Welcome to the Friday 5ive, a weekly post featuring five things that caught my attention this week. I can't believe that it is Memorial Day weekend already, where does the time go?
1) My husband had a conference in Orlando this week and the Spouses Program hosted a trip to the Kennedy Space Center. It was fascinating, we got to see massive rockets, a space shuttle, and the actual Mission Control Firing Room for the Apollo 8 mission. That was thrilling reliving history.
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| The actual Mission Control display |
2) I was asked to lead a book discussion for Laura Dave's The Last Thing He Told Me for the Spouses Program. Called Books & Bubbles (cute name!), we had tasty mimosas while we had an insightful discussion of the book and the Apple TV+ miniseries adaptation starring Jennifer Garner. She's very good in the series, I highly recommend the book and the series.
3) I received two lovely gifts this week. The first is a beautiful bookmark created by Donald Simon, a non-speaking artist who has autism. I love the colors, it makes me smile just to look at it. The second is a charming book necklace handcrafted by Peg & Awl, Philadelphia artists. I will be wearing this to a book event next week. 
4) I was able to catch an online presentation of The William Morrow Fall 2023 Fall Fiction Showcase . Eight authors spoke briefly about their novels, and each one was so interesting I added them all to my TBR list. Nina Simons' Mother Daughter Murder Night is about three generations of women who get together to solve a murder for fun, you know like you do with your Grandma and Mom. This one intrigues me a great deal. Sam Rebelein was inspired by Bruce Coville and R.L. Stine as a youngster, and his book Edenville is a "scary fun romp through urban legends" acccording to him. Yomi Adegoke's debut novel The List tackles the MeToo movement, social media, lies, secrets and the internet, as a young woman must comes to terms with the fact that her boyfriend's name is on a list of men accused of bad behavior towards women. Jean Kwok's new novel, The Leftover Woman, is a "love letter to motherhood". When a Chinese woman gives birth and is told her daughter died, she later discovers that her husband sold the baby to a United States couple, and she goes in search of her lost daughter. This one sounds so good! Sandra Newman's Julia is a feminist retelling of the classic George Orwell book 1984 from the perspective of Winston's girlfriend Julia. Tim O'Brien's new book America Fantastica is a road trip novel that goes from August 2019- August 2020 and deals with Covid lockdowns, a presidential election, and the welcoming of Neo Nazis. He says it's not political, it's fun. Lola Akimade Akerstrom 's Everything Is Not Enough shares the story of three young women navigating "life, love and lust" in Sweden. It deals with the meaning of "forgiveness, grace, and gratitude". Ariel Djanikian's The Prospectors is a historical novel about two sisters who leave California for the Klondike during the Gold Rush. This one is for fans of Amanda Coplin's The Orchardist (like me.) You can watch the entire presentation here.
5) Along with the rest of the world, I was saddened by the death of Tina Turner. I got to see her on her Private Dancer tour in the 1980's with my best friend Lisa, and it was a my first (un)official date with my now-husband at Saratoga Performing Arts Center. It was an amazing show, and she was such an inspiration to so many artists. She was a true original, there was no one like her. I saw the Broadway show based on her life, which was phenomenal, and if you haven't seen the documentary on her life on HBOMax, do so now. When Mattel created a Tina Turner doll, I got one right away, that's the kind of serious fan I am. Rest in peace Queen.
Have a great Memorial Day holiday, summer is on the way. Until next time.
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