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 last week?

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett: This novella is such a treat for bookworms! It’s a sweet, funny, charming piece of short fiction about what might happen if the Queen of England suddenly became an obsessive reader. The writing itself is such fun, as well as the storyline. I featured a few passages from this book for my Thursday Quotables post last week — check it out here.

The Uninvited by Cat Winters: Done! Watch for my blog tour post and review, coming up on Thursday. Want a hint ahead of time? This one is getting high marks!

And in graphic novels:

After watching the movie Kingsman a couple of weeks ago, I thought I should check out the comic it was based on. The movie is over-the-top violent, but worth it to see Colin Firth kicking major butt (while impeccably dressed, of course.) The comic was originally issued as The Secret Service, and this paperback volume collects the whole story in one edition. It’s a fun, goofy way to spend an afternoon.

And if you haven’t seen the movie and want a little taste:

 

Fresh Catch:

New goodies this week!

Okay, I got a little silly playing with images… Here, with colorful critters, are my new arrivals — including three bought, one ARC courtesy of Goodreads FirstReads (yippee!), and a library book.

What will I be reading during the coming week?

Currently in my hands:

I’ve just started In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume, which jumps to the top of my priority list since it’s a non-renewable library book. It’s been a long time since I’ve read a Judy Blume book — I still have fond/embarrassing memories of how into Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret, Deenie, and Forever we all were back in the day.

I’m behind on my ARCS. Still. Again. Forever. But in any case, I’m very determined to read What You Left Behind by Jessica Verdi this week.

Now playing via audiobook:

Just finished Mansfield Park! I could have sworn that I’d read Mansfield Park before, but the further I went in the audiobook, the more I realized that it was all pretty new to me. I’m glad to have filled in the gap in my Austen reading! Little, meek Fanny Price definitely grew on me, and despite shipping the wrong couple for a while, I was overall pretty charmed by this book.

So what’s next? I think it’s about time to shake things up and listen to something very different from all the Austens I’ve been spending time with lately… so, to get as un-Austen as might be possible, my next audiobook will be a collection of Dresden shorts by Jim Butcher:

Ongoing reads:

Two chapters per week for each of these, for my online book group discussions. Both books should be done by December!

So many book, so little time…