What I'm Reading March 7, 2022

Lots of books, mostly from the library. 
Books I had on hold for ages that finally came  in: The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka. Such a tough book to describe. Written in three sections, two that focus on the pool, written in first person plural? The last section, about Alice, the swimmer with dementia, was a gut punch. Also, Life Without Children by Roddy Doyle. Short stories about life in Ireland at the beginning of Covid. I wonder if we'll ever understand the elasticity of time during Covid, as this seems so long ago, yet reading the book made it feel immediate. 
Book I gave up and ordered from England: The Locked Room, by Elly Griffiths. I don't love the characters like I do in Deborah Crombie's series, but I'm always going to want to read more about Ruth Galloway and Nelson. Another book set in the early days of Covid. My only quibble was knowing she'd never kill off the character with Covid, so there was no suspense about it.
Serendipitous picks:
Eat a Peach by David Chang. Just OK. I have a hard time with someone claiming he started from nothing when his father gave him $100,000 in start-up money! And the best find of all: Infused by Henrietta Lovell, founder of The Rare Tea Company. I'd wanted to read this, but hesitated to spend $35 for a book I'd read once, or even ask the library to buy it, knowing it was such a niche book. But last week when I went to Warminster to pick up a David Culp gardening book, I spent time reshelving some books I found while browsing. When I put the misplaced cookbook on the shelf, I slid it in right next to Infused! I couldn't believe they had it! As I suspected, it was purchased in October 2019, and I was clearly the first person to open it, but hurray for the Bucks County Free Library and whichever librarian felt it was worth buying. A very fun book to read, as Henrietta shares stories about her travels on the hunt for new teas.