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?
Three five-star reads in one week!
The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian: Done! My review is here.
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli: Done! My review is here.
Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke: Done! My review is here.
In graphic novels…
Nimona by Noelle Stevenson: I really loved this story of a sidekick who’s so much more than she appears, the villain she aligns with (who isn’t maybe all that villainous after all), and the superhero/golden boy who isn’t quite all that perfect. It’s fun seeing the comic book standards turned upside down. The characters are terrific, the dialogue is clever, and the illustrations are spot-on. Highly recommended!
Fresh Catch:
Yet another week with no new books! This must be some kind of record for me.
What will I be reading during the coming week?
Currently in my hands:
The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness: I bought this one several months ago, and I think it’s about time to get started!
Now playing via audiobook:
I’m plugging along with this massive, long audiobook version of Diana Gabaldon’s guide to the Outlander series. It’s quite a fun listen, with detailed plot synopses, character guides, and all sorts of fun tidbits narrated by Herself.
Ongoing reads:
None at the moment! My book club is in between group reads right now, with plans to start a new classic read and a Gabaldon read-along in January. Until then, it’s every reader for herself.
So many book, so little time…
Bookshelf Fantasies 
I LOVED Simon! I can’t wait to see what Becky Albertelli comes out with next! I’m interested in hearing what you think of The Rest of Us Just Live Here. It was my first book by Patrick Ness and I really liked it.
As soon as I read your comment, I flipped over to Goodreads to see if anything else is listed for Becky Albertalli — and it says that she’s working on a companion book (focusing on Abby and her family) due out in 2017! I loved Simon too — can’t wait for more!
Oh! I checked about a month ago and nothing was posted yet. I’m going over there right now! Thanks for the info.😊
I really need to read The Rest of Us Just Live Here too. Ooh I do love Patrick Ness. Hopefully sometime soon 🙂
I just started the Patrick Ness book yesterday — but I was super tired, so I think I need to basically start again. 🙂 I really like what I’ve read so far!
Oh three five star reads in a week is pretty impressive! It’s always a joy to read great books back to back 🙂
Nimona looks good fun too, I think I’ll have to check that one out!
I hope you had a great holiday break!
It was such an unexpected surprise! What was nice this week for me was that all the books I read were so different (crime thriller, YA contemporary, science fiction), but all were terrific. Nimona is really great – I hope you get a chance to read it! Happy new year!
I’ve been curious about Childhood’s End since seeing that SyFy was adapting it. I kinda want to see it. I originally thought I had read this, years ago, but then realized it was Rendezvous w/ Rama that I read. I like that it’s not particularly dated, and yes that quote about entertainment- how true! 🙂
The Syfy adaptation was really good, although I’m glad to have read the book, which provides more depth. Still, for a TV adaptation, it was well done!
I loved Nimona too! And I am super intrigued by the Outlandish companion on audio. Maybe after I finally get back to me re-read of the series, I will also play catchup on the companions 🙂
The companions are really fun. I have hard copies of both volumes, but typically just pick them up and page through them randomly. Listening to the audiobook is really entertaining, because they’re fascinating, and the synopses are so detailed and include so many quotes from the books that it’s like doing a mini-reread. 🙂