you have a felony, have passed in Indiana since he took over.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  8. Yay! So happy for your loved ones getting their vaccines. My parents just were able to get their first dose about a week ago and I can’t wait for them to be able to get their second doses. Even with the rough time after the second dose a lot of us have experienced, it is so worth it. 🙂
    I hope you get to have that birthday visit you’re hoping for! ❤

    Like

    Reply

Leave a reply to Grab the Lapels Cancel reply