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.

Family:

First and foremost, happy birthday wishes (actually, a day after the big event) to my amazing, talented, smart, funny, beautiful daughter!

In real life:

I attended a terrific appearance by Chris Bohjalian, one of my favorite authors! He talked about his newest book, The Guest Room (my review is here), as well as The Sandcastle Girls. The talk was amazing, he was gracious and warm, and I got my books signed!

Elsewhere on the blog:

I talked about the spring TV shows I’m most excited about (lots of video clips!), and I also posted some thoughts on my New Year’s resolution about reading series.

What did I read last week?

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald: A five-star read! My review is here.

Fresh Catch:

I didn’t actually buy any books this week (yay, me!), but I did borrow two more graphic novels from the library… and I’m not sorry!

Wait, did I say I didn’t buy ANY books this week? Make that — I didn’t buy MANY books this week. I couldn’t resist buying copies of The Sandcastle Girls and The Guest Room (which I already have as e-books) — and getting them signed by the author!

 

What will I be reading during the coming week?

Currently in my hands:

Archivist Wasp by Nicole Kornher-Stace: This is my book group’s pick for January. I probably wouldn’t have come across this one on my own, but I’ve read the first few chapters and I’m finding it pretty good so far!

Now playing via audiobook:

I finished listening to the 21+ hours-long audiobook version of The Outlandish Companion, volume II, which was utterly fascinating. I’ll be posting a guide to reading and listening to the OCII sometime later this week. While I’ve read the original edition of the first Outlandish Companion volume (originally published in 1999), I haven’t done more than randomly leaf through the revised edition (published March 2015). So, working my way backward, I’m now listening to the OCI audiobook, which — thankfully! — is a much shorter 13 hours and 48 minutes in length.

Ongoing reads:

Woo hoo! Our new group read-along begins this week! Over at Outlander Book Club, we’ll be doing a re-read (or “re-kilt”, as we like to call it — I know…) of Written in My Own Heart’s Blood, the 8th book in the Outlander series. We’re reading and discussing two chapters per week, from now through sometime in mid-2017. (It’s a big book!) Anyone who’s interested is welcome to join in, so either click on the link to head over to the OBC site, or just ask me how!

So many books, so little time…