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.

After a great weekend — dancing, outdoor time, and getting to spend time with a book group friend visiting the area — I’m gearing up for a busy few days at work (yay for four-day workweeks!) and then a road trip. I’ll be mainly offline for the next two weeks while doing some family traveling, but the trip itself should be fairly low-key, so I may pop by here and there.

Still, after Friday, don’t expect to see many (or possibly, any) new posts from me for a while!

What did I read during the last week?

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry: The only book I reviewed this week! It’s a good one, with a story within a story. My review is here.

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab: Finished late Sunday, and loved it! Review to follow in the next few days.

Pop culture & TV:

I watched the final season of The Handmaid’s Tale this past week. Not every season of the series was great, but taken as a whole, I have to say that bringing Margaret Atwood’s vision to life and expanding the story in the way the Hulu version did is really an amazing achievement. Overall, the series was excellent and thought-provoking, and I thought this final season was incredibly well-done. I’m glad I came back to it and finished!

After that, I turned to the new season of The Bear, even though season 3 was not especially enjoyable. So far, season 4 seems better — I still have about half to go.

Fresh Catch:

No new books this week! I really haven’t bought physical books in a while… and my bookshelves are thanking me. I need to do a bit more culling and donating before I add any more new books to my shelves.

What will I be reading during the coming week?

Currently in my hands:

Sounds Like Love by Ashley Poston: I’m just getting started. This is my final ARC from June, and I’m trying to get as caught up as possible before diving into my stack of pending July books!

Next up: I’m trying to make a (very) loose plan for what I hope to read while on my trip for the next couple of weeks. Top choices at the moment are:

Totally subject to change, of course — we’ll see where my mood takes me in the moment, and also, how much reading time I actually end up with!

Now playing via audiobook:

Battle of the Bookstores by Ali Brady: I’ve loved everything by this author duo so far, but I’m not entirely sold on this audiobook yet. I’m racing the clock to finish — I’m trying to wrap it all up by Thursday, because after that I’ll be in the car with my husband every day, and I just don’t think he’ll be into my audiobooks!

Ongoing reads:

My longer-term reading commitments:

• The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien: My book group’s shared reading journey, two chapters per week. Progress: 66%. Up next: Fellowship, Book 2, Chapters 3 and 4.
• Villette by Charlotte Brontë: Group classic read, two chapters per week. Progress: 9%. Up next: Chapters 5 and 6.
• My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell: My new Classics Club spin book! I’m putting it here as a reminder to myself to make time for it this summer.

What will you be reading this week?

So many books, so little time…