I’m just back after a 7-day Caribbean cruise. We were hosting a large group on a gigantic ship, but I did sneak in a little time for reading on our cabin balcony and in the beautiful Overlook (the only public place with no music playing) shown in the last photo.
While we were away, we missed the bomb cyclone blizzard that hit the Northeast U.S. last week and got the news remotely about the US bombing of Iran.
The weather affected us by having our first port stop at Coco Cay canceled, so we only stopped at St. Thomas and St. Maarten, but we had beach weather for six of the seven days. The news that our cornered, compromised President may have started WWIII affected us, too, but we were with a group of 70+ line dancers, on a huge cruise ship with thousands more people, so only discussed it in low voices with friends whose positions we already knew.
Currently Reading
Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler
“In the ongoing contest over which dystopian classic is most applicable to our time, Octavia Butler’s ‘Parable’ books may be unmatched.”—The New Yorker
Parable of the Talents was a little too serious for vacation reading, so I didn’t finish it in February as planned. I’m hoping to finish it this week.
As with The Handmaid’s Tale, there are so many passages I could quote that seem to be describing what’s happening in this country.
Recently Read
A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie
“Throws off the false clues and misleading events as only a master of the art can do.” – The New York Times
A Caribbean Mystery was the book my husband and I each gave to the other for cruise ship reading, but I was the only one who skipped swimming and hot tubbing to make time for reading.
I think Miss Marple may be my favorite Agatha Christie detective! She’s the OG of the senior citizen detective novels that are so popular these days.
Currently Listening To
Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
“Wilkerson uses one Caribbean American family’s extraordinary tale to probe universal issues of identity and how the lives we live and the choices we make leave ‘a trail of potential consequences’ that pass down through generations.”—Booklist (starred review)
This post is linked up to It’s Monday, What Are You Reading, hosted by The Book Date. It’s Monday! What Are You Reading is a place to meet up and share what you have been and are currently reading each week. Visit the link-up to add to your groaning TBR pile.
