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April 2023 Book Report

Last month, I read and reviewed four books. I hoped to keep my momentum going through April, but alas, I only finished one book. On the plus side, it was an excellent read, and I highly recommend it.

Search by Michelle Huneven tells the story of a woman who is invited to join her congregation’s search committee for a new minister. She belongs to a Unitarian Universalist church which attracts people from all religious backgrounds to their community. While this denomination is unfamiliar to me, the personalities and politics involved in seeking a new spiritual leader are pretty universal. I enjoyed listening to this fictionalized memoir (meaning the names are changed, but the story is the real deal. My experience working in the Jewish community as a communications professional has allowed me to interact with fantastic people with different priorities and opinions who all have one thing in common—a love for their congregation. That same love and desire for what’s best for the future of their community are what drive this particular search and this book. And if you aren’t involved in a congregation, you will still enjoy this book for its relatable characters and stay until the end when they choose a minister and the effect that decision has on the committee members, including the author.

I listened to the book on Audible, and the narrator did an excellent job distinguishing between the various characters. This is no easy task because the reader needs to follow along with each person’s back story and contributions to the committee’s work. Because the narrator did such a fantastic job, I enjoyed the book even more as I listened to everything unfold. If you read this one, let me know. I’d love to talk about it with you!

In Other Book News:

I am four books behind on reaching my Goodreads goal of 40 books read by the end of the year. But I’m not too worried. Summer is coming, and my pretty back patio will soon beckon me to sit outside, enjoy the nice weather, and read some fantastic books.

Right now, I’m in the middle of reading several books, hoping to finish three of them in May. The books I’m reading right now are:

  • This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub – I’m about halfway through this time-travel novel. I stopped reading a while back because I simply lost interest. But I’ve heard so many rave reviews about this book, and I want to see how it ends.
  • I’m Wearing Tunics Now: On Growing Older, Better, and a Hell of a Lot Louder, by Wendi Aarons – I just started this funny memoir about “second acts, self-acceptance, and celebrating what happens when a woman gets older.” I’m only a few chapters in, but I can relate to this author; her experiences are mine too. I’m sure I’ll finish this one quickly.
  • Beartown, by Fredrick Backman – I know. I know. I haven’t read this one yet, and it’s a lot of people’s favorite 5-star book. Sometimes I think the hype leads to my disappointment, but I hear it’s well-deserved in this case.
  • Defending Britta Stein, by Ronald Balson – This World War II novel is our next book club pick. I just downloaded it yesterday from Amazon after being unable to find it at my local indie bookstore.

Speaking of indie bookstores, I visited one of my favorites yesterday and purchased two books: “The Most Likely Club” by Elyssa Friedland and “The School for Good Mothers” by Jessamine Chan. I also got an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of William Landay’s “All that is Mine I Carry With Me.” His last book, “Defending Jacob” (a limited TV series), was one of my favorite five-star reads several years ago. I thought I had the book downloaded on Audible and also wanted a hard copy. I realize now that I have it on Kindle, so I’ll probably give this copy away. This is one of the occupational hazards of having too many books to read—you may acquire more than one copy. Good thing it was free.

One More Thing

This is the last post for the April Ultimate Blog Challenge. I didn’t quite make 30 posts, but I’ve written more than I have in months. I’ve also met some excellent writers and read their terrific blogs. This writing community is so supportive, and I always appreciate having the opportunity to write with them four times a year. I am also incredibly grateful to all of you who continue to read my blog posts and subscribe. Just because the month is over, I’m not done blogging. Stay tuned for more in the coming weeks.

XO,
Elisa

Coffee and Friends

I work from home, so water cooler talk or stories in the office kitchen are not part of the culture. I miss the chit-chat about what we did last night, how was vacation, and what the kids have been up to lately. Now, it’s just me and my Keurig, and it isn’t much of a talker.

So, if I were sitting in a cafe with you, I’d love to hear what’s happening in your world. How is the family? What are you reading now? How’s work? Where are you going on vacation this summer?

And maybe I’d ask you a personal question or two, like How are you doing? What’s on your mind? How can I help? And perhaps you would ask me the same questions in return. Here is how I would answer you.

How am I doing? Not too bad, actually. Although I’m feeling my age a little because I haven’t exercised in a while. Scott and I went for a walk in the park a couple of weekends ago, and it wore me out. There were a bunch of hills in that park, and I need to get back in shape. I also need new sneakers.

What’s on my mind? My book. I’m thinking of going in a different direction. I still want to raise awareness about Parkinson’s Disease, but as I look at my life, there are other things I want to write about. Like how my relationships and friendships have changed as I get older. And how I’m parenting my adult children and trying not to parent my parents. I might want to write about the challenges I’ve faced and the lessons I learned. I’ve lived long enough now to put it down on paper. And even if it doesn’t ever get published, it will be something my family will have as a keepsake – and I will still be known to future generations.

How can you help? Maybe we can make more of an effort to go out for coffee or dinner. I miss my friends, and now that we have a little more time on our hands, we should get together more often and not take our friendship for granted. I love spending time with you and always feel better when we talk. Let’s make that happen soon.

What do you think?

XO,

Elisa

Wishful Thinking

Back on April 1st, I promised you 30 blog posts in 30 days. I knew I had a business trip planned, but I thought I’d be able to write some things ahead of time and line them up to publish while I was away.

Wishful thinking… who was I kidding? I had so much work to do to prepare for this trip that I didn’t even start packing until the night before. See my last blog post for details.

When that didn’t work out, I thought – okay, I’m bringing a laptop on this trip. I’m sure I’ll have some spare time to write a few quick posts at the end of each day.

Wishful thinking… who was I kidding? I was so tired when I returned to my hotel room that I only had the energy to get changed, brush my teeth, and go to sleep.

So, when that didn’t work out, I knew I had a three-hour wait for my flight from Chicago to Philly, and I thought I could quickly crank out one or two posts and start to catch up on the week of blog posts I lost.

Again, wishful thinking…who was I kidding? My flight was delayed, and I hung out at the airport with some of the wonderful people from my trip instead. Thankfully, we made the best of it. We talked about our trip, checked our airline apps, shared our frustrations and horror stories about air travel, and considered renting a car and driving 12 hours to Philly. At one point, we all walked over to try and intimidate the lovely people at the customer service desk to see if we could get on any plane to Philly. We thought the “Philly Six” (which is what we nicknamed ourselves) could find a plane for us — or at least buy us a round of drinks for our troubles. I was also busy calculating the time change plus the travel time from the Philly airport to my house, texting my family, and hoping I’d see them soon and sleep in my own bed.

On the flight home, I thought about blogging later today. I had the day off and thought I would definitely have time to put some thoughts down on paper.

You guessed it. Wishful thinking… who was I kidding? I slept in until 9 am, checked my email, posted some photos from the weekend on our social media platforms, did laundry, camped out in front of the tv, and napped on and off all day long. Actually, I must have dreamt about doing laundry because I see that all of my dirty clothes never made it out of the sorting baskets on my bedroom floor. I guess that means I’ll be wearing PJ bottoms and a cute top to work tomorrow. Good thing I work from home. No one in my Zoom meetings will ever know (unless, of course, you rat me out 🙂 )

As you can tell, I’m still a little punchy from my six-day road trip and three-hour wait at the airport, which turned into a four-hour delay yesterday. What is it about me flying through Chicago?? I always get stuck there. One of my favorite bloggers is sharing her travel nightmare stories this month, and I’m pretty sure if I shared all of mine, they would always begin with a flight through Chicago.

Okay, I need one more good night’s sleep, and then I’ll write more exciting blog posts to finish the month.

Wishful thinking? I hope not!

Anyway – I missed you all, and I’ll see you tomorrow.

XO,
Elisa

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