Well, it was my first post- Century Trilogy week of reading, so it was bound to feel a little blah. But I’m happy to report that I finished this book, and can weigh in with my opinion:
I liked it! But I didn’t LOVE it. The characters were interesting and I was curious to see where the story was going to go. It’s a mystery, and I always love a mystery. The thing I didn’t love was, the story was told from multiple timelines. I think that could be super confusing if you listened to the audio version of this book (anyone who listened want to let me know?)
Overall the ending was satisfying- but I wish the same story could have been told without the confusing time period switching back and forth. But that’s my personal preference- I’m just not a fan of that style.
Next up:
I’m only about 1/4 of the way into this, but I’m liking it so far. The premise is, a mysterious woman gets up on an airplane and walks down the aisle, telling each passenger when and how they’re going to die. The passengers react with confusion, outrage, amusement… but six of them are given especially early death dates, and I’m just getting to the part of the book where we’ll see if the first prediction comes true.
I’m not far enough into the book to say if I’m going to love it, or just like it. But I’m enjoying it so far.
On to the eats! This week I made Suzanne’s Chickpea and Sweet Potato Stew. It was so good!
I also decided to splurge on the weekend, and made lasagna (I always use the recipe from Isa Chandra Moscowitz’s Veganomicon.)
And, storm snacks! We were hoping that Milton would nudge a little bit north, but it’s actually tracking further SOUTH now. The counties to the north of us now have a hurricane warning. It looks like we’ll have a tropical storm, but if it tracks further south we’ll put up our shutters tomorrow (we have accordion shutters which are attached to the house- all we have to do is pull them closed and lock them.) Either way, I stopped at the store for snacks!
WHY do we feel like we need and deserve junk food when there’s a storm coming??? The cashier actually asked the woman in front of me, “Are you having a party?” The woman said “No, I just want to make sure I’m stocked up in case I can’t leave the house.” Hee hee.
Wish us luck! I’ll be here eating my popcorn, and anxiously watching to see how our friends on the west coast are faring.
What are you reading now?
What are your favorite storm snacks?
Top photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
32 Responses
I just started listening to the Moriarty book today, and so far I’m enjoying it. I always like her books!
Yes, I always like them too! We can compare notes on this one.
I have God of The Woods on loan but have not started it, but it IS an audiobook, so I will report back. I do hate it when listening to a book when there are a lot of characters and/or the swap timelines or time periods, so we will see how it goes. I tried to read a book about Richard the Lionhearted and it kept going back and forth in time and back in forth between countries and I just got too confused! I also tried to listen to the Road to Jonestown and it was talking about the color of his eyes and I kept getting distracted by the less important details.
I am currently listening to All The Colors Of The Dark, and I just went to look at the synopsis and it says… a literary saga spanning multi generations and decades…uh oh. However, I enjoyed his book We Begin At The End, so I have hopes that I will like this one too! One I recently read and liked was Looking For Jane, but it is about abortion laws in Canada, so if you are sensitive about that, you may not like it.
God of the Woods switches between timelines AND narrators, so I’ll be interested to hear how you like it on audio.
Except for one book, I have really enjoyed Moriarty’s work, and I’ve been meaning to put that one on my list.
As for snacks – I am always a proponent of a little treat now and then, and if you’re preparing for a storm, well, you need to take joy where you can get it. I love popcorn as you know but I’ve never seen that Catalina Crunch. I bet I would enjoy it.
The Catalina Crunch is YUMMY! And it has no sugar- sweetened with stevia and monkfruit.
Ahh, that Here One Moment book sounds….creepy, but also really good! That would be a terrifying situation if that actually happened. I think we always think maybe we’d like to know that, but based on my gut reaction when I read that book premise, I think… I would not! Some things are better off just not knowing, I guess. You’ll have to keep us posted on what you think. It reminds me a little of the YA book “They Both Die in the End”. Have you read that? I read it in 2020 I think and also had similar premise of knowing your death date (although in that case you get a call within 24 hours of your death to let you know that your time’s almost up. EEK.) It follows the story of a couple people who get “the call” and how that last day is spent.
Nope, I wouldn’t want to know. The premise of this book also reminds me of The Measure. When I read that book I also decided I wouldn’t want to know my death date!
Nom nom storm snacks! The next time we get a storm I’m going to make that a thing for us. It doesn’t matter if a storm is coming or not, you’re allowed to treat yourself and have fun. Hopefully Milton will take the hint and go away.
When there is a reason to do multiple timelines in a story I’m all for it, but when it’s done wrong it’s a huge pet peeve of mine. I feel like more often than not it’s just a way to hide a weak story or pad out the book. I’m glad that I DNF’d GOTW.
Hmmm….do I want to read Here One Moment? I think I might! Liane Moriarity is very hit and miss for me, but when she gets it right she is incredible.
I’ll let you know how this one is! And, yeah, I just felt like GOTW didn’t need all those multiple timelines. It distracted me from the story, I guess.
Those are some good storm snacks! I haven’t had the Catalina Crunch cereal in awhile and I think I need to get it again — it’s nice that it actually has some protein to make it more filling than other cereals.
Hopefully Milton doesn’t hit you too hard!
Thanks Ashley! We are also hoping we don’t get hit too hard. I’ve been loving the Catalina Crunch lately- they had a pumpkin spice one for a while that was yummy.
I listened to The God in the Woods and LOVED it. If I didn’t feel moments of confusion about the timelines/multiple characters, I think it just added to the mystery for me. I really, really loved that book.
I had the Here On Moment audiobook on hold (I ONLY listen to Liane Moriarty because I ADORE Caroline Lee’s narration) and som how I missed the notification that it because available when my library added way more licenses. I’m actually wondering if they messed up because I’ve been so eager to listen to it and I highly doubt I would have missed it. It’s supposed to come available again next week and I hope that is the case!
Noemi, so many people loved that book. So, there’s obviously something to it. I hope you get the Moriarty next week. I can imagine it would be good on audio.
The different timelines in God of the Woods did not bother me but I can see how it’s not everyone’s jam as it is more work for the reader to keep track of what is happening. But I kind of prefer that to a linear storyline because it can make the story a bit more interesting. But if you are confused that is not good! I just finished “The Return of Ellie Black” and that might be one that you would like. Very plot-driven and quite a page turner.
We don’t have intense storms like you guys do. I mean we get snow storms but we don’t have to worry about losing access to water or things like that. We have lost power but that is more likely to happen in the summer than the winter and while it’s a pain to lose it in the summer, it’s not as dangerous as losing power in the winter! People will still go to the storm ahead of the storm so it can be quite busy and annoying!
Ooh- I’ll look into that book. It sounds like something I would like. Our stores are insane here- entire shelves cleared off ( like there’s no bread or toilet paper.) People definitely go berserk when there’s a storm coming.
Jenny! I was thinking of you as I listened to news of Milton on the radio this morning. Stay safe and batten down those hatches! (I have no idea what that means and must go look that up, it’s something nautical, isn’t it?)
Glad to hear you’re suitably fortified with snacks and a good book! XOXO
Also: both those meals look SO good! Yes to adding the spinach. I’m all for adding extra color even when the recipe doesn’t call for it. I’m happiest when my dinner can feature all five food colors…
Ha, I’m pretty sure it’s a nautical term! Our hatches are battened down : )
I haven’t found any books with The Century Trilogy magic since I finished those, so you might have a bit of a book hangover for a little while yet.
When bad weather strikes, we load up on snacks and non-perishables because we just don’t know how long we’re going to be without power. Maybe we’ll never lose power, but it’s better to have snacks and delicious treats than to be hungry!
Yes, you never know. Hopefully we won’t lose power in this storm but again- you never know.
I don’t imagine I’ll find a book with the Century magic for a while. When I finish this Moriarty I’m going to strike off in a different direction and read a sci fi book my son recommended.
I don’t typically buy snacks specifically for a storm, but we have a local chip company that actually makes a type of chip called Storm Chips! They’re very popular.
Your food this week looks so cozy and hearty. I love meals this time of year (though admittedly our weather is a whole lot cooler than yours).
These hurricanes are terrible and I can’t believe two intense ones are so close together. Thinking of you and all the other Floridian bloggers I know and wishing every safety and some relief from the mental anxiety of it all…
Thank you Elisabeth! I can’t speak for everyone, but we’re fine today. The storm has passed us. The scariest thing for our coast was tornadoes! But it’s over.
Ha- Storm Chips, brilliant idea.
I think I have that Moriarty book on hold — I really enjoy her books.
Yay for liking the sweet potato stew! I enjoyed it, too. Adding spinach is a genius idea!
Hope the storm is a non-issue for you! Glad you stocked up on yummies just in case!
Thanks Suzanne! The storm has passed and we’re fine. A lot of people are NOT fine though- there were some scary tornadoes. But it’s over now.
I like the gods in the woods, especially the ending, but I agree that it was confusing if one doesn’t read for extended period of time as there is a lot of switching in characters and time period.
oh… crunchy things always help to calm my nerves so I fully understanding stocking up when waiting for the hurricane to pass.
Yes, I thought the ending was good (but so sad!)
Hmm, I was thinking we were just using the storm as an excuse to buy junk food. But maybe we did need to calm our nerves!
Because storms are stressful and stressful means potato chips! It’s either that or bite each other’s heads off.
I had some butter chickpeas (rather than butter chicken) from the Farm Boy hot bar the other day and they were freaking amazing. I need to try making that stew. I made a lemon pepper roast chicken in the instant pot last week that my husband raved about. My daughter is coming home for fall break on friday which means I have to make peanut chicken and tacos.
Hmmm! I’ll bet I could find a recipe for butter chickpeas- I’ll let you know. And yes, that should be a saying- stress means potato chips.
I made that sweet potato stew last week too! I didn’t have two cans of chickpeas, so I did one can of chickpeas and one of kidney beans and it was so tasty. The spinach addition sounds great too. My husband and two young kids didn’t love it, but my older kid and I did. On well, more for me!
I don’t know if I’ve ever gotten storm snacks! I love the idea, though.
Diane, it’s practically impossible to make a meal that EVERYONE loves. Yes, you got more leftovers this way.
That stew looks lovely! And I’m glad I’m far enough behind that I can see that you came through the storm OK.