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.

I’m back! My husband and I spent a lovely, relaxing six days in Hawaii this past week. We celebrated my birthday, took a bunch of walks, and basically did not much besides floating in the water, enjoying the gorgeous views, and reading on the beach. Blissful.

Sigh… I have one more day off, and then it’s back to the salt mines!

Blogging.

Here’s a lesson I keep learning over and over: If you want a ton of views, post about something on Netflix. My post about season five of Virgin River last week hit my all-time high number of views for a single day: 19,981! That’s insane.

It looks like overall, Virgin River and Bridgerton posts get more views than just about anything else… which amuses me, since I tend to write about TV only occasionally. Hey, I’m a book blogger! (Sadly, book review posts get a fraction of the views, but I still love ’em.)

What did I read during the last week?

Fair Rosaline by Natasha Solomons: I posted a review of this excellent book right before I left on vacation last week. Check it out here.

Lost in the Moment and Found (Wayward Children, #8) by Seanan McGuire: Finished my re-read just before leaving on my trip, and loved it once again!

And here’s what I read while I was away:

• The Measure by Nikki Erlick
• Marry Me By Midnight by Felicia Grossman (DNF)
• Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto
• The Bright Side of Disaster by Katherine Center

I’ll post some reviews later this week!

Pop culture & TV:

I didn’t watch any TV or movies this week! Honestly, it was pretty nice to take a break from everything but books.

Fresh Catch:

I won a Goodreads giveaway! The book arrived while I was away:

Also, my preorder of this hardcover new release arrived as well (although I think I’m going to listen to the audiobook):

What will I be reading during the coming week?

Currently in my hands:

Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano: I read most of this novel on the plane yesterday, and hope to finish today or tomorrow.

Now playing via audiobook:

The Wake-Up Call by Beth O’Leary: I plan to start this audiobook tomorrow, as soon as it lands in my Audible library.

Ongoing reads:

I have two ongoing reading commitments at the moment:

• Outlander Book Club is starting a group re-read of Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander, #2) this week. We’ll be reading and discussing two chapters per week. Anyone who’s interested is welcome to join in — message me for info.
• The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle: I started this fantasy novel while on vacation — my used paperback edition got a little wet and sandy on the beach, but made it home mostly intact! I don’t seem to want to read this one straight through, so I’m picking it up here and there to read a chapter at a time. I’ll probably wrap up later this week or next.

So many books, so little time…