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?

Last week, I continued with my spotlight focus on  I Shall Be Near To You by Erin Lindsay McCabe.  My friend Mary wrote a guest review (see it here), and then I chimed in with my list of five reasons that everyone should read this book — like, NOW. Stay tuned: An author Q&A will be coming up this week!

The Break-Up Artist by Philip Siegal: Done! My review is here.

Savage Girl by Jean Zimmerman: After reading 20%, I had to put this one on my DNF shelf. The concept seemed interesting… but nothing was happening, and I just couldn’t take any more. If anyone else has read it and wants to convince me to give it another go, be my guest!

The kiddo and I are happily reading our way through Thirteenth Child by Patricia C. Wrede, and loving it!

Fresh Catch:

A variety of goodies arrived this week, some bought, some borrowed:

Plus this, which isn’t a book, but which makes my geeky little heart happy:

Elsewhere on the blog:

I whined a bit about trilogies… and apparently, based on comments here and via Twitter, I guess I’m not alone!

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

This week, I’m looking forward to:

Then and Always by Dani Atkins. I’ve read about half so far, and I’m really liking it!

Next up: We Were Liars by by E. Lockhart.

And if there’s time: The Girls At The Kingfisher Club by Genevieve Valentine. A flapper-era retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses fairy tale? Yes, please!

And also in the works:

The Outlander Book Club’s re-read of An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon continues! Coming up this week: Chapters 84 – 88. Want to join in? Contact me and I’ll provide all the details!

Oh, and this was announced:

Basically, I’ll take any excuse for posting an Outlander picture! Thank you, Starz, for announcing the premiere date. I know where I’ll be August 9th! (Image via Starz)

What a week!

So many book, so little time…

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

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?

Last week, I declared I Shall Be Near To You to be my spotlight book of the week — one that I wanted to read slowly and give myself time to savor.

So how did it go?

In short, I adored it.

I Shall Be Near To You by Erin Lindsay McCabe is a beautiful, powerful book about an unforgettable young woman.

I’ll be featuring this book a few times in the coming week, with a review, a guest post, and possibly more. Stay tuned!.

The Break-Up Artist by Philip Siegal: I didn’t get a chance to start this YA novel until this past weekend. I’m about halfway through, and I’m thoroughly entertained at this point.

The kiddo and I started Thirteenth Child by Patricia C. Wrede this week, and so far, it rocks! Where has this author been all my life? Clearly, I’ve been missing out.

Fresh Catch:

Books, books, books galore! I treated myself to a few books this week, thanks to strategic use of Amazon credits and a gift card! My catch of the week includes two beautiful hardcover books that I’d previously read as ARCs, plus a couple of others I’d had a hankering for:

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

I have two books that I’ve been wanting to get to for a couple of weeks now:

Savage Girl by Jean Zimmerman

In The Age of Love and Chocolate by Gabrielle Zevin

And if I have time after these two, my next choice will be Then and Always by Dani Atkins.

And also in the works:

The Outlander Book Club’s re-read of An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon continues! Coming up this week: Chapters 79 – 83. Want to join in? Contact me and I’ll provide all the details!

So many book, so little time…

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

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?

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent: Done! My review is here.

The Here and Now by Ann Brashares: Done! My review is here.

She Is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick: Done! My review is here.

And don’t miss my review/blog tour post for The Serpent of Venice by Christopher Moore! If you enjoy Shakespeare with f-bombs, loads of hilarity, pirates, Marco Polo, and venomous sea serpents, then this is the book for you!

My son and I are still having fun with D’Aulaires’ Book of Norse Myths. Thor is kinda hilarious, to be honest. Always off fighting trolls and jotuns, that guy.

Fresh Catch:

Upon the recommendations of several BBFs who usually have impeccable taste in books, I picked this one up at the library this week:

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

I’m shifting my approach to upcoming reading for this week. There’s one book I especially want to focus on as my top priority, so I hereby declare that this week I have…

… a spotlight book!

Drumroll, please! My spotlight book for the week of April 28th will be:

I Shall Be Near To You by Erin Lindsay McCabe. I first wrote about this book several months ago in a wishlist post, and I finally have a copy! I’ve heard so many wonderful things about this book (thanks to a lovely BBF, once again!), and I’m so excited to “clear the decks”, so to speak, and just concentrate on enjoying it.

I intend to take my time, so I’m not going to hold myself to a planned reading agenda of another 3 – 4 books that MUST BE READ. But… if I do finish I Shall Be Near To You early enough in the week to move on to other reading, then here’s what I’ll be choosing from:

Savage Girl by Jean Zimmerman

The Break-Up Artist by Philip Siegel

In The Age of Love and Chocolate by Gabrielle Zevin

And also in the works:

The Outlander Book Club’s re-read of An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon continues! Coming up this week: Chapters 74 – 78. Want to join in? Contact me and I’ll provide all the details!

So many book, so little time…

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

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?

Another crazy week, with almost no reading time… frustrating! As a result, I barely made a dent in my intended reading pile for the week.

Far From You by Tess Sharpe: Done! My review is here.

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent: I started this one much later than I’d wanted to, and so far have read about two-thirds. Beautifully written, but with a bleakness that makes it hard to sit through without getting up to look at the sunshine or smell the roses.

In the world of reading with my kiddo, we’re happily working our way through D’Aulaires’ Book of Norse Myths, thanks to which we’re learning that Thor doesn’t really look like Chris Hemsworth and Loki isn’t really Thor’s brother. Crazy shenanigans! Lots of fun, too.

Fresh Catch:

So many goodies! This week was the Spring Book Sale sponsored by our local friends of the public library organization, and it was a blast. Thousands upon thousands of books for sale, all paperbacks only $2! Here’s what I picked up for myself:

Plus a few for my kiddo:

On top of which, I just happened to be ambling by the neighborhood used book store earlier this week — and stumbled across a copy of The Humans by Matt Haig, which I’d borrowed from the library last year and loved! What a lucky week for me!

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

First, I need to finish reading Burial Rites before my book group discusses it on Wednesday. After that, I’m really not sure what I’ll be in the mood for, but here’s what I’m thinking I’ll read… subject to my whims and fancies, of course:

The Here and Now by Ann Brashares

She Is Not Invisible by Marcu Sedgwick

Savage Girl by Jean Zimmerman

Random pop culture goodness:

I’m now caught up on the first two weeks of the new season of Mad Men. I’m not sure that I care that much any more, but for now, I’m still watching. I’m loving the new seasons of Game of Thrones and Orphan Black! Although I think I need a refresher on all the clones and what they were up to at the end of last season…

And also in the works:

The Outlander Book Club’s re-read of An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon continues! Coming up this week: Chapters 69 – 73 Want to join in? Contact me and I’ll provide all the details!

So many book, so little time…

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

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 Ghost Train to New Orleans by Mur Lafferty: Done! My review is here.

Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira: Done! My review is here.

The Serpent of Venice by Christopher Moore: Done! Be sure to check out my blog tour post on April 22nd.

Fresh Catch:

I behaved myself this week — didn’t buy, borrow, or request any new books! All bets are off for the coming week though — my library’s big spring sale starts on Tuesday, and that’s always dangerous territory for me!

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

Coming up this week:

Far From You by Tess Sharpe

The Here and Now by Ann Brashares

And for an upcoming book group discussion: Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

Random pop culture goodness:

Orphan Black returns this week!

Image credit: http://adn-z.deviantart.com/art/Orphan-Black-Simpsonized-393146267

And is anyone watching the AMC’s new series, Turn, about a Revolutionary War spy ring?

I saw Captain America: The Winter Soldier last weekend, and was super impressed with the way the movie’s events carried over into Agents of SHIELD.

And yeah, Mad Men is back too, and I’m not sure that I care…

And also in the works:

The Outlander Book Club’s re-read of An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon continues! Coming up this week: Chapters 64 – 68. Want to join in? Contact me and I’ll provide all the details!

So many book, so little time…

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

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 No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith: Done! My review is here.

The Mapmaker’s Daughter by Laurel Corona: Done! My review is here.

The Ghost Train to New Orleans by Mur Lafferty: I’ve read about half of this very entertaining urban fantasy novel (sequel to The Shambling Guide to New York City, reviewed here), and it’s a ton of fun so far.

I posted my review and blog tour feature for The Summer I Wasn’t Me by Jessica Verdi. The author was kind enough to participate in a Q&A, even answering my dorkier questions! Check the post out here, and be sure to enter the giveaway for this terrific book!

Fresh Catch:

A few new ARCs came my way this week that look pretty awesome:

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

Once I finish The Ghost Train to New Orleans by Mur Lafferty, I have big plans!

I’m looking forward to starting The Serpent of Venice, Christopher Moore’s upcoming new release (and sequel to his hilarious Fool).

If I can squeeze in a couple more this week, then I’ll devote some time to catching up on review books, starting with Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira and then Far From You by Tess Sharpe.

Random pop culture goodness:

It’s the return of Game of Thrones!

And a very sad good-bye to Being Human.

I’m going to miss these crazy kids.

But at least this week’s Grimm finally answered a question viewers have been asking for three years: How do Wesen spot a Grimm? Inquiring minds want to know.

[Update: Oops! Looks like the video clip that used to live right here is gone from YouTube. Alas…}

Oh, TV, you give and you take…

And also in the works:

The Outlander Book Club’s re-read of An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon continues! Coming up this week: Chapters 59 – 63. Want to join in? Contact me and I’ll provide all the details!

So many book, so little time…

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

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 Shambling Guide to New York City by Mur Lafferty: Done! My review is here.

The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin: Done! My review is here.

Visible City by Tova Mirvis: Done! My review is here.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury: After weeks of picking this one up and then putting it back down, I finally sat down to re-read Fahrenheit 451 — probably about 20 or so years after the first time I read it. Still shocking. Still amazing. I’m so glad I finally read it again!

Fresh Catch:

A few new ARCs came my way this week, plus the newest volume of an amazing graphic novel series!

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

I’ve just started The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith. I’ve been thinking about reading this one for years, and for some reason, it just really seemed to suit my mood this week.

After that, I’m planning to read The Mapmaker’s Daughter by Laurel Corona, which sounds completely fascinating.

And then I’ll be ready for something fun and quirky, and what could be better than the 2nd book in the Shambling Guide series? I’m so looking forward to reading The Ghost Train to New Orleans by Mur Lafferty.

And also in the works:

The Outlander Book Club’s re-read of An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon continues! Coming up this week: Chapters 54 – 58. Want to join in? Contact me and I’ll provide all the details!

So many book, so little time…

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