1.) Spokane Is Reading Night
Every year my town via it's libraries and bookstores picks a book for our town to read. At the end of October the author comes to town to speak. It is absolutely awesome and I love it!! I look forward to it all year long. Tyler and I both read this year's selection and were looking forward to hearing the author speak.
The book for 2016 was The Tsar of Love and Techno by Anthony Marra:
From Goodreads:
This stunning, exquisitely written collection introduces a cast of remarkable characters whose lives intersect in ways both life-affirming and heartbreaking. A 1930s Soviet censor painstakingly corrects offending photographs, deep underneath Leningrad, bewitched by the image of a disgraced prima ballerina. A chorus of women recount their stories and those of their grandmothers, former gulag prisoners who settled their Siberian mining town. Two pairs of brothers share a fierce, protective love. Young men across the former USSR face violence at home and in the military. And great sacrifices are made in the name of an oil landscape unremarkable except for the almost incomprehensibly peaceful past it depicts. In stunning prose, with rich character portraits and a sense of history reverberating into the present, The Tsar of Love and Techno is a captivating work from one of our greatest new talents.
This is not a book that I would have ever picked up on my own. First of all, it is a collection of short stories. I don't love short stories. Second, most of the stories take place in Soviet Russia under terrible conditions. Again, not a subject matter that I gravitate to. The stories take place over the course of nearly 80 years spanning from 1937 Communist Leningrad under the reign of Stalin to Siberia during the Cold War and to war torn Chechnya of 2013. The stories are all some how connected. I loved discovering how each story related to the others. They are powerful, haunting, harsh, multi-layered and all of them are heartbreaking. The ones that particularly haunt me are The Leopard and one of the final stories that ties into it. It left me in tears. These stories are complex and thought-provoking. I didn't always love them while I was reading them. They were so brutal and intense. I had to let them linger in my consciousness for awhile. Upon reflection the stories and the characters despite the brutality became achingly beautiful to me. I couldn't wait to hear Anthony Marra speak.
Tyler and I arrived at the venue early. We got fantastic seats and were right up front. It was a amazing night! Anthony Marra was incredible. He did not disappoint. He was charming and witty. I loved learning more about his writing process, how the book came to be, and how he developed the characters and stories. It was fascinating. I left an Anthony Marra fan and having a deeper appreciation and love of the book. (Tyler liked it too.)
My Rating: Heartbreaking and beautiful.
2.) Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Vanilla Bean Frappuccino
This is my new favorite fall treat. Delicious.
3.) Sunday Drives
We have early church and get out by noon. This leaves a whole afternoon to relax and refresh. Tyler and I will sometimes head out for a Sunday drive in the early afternoon. I love them especially during the fall. It is such a great time to talk and reconnect and to discuss what we learned at church that day.
4.) Reading Aloud To My Kids
This is our current read aloud book.
I have always loved reading to my children. I particularly enjoy it when they reach the age of listening to chapter books and I have loved sharing my favorites with them over the years. I feel like these days are almost gone though and it makes me want to hold onto them even tighter. I love snuggling on the bed with Ailey and Bryn and reading a good book. I always loved it when my mom would read to me as a child or when teachers would read aloud a book in school. That was always my favorite part of the day. I love sharing good books with my children as we snuggle and are cozy in the evenings. It's still my favorite part of the day.
5.) The Pug Snap Chat Filter
Snap chat filters... they either amuse or annoy. For the Johnsons they amuse...still. Especially the pug because we used to have a little pug...Mrs. Beasley... God Rest Her Soul.
For your amusement or irritation:
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| Tyler |
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| Ailey |
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| Kameron |
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| Bryn |
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| Reilly |
On that note....we move onto November!!
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