So, yes, I went on my church retreat and it was quite relaxing and delightful. I took several naps and even got to play Catan, which I now want to play again. Don’t worry. I have pretty much already set up a game night to make that happen.
Ah, the beauty of retreat.
Speaking of the beauty of retreat, here is a picture of my view from the dock on Saturday morning.
And now that I have taken a breather and gotten away from it all, I’m ready to wrap up this semester. It’s finals week. Bring it.
A to Z Challenge is still happening, so still quite a bit of activity on the blog:
- It’s the last week of classes. Whew.
- N is for New Bloggers, New Readers #AtoZChallenge
- O is for Other TV Options #AtoZChallenge
- P is for Positive Feedback #AtoZChallenge
- Q is for Quaint #AtoZChallenge
- R is for Retreat #AtoZChallenge
- S is for Scheduling Posts #AtoZChallenge
I can’t believe it’s the last week! April went by so fast.
I finished two books this week:
Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
3.5 stars, rounding up
Okay, this was delightful. I listened to the Full Cast Audio (LOVE Full Cast Audio) and the narrator was great, yes, but whoever did Tutor Olana’s voice was perfection.
There are many great things about this book, and the heroine is exactly what I expect from a Shannon Hale main character: clever, intelligent, kind, and grounded. But my favorite thing about this book is that it’s all about the importance of reading and education and how one and/or both are transformative.
The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
2.5 stars, rounding up
This is a pretty good look at the importance of chosen families and friendship. I also really like the focus on culture and what determines how a person chooses to identify. One of the huge conflicts for Salvador is the fact that he is white, period, except his dad and extended family are all Mexican, so, really he is Mexican–even if outsiders don’t think so.
The prose in this is spare, and I’m not sure it works to great effect here. There’s a huge focus on dialogue but not so much on what’s happening while characters are talking, so it’s hard to get a clear picture of most of the action.
Love Fito and Vicente. Man, Fito just made my heart clench.
I also started two new books:
I requested Greensleeves by Eloise Jarvis McGraw through interlibrary loan after reading Jenny’s glowing review. So far, I am finding the narrative voice delightful, and I am intrigued by the premise.
I haven’t started it yet, but I just checked out the audiobook of When the Sea Turned to Silver by Grace Lin. I wanted something fun to read, and I was so delighted by Lin’s Where the Mountain Meets the Moon that this was a no-brainer. I can’t wait to start it.
Have a great week, everyone!
For the Blogging from A to Z Challenge this year, my theme is gratitude. Every day, I am going to post about something I am grateful for. Tune in tomorrow to see what I pick for U.
The Englishist 
Do you like playing Catan? I’ve been thinking about getting it…
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It was fun! I have only played it the one time, so it wasn’t until the game was almost over that I started getting a sense of the strategy involved, which is why I need to play it again.
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That’s such a gorgeous view! It sounds like it was a refreshing break. Good luck finishing up the semester.
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