2018

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

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.

What did I read during the last week?

Scythe by Neal Shusterman: Loved it. My review is here.

Alanna: The First Adventure (Song of the Lioness, #1) by Tamora Pierce: Finished the audiobook! This is a re-read for me, after many, many years, and I’m really enjoying it.

Hope Never Dies by Andrew Shaffer: Noir detective fiction starring main characters Joe Biden and Barack Obama. Yes, it’s just as silly as it sounds… and so much fun. My review is here.

Pop culture goodness:

This week’s entertainment included a bit of live theater…

And a movie!

Elsewhere on the blog:

Phew! I finally did some major housekeeping on the Book Blog Meme Directory! I went through and tested all the links to verify that the memes listed are still up and active. If you’ve visited before, you’ll notice that the list has shrunk a lot… but those that remain all check out! So now, it’s time to add — if you know of other book blog memes that you love and think others will love too, please let me know! New additions always welcome.

Fresh Catch:

So many new books this week:

And what’s life without a couple of new Georgette Heyer books too?

What will I be reading during the coming week?

Currently in my hands:

The Lido by Libby Page: A lovely story about a friendship between two women of different generations who meet at the local pool. I’m at about the halfway mark, and really enjoying it.

Now playing via audiobook:

In the Hand of the Goddess (Song of the Lioness, #2) by Tamora Pierce: Continuing my adventures with Alanna! It’s so much fun to revisit this series after all these years.

Ongoing reads:

Book group reads:

Classic read: My book group’s current classic read is Middlemarch by George Eliot. We’re reading and discussing two chapters per week… and we have a long way still to go.
We’re continuing our way through all of Diana Gabaldon’s Lord John stories, currently on the final week of The Custom of the Army.

So many books, so little time…

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9Jul2018

The Monday Check-In ~ 7/9/2018

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

Life.

I’m back! And finally starting to feel human again after a nasty, nasty week of jetlag. Want to know where I’ve been? Check out my vacation post, here.

What did I read during the last week?

First of all, I read a WHOLE BUNCH of books on vacation — you can see my wrap-up post here.

And since I’ve been back, I managed to finish two terrific books:

Dear Mrs. Bird by AJ Pearce: Captivating historical fiction by a debut author. My review is here.

Robots vs Fairies editied by Dominik Parisien & Navah Wolfe: A sci-fi/fantasy collection, including works by some favorite authors. My thoughts are here.

And, in book group news — we finished our group read of Lord John and the Haunted Soldier by Diana Gabaldon. Another outstanding adventure!

Fresh Catch:

New books arrived this week:

The Dreamers is a Goodreads giveaway! After entering these for years, I finally won something… and it’s something I’m really excited to read!

I also treated myself to a little something from Out of Print — they were offering mystery grab bags for $40, and I couldn’t resist… and I’m thrilled with what I ended up getting:

What will I be reading during the coming week?

Currently in my hands:

Scythe by Neal Shusterman: Ssh, don’t tell — I stole my son’s required summer reading book!

Now playing via audiobook:

Alanna: The First Adventure (Song of the Lioness, #1) by Tamora Pierce: It’s been at least 15 years since I read the Alanna quartet, and I’ve always meant to go back and read more of the Tortall books — but first I need to remember the basics. So, it’s back to the beginning I go! I’m enjoying the audiobook so far — we’ll see if I stick with the audio format for the whole series.

Ongoing reads:

Book group reads:

Classic read: My book group’s current classic read is Middlemarch by George Eliot. We’re reading and discussing two chapters per week… and we have a long way still to go.
We’re continuing our way through all of Diana Gabaldon’s Lord John stories, currently on week 2 (of 3) focused on The Custom of the Army. Always great to revisit a favorite character.

So many books, so little time…

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17Sep2017

Sunday sillies: Meet Nessie, my new little book friend

Posted in The Reading Life by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Here’s what I treated myself to this week:

This is Nessie, an adorable little bookmark who makes me smile when I see her holding my place for me. Here’s what she looks like out of her box:

And here’s Nessie keeping my place for me:

Isn’t she cute? She comes in other colors too (turquoise or purple, although the purple looks more magenta to me).

Granted, Nessie isn’t entirely perfect. Sure, she does a great job marking my pages while we’re at home, especially when I have my current book sitting all nice and prim and proper on a shelf or on my nightstand. But Nessie falls down on the job when I take her out of the house. I can’t leave home without a book tossed in my bag or backpack, and Nessie doesn’t stay put when jostled around. She’d be perfect if she had either a magnetic clip of some sort or a long bottom piece to help her stay wedged in between the pages where she’s supposed to be.

But alas, no one is perfect! I accept Nessie for who she is and appreciate her for all she does for me.

If you want your own Nessie, you can find her on the Ototo website. Here’s a screenshot of Nessie, all ready for adoption:

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31Aug2016

Bookish Goodies: Serial Reader app

Posted in The Reading Life by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Anyone out there using the Serial Reader app?

And more importantly, why am I only discovering it now?

Less than 24 hours ago, I stumbled across Serial Reader, and I think it’s going to change my life.

This very cool app (cool, as in, perfect for book geeks like me) seems like the ideal way to tackle those big, heavy classics that you’ve always vowed to get to… eventually. When you have nothing else to do. Hey wait, doesn’t the oven need cleaning?

I digress.

Serial Reader lets you subscribe to a book, set your delivery time, and then receive daily chunks of the book to read. There are tons and tons of titles to choose from, including classics in genres such as fantasy, gothic, and adventure, as well as quirkier categories like “Lost Worlds”, “The High Seas”, and “Retro Futurism”.

I think it’s all rather brilliant, to be honest. Each daily chunk is meant to take about 10 minutes or so. And hey, even if I’m juggling a few other hot reads right now, I can surely fit in 10 minutes for a bite of a classic, right?

At the moment, I’m thinking about biting the bullet and starting Moby Dick. Crazy, right? I watched In the Heart of the Sea last night (good movie!), and started thinking about what a shame it is that I never was exposed to Moby Dick back in my school days… and from there, after poking around online for a bit, I stumbled across a mention of reading Moby Dick via Serial Reader.

According to the app, the book is broken down into 79 “issues”. This might seem a bit daunting, but for the $2.99 upgrade option, there’s a pause option — which means that if I want to take a break during a busy week and come back to it, I can!

I haven’t quite made up my mind to go for it, at least as far as Moby Dick is concerned. Maybe I’ll end up choosing a different book instead. But either way, I think Serial Reader sounds like a lot of fun, and it definitely seems like an awesome way to make big, intimidating books seem a lot more friendly.

Have you tried Serial Reader? Does this sound like something you’d enjoy?

Wish me luck! If (when) I get started, I’ll definitely report back!