Monday, June 4, 2018

Podcasts, Books and Workouts of May

Another month is in the books. May flew by pretty quickly. I'm grateful that I have about 1.5 more months of leave left as I don't feel quite ready to return to work just yet! Although I did see a bunch of coworkers at a HH retirement party last week and it made me realize that it will be good to go back to work as I really miss them!  

Podcasts:

In the Dark - as I mentioned in my currently post for May, I'm loving the latest season of "In the Dark." It's about a man who has been tried 6 times for the same series of murders. The shady/unethical police work is kind of unbelievable. It makes you wonder how much this happens with other convictions. 

Books:

May was another strong month for reading. I finished 5 books. My favorite was The Garden of Small Beginnings. 


Darktown by Thomas Mullen - 3 stars - This is a plot-driven novel about a crime that occurs in Atlanta in the late 1930s. The city of Atlanta had recently decided to hire African American cops, but they weren't fully embraced by other cops. So the book is partially about the crime that occurred and partially about the racial discord in Atlanta. 

Love and Ruin by Paula McLain - 3 stars - This novel is about Ernest Hemingway's third marriage. I really loved "The Paris Wife" and was hoping that this one would be just as good but I didn't like it quite as much. I had a hard time feeling sympathy for his 3rd wife. You'd think she would have realized that Hemingway is a cheating scumbag?? I know that is harsh to say but he clearly had a pattern of cheating on his wives! 

The Garden of Small Beginnings by Abbi Waxman - 4 stars - This was my favorite book of the month as it was really easy to get into and was a fast read. It's about a woman who lost her husband in a tragic car accident. She joins a gardening club as a requirement of a work project. The cast of characters in the gardening club were so likable which made the book really enjoyable. Plus there is gardening advice in between each chapter. As an avid gardener, I really enjoyed that! 

The Rules Do Not Apply by Ariel Levy - 3 stars - This is a memoir written by a woman who went through an awful series of events, including losing a baby. There were aspects of the book that I enjoyed but overall I would say this was "just ok." If I could give half stars in goodreads, this would have been a 2.5 star book for me.

Flight of Dreams by Ariel Lawhon - 4 stars - In this novel, the author imagines what happened aboard the last flight of the Hindenburg. The story is told from multiple points of view which is a writing style that I love! 

Workouts:

I finished week 5 of the 12 week post-baby program I purchased in April. I had to take a week off as I did something to my glute/hamstring that had me hobbling around for a couple of days. It was so strange. I think I must have tweaked something when I was doing some single leg lunges. Besides that minor set back, I've been feeling great. I also did my first run/walk combo last week. It's a lot of work to push a stroller, especially if there is the slightest change in elevation! I'm hoping to gradually increase the amount of time spent running and I'm going to try to get out for a run without the stroller each weekend when Phil is around to watch the baby. It feels really good to be back to exercising! 

11 comments:

Kelly (She Wears a Red Sox Cap) said...

Ha, totally agree about the stroller- it's all fine until there is even the tiniest hill and then it's so hard lol!

I really need to start listening to the new season of In the Dark. I'm so confused how he could even be tried 6 times- I thought that was illegal!

Gracie said...

Good for you to be able to be more active, and I hope Paul ends up loving the stroller so you can get some running in with him this summer. Keep that hamstring healthy! It wouldn't surprise me if the stroller's weight could aggravate a pulled muscle since you have to dig in a little more to get started or go uphill, so be careful.

Marlys said...

It sounds good to hear you are back running some! Pushing a stroller adds to the workout, for sure, so you are double dosing! And the fresh air is wonderful for Paul! I didn't get much outdoor work done this weekend as it was cold and windy both Saturday & Sunday!
I haven't touched a book this summer, as we have been too busy with outside work yet. We are really excited to put some of the mowing behind us when closing is complete! But I planted a garden this year so am enjoying that so far!
I am also looking forward to seeing you & Paul next week at the lake!

The Many Thoughts of a Reader said...

I'm about halfway through Flight of Dreams and I really enjoy it. Her other book - The Wife, THE Maid and the Mistress was good too. It was her look into how the disappearance of Judge Crater may have happened!I've listened to the first two episodes of In the Dark so far. I started working out last week after taking about a year off haha. whooops.

katielookingforward said...

way to go on getting into the run/walk! the weather also plays a big part in how my running goes.

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

Tried six times for the same murders!?1? Wow! That sounds like it would be really interesting, but also really frustrating, similar to Making a Murderer, which I could not get enough of.

Glad to hear you are getting some running in! I can imagine that a stroller makes it a lot more difficult.

Stephany said...

I'm so glad you loved The Garden of Small Beginnings - such a great cast of characters in that one. I also loved the gardening advice, and I am not a gardener! It makes me want to try my hand at it, though.

I'm so, so glad you are back to working out again. I know how much you need that to feel good and like yourself. Three cheers for getting back to it!

San said...

I'll be putting The Garden of Small Beginnings on my to-read list :) 5 books is great and I am glad you're back at your workouts. I am sure it was just a strained muscle (isn't that weird how that randomly happens sometimes?)

Jeanie said...

Lots of good books here. Great Beginnings will be on my TBR list!

Amber said...

Yes about stroller runs! The 5km route I do from my house has me going up a fairly steep hill right at the half way point. But it feels so satisfying when I get to the top and then can kind of easily sail back down. I am hoping doing all my runs pushing a stroller will make up for not doing very long mileage before attempting a 20km trail hike / run in August!! I just don't see myself doing more than maybe 12-15 km before then, but we'll see. It's really just more for fun anyways and I'm confident I can finish it in the 4 hour cut off time even if I have to hike a lot!

Nora said...

I had to abandon Darktown - I know it's meant to make you think and be uncomfortable but I couldn't handle the racism and awfulness in the book.

Way to go on the workouts and getting back at them. I can't imagine how challenging it must be to push a stroller up a hill, let alone with a tiny person in the stroller, too!