Happy 4th to those in the U.S. We had a good Canada Day, July 1. It was so hot we took a dip in the river with our Lab Stella leading the way. Yesterday she jumped into the reservoir on her ninth birthday! (photo at left).
Meanwhile for over a week we had a brutal heat wave here, which was a bit unusual for that long and this far north, but apparently a “heat dome” had descended upon much of the Northwest, hovering near 100F /37C for days on end. That is pretty hot when many homes and buildings here don’t have air-con. Finally some thunderstorms have rolled in and the heat dome has moved on east. Sorry to those in its path. Has it been hot where you are? Of course wildfires are always a worry and it seems British Columbia, our neighbor to the west, is in trouble with many burning out of control there. Gulp, see the fire and smoke forecast here.
It’s been a bit busy so I haven’t done too much reading. My part-time jobs are keeping me occupied … reviewing fiction for PW and now officiating tennis tournaments, which has restarted again here. I’m just trying to stay cool while out in the sun. Isn’t it a bit incongruous that summer is supposed to be this big reading time of the year — and yet for many it’s the busiest season of all with: family get-togethers, special occasions, and travel, bicycling and plenty of other hobbies, chores, and gardening to do. Do you find it hard to get much reading done? So far I’ve completed just 2 out of 12 on my Summer Reading List … yet I still hope to surge before September. We will see. How are you doing with your list? And now I will leave you with a review of what I finished lately.
The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave/ Simon & Schuster /320 pgs / 2020
Synopsis: Hannah Hall seems to have the good life. She’s been married a year to her love Owen Michaels, and lives on a houseboat in Sausalito, California, pursuing her woodturning and handmade furniture. She’s still trying to get closer to her 16-year-old stepdaughter Bailey whose mother tragically passed before she knew her. But then the Feds implicate the tech start-up where Owen works for fraud and he mysteriously disappears, leaving a cryptic note for Hannah to protect Bailey. Is he guilty or trying to come clean? Hannah and Bailey end up teaming together to try to figure out what Owen’s involved in and his past. It’s much more than you think. And in the process Hannah and Bailey begin to trust one another.
My Thoughts: This made for a good summer kind of audiobook (read by the estimable Rebecca Lowman). Ha, I was out on a stepladder clipping the back hedge, listening and imaging woodturning on a houseboat in Sausalito. Sign me up for this. Then Owen’s start-up is implicated in fraud and he disappears. Uh-oh. I especially liked the beginning and how newly married Hannah and stepdaughter Bailey are left to sort of pick up the pieces and figure out what the heck happened. Their search takes them to Austin, Texas, where they find some clues about Owen’s past. I can’t really say much more than that without giving too much away, but as it goes on its plot caused me a few eye rolls for being a bit of a stretch to believe but still I went with it. Overall it has enough mystery to it and turns to be a decent page-turning summer read, and I liked how the wife Hannah and the stepdaughter who are far apart at first come to be on each other’s side. This was on my summer list, so I get to check it off now. Ha. check. Reminds me a bit of summer lists from those old school days.
That’s all for now. What about you — have you read this one? And I hope you are staying cool wherever you are. Happy barbecuing!
I cannot imagine the heat wave you all have had without air con. Santa Barbara has never gotten too hot, but about 5 years ago we had a summer with weeks of weather in the 90s so we (and many people we know) all got air con installed.
I have The Last Thing He Told Me on my TBR shelf and am looking forward to it.
Have a great week!
Thanks Helen. Yeah without air-con we are like sitting ducks no matter how many fans we have. Usually we don’t get many hot days a year … but this heat dome seemed unprecedented .. with crazy temps 7 days straight. Now luckily it is gone … but we are thinking about getting A/C! Have a great week there too.
We have a rain-wave for a week while you had the heat. Of course we had sever 90-95 degree days before that as well but, you got the worst of it I’d say. I enjoyed Last Thing He Told Me. I’m making progress with my summer reading list (except for ones from the shelves:)
Have a good week.
Thanks Diane. You are on a roll with your summer reading, so way to go! I’m getting a lot of tips on books from your reviews. Luckily our heat dome has finally passed and now we are getting some thunderstorms … which seems needed. Have a great week.
We have all been watching and worrying about that awful heat that descended upon your part of the world. I remember when I was a child here in Texas with no air conditioning. Swelter is the word, I believe.
My son and his family are staying with us, so we are delighting in spending time with them, and the books have been set aside for now. I have loved reading some picture books with the kids.
So glad that heat has moved away from you!
Thanks Deb. The heat dome has finally left. Without A/C it was crazy, though we have a lot of fans. That’s nice your son & his family are visiting … how great to see – things are getting back to being more normal. I’m going to be seeing family in August. Have a great week.
Happy Canada Day!
Those temps are pretty much standard for our summer, even if you are used to it it’s brutal.
Wishing you a great reading week, stay cool
Thanks Shelleyrae: we had a good Canada Day at the river … Canadians in these parts aren’t used to brutal temps … and melt like an ice cream cone when it goes on too long. Luckily the heat dome has finally left … so it’s much better now. Hope your days are good.
I’m ready for some undemanding summer reads, something I can read and enjoy without having to think too much about it. It seems that this might qualify.
We continue to have somewhat unusual weather here, too. It’s hot but we expect and can deal with that. But we are continuing to have rain showers almost every day and sometimes more than just showers. Yesterday, for example, we had a real gully-washer. Unfortunately, it didn’t discourage the fireworks fans. They continued with their explosions right up until almost midnight.
Hi Dorothy … I hope your pretty garden withstood the gully-washer. We had a hail storm after the heat dome left that shredded my geraniums .. I think they will come back but it might take a while. Strange weather indeed.
My summer list is pretty undemanding … and this one fits into that too. I guess we deserve some easy beach reads during these months. Enjoy!
We are back in NY state with family now and it has been comfortably cool the last few days… at least compared to what we left in FL! Even that was not nearly as bad as what’s been going on in the NW!
The Last Thing He Told Me sounds like a good summer read. I’m going to try and read a couple of (not too heavy) books for Paris in July, then will try and read ebooks I already own. I’m sure there are plenty of forgotten gems hiding on my kindle – ha!
Hey JoAnn: nice that you are in NY state now. Are you in the Big City? Some of these undemanding reads are good for summer right now. Not too much thinking just go with the flow. I fear I have too much hidden on my Kindle, ha. But I’ll try to keep with my summer list. Enjoy your travels & visits.
No, not in NYC yet (way upstate at my parents) but we’ll get there later this summer.
Oh fantastic. Love Upstate NY. Enjoy your time with your folks. It must remind you some of your former home in Central NY near the Lake. Cheers.
In France, you can always start a conversation by mentioning the unprecedented weather (no matter what it actually is). Here in North America this summer, as you and the other commenters note — it’s really the only way to start a conversation. I’m thinking of that for the blog event “Paris in July,” will have to follow it up!
best… mae at maefood.blogspor.com
Hi Mae: yeah while we were under the Heat Dome here … it was hard to think of much else … it was so stifling …. not much air to breathe. But it’s gone now … so we move on. I will check your post on Paris in July … to see what is up. Cheers.
I’m glad the heat dome moved on. That would be brutal without AC! The Last This He Told Me was one of my summer reads, and I really enjoyed it. Have a great week!
Thanks Diana for stopping by. Yeah without AC, the week-long heat wave was pretty harsh. Luckily we are back to regular temps now. I’m glad you enjoyed the Laura Dave novel … I particularly liked the Mom & stepdaughter aspect of it and their solving the case. Cheers.
The Last Thing He Told Me was enjoyable enough for me to give it a decent review. It WAS a page turner for me and my interest held throughout most of it. It wasn’t entirely believable but I read it right before the long weekend and it worked as a distraction.
The heat. It was horrible in Palm Springs. I am used to it being hot and dry but it was very humid and unbearable. My daughter insisted I sit with her at the pool and even under the cover of shade I was miserable. BUT, I just kept reading and managed to read quite a bit. The heat for your area though! Wow!! I was reading about it and feeling for you all. My friend lives in Vancouver with no AC and was not having it.
Hi Ti … I think we completed the Laura Dave book about at the same time. I liked it about the same as you, it was a pretty decent summer read. I can imagine Palm Springs would be sizzling now. We were sizzling too not long ago … but British Columbia was much worse. I’m sure Vancouver was stifling. Luckily we had some thunder storms and this week has been much better. Whoosh!
I hope you have a great week.
I’m happy for you that the heat wave has finally moved on. I can’t even imagine living in those temperatures without air conditioning to soften the blow. Weirdly, Texas temps have been considerably below average for several weeks now, and the AC down here is not having to work nearly as hard as it normally does this time of year. Lots of rain, too.
I know exactly what you mean about summer reading, especially this year because now that things are loosening up quite a bit, I plan to hit the road around July 18 in order to wander around in some of the more sparsely populated US states. Heading toward the Dakotas and will see what happens. It all kind of depends on how open that part of the country turns out to really be.
Hi Sam: I hope you enjoy your road trip. It seems most places are open now right? I remember the Texas heat …. I went to Trinity U in San Antonio … back in the 1980s and it was steaming … one time I stayed over a summer and it was pretty hot – Ouch! And not much action outdoors until the sun went down. Ha. Enjoy your week.
That water looks so refreshing! I would have been running right behind Stella, if I were there. 🙂 It’s good to be back in Oregon, although I hate to say it out loud, but it’s a little cold here. 😉 Our hottest day on our trip was 105 (and maybe 15 degrees cooler inside the RV, thanks to the A/C); we’ve been below 60 since we got home. We were near two wildfires in Northern CA and could see the smoke and had some ash fall on us, but we were safe. It’s going to be a long fire season, I’m afraid.
You are busy, what with PW and tennis! Yes, I find it very difficult to fit reading into my schedule during the summer. Visitors, travel, warmer weather, yardwork, etc. I do much better in the winter months. I’ve read two and given up on one from my summer reading list, but we’re home for a month (yes, another trip!), so maybe I’ll start knocking more off that list. Perhaps I should tackle the shortest books first. 🙂
I’ve heard good things about Laura Dave’s book. I love Sausalito and the idea of a houseboat is very appealing. If the setting is a big part of the story, I’m in. Audio or print?
Take care, Susan. Hope it stays somewhat cool up there!
Hi Lesley, thanks. It’s been a bit cooler here with more thunderstorms in the late afternoons but it’s starting to be smoky from the wildfires in BC. I hope it doesn’t worsen. I’m envious you have cool temps there though 80s is fine here. It must be good to be home now. Rest up after all the driving miles.
Unfortunately the Laura Dave novel doesn’t have enough about Sausalito … as the story moves to Austin Texas pretty quickly … and the setting doesn’t seem to be too big a factor in it. It’s a pretty short quick book / more like a summer read. Have a great week!
I have never heard of a heat dome, but I can definitely images it. Before we moved to the coast, we lived in a place here in SA where the average summer temp is around 40°C. Don’t know how we made it, but we did!
Still want to read The last thing he told me, really seems like a good read!
Hey Mareli, Such a good thing you moved to the coast … 40C is crazy! I had to look up a “heat dome” – apparently it’s like when very hot air is trapped in place and you’re screwed for a week or more! Canadians have trouble in too much heat … can’t last.
The premise of The Last Thing He Told Me book … keeps it going.
Hope you have been well.
We’re in the middle of a heatwave here in the Midwest. It’s supposed to be 100 degrees tomorrow. Ugh!! I don’t even know what I would do without air conditioning. Maybe go sleep in the movie theater? Lol
Ha Rachel. I know. It seems hard to believe we don’t have air-con … but we have plenty of fans. Usually our summers don’t have many extreme heat days … but this year has been different. It’s been hot for weeks at a time! I hope you are surviving the heat there. Maybe when it’s boiling again … I’ll head to the library or the movie theater! Great idea. keep cool.