Outer Space and Inner Life #SundaySalon

Happy Sunday! Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at ReaderBuzz. Check out her post and the links to see what other bloggers have been up to in the last week.

How’s the weather?

We’ve been living under an extreme heat warning for days. But the story isn’t even about the heat; it’s the humidity that is making things so miserable. It’s so bad that when we have a spell of rain, it doesn’t cool off, it just gets more sticky. The forecast promises that this pattern will break on Monday.

What are you listening to?

I finished listening to the audiobook A Brief History of Black Holes, written and read by Dr. Becky Smethurst. I guessed that I would like to hear her reading because I enjoy her YouTube channel, Dr. Becky. Each month, she makes a video called Night Sky News that talks about things you can see in the sky (like the Perseid Meteor Shower that peaked a couple of days ago) and about news in astronomy circles. In between, she makes videos that explain what we know about the universe, including lots of content about studies that are done with the James Webb Telescope.

Here’s her most recent Night Sky News, as a sample:

As soon as I finished the book, I listened to Hank Green interview another astrophysicist, Katie Mack, on his podcast Humans.

I’m feeling very smart that I got through both the book and interview. I’m not actually feeling smart enough to explain anything that I learned about the cosmos, but I did enjoy learning about it.

What are you reading?

I reviewed A Fine Romance by Susan Branch on Friday. A Fine Romance is a beautiful illustrated travel journal that takes us through the English countryside. If you’re looking for an armchair getaway, this book is perfect.

What are you watching?

We’re back to watch Call the Midwife. We started at the beginning a few weeks ago and find that we can use breaks, now and then, for things like Barbara Stanwyck movies and Enola Holmes 3.

How are you this fine Sunday?

Comments

Outer Space and Inner Life #SundaySalon — 7 Comments

Nicky @ The Bibliophibian on August 15, 2026 at 5:20 pm said:

Astrophysics is one thing I find really difficult, even when reading popular non-fiction! It’s just so hard to grasp. Though I’ve read some really good books about stuff like meteorites.

My area of the UK just cooled down a lot in the space of a day, and it’s such a relief. Though everything’s tinder dry, despite the humidity here, so there’s such a huge fire risk and people really aren’t being careful enough.

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mae on August 15, 2026 at 7:22 pm said:

The St.Louis heat/humidity were a main feature of my childhood summers. My little brother loved numbers so he always knew how each day ranked and when we were experiencing a record temperature. I think it was once 115° — and that was before homes normally had A/C.
I hope you survive! … mae

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Anne@HeadFullofBooks on August 16, 2026 at 1:31 am said:

We have made it to the end of the Call the Midwives series (I think). I love it so much I have to watch several episodes at a time.

The astrophysics book and podcast do make you sound smart. You go girl!

My Sunday Salon: https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2026/08/sunday-salon-august-16-2026.html

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jeanie on August 16, 2026 at 9:22 am said:

I was thrilled they had Barbara Stanwyck night on TCM! I binged and recoreded!

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Deb Nance at Readerbuzz on August 16, 2026 at 10:35 am said:

High humidity is the central consistent feature of our weather here along the Texas Gulf Coast. But I’ve experienced it all my life, so it’s not really something I pay attention to. One of these days I’m going to watch Call the Midwife.

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Shelleyrae @ Book’d Out on August 17, 2026 at 2:48 am said:

I hope the weather has broken for you!
Thanks for sharing your week, happy reading!

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Erin @ Cracker Crumb Life on August 18, 2026 at 8:37 am said:

Humidity is so mean. It gets so muggy here too, and it is like walking through a wet paper bag! I hope the weather breaks for you soon.

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