2013

Posted in The Monday Check-In by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Not a lofty, ambitious to-be-read list consisting of 100+ book titles. Just a simple plan for the upcoming week — what I’m reading now, what I plan to read next, and what I’m hoping to squeeze in among the nooks and crannies.

How did I do with last week’s agenda?

The Book of Lost Things (Mister Max #1) Two Boys Kissing The Girl You Left Behind

Mister Max: The Book of Lost Things by Cynthia Voigt: Done! My review is here.

Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan: Done! My review is here.

The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes: Currently reading, at about the half-way point. Very moving so far!

And in kids’ books:

Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo (Leven Thumps, #1)

My son and I have settled on our next read-aloud book. We’ve just started the first book in the Leven Thumps series by Obert Skye, which seems to have originally been titled Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo, but which now appears to be called just The Gateway. Whatever the title, we’re about 6 or 7 chapters into it, and it seems to be a fun if somewhat dark fantasy series. We’ll definitely read all of book 1 before we decide about the rest of the series.

Fresh Catch:

In my quest to find books that will appeal to both my son and me, I picked up a couple of new (used) kids’ books plus a graphic novel for me:

Liesl & Po House of Secrets (House of Secrets, #1) Angel & Faith: Death and Consequences (Angel & Faith, #4)

What’s on my reading agenda for the coming week?

The Girl You Left Behind Doctor Sleep (The Shining, #2) The Incrementalists

First, I need to finish The Girl You Left Behind… by Tuesday, because…

Holey moley, I’m so excited for the release of Doctor Sleep by Stephen King! I finished my re-read of The Shining a couple of weeks ago, and have been on pins and needles waiting for Doctor Sleep ever since! I plan to start reading it the second it arrives.

If by any chance I have time left this week, then my next book will be The Incrementalists by Steven Brust and Skyler White, one of my recent Wishlist Wednesday picks.

AND — on top of all this reading goodness — coming this week is one of my very favorite events of the year: the Big Book Sale hosted by the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library. Hundreds of thousands of books for $3 or less! I’ll be attending the member preview on Tuesday night. What could be more fun than being in a huge room filled with books and surrounded by hundreds of crazy book lovers? Last year, I came home with 40 books and spent $80. Let’s see how I do this year!

So many book, so little time…

That’s my agenda. What’s yours? Add your comments to share your bookish agenda for the week.

16Sep2013

The Monday Agenda 9/16/2013

Posted in The Monday Check-In by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

How did I do with last week’s agenda?

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk Fangirl The Book of Lost Things (Mister Max #1)

Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain: Done! My review is here.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell: Done! My review is here.

Mister Max: The Book of Lost Things by Cynthia Voigt: Just about at the half-way point. It’s a fun story so far, but I’m not really clear on where it’s going.

The Last Battle by C. S. Lewis: Done! After five months and seven books, our Narnia journey has reached its end. A few reflections can be found here.

Fresh Catch:

Besides Fangirl, which I devoured as soon as it arrived, I also received one book I purchased and one book from the library, both of which I’m really looking forward to reading!

Unthinkable (Impossible, #2) Two Boys Kissing

What’s on my reading agenda for the coming week?

First, I need to finish Mister Max.

Next, I’ll be diving into my two “fresh catch” books, Unthinkable by Nancy Werlin and Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan.

It’s highly unlikely that I’ll finish those and still have time to spare… but if I do, next up is The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes.

Plus, now that we’ve finished the Narnia books, the kiddo and I have to start our next reading adventure. Let’s see, what can I tempt him with? I’m thinking A Wrinkle in Time, but may experiment a bit and try introducing him to some stories from my Bradbury collection instead.

So many book, so little time…

That’s my agenda. What’s yours? Add your comments to share your bookish agenda for the week.

9Sep2013

The Monday Agenda 9/9/2013

Posted in The Monday Check-In by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

After a busy week of travel through Alaska (gorgeous!), I’m back and ready to dig into my ever-growing pile of books!

How did I do with last week’s agenda?

Bring Up the Bodies (Thomas Cromwell, #2) The Shining (The Shining, #1) The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

Bring Up The Bodies by Hilary Mantel: Done! I read this all in one intense day of travel, and was just blown away. My review is here.

The Shining by Stephen King: Done! Re-reading this book after 20 years, I was reminded all over again of how great Stephen King is at what he does. I’m so glad I read this one again — now I feel ready for the release of Doctor Sleep later this month! Further thoughts to follow.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce: Done! My review is here.

Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain: Just started, have read about 50 pages… and I think it’s going to be great.

The Last Battle by C. S. Lewis: Now that I’m back, my son and I are picking up where we left off.

Plus, I posted a review of a book I’d read earlier. If you missed it, check out my review of Tumble & Fall by Alexandra Coutts — a surprisingly lovely book about living through the last week of life on earth.

Fresh Catch:

Despite being on vacation, I managed to pick up two books at a used book store, plus a couple of Kindle deals:

The Lady Elizabeth In Cold Blood The Husband's Secret The Rithmatist (Rithmatist #1)

What’s on my reading agenda for the coming week?

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk The Book of Lost Things (Mister Max #1) The Girl You Left Behind The Universe Versus Alex Woods

First up, I need to finish Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, which I’m really enjoying so far.

Next, I plan to read a review copy of Mister Max: The Book of Lost Things by Cynthia Voigt. (For some reason, I keep thinking of this as Mad Max and visualizing a young Mel Gibson. No connection, I know, but there you have it.)

After that, I have a few more ARCs to get through, starting with either The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes or The Universe Versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence.

Plus, I’m very eagerly awaiting the arrival of this new release later this week:

Fangirl

So many book, so little time…

That’s my agenda. What’s yours? Add your comments to share your bookish agenda for the week.

2Sep2013

The Monday Agenda 9/2/2013

Posted in The Monday Check-In by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

I’m out of town on vacation this week, driving through beautiful Alaska (with my beautiful daughter)! Here’s the quick version of the Monday Agenda.

How did I do with last week’s agenda?

The Returned The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic

The Returned by Jason Mott: Done! My review is here.

The Thinking Woman’s Guide to Real Magic by Emily Croy Barker: In all of my pre-trip frenzy, I ran out of time, and since this is a long book, I’m going to wait until I’m back from my travels to dig into it.

The Last Battle by C. S. Lewis: My son and I have read about five chapters so far. Last book in the series! I’m sad to see the Narnia adventure coming to an end. The Last Battle gets off to a pretty depressing start; I hope it picks up — and lightens up! — before the kiddo loses interest.

Fresh Catch:

For my inner fangirl, a treat from the Buffy-verse:

Willow: Wonderland

What’s on my reading agenda for the coming week?

Here’s what I packed to bring on vacation. We’ll see how much reading actually gets done – after all, I have trails to hike, and hope to spend my nights enjoying the Aurora Borealis (fingers crossed!!).

Bring Up the Bodies (Thomas Cromwell, #2) The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk The Shining (The Shining, #1)

It’s crazy that I brought so many books, but heaven forbid that I run out!

So many book, so little time…

That’s my agenda. What’s yours? Add your comments to share your bookish agenda for the week.

26Aug2013

The Monday Agenda 8/26/2013

Posted in The Monday Check-In by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

How did I do with last week’s agenda?

The Humans Letters from Skye: A Novel The Returned

I love these kind of weeks when I end up loving everything I’ve read.

The Humans by Matt Haig: Done! My review is here.

Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole: Done! My review is here.

The Returned by Jason Mott: I’ve read about a third of this book so far… and it’s a good one!

The Silver Chair by C. S. Lewis: Done! Book #6 in our great Narnia read-aloud was terrific. I can’t believe we’ve almost finished the series!

Fresh Catch:

One new book, and a copy of a book I’ve read already but just had to have:

Bone Quill (Hollow Earth #2) Some Kind Of Fairy Tale

What’s on my reading agenda for the coming week?

The Returned The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic

I aim to finish The Returned in the next few days.

Next up, a review copy of The Thinking Woman’s Guide to Real Magic by Emily Croy Barker, which I think sounds like a lot of fun.

At the end of the week, I’m heading off on a week’s vacation — and I’m working on the all-important decision of what books to bring. As of now, top contenders are:

Bring Up the Bodies (Thomas Cromwell, #2) The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

Rose Under Fire Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

Four books for a one-week trip is a bit excessive, but I have until Friday to narrow it down!

And… the Narnia read continues! As of Sunday night, we’ve officially started the last book, The Last Battle.

So many book, so little time…

That’s my agenda. What’s yours? Add your comments to share your bookish agenda for the week.

19Aug2013

The Monday Agenda 8/19/2013

Posted in The Monday Check-In by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

How did I do with last week’s agenda?

The Cuckoo's Calling (Cormoran Strike, #1) The Humans Trash Can Days: A Middle School Saga

The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith (J. K. Rowling): Done! My review is here.

The Humans by Matt Haig: About 100 pages into it so far, and loving every moment.

Trash Can Days by Teddy Steinkellner: Done! This one was almost a DNF; however, I did end up finishing it and wrote up my thoughts here.

The Silver Chair by C. S. Lewis: About 2/3 of the way through. The end is in sight!

Fresh Catch:

No NEW new books this week, although I did finally get my hands on a copy of Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. I read it in the spring as a library book, loved it, and have been looking for a copy ever since. I ended up getting the UK paperback version, which looks like this;

Eleanor & Park

Plus, I have a trip to plan, so I picked this up while I was at the library:

Fodor's Alaska 2013

Exciting!

What’s on my reading agenda for the coming week?

The Humans The Returned Letters from Skye: A Novel

The Humans is so good! If I have time to sit and read — without interruptions — I shouldn’t have any problems finishing this up in the next day or so.

I have a review copy of The Returned by Jason Mott that I’m eager to get to. So far, I’ve heard good things!

And — just got an email from the library saying the copy of Letters from Skye that I’d requested is now available.

My son and I should be close to the end of The Silver Chair this week. Onward for the glory of Narnia!

So many book, so little time…

That’s my agenda. What’s yours? Add your comments to share your bookish agenda for the week.

12Aug2013

The Monday Agenda 8/12/2013

Posted in The Monday Check-In by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

How did I do with last week’s agenda?

When You Were Here Openly Straight The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells

I read three terrific books this past week:

When You Were Here by Daisy Whitney: Done! My review is here.

Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg: Done! My review is here.

The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells by Andrew Sean Greer: Done! My review is here.

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick: I read the first 20 pages, and just couldn’t get into it — and the formatting problems with the ARC didn’t help. So, for now, this is a DNF book for me. Have you read it? Should it I give it another try once it’s available in hard copy?

The Silver Chair by C. S. Lewis: Moving along — we got a slow start, but my son and I have enjoyed the first four chapters so far.

Fresh Catch:

New to me this week: A graphic novel, a book for a discussion group, and two library books that I’d been waiting for (not entirely patiently):

Orchid, Volume 1 The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

The Cuckoo's Calling (Cormoran Strike, #1) The Humans

What’s on my reading agenda for the coming week?

The Cuckoo's Calling (Cormoran Strike, #1) The Humans Trash Can Days: A Middle School Saga

How to decide? I was on a good, long wait list for both The Cuckoo’s Calling and The Humans, and now they’re both here! I hope to find time to read both this week, once I figure out which one to read first.

It’s doubtful that I’ll finish both and still have time for anything else — but if I do, it’ll be a review copy of a new middle-grade book, Trash Can Days.

Meanwhile, our Narnia journey continues with The Silver Chair.

So many book, so little time…

That’s my agenda. What’s yours? Add your comments to share your bookish agenda for the week.

5Aug2013

The Monday Agenda 8/5/2013

Posted in The Monday Check-In by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

How did I do with last week’s agenda?

Out of the Easy The Shade of the Moon (The Last Survivors, #4) When You Were Here

Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys: Done! My review is here.

The Shade of the Moon by Susan Beth Pfeffer: Done! My review is here.

When You Were Here by Daisy Whitney: Reading now, about 175 pages into it, and I’m really liking this one so far!

The Silver Chair by C. S. Lewis: My kiddo and I just started reading The Silver Chair one over the weekend — the 2nd to last book left in our Narnia read! We’re really enjoying the series, and I’m wondering why I never read these books back when I was a kid!

Fresh Catch:

Several new books found their way to me this week:

Fairest, Vol. 2: Hidden Kingdom Season of the Witch: Enchantment, Terror, and Deliverance in the City of Love Openly Straight To Kill a Mockingbird The Unwritten, Vol. 4: Leviathan

Two graphic novels, a non-fiction book set in San Francisco, a young adult novel, and a new copy of a classic. Not a bad haul for one week!

What’s on my reading agenda for the coming week?

Openly Straight The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock

I’m about half-way through with When You Were Here by Daisy Whitney, and looking forward to finishing in the next day or so.

Next, three books that I’m really and truly excited about — I just hope I can make a big dent in most (if not all) of them:

Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg

The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells by Andrew Sean Greer

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick

And of course, marching forward with The Silver Chair.

So many book, so little time…

That’s my agenda. What’s yours? Add your comments to share your bookish agenda for the week.

29Jul2013

The Monday Agenda 7/29/2013

Posted in The Monday Check-In by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

How did I do with last week’s agenda?

If I Ever Get Out of Here Tumble & Fall The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Chronicles of Narnia, #3)

What a great reading week! I’ve enjoyed everything I read this week, no doubt about it!

The Book of Secrets by Elizabeth Joy Arnold: Done! My review is here.

If I Ever Get Out Of Here by Eric Gansworth: Done! My review is here.

Tumble & Fall by Alexandra Coutts: I really enjoyed my sneak peak at a review copy of this new YA book. I’ve posted some thoughts on Goodreads already, but I’m holding my “real” review until closer to the book’s September release date. I thought this book was terrific — has anyone else read it yet?

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis. My son and I wrapped up this part of our Narnia read-aloud, and loved it!

Fresh Catch:

Zip. Zilch. Nada.

I bought no new books this week, and didn’t step foot in the library. A first for me!

Not that I lack for books to read…

What’s on my reading agenda for the coming week?

Out of the Easy The Shade of the Moon (The Last Survivors, #4) When You Were Here

I’ve only just started Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys.

Next, I plan to read The Shade of the Moon by Susan Beth Pfeffer, the about-to-be-released 4th book in the Last Survivors series.

After that, I’d love to dig in to When You Were Here by Daisy Whitney.

Meanwhile, the kiddo and I are ready to jump into our 2nd to last Narnia book, The Silver Chair.

So many book, so little time…

That’s my agenda. What’s yours? Add your comments to share your bookish agenda for the week.

22Jul2013

The Monday Agenda 7/22/2013

Posted in The Monday Check-In by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Thank you to everyone who entered my giveaway or became a new follower this week! It’s been so much fun celebrating my 1st blogoversary with you!

How did I do with last week’s agenda?

Mist (Mist, #1) Gorgeous

Mist by Susan Krinard: Done! My review is here.

Gorgeous by Paul Rudnick: Done! My review is here.

Reading with the kiddo: Sailing ahead with The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis. We have about four chapters to go. Excellent!

Fresh Catch:

A few new ARCs this week:

… plus I ended up buying myself a copy of this book, after missing the archive date for the review copy:

What’s on my reading agenda for the coming week?

I’m just past the halfway point of The Book of Secrets by Elizabeth Joy Arnold — and loving it. In fact, I’m having to force myself to put it down to work on this post and take on other mundane tasks like paying the bills. 🙂