Sunday Salon: January 15, 2023

Deb Nance at Readerbuzz hosts The Sunday Salon. 

• Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry
• Reputation by Sarah Vaughn
• Victor., Stand!; Wingbearer; and Swim Team--reviews will post in mid-February when the CYBIL winners are announced.

I had a college friend come to visit Sunday to Tuesday and, in fact, she got stuck here for longer than she intended due to the freeway closures after our crazy rain storms this past week. It was fantastic having Peggy here, especially as she was a great support and help after I got laid off. She made me laugh and took my mind off the crap, which is perfect. And Peg, I know you often read this blog, so thank you! 💖

I finally got the table top installed on my outdoor table. It's simple, but looks so much better than the rusting mesh top that it had before!

We had a Board meeting for the UCSB History Associates, but had to do it over zoom due to the flooding and mudslides in the area. We had another heavy rain day yesterday, but my parents are safe in Montecito (where most of the flooding, etc took place) and out my way, it's totally fine.

I have applied for unemployment and had two meetings about potential part time jobs. Both meetings went well and I hope to hear from them this coming week. Fingers crossed! I must confess, it's been nice to have a break from working and my days are full with other stuff; I see how retirement will feel and it is not bad at all!

I'm off to New York on Tuesday. When I told my daughter I had been laid off, her reaction was "come visit me!" So I am. I look forward to hanging out with her and not having to work while I am there... the power of positive thinking.

Seeing everyone's end of year statistics is fun and AJ at Read All the Things got me thinking about my blogging statistics:

• Total posts (all time): 2,585
• Total views (all time): 1,656,863
• Total views (2022): 236,000
• Most viewed post (2022): Review of By the Sea by Abdulrasak Gurnah (1,550 views)
• Where did people view from in 2022?

Here is is the current state of my 2023 challenges. At this point, I am counting individual books for multiple categories in each challenge, but I'll replace them with other books throughout the year.