Lately my daily travels have been from bed to recliner to bathroom. Rinse and repeat.
My energy is so low. I miss me. Ugh!
Tag Archive: travel
My Grape Cellar by Laura Bradbury
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was my least favorite of the series. It seemed to stay with real estate, food, and wine rather than family and all things French. And it seemed to skip over Laura’s expanding family. Still, I enjoyed the read and gained a greater sense of travel and living in France.
I read this on my Kindle app on an old phone. This series has been easy for my eyes and fun for my language curiosities. I’ve already moved on to the next book. This one will center on the new baby. That should be more fun for me.
My Grape Village by Laura Bradbury
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I love this series, but I’m not a fan of this book. It’s not horrid, but I felt it didn’t live up to the former books. Part of this is my need for linear storylines. The couple are recently newlyweds, and suddenly they have two girls. We lost a lot of their life. This book is full of real estate, food, and wine, but lacks significant character development. I missed the family unit of grandparents and Mimi. I miss the time we could have seen growth while they were in Canada.
What holds true to the series is the feeling of travel, learning about France, and watching the couple navigate the wine country.
This series is the only one I am taking my time with, reading by sight on my Kindle, bit by bit as my eyes allow. Everything else, I use audiobooks or text-to-speech. I’m already into the next book, My Grape Cellar.
My Grape Escape by Laura Bradbury
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I love this series so much! It is the only series I am reading without text-to-speech or narration. On my old phone, on the Kindle app. Each book is just the right size for me, and by being Kindle, I can adjust the font and background. And when French words appear that I don’t know, I can highlight them, and the app will translate them for me.
This book was enjoyable to read as Laura and her husband, Franck, fix up an old home in hopes of making it a profitable vacation getaway. Somehow, my review is falling short. But this book is anything but. I always feel that I am not only traveling to France, but also learning a bit of history and enjoying French vocabulary.
Each of these books is enjoyable and personable. I’ve already moved on to the next book. I think I’ll try to read these again, but I’ll also look for the audiobooks. I want the sound of the French to help my education.
I Sleep Around: The Humorous Memoir of a Nomadic Writer by Sue Ann Jaffarian
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was refreshing and fun. Sue Ann Jaffarian has a wit that keeps the writing about traveling light and wistful.
I have to admit that I often feel I would love to travel by RV and sleep wherever the road leads me. But the lack of money and courage keep me housebound.
With Text-to-Speech on Kindle, this was a fast read. And vicariously, we get to hit the road!
My Grape Wedding by Laura Bradbury
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I love this autobiographical series! I read them on Kindle on my old phone. These are the only books I actually read with my eyes: no text-to-speech or audiobook. My tracking issues take a long time. But I love the French phrases scattered throughout. With the little bit of French, I do on Duolingo, these are easy enough, and I mostly don’t need help. But Kindle has the feature to show translation if needed or a dictionary lookup for words I might not get, such as food or other things that are foreign to me.
I feel I am traveling as I read these, and I love Laura Bradbury’s family, friends, and her sweet husband.
Look, I know it is a book about a wedding, and the series seems to surround the romance of Laura and Franck, but these are more the growing process and educational adventures of Ms. Bradbury. As I mentioned, it seems more travel and food than the yucky, sweet, snuggling stuff that can get annoying in other books.
I look forward to reading more of this series. Sorry, it takes so long.
Force of Nature: Three Women Tackle the John Muir Trail by Joan M. Griffin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Anna Crowe narrated so well that I thought it had to be the author reading her own work. This was a nice hike with a few women on the John Muir Trail. I felt like I was right there without freezing or mosquito bites, vicariously eating a high-calorie diet to keep alive while moving up and down the mountains.
This was inspiring writing for sure. I want to do that kind of camping and climbing. I want to be able to write as well as the author. She felt old in her fifties. But here I am inspired by her and hoping I can find a way to do this kind of thing. It is time to start getting in shape. Maybe by summer, I can walk more than two miles a day. They managed 10 a day. I believe it can be done. I think these old bones would be happier with me if I tried.
If you can’t get into nature, maybe it’s too cold right now. But this book will help make you feel it is summer and you are making the JMT with friends. I recommend this read!
My Grape Paris by Laura Bradbury
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I love this series. It is the only one I truly read. (I usually need audiobooks due to tracking and dyslexia issues). I keep it on my phone on my Kindle and just read it when I have a few quiet moments alone. Laura Bradbury writes in such a way that I never feel lost, even when I have to neglect the read for a while.
The other fun thing about the books is the use of French words or phrases, just occasionally, nothing overwhelming. But it is a great chance to practice my elementary concepts of that language. And don’t worry; it is all contextual and she adds the translation if needed.
The best part is how well you get to know Laura and her boyfriend, Franck, their friends and family. As life continues, you see them grow and learn.
In this episode, Laura needs to take a year of college in Paris to study her educational major. So you learn about her love of ancient French writings. Meanwhile, she and Franck get to visit all the wonders of Paris. I feel I am traveling with them. And Laura learns to stand up for herself and figure out how to do that while in a relationship.
I highly recommend this series. It isn’t too horribly mushy. In fact, I found a few things at 75 that Laura learned when she was still in her 20s.
If you wish you could travel to France, this series, this book is for you.
Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted by Suleika Jaouad
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I ran out of things to read a couple of nights ago and found this available. I had to give it another listen. I love it so much that I may try to find this book on Audible and paperback. There is so much wisdom in this book. It offers ideas for anyone or anytime one needs to take their mind off worries and find something creative to do, such as the 100-day challenge. Once again, I highly recommend this book!
Below is my previous review.
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For the depressing diagnosis, this book turned out to be quite positive. And a very interesting read. The author was quite the narrator, too.
What started as itching feet and legs became leukemia. Readers go with Suleika Jaouad as she learns the cause of her discomfort and how to navigate medical issues while only in her twenties.
I highly recommend this read. Ms. Jaouad not only writes well but does quite the podcast. Oh, and I feel quite silly. I didn’t realize that the Jon she talks about towards the end was none other than Jon Batiste.
And it had two rooms, one with a king size bed, the other had two queens. Two TVs we didn’t use.
The pool was only 5 feet deep. Even as short as it was it took me a few to enjoy laps. The jacuzzi made travel weary bones happy.
Darswords 
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