Sunday Salon: Hot Read, Hot Temps

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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