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.

Happy New Year to all who celebrate Rosh Hashanah! Wishing everyone a sweet, healthy, peaceful year to come.

I loved having a couple of days off from work last week. I spend one day visiting friends I hadn’t seen in a while, and another catching up on errands I never seem to have time for on weekends.

Meanwhile, we’ve been having a heatwave here in San Francisco. I went for walks at the beach to bask in our unusually sunny weather, then cooled off in the shade on my back porch with iced coffee and a good book or two. So nice!

Pango Books

I’m a Pango Ambassador! That means I get to share a discount code with my fellow booklovers. Use the code LISA252194 to get $5 off an order of $10 or more (applies to new Pango users only). Visit Pango Books to get started!

I’m also selling books on Pango — you can see my seller listings here.

What did I read during the last week?

Rough Pages by Lev AC Rosen: Terrific noir tale about a gay detective in 1950s San Francisco. My review is here.

Drop Dead by Lily Chu: Really fun audiobook about rival journalists unraveling a literary mystery. My review is here.

Constituent Service by John Scalzi: A fun (free) Audible Original, narrated by Amber Benson. A quick, laugh-out-loud listen.

I’ll Be Waiting by Kelley Armstrong: Excellent horror story, with lots of unexpected twists and scares. Stay tuned — I’ll have a review up later in the week.

In other bookish news, my book group had a Zoom chat with author Jennifer Ryan to discuss her newest novel, The Underground Library. Jennifer was warm and friendly and so interesting! We all really enjoyed it.

Pop culture & TV:

I watched the final episode of Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, season 2. Overall, it’s been a good season, but I think the show tried to cram too much into the finale. There were characters included whom we hadn’t seen in weeks — I couldn’t even remember why some of them mattered! Still, it’s renewed my interest in the world of LOTR and makes me want to dig a little deeper while waiting for season 3 (although a renewal has not yet been confirmed).

Next up: I’m excited to watch season 3 of Heartstopper!

Fresh Catch:

I won a Goodreads giveaway! I haven’t received the book yet, but it’s always a thrill to get the email notification. I won a copy of We Would Never by Tova Mirvis. Looks good!

What will I be reading during the coming week?

Currently in my hands:

D’Vaughn & Kris Plan a Wedding by Chencia C. Higgins: I needed an LGBTQ+ romance for a reading challenge, and my daughter recommended this one! Just getting started.

Now playing via audiobook:

The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez: The 2nd book in the Friend Zone trilogy. I’ve only listened to the first chapter so far, but since the story focuses on an important character from the first book, I’m eager to dive in and see what happens next.

Ongoing reads:

My longer-term reading commitments:

• Damn Rebel Bitches: The Women of the ’45 by Maggie Craig: Over at Outlander Book Club, we’re doing a group read of this non-fiction book, discussing one chapter each Friday. Progress: 82%. Coming up this week: Chapter 23, “Burn this Letter”
• Right Ho, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse: My book group’s classic read! Hilarious. Progress: 48%. Coming up this week: Chapters 13 and 14.
• A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny: My annual October tradition. The book has a chapter per day for each day of the month. Progress: 7%

What will you be reading this week?

So many books, so little time…