My Spring & Summer Reading/Listening List

I realized today that I have gone through more books and audio books in the last two and a half months than I have in a long time. Here is a list, to the best of my recollection, of what has been occupying my brain these days. (I’m only including books that I read in their entirety and not the ones that I only skimmed for class.) Thanks go to Audible.com, the Leominster Public Library, and my brother for most of the list.

Aunt Dimity and the Duke – Nancy Atherton

Aunt Dimity’s Good Deed – Nancy Atherton

The Tent – Margaret Atwood

The Lost Symbol – Dan Brown – Audio Book

Naked Heat – Richard Castle – Audio Book

My Life in France – Julia Child and Alex Prud’Homme

The Gargoyle – Andrew Davidson – Audio Book

Stuff – Randy O. Frost and Gail Stekeet – Audio Book

Across the Nightingale Floor – Lian Hearn – Audio Book

Dune – Frank Hebert – Audio Book

Nineteen Minutes – Jodi Picoult – Audio Book

Fever Dream – Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child – Audio Book

Gideon’s Sword – Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie – Muriel Spark – Audio Book

Putting God on Trial: The Biblical Book of Job – Robert Sutherland

The Traveler – John Twelve Hawks – Audio Book

Additionally, I’m in the middle of the following and should be done with them shortly:

West with the Night – Beryl Markham – Audio Book

This Fine Life: A Novel – Eva Marie Everson – Kindle eBook

Best Friends Forever – Jennifer Weiner

I checked out the next two Aunt Dimity books from the Library to read on my Maryland trip for my cousin’s wedding at the end of the month and will be downloading some new audio books this weekend. What do you think should be on my reading list next?

Time Goes By

It has been two months since I left my life and independence in Memphis to move back to my old job and into my parents’ house—I house I had never before called home. There is a strange sense of déjà vu. Many of the faces at work and church are the same. But they are different. Five and a half years does not go by without leaving a trace. I am still floundering; trying to find my way. Most of my days are filled with work, 80+ mile round trip commute, lots of audio books, and family obligations. I’m taking the summer off of school to try to get settled. Not so sure that it is working. There are still a lot of unknowns: when/if my house will be sold to my friends, how much it is going to cost me when it does sell, and how long I will have to live in the guest room until I can afford to move out (hopefully closer to work). I’m not a big fan of the unknown and am impatiently waiting for a glimpse of the information needed to point me towards what is next.

Today is the one month anniversary of O’Malley’s death. I miss her dearly. She was so sick and weak, but held out as best as she could for me to get back to her. Such a brave girl. I stayed with her through the end; watching the light go out of her eyes and heard the death rattle after the vet’s needle gave her relief from her pain. She was cremated and I have her ashes in a small cedar box on the dresser with the handwritten sympathy card from the vet who only got to meet her twice. I pass by, pat her box, and think fondly of my special, temperamental feline. She is missed. I can tell that Daly gets a bit lonely. She sometimes paces the hallway or circles a room wondering where “sister” is. This last weekend was her first time alone for more than a day. She was very eager to have me home and I was eager to cuddle up to her. Maybe when we find our new home she will get to be the “big” sister…

O'Malley's urn, certificate of cremation, The Rainbow Bridge, and the card from the vet.