I’m alive. Also, a few books I’ve read. Very few.

By | October 22, 2021

Hello friends. Yes, in response to your emails. I’m still alive. I went through a phase where I wasn’t reading so I had nothing to talk to you about. In my real life, I took up gardening. I spent a good chunk of time helping a friend organize his house and then fantasized about making that my career. Like Marie Kondo. Friends have been the theme of the last few months and I’ve been doing so much socializing. Go vaccine, go!

One of my favorite things about retirement is my ability to slip into different lives so easily. It’s pretty fun.

I still haven’t sent it out, but my book proposal is done and taunting me. I don’t have much faith in my book and I don’t know how to solve that problem. Writing is hard. Confidence is hard.

National Novel Writing Month is next month, too and I’m gearing up to do that. I’m thinking of using a co-working space. Have you tried those? I may be too cheap for it. Although the market is pretty high, so I’m not worried about money or anything.

I missed you, too.

A Short History of Nearly Everything

by Bill Bryson

I read this book years ago and liked it, but this second time, the book just fell flat for me. It was boring and filled with things I already know. Too much talk about the scientists behind the science and not enough science. I liked the author’s other stuff though. That was also many years ago though, so maybe my tastes have changed.

Malibu Rising: A Novel

by Taylor Jenkins Reid

So this book was well written and kind of interesting at the time, but forgettable after a couple of weeks. It’s about a family that lives in Malibu, California. The father is an absentee rock star and the mother is an alcoholic. The author weaves the story from the past into a story in the present where the four kids are adults and there’s a wild party. It was okay.

June cried in her driveway for what felt like a lifetime. Cried for herself and her children, cried because of how much of herself she had compromised in order to keep him, cried because it had never been enough to make him stay.

How I lost money in real estate before it was fashionable

by JL Collins

My friend JL Collins, author of the The Simple Path to Wealth, sent me a copy of his new book on investing and why you should think twice about real estate. I don’t think the book is released yet, so I don’t have a link, but it will be soon! I blurbed it and here’s my blurb:

JL Collins does it again with a new book on investing. This time he tackles real estate and why it might not be the dream you may think it is. Collins tells his story of buying a condo and losing money on it month after month. The tale is haunting and humorous and gives an honest and refreshing, no-nonsense take on buying a home and investing in real estate. 

I’ve never owned real estate and I’m nearing my fourth decade on this planet. I never experience the hassle of things breaking on my dime or shoveling snow. Renting gives me flexibility to move and explore. I liked the book. I still like the idea of buying a house.

A Clockwork Orange

by Anthony Burgess

Sucked. Sucked. I couldn’t get into the made up language. I looked up a few words on the first page before I realized he was writing nonsense. Just no. Couldn’t do it. Gave up relatively early and I have no idea what the book is about. There was some sort of fight. It was graphic and gruesome, I think.

Felix Ever After

by Kacen Callender

Another kind of forgettable book. It’s a young adult novel about the trials and tribulations of a transgender 17-year old. It feels very high school because it’s set in a high school. I never partied in high school and couldn’t relate.

Yeah, that’s really everything. Have you read anything good lately? I haven’t been impressed with what I’ve read.

44 thoughts on “I’m alive. Also, a few books I’ve read. Very few.

  1. Taylor

    So glad you’re blogging again (for now)! Hopefully you’ll share some of your gardening with us. And I’m sure you already know this, but professional organizing is a legitimate career path now. It’s probably super flexible and amenable to working part time.

    Sorry that revisiting Bill Bryson’s book changed the taste of it for you. Sometimes I avoid revisiting my favorite books just so what it felt like the first time can linger a little longer. It’s lucky to find a book that feels good at the right time, and since I feel a bond to certain stories, I not to disrupt the ones that were *just right* the first time.

    Reply
      1. Connor

        If you’re getting into gardening, maybe Nature’s Best Hope would interest you. It’s about creating native ecosystems.

        Reply
      2. Thriftygal Post author

        Sure! I just mean that I can pick up different hobbies pretty easily. One year was the Year of the Body if you remember. One year was devoted to meditation. One year was devoted to stretching. It’s easy to throw yourself into something completely. Different lives. I can get REALLY into gardening. It’s lovely. 🙂

        Reply
  2. Debbie Horner

    Wonderful that you are still alive. Glad you are reading and writing again. Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club and The Man Who Died Twice, both lovely gentle humour, highly recommended. Hope that they are not too ‘English’ for you.

    Reply
  3. Jess

    I dont know if you are into murder mystery but I’ve been enjoying Joanna Schaffhausen. I have two books left in the first series and I’m super into it. Plus not a long hold line at DPL

    Reply
  4. Katrien

    I’ve just finished ‘Nowhere in Africa’ by Stefanie Zweig and liked it. ‘I am pilgrim’ by Terry Hayes was quite good and I gave 4.5/5 stars to ‘The Stones Cry Out’ by Hikaru Okuizumi. I can also recommend ‘A Song for the Dark Times’ by Ian Rankin, especially if you have been in Northern Scotland.

    Reply
  5. jlcollinsnh

    Thanks again for your blurb, and for mentioning my upcoming book here. It should be out in November.

    BTW, an abbreviated version of your comments will be on the back cover!

    Reply
  6. Stephen Gamber

    Thanks for posting honest comments about the books you’ve read. It’s refreshing, especially with all the marketing hype for books. The upcoming book “How I lost money in real estate before it was fashionable” sounds interesting and possibly humorous – I checked Amazon, but it’s not yet posted.

    Reply
    1. Thriftygal Post author

      Maybe my standards are too high for books and I’m being too harsh. I understand how massive an undertaking writing a book is, so I feel bad saying negative things about them.

      Reply
  7. Julia

    You are hilarious. Yep sometimes books aren’t all that. But you can just move on and go to the next rental. Get some faith in writing – get some beta readers. I look forward to it.

    Reply
    1. Lauralou

      I spent a lot of time trying to get into classics and in my old age of 39 I have accepted that many of the classics are boring. Or are just too sad when real life and the world is depressing enough. So I’ve been diving into fantasy series. Dragonriders of pern is worth trying if you are into that kind of thing. Black sun by Rebecca roanhorse is next on my list with great reviews.

      Reply
        1. Miss Nomer

          If you’re 39 now then you’re nearing your fifth decade on this planet!

          Reply
          1. Thriftygal Post author

            0-10 – first decade
            11-20 – second decade
            21-30 – third decade
            31-40 – fourth decade
            41-50 – fifth decade

            You’re right!

    2. Thriftygal Post author

      I think I need an editor before I get beta readers. It still feels pretty unpolished. Appreciate the encouragement though.

      Reply
  8. escapingavalon

    Taking a month off reading sounds like another planet; one that I’m not sure I want to visit but I’d probably learn something from. Thanks for putting out some more of your writing. Selfishly it’s nice to hear from peeps that are post FI.

    You asked for books-Neal Stephenson’s Anathem has been my favorite book this year. It’s still resonating pleasantly in my consciousness even though it’s been months and I’ve plowed through many books since reading it.
    The first 100 pages are dense, but worth the investment. It’s almost like 3 separate novels. Anathem ends well, but not in some surface deep happy ending. More of a delicate prod that shifts your thinking, which then generates a soft warm glow of hope.

    Reply
    1. Thriftygal Post author

      I know, right? Not just one month. Many months. I’m hoping to change that with all these new suggestions. I just requested yours from the library. thanks!

      Reply
  9. renee

    One excellent memoir? Crying in H Mart. Makes me want to travel to South Korea and try all the food. One beautifully written novel? Pachinko!

    Reply
  10. Melanie

    There’s a book I recently read which I am telling all my friends about! It’s called Homesick: Why I Live in A Shed by Catrina Davies.

    The title is pretty self-explanatory haha. It’s a sort-of memoir about why at age 31 the author ended up living in a shed in Cornwall, England. It delves into more than just that though. She is an excellent writer.

    Here is an article from The Guardian which does a much better job of describing the author and the book than I can 🙂

    https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/jul/06/homesick-catrina-davies-review

    Reply
  11. Walter

    Happy you’re still alive!
    A Clockwork Orange was pretty cool 40 years ago. And the movie. And the soundtrack of the movie.

    Guess some things just don’t age well. Especially cool things.

    Reply
  12. charlie @ doginvestor.com

    I read Short History – remember being scarred by that paragraph about the scuba diver and if they lost pressure =)

    The Clockwork Orange movie was a little more understandable (barely), but maybe that’s because you recognize things in real life instead of the made-up words used. It was ok but not really my taste.

    The friends you meet up with, are they also retired or do you see them mostly weekends or in the week? I’m looking for more of a community here, most folks seem to be working in the week so there’s very little social interaction happening during Mon-Fri work hours. Maybe I need to move somewhere less office workholism focussed =)

    Reply
  13. Marie

    Great to hear you are doing well! Gardening sounds fun. Organizing too! Organizing and decluttering is a daily struggle for me. No easy feat! Also trying to get in daily exercising. Lol

    Reply
    1. Susan Lato

      My reading has had such ebbs and flows this past 18 months. I have found getting a really short book helps me get started again. I also just stop (and cross off the list!) if I’m not enjoying it after an hour. Here are my top five from the last year.
      By Martha Wells: All Systems Red: Sci-fi, from one augmented human’s point of view as she escapes her programming. I learned to love her. First in a series, but they are all short.

      By Pamela Ribon and Cat Farris: My Boyfriend is a Bear: Short graphic novel. Story is exactly as the title says. Super cute.

      By Julie Clark: The Last Flight: Thriller genre, which I don’t often read, but this story is different from the usual, good twists.

      By Jincy Willets: The Writing Group: Murder mystery, although that is kind of the B plot. Protagonist is an older woman writer who is currently teaching a writing class. She is just enough of a quirky character to be believable. Loved it so much I immediately read her other 2 books.

      By Susan Orlean: The Library Book: Non-fiction. Story/history of the Los Angeles library and the fire that almost destroyed it in the 1980’s. The writing is rich, detailed, but not boring.

      Reply
  14. Stuart

    Interested to read the JL Collins book since I’m too cowardly to invest in real estate… barely able to buy a house in the first place.. So I can justify my actions.. perfect.

    I enjoy your reviews and all the book ideas in your comments section. Thanks!

    Camino Winds, I’m halfway through and it’s pretty good. I never thought I’d like a book that takes so long to deliver on the plot.

    Reply
  15. Violetta

    Hello Anita,
    Great to hear from you and that you are doing well!

    I have been listening to a ton of audiobooks over the past two years. It is truly a habit I love on a daily basis!

    Some of my recent favourites include:
    Glennon Doyle “Untamed”
    Jordan B. Peterson “12 Rules for Life”
    Jessica Bruder “Nomadland”
    Kamala Harris “The Truths We Hold”
    Ronan Farrow “Catch and Kill”
    Ellen DeGeneres “Seriously…I’m Kidding”

    Enjoy!

    Bye for now,
    Violetta

    Reply

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