Monday, September 7th

Monday, September 7th 

On my deck

Pages 1-47 of A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness 

So, my deck isn’t technically out in public. However, I think it still counts since we have three yards bordering ours and I’ve been disturbed numerous times while reading out here by the following: overhearing two neighbors yell across the fence to each other about the epic pool party they were having in their back yard that we were not invited to; the incessant yapping of another neighbor’s three annoying little dogs who go nuts whenever the other neighbor’s golden lab dares to come out into his yard; and another neighbor’s gaggle of children, many of whom would run around their back yard completely naked. Oh, and that neighbor’s chickens, though I got used to them and actually started to look forward to their squawking and squabbling. Sadly, that neighbor has moved away. Sadly because of the chickens, not the naked children.

The deck has almost always been my favorite spot in the house since my daughter and I moved in with my now husband and his kids nine-ish years ago. I love being outside (when it’s at least 70 degrees), I love how it cuts me off from what’s going on inside the house, and I love listening to the birds and squirrels. We had the deck redone about a year ago, removing the gazebo that had turned into a wasp haven and replacing the rotting wood that was one wrong step away from a grievous bodily injury. The new deck is beautiful if you ignore the large scorch mark that was the result of an unfortunate incident involving a kitchen towel I accidentally lit on fire and then ineffectively tried to put out with a flip flop. We do not speak of this incident and we all pretend like the scorch mark is not there.   

I live in Omaha, Nebraska, so spending time on the deck is a pretty reliable plan June-August. May, September, and October could be 90 degrees or 50 degrees, so you take what you can get. This September we are still experiencing temps in the 80s so I’ve been able to extend my outdoor reading time. The book I decide to start my project with is A Discovery of Witches, which goes great with the fall vibes. I’m really not much of a fan of the witch-falls-in-love-with-a-bad-boy-vampire-and attempts-to-save-the-world trope, but I was willing to try something new–even if there was likely going to be some awkward inter-species sex involved. Are witches and vampires a separate species? Yeah, I don’t know. That’s how little I read this type of thing.

The book takes a little getting into, but I start enjoying it right around the 40 page mark. Is the writing compelling and smart? No. But does the romance make your heart go pitter-patter? Also no. But does the history of the world of witchcraft create an intriguing backdrop? I’ll go with maybe on this. I’m willing to invest in the whole world-building thing since I pretty much committed to reading the trilogy and I understand these things can take time. 

I sit in one of the deck chairs as I read because the deck couch has some unidentifiable brown stain that always seems to be wet no matter what the time of day or amount of moisture we’ve gotten. Even though it’s always there, I’ve still managed to sit in it twice. I put my coffee on the side table, prop my book on a pillow on my lap, and go to town. Or, as it were with this book, go to Oxford with an introverted witch who doesn’t want to use her powers and a 1200-year-old vampire who does yoga and always has fantastically tousled black hair. Let the pitter-patter begin.