Sep 14, 2013

Sunday Salon: Hot Read, Hot Temps

The Sunday Salon.com Welcome to the Sunday Salon! And visit The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer!

The weather was wonderfully sunny this past week but sweltering. I spent the hottest hours inside, reading.

From the bookstore:  Louise Penny's new mystery is set in a cold winter in Quebec.


How the Light Gets In is the 9th in the Chief Inspector Armand Gamache mystery series, and yes, it's better to read the books in order, but if you don't intend to read the entire series, it's fine to jump in and read this one. The book gives enough background that you won't be lost about the main characters, their relationships, and the places where they work and live.

The mystery is suspenseful and the characters are so believable that you want to know more about them. The plot drags you in and keeps you involved in the book. Louise Penny has won many awards for the series, and I think this latest novel is also a winner.

Gardening: Today turned cool, and we did some gardening, mulching the new hostas planted a month ago, in preparation for what may be a bitter and snowy winter! We also bought a few perennial plants to replace the annuals that will die out in fall -  the zinnias, daisies, marigolds, petunias.

We found some pale yellow butterflies are attracted to the marigolds and zinnias, so we plan to plant them again next spring/summer. The butterflies also like the pale blue flowers of the cat mint, a perennial, so in it goes this summer.


Mailbox: I got a cute ARE of a children's book, No Dogs Allowed (Ready, Set, Dogs!) by Stephanie Calmenson, Joanna Cole, Heather Ross. Here is the book description:

 "Kate and Lucie are best friends. Kate is neat and Lucie is messy. Kate wakes up early and Lucie loves to sleep in. But both girls love, love, love dogs!

Unfortunately, Kate and Lucie live in apartments where dogs are not allowed. Instead of real dogs, they have dog T-shirts, dog sheets and pajamas, and dog books. But nothing is quite the same as having a real dog. One day, the girls discover sparkly pink dog necklaces at the thrift store and try them on. But when they admire themselves in the mirror and give each other high fives, there is a pop and a whoosh and the girls are turned into dogs! Now it seems like Kate and Lucie won’t need their own pet dogs . . . because they’ll be having furry adventures of their own."

 I don't think the girls stay dogs forever though. Now I am curious to see if my grand-niece will like this book!

What's your Sunday like?

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18 comments:

  1. Oh, the Louise Penny book looks like one I need! Thanks for sharing...and the dog book looks adorable. Thanks for visiting my blog.

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  2. It was a beautiful cooler day yesterday here on the East Coast. Your books sound enjoyable. Have a great week.

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  3. I so agree about Louise Penny's new book. It's hard to put down. I can't wait to see where she goes from here with her characters. The dog book looks delightful. Our weather has a touch of fall in the air this morning. A great day to read a book. :)

    Mason
    Thoughts in Progress

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  4. How the Light Gets in looks good. I am someone who must read books in order however. Did you read all the other books in the series Harvee?

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    1. I've read A Beautiful Mystery, set in an isolated monastery in Canada, a book that got me hooked on the series. I am also reading Bury Your Dead on kindle.

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  5. The Louise Penny book sounds good! Happy gardening and happy reading.

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  6. I love a good mystery series so I'll be looking into the Louise Penny series.

    I wish I had a garden. I'd love to grow my own flowers and veggies!!

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  7. I love how you read of wintry Quebec on the sweltering days. It was so hot in Illinois this week we had two Heat Days where the teachers came to school, but the children were exempt. No air conditioning, as you may recall, makes me crabby! ;)

    I want to read all of her books, yet I've only read one...

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  8. It was hot here too but it's cooling off now. That book cover definetly evokes a cool winter day! And the dog book looks cute too!

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  9. Luckily, our hot and humid weather has abated! Thanks for sharing your books. I like the new look of your blog, Harvee.

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  10. The Louise Penny series has been recommended to me by a friend and my mom. They love them. Glad you got a break in the heat, we did as well. Fall is here.

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  11. I really want to try Louise Penny one day - I need more time to read! We had a very strange summer and didn't get much hot weather.

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  12. I was looking at your post thinking 'that books looks familiar' and then I realised I got an ARC of it by mistake a few months back, lol. I might have to give it a go!

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  13. I'd love to start planting my garden with things to attract butterflies; what a great idea!

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  14. I can't imagine reading a Louise Penny novel and not wanting to read the whole series (possibly immediately), they are so good! The characters just pulled me into their lives and I couldn't wait to see what would happen next.

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