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’ve had a busy yet mostly uneventful week! Work, work, work… but at least my household bounced back from our various sniffles of the week before. It was a nice cheery weekend with good enough weather to be outdoors — so really, what more could I ask for?
Bits & bobs from the universe of books:
Sharing a few things that caught my eye this week…
First, a really exciting announcement:
Author Audrey Niffenegger’s follow-up to The Time Traveler’s Wife will be published this fall! This book will focus on Alba, Henry and Clare’s daughter. It sounds amazing! For more, check out this Guardian article or view info via the publisher.
On another bookish note, I enjoyed this article via Reactor about feeling guilty (or not) about our TBR piles. I particularly loved this little parenthetical aside, which makes me feel infinitely better about my Kindle library:
(A small caveat: I am not talking about ebooks, because those don’t exist unless I’m reading them. Out of sight, out of mind. I used to feel bad about this, and avoided buying them, but that’s silly. As Delilah S. Dawson pointed out on Bluesky just yesterday, “If you buy an e-book while it’s on sale, you never have to read it. If you have $2 to spare & want to help that particular author, you can just chuck the book into the oubliette of your TBR.” They still sold a book! No one ever has to know what you did with it.)
Wow! To me, that feels so empowering. Like, okay, I bought a whole bunch of ebooks because they had price drops… and then I used to feel bad about not reading them, but now I can reframe these purchases as supporting authors! That’s fantastic.
Finally, maybe everyone but me is already aware of this… but I stumbled across romance.io this week, and while I don’t need yet another site for tracking my reading, this is the only site I’ve found so far that has a ratings scale related to steaminess. As someone who’s picky about how much steam/spice I want in my reading (mild is okay, open door/extreme closeup is not!), this could really save me a lot of irritation and grumpiness down the road!
What did I read during the last week?
Code Name Hélène by Ariel Lawhon: My book group’s January pick. Captivating historical fiction about a real-life heroine of WWII. My review is here.
Anne of a Different Island by Virginia Kantra: A sweet contemporary romance inspired by Anne of Green Gables. My review is here.
The Names by Florence Knapp: I really didn’t know what to expect when I picked up this book. I’m so glad I gave it a try. Really a great read. My review is here.
Pop culture & TV:
Bridgerton is back! But… Netflix’s decision to release the new 4th season in two parts is really annoying. I already binged all four available episodes… and it feels like such a letdown to have to wait a month for the second half of the season. Arrrgh. Still, I did enjoy the episodes that I saw! There’s a nice Upstairs, Downstairs feel to the storytelling that hasn’t been a focus in previous seasons, and I do like the way the central romance is unfolding so far.
Also great: Violet’s garden is blooming! (IYKYK) And Penelope in a pirate costume is everything:
Over on AppleTV, the first episode of Shrinking season 3 dropped, and it’s great. I have a hard time with one-episode-per-week schedules, though — bingeing has ruined me for weekly TV.
And I finally watched Kpop Demon Hunters! It was really good! Although I’ll have this song in my head on a loop now…
Fresh Catch:
No new books this week.
What will I be reading during the coming week?
Currently in my hands:
The Boy Who Cried Bear (Haven’s Rock, #2) by Kelley Armstrong: Back to Haven’s Rock! This series is so good. I couldn’t wait any longer!
Now playing via audiobook:
The Lark by E. Nesbit: I decided to read/listen to The Lark as part of my 20th Century Decades Challenge, and I’m so glad I did! I’m really liking it so far.
Ongoing reads:
My longer-term reading commitments:
- Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen: My book group’s current classic read. We’re reading and discussing two chapters per week. Progress: 55%. Coming up this week: Chapters 19 & 20.
- The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien: My book group’s journey through the LOTR books continues! Progress (relative to the entire LOTR opus): 70%.
What will you be reading this week?
So many books, so little time…
Bookshelf Fantasies 
I saw the announcement about Audrey
Oops! Anyway, I did see the announcement and I’m so curious! I read that book years ago and loved it. I watched The second episode of Bridgerton last night and loved it! It’s interesting how the scenes are sometimes out of order, I wonder if that’s how the book was written.
I loved The Time Traveler’s Wife when I first read it! I’m really excited about the new book. Re Bridgerton – it’s been a while since I read the book (although I may do a reread while waiting for the 2nd half of the season), but I don’t think so. I’m glad you’re enjoying it!
I’ve been trying to avoid Bridgerton spoilers since I wanted to rewatch season 3 first. But the sheer amount conflicting emotions from watchers online once again is cray! It’s great. No it sucks, oh Benedict is awesome, oh no how could he do that? And I obviously read the book and I’m dying to respond to these people and say, did you read the book, that’s literally the book title! Also, hello that’s the time period….
Well, exactly, it would be more shocking if he behaved otherwise (trying to be non-spoilery) given their different stations in society — not to mention his behavior so far in the series (TV, not book). Anyway, I think it’s pretty good! I may try to squeeze in a book reread before the 2nd half of the season drops.
Exactly. Through season 3 he is just kind of in suspended childhood almost. Chasing fun, chasing a party, chasing what makes him him. Maybe it’s the second son thing.
Well, yes… and given how into living freely and experimenting/seeking pleasure wherever he goes, it makes it harder for the TV season to show him transformed into someone who’d be bowled over by love at first sight or by banter with a maid (who’s clearly young and completely inexperienced). (If I recall correctly, book Benedict would be maybe in his mid-twenties at most… and TV Benedict (at least the actor) is quite a bit older, which makes it harder to buy)
Right? I was thinking about that yesterday. Like TV Colin is maybe 22? Where Book Colin was like 32, and Penelope was 28 or so. People online were talking about how the stepmom actress should have played Sophie so same aged actors could play opposite each other but like Sophie is supposed to be younger! By quite a few years. TV Benedict feels like he should be maybe 28?
You now the stepmom is the Cho Chang actress from Harry Potter, right? So I’d guess she’s about 20 years (give or take) older than the Sophie actress. Oh wait, you meant to play opposite Benedict. Gotcha.
Yep exactly.
The Time Traveler’s Wife is one of my favourite books of all time, so I am simultaneously excited and worried by the announcement (although who am I kidding, I’ll definitely read it!).
And I am absolutely here for Violet’s blooming garden – you go, girl!
So happy for Violet! Her scenes were so well done! (Although she still needs to learn how to have “the talk” with her daughters)
Oh yes, I really thought she might have learned from Daphne debacle (which she even referenced), but clearly not!
At least Francesca has a good sister-in-law to turn to!
I’m trying to decide if I want to watch the 4 Bridgerton’s now or wait and binge at the end of the month!
It’s a dilemma! I do think they’d probably be most enjoyable as a binge of the full season… but I was too impatient to wait!