The Sunday Salon: Thankful For Reading (My Thankfully Reading Update)

As you may know, this is the second year of the Thankfully Reading Weekend Read-A-Thon. I participated last year and I loved it. It was my first read-a-thon. Its usually a great reading weekend for me because my BF always goes to Alabama hunting that week, so I have all the time in the world to read. So I signed up again, however, I didn't get the chance to read as much this time. I did manage to get some reading done yesterday, but only 147 pages. Today I'm hoping to read about as many. Even though I didn't get to read at all Friday, it was worth the time I got to spend with my sister. This year, Thankfully Reading has a different meaning for me . . .

My sister Linda is two years older than me and she suffers from the same hereditary retinal disease that I have but she is further along with it. In the last eight months or so, she has lost 99% of her vision. She has such a strong will and positive attitude that you never see her cry or feel sorry for herself. She is a real inspiration to me. I look at her and I know that I will be where she is in a matter of years. My disease is moving more slowly because I am a non-smoker and have been my whole life, whereas Linda, although not a heavy smoker, has smoked since her early 20's. Since neither of us drive, it is sometimes hard for us to get together since she doesn't live really close to me. However, after dinner on Thursday, she came home with me and spent the night and we stayed up late talking (and eating) and we had such a great time. Now, I am even more proud of her than before. It must be a scary thing to only have 1% of sight but she trudges right along. She lives alone and does very well as long as she's in familiar surroundings. She spent a big part of Friday with me as well and it made for a great holiday.

So even though I didn't get to read Friday, I am even more thankful that I CAN still read my books. I don't read as fast as others and sometimes my eyes get really tired and I have to stop, but I can still see the written pages in front of me. Maybe not as clearly but I can still see it through my cloudy tunnel vision. So this Thanksgiving that is what I'm thankful for. Hopefully next year I will still see well enough to participate in Thankfully Reading again.

The Sunday Salon: Soups On!

Hello Saloners! I hope you’re enjoying a weekend full of great weather and books! This past week I read a book I didn’t count on reading. It was THE GUERNSEY LITERARY and POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. You can read my review here. Last week I participated in MizzB’s Teaser Tuesdays, in which I shared sentences from the book. I received many comments from people who haven’t yet read the book. Apparently my teasers were enticing them into wanting to read it. It’s an interestingly different sort of book that you can get through pretty quickly. I really liked it.

As for today, I’m reading a book I’ve been muddling through for weeks. I have no idea why it’s taking me so long to finish it, especially because I really want to read it. The book is OUT STEALING HORSES by Per Petterson, a Norwegian, who received awards such as Book of the Year in 2007. It’s not a book that you can sail right through. Maybe it’s the translation from Norwegian to English, or simply its the way Petterson writes. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good book, but just takes time to read. It’s not a huge book either, only 238 pages. Have you read this book? If so, tell me what you thought of it.

I’m planning on getting close to the end by tonight and probably finish it tomorrow. That is if my eyes hold up. Some may know I suffer from a retinal disease and sometimes I have what I call ‘bad eye days’. Today happens to be one and I’m finding it frustrating just to putter around my house without bumping into things that I know perfectly well are there. It’s very tiresome (and at times painful!). I probably shouldn’t be reading too much today and just resting my eyes, but this is the perfect day for me to get caught up. Usually I spend Sunday’s with my honey, but he is off on a bow-hunting trip to Illinois so I have the whole day to myself! Not to mention the week ahead, but I don’t get much reading done during the week with my job and all.

So, I’m off to read for a bit, then I’m going to make some homemade potato soup for supper. One of the reasons this is my favorite time of year is that its Soup Season!! I love soup! Do you have a favorite food for this season? I’ll be checking out the blogs later, so I’ll see you around! Thanks for stopping by! Please leave me a comment and tell me what you’re reading today.