My Monday tradition, including a look back and a look ahead — what I read last week, what new books came my way, and what books are keeping me busy right now. Plus a smattering of other stuff too.

What did I read last week?

I’m back! I just returned from my week in  Alaska late last night, and I have a ton of unpacking (and laundry) still to do. Plus, I absolutely will do a post later this week about my trip, to include some favorite photos (including a particularly cute/weird porcupine). Here’s what I read while I was away:

• The Dead Lands by Benjamin Percy
• All I Love and Know by Judith Frank
• The Expats by Chris Pavone — not quite done, but after a lot of reading on the plane, it’s close!

I hope to find time this week to put together reviews for all of these. I took lots of notes — we’ll see if I can figure out what they all mean!

Elsewhere on the blog:

I’m running a giveaway for a copy of the new historical novel by Sarah McCoy, The Mapmaker’s Children:

There’s still time to enter! I’ll be picking a winner on May 20th — enter to win here.

Offline:

TRAVEL! Sigh. I love vacations. I love vacation reading. I need more VACATION now please thank you.

Fresh Catch:

Traveling with my daughter means at least one visit to a bookstore, if not more. We ended up in a really funky, odd bookstore in Homer, Alaska called Observance of Hermits, featuring one of my favorite bookstore signs ever:

We also stopped at Title Wave Books in Anchorage (great name, right?), which is a huge store selling used and new books. And naturally, I couldn’t quite resist temptation. Here’s what I bought:

What will I be reading during the coming week?

Currently in my hands:

Just a bit more to go! And then I truly have a dilemma — I have no idea what I’ll read next!

Now playing via audiobook:

My daughter — also a Patricia Briggs fan — didn’t have to work too hard to convince me that this story collection would be a perfect choice for listening to on the road! Now that I’m back, I need a new audio read, and I’m leaning toward Mansfield Park by Jane Austen, narrated by the fabulous Juliet Stevenson, whose narration I loved so much in Emma.

Ongoing reads:

A new classic read! The Outlander Book Club is starting its group read of North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. We’re reading and discussing two chapters per week. All are welcome! Contact me if you’d like to join in.

Still reading, with kiddo and with book groups:

So many book, so little time…