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.

Life.

What a week. My husband made a fairly quick recovery from his bout of COVID, but meanwhile, we cancelled our family plans for Thanksgiving, and I worked from home all week to avoid any possibility of exposing my coworkers. I didn’t get sick at all (can’t quite believe it, considering our close quarters), which I’m thankful for, and we seem to be getting back to what passes for normal around here!

What did I read during the last week?

Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison: Loved this werewolf tale! My review is here.

The Unplanned Life of Josie Hale by Stephanie Eding: Light, positive contemporary read about friends banding together to improve their lives. Just the sort of upbeat distraction I needed! My review is here.

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir: Complicated science fiction that left me mostly puzzled, but still interested enought to want to read the next book in the series at some point. My review is here.

Pop culture & TV:

Anyone else watching 1899 on Netflix? I’ve only had time to watch a couple of episodes so far, but it’s weird and fascinating… definitely giving off some Lost vibes.

Puzzle of the week:

For the first time in months, I did a jigsaw puzzle — so much fun!

Fresh Catch:

No new books this week! (Okay, yes, I grabbed a few Kindle daily deals… but no physical books added to my tottering book piles)

What will I be reading during the coming week?

Currently in my hands:

Husband Material by Alexis Hall: The sequel to the delightful Boyfriend Material. After struggling through Gideon the Ninth, I needed something cute and funny for a change of pace.

The Diaries of Adam & Eve by Mark Twain: I borrowed this from the library on a whim, after my last Classics Club read. It’s short (about 100 pages), so I’m picking it up in between other reads. Fun so far!

Now playing via audiobook:

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers: A book I’ve been meaning to get to for years! The audiobook is really entertaining (although I haven’t made a ton of progress just yet), and I just hope to have time this week to get through it all.

Ongoing reads:

My longer-term reading commitments:

• Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone by Diana Gabaldon: Over at Outlander Book Club, we’re doing a group read of BEES, reading and discussing two chapters per week. We’re past the halfway point!
• Persuasion by Jane Austen: My book group’s current classic read. I’ve read this several times already, but I’m always up for another go! We’re reading and discussing two chapters per week, and will finish by mid-December.
• Paper Girls: The Complete Story by Briana K. Vaughan: I’ve already read the first few volumes in the Paper Girls series, but I’m not sure where I left off… and now that I have this BIG (800 pages!) edition of the entire series, I thought I’d start again from the beginning and read it in bits and pieces. This week’s update: I’m about halfway done.
• Scattered Showers by Rainbow Rowell: I never do well with reading story collections, so I figured I’d keep this one on my nightstand and read stories here and there until I finish. Progress so far: 2 out of 9 stories read.

So many books, so little time…