August News

    Nothing much has changed in the last week. My pool heater isn't working again - the guys are coming tomorrow to fix it, hopefully - but it is still hot here so the water is reasonably warm and I am swimming every day. 

   Regarding one of the books I wrote about last week, The Bookseller of Florence, it is a non-fiction and extremely well researched and well written. However it is a heavy read (both physically and mentally), more like a text book than my usually reading fare. I have been to Florence so that aspect of it is interesting. I am plugging away at it - it's fascinating how much is known about people and events in 14th century Italy - but it is definitely not a light summer read!

   That's it for this week. 

The Heat Continues

    Still sitting here sweating - it is so hot and humid! I worked in the garden for about 10 minutes then had to jump in the pool!

    Yesterday's tennis was fine for the first hour (8:00 to 9:00) as it was overcast, but then the sun came out and we all wilted. Tomorrow it will be more of the same. I wonder how long we will last!

    Three more books from the library. This should last me over the weekend. I have just finished the Alexander McCall Smith book and would recommend it for a light but thoughtful read. The others were on some list or other so no idea what they will be like.

The bottom one is "The Bookseller of Florence" by Ross King.

Another Hot Spell

    Not much on the agenda today as it is so hot and humid. The humidex makes it feel like 40C! Judy and James dropped by on their way to (or from) somewhere else and James had a quick swim. Since then I have been hiding out indoors watching tennis on TV. The Canadian Open (women in Montreal and men in Toronto)  is on this week but I am quite happy to stay home and watch it in relative comfort. 

It is set to be hot all week until Friday when we are promised rain.

Two Good Books

    A little rain this afternoon so I finished my current book and started another. After a period of nothing new arriving in my inbox from the library, three books arrived almost simultaneously, so I picked up one this morning, the others can wait. One good thing about the pandemic is that the library is currently not charging for overdue books.

  This is my third Mary Lawson books and I can tell I will enjoy it as much as the others. The others, which I have probably mentioned before, are "A Town Called Solace" and "The Other Side of the Bridge". All three are set in a small community in Northern Ontario and are packed with emotional, often tragic circumstances and complex family relationships that will stay with you after you finish reading.

  I finished this one today - a compelling tale of mystery and intrigue set in post WWII Eastern Europe, complete with spies, danger and human frailties. A good read.

o I picked up one today.