If we were having coffee, I would tell you it was 97 F, feels like 94F per the weather forecast, at 10:30 AM today. I decided to take a chance on a walk outside. Told myself if it was intolerable the walk could be a short one. I was able to walk 30 minutes tolerably. Inspired by the NYTimes Newsletter post ‘Slow Down’ by Melissa Kirsch about slowing down and mindfulness. It talked about just observing and not feeling like you need to take a photo. Oftentimes, my photo does not capture so well what I am seeing anyway. If I saw a roadrunner, I may have made an exception. I did see a little woodpecker and watched it for a bit. I did not want to disturb it as pecked its way around a tree. First woodpecker I’ve seen here.

On my walk it was relaxing to just enjoy the view.

Weekend Coffee Share is hosted by Natalie at Natalie the Explorer.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you that it rained for over 4 hours yesterday afternoon. I watched the rain while waiting in the car for my husband to finish with an appointment. It felt like a miracle. It rained more during the evening and night. My husband and I remarked to each other that we think it has been over a year since we had any rain like this. Not since we moved to the desert. It only poured down for a bit and mostly was a steady shower. The temperature dropped over 20 degrees too. Still humid of course. It looks like the temps will remain cooler next week, only in the low 90s.

Reading through my eclectic selection of books from the county library. One book I had purchased for myself, Jane Austen’s ‘Persuasion.’ It still reads well after 200 years and like all her books gives a glimpse into English society in those days. The rest of my book list is all over the place. I finished ‘The Paris Apartment’ by Lucy Foley that has some good twists and was fast paced. ‘The Last Chance Library,’ a debut novel by Freya Sampson. I was drawn by the title. It is set in modern-day England. To add a bit of minutiae from the book. There was a word that stood out to me, quieten, a verb meaning make or become quiet. I would say ‘quiet down’ to noisy kids. With quieten, the kids quietened down or the mother tried to quieten her child. I just started ‘This Is How It Always Is’, by Laurie Frankel. It is a story about a family, their sons, and gender identity. I am starting to get hooked.

Weekend Coffee Share is hosted by Natalie at Natalie the Explorer.

Featured image ‘Desert Rain’ by Sean Freese via Flickr.com

Now that we in the West find ourselves under the influence of the meteorological phenomenon called a ‘heat dome,’ I find an article in a series from the Books section of the New York Times entitled ‘Read You Way Through Reykjavik,’ even more appealing. It’s currently in the 50s F there compared to 101F here. The Times asked authors from countries around the world to recommend books close to their hearts. In this article, Olaf Olafsson creates a booklist including some crime fiction. He lists the author Yrsa Sigurdardottir as one of the crime fiction authors. I had read several of her books and can highly recommend her. I like reading books from around the world because it introduces me to different locales and cultures.

The first book I read by Sigurdardottir was ‘Ashes to Dust.’ The setting was an island that had been evacuated during a volcanic eruption which left many buildings destroyed and covered in ash and was based on a true event, the Eldfell eruption on Heimaey Island. In the book, human remains are found in the basement of a house thirty years later that are not related to the eruption.

I want to read a few more books on Olafsson’s list and take a look at some of the other authors’ recommendations. I can read my way through Mexico City, Lisbon, Cairo, Paris, Berlin, Stockholm, and Newfoundland. That should keep me busy for quite a while.

Weekend Coffee Share is hosted by Natalie at Natalie the Explorer.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you lately I find that after starting a book I am not enjoying it. I am thinking about a book I just started that sounded like a mystery, because of the title. It was described as a page-turner in a review and was on a celebrity’s book club selection list. It turned out to have a disturbing beginning and as I read on it didn’t get better. It didn’t make me want to turn more pages.

I found an article in my inbox, ‘These Memes Make Books More Fun’ by Anna Grace Lee (New York Times), that talks about ‘recommendation charts’ that guide you to books you will like. She included examples of the charts. She mentions a bookseller in Austen, Texas, Mariah Charles, who has created several charts posted on Twitter. Here are a couple of examples.

Lee’s article included a chart that lists books based on their emotional impact like which books are the saddest. Many websites use algorithms to guide you based on books you have read before. I found one that will find books based on my mood.

How have you found books you like?

Weekend Coffee Share is hosted by Natalie at Natalie the Explorer.

Featured image ‘Jeune femme lisant dan un jardin’ by Henri Lebasque via wikimedia.