2014

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.

Happy Blogoversary to Me!

Somehow or another, I totally lost track of the fact that I’ve been blogging away for two whole years now! Today is the official anniversary of my very first blog post. Wow, how time flies! I decided not to do a big post about it, but just to smile, read some of my older pieces, and enjoy the idea that I’m still having fun as a blogger! And reading some really awesome books along the way.

Back to the Monday Agenda post:

How did I do with last week’s agenda?

Skin Game (The Dresden Files, #15) Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands The Curiosity

Skin Game by Jim Butcher: Finished reading last week, but wrote a review this week. Check it out here. (And now I sadly face the fact that it’ll be another year before I get to read more Dresden!)

Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands by Chris Bohjalian: Done! My review is here.

The Curiosity by Stephen P. Kiernan: Reading now, about 1/3 left to go. Next week, I’ll be participating in the blog tour for this book’s paperback release, so be sure to check back for my post!

Fresh Catch:

I was delighted to receive my copy of this new release — although I might not have time to read it for another week or two:

Landline

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

The Fever The Book of Life (All Souls Trilogy, #3)

First up is The Fever by Megan Abbott, the July pick for the brand new Fields & Fantasies Book Club!

And then I need to clear the decks, because book #3 in Deborah Harkness’s All Souls trilogy arrives! I’m hoping that I actually remember enough of the first two books to enjoy the 3rd without requiring a rereading marathon.

Pop-culture goodness:

How’s everyone’s summer entertainment going so far? I’m loving the new season of Defiance on Syfy, have enjoyed watching Vicious on PBS, and I have to give The Leftovers a try as well. I haven’t seen many summer movies so far, but I did just see The Fault in Our Stars over the weekend, and damn — it made me cry, even though I was sure I’d remain dry-eyed since I already knew what would happen from reading the book. Nope. Waterworks. Very good adaptation — I’m glad I finally got a chance to see it.

So many book, so little time…

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

Happy reading!

7Jul2014

The Monday Agenda 7/7/2014

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

Life:

Busy, busy week… thus, not much reading or reviewing! We had relatives visiting for most of the week, which was delightful. Plus, 4th of July celebrations! And my little guy (who’s not so little) left for three weeks of summer camp yesterday, which meant that I spent a good chunk of the weekend ironing name tags into clothes. (If you’ve ever gone to summer camp, you’ll understand!)

How did I do with last week’s agenda?

Skin Game (The Dresden Files, #15) Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands

Skin Game by Jim Butcher: Done! Another excellent entry in the Dresden Files series. Review to follow.

Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands by Chris Bohjalian: Just started.

Fresh Catch:

No new books this week!

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

Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands Landline The Awakening of Miss Prim: A Novel

I’ll be continuing with Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands (of course).

The new Rainbow Rowell book arrives this week! I’m really looking forward to reading Landline.

And if there’s time, I’ll be starting The Awakening of Miss Prim by Natalie Sanmartin Fenollera.

Meanwhile, I really need to clear some space in my reading life for new week’s big release, The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness. Finally, book 3 in the All Souls Trilogy!

Across the Great Barrier (Frontier Magic, #2) The kiddo and I are still enjoying Across the Great Barrier by Patricia C. Wrede — although it’s now on hold for a few weeks, until he gets back from camp.

So many book, so little time…

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

Happy reading!

1Jul2014

Wishing & Waiting on Wednesday: Big Little Lies

Posted in Wishlist Wednesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

There’s nothing like a Wednesday for thinking about the books we want to read! My Wishing & Waiting on Wednesday post is linking up with two fabulous book memes, Wishlist Wednesday (hosted by Pen to Paper) and Waiting on Wednesday (hosted by Breaking the Spine).

My most wished-for book this week is:

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
(expected US publication date: July 29, 2014)

Synopsis via Goodreads:

Sometimes it’s the little lies that turn out to be the most lethal. . . .

A murder… . . . a tragic accident… . . . or just parents behaving badly? What’s indisputable is that someone is dead. But who did what?

Big Little Lies follows three women, each at a crossroads: Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny and biting, passionate, she remembers everything and forgives no one. Her ex-husband and his yogi new wife have moved into her beloved beachside community, and their daughter is in the same kindergarten class as Madeline’s youngest (how is this possible?). And to top it all off, Madeline’s teenage daughter seems to be choosing Madeline’s ex-husband over her. (How. Is. This. Possible?).

Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare. While she may seem a bit flustered at times, who wouldn’t be, with those rambunctious twin boys? Now that the boys are starting school, Celeste and her husband look set to become the king and queen of the school parent body. But royalty often comes at a price, and Celeste is grappling with how much more she is willing to pay.

New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for the nanny. Jane is sad beyond her years and harbors secret doubts about her son. But why? While Madeline and Celeste soon take Jane under their wing, none of them realizes how the arrival of Jane and her inscrutable little boy will affect them all.

Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves just to survive.

I loved Australian novelist Liane Moriarty’s previous novel, The Husband’s Secret (reviewed here in March of this year), and was so excited to see that she has a new book due out this summer. This author excels at capturing the secrets lurking in everyday lives. I can’t wait to read Big Little Lies!

What are you wishing for this Wednesday?

Looking for some bookish fun on Thursdays and Fridays? Come join me for my regular weekly features, Thursday Quotables and Flashback Friday! You can find out more here — come share the book love!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Do you host a book blog meme? Do you participate in a meme that you really, really love? I’m building a Book Blog Meme Directory, and need your help! If you know of a great meme to include — or if you host one yourself — please drop me a note on my Contact page and I’ll be sure to add your info!

30Jun2014

The Monday Agenda 6/30/2014

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

Life:

Diana Gabaldon. Me. A signed first edition of Written in My Own Heart’s Blood. Happiness!

I went to Phoenix for a day! I missed Diana Gabaldon when she came to my town earlier this month, so I flew to Phoenix (may the gods bless the inventor of airline mileage!) to catch her appearance there. And it was awesome. I’ll write more about it sometime soon, I swear!

How did I do with last week’s agenda?

Goodnight June One Plus One

Goodnight June by Sarah Jio: Done! My review is here.

One Plus One by Jojo Moyes: Done! My review is here.

Fresh Catch:

A couple of library books and a couple of review books came my way this week:

Skin Game (The Dresden Files, #15) Trains and Lovers Prototype (Archetype #2) World of Trouble (The Last Policeman, #3)

Elsewhere on the blog:

Following up on my Give Me Liberty post… I’m enjoying my less-pressure approach to blogging! I notice that my stats are a bit lower, but that’s okay. Less stress = more happiness!

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

Skin Game (The Dresden Files, #15) Mr. Mercedes Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands

Skin Game by Jim Butcher. Welcome back, Harry Dresden!

Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

If by some miracle I have time to start a 3rd book, it’ll be Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands by Chris Bohjalian.

Across the Great Barrier (Frontier Magic, #2) And in the world of reading with my kiddo, we’re enjoying Across the Great Barrier by Patricia C. Wrede.

So many book, so little time…

shelf2cropped
That’s my agenda. What’s yours? Add your comments to share your bookish agenda for the week.

Happy reading!

23Jun2014

The Monday Agenda 6/23/2014

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

Life:

I’m back! I had a wonderful few weeks on vacation with my family… and kinda appreciate my forced break from blogging, to be honest. Not that I’m not ready to dive back in — but it was nice not to have deadlines or commitments to think about. I relaxed, I hung out with the kiddo and the rest of the gang, and I read whatever I felt like reading, whenever I felt like it. Now that’s a vacation!

Thank you to my friendly readers who stuck with me while I was away! Now that I’m back, I’ll be picking up where I left off…

How did I do with my vacation reading agenda?

Here’s what I read while I was away:

The Girl with All the Gifts Empire Girls Rebecca

The Girl With All The Gifts by M. R. Carey: My review is here.

Empire Girls by Suzanne Hayes and Loretta Nyhan: My review is here.

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier: I’m so glad I decided to re-read Rebecca, about 20 or so years since I first read it! Amazing how little I actually remembered about the plot… I’ll be featuring Rebecca in an upcoming Flashback Friday post, so stay tuned!

Thirteenth Child by Patricia C. Wrede: My son and I finished this one during our trip, and despite a few hesitations (mostly on my part), enjoyed it enough to want to read more of the series. My thoughts on this book are here.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson: I’ve had this book on my shelf for ages, and finally read it… and felt kind of meh about it. Maybe I wasn’t in the right mood to appreciate it or my timing was just off. While I recognize the artistry of the writing, it just wasn’t scary. Maybe I’ve become too jaded by more modern horror novels? I’m glad I read it, but I didn’t come away from it feeling like I’d read a masterpiece.

Finally, the centerpiece of my vacation reading:

I had to balance spending time with family with my need to obsessively read Written in My Own Heart’s Blood every possible second. Maybe not the best course of action during a family vacation, but after waiting for this book for years, there was simply no way I wasn’t going to read it as soon as the download arrived on my Kindle. Short review? Loved it. I’m sure I’ll be writing more about this book in the coming week or two. Bottom line: If you’re an Outlander fan, you’ll love every moment.

Fresh Catch:

I may have been away from home, but that doesn’t mean that the new books stopped coming! A few of my preorders and other books arrived while I was away:

Mr. Mercedes Fairest, Vol. 3: The Return of the Maharaja (Fairest, #3) The Undertaking of Lily Chen Rivers of London (Peter Grant, #1)

Also this week, I treated myself to this:

That would be Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon, in Hebrew, faithfully guarded by Pocket Jamie.

Elsewhere on the blog:

I wrote a mini-manifesto (“Give Me Liberty!”) on my need to read whatever I feel like and cut back on obligations. Check it out here.

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

I’m having a bit of a book hangover after finishing Written In My Own Heart’s Blood, and I’m seriously tempted to just start it again from the beginning. Still, there’s so much else to read, and here’s what’s next on my agenda:

Goodnight June One Plus One Mr. Mercedes

Goodnight June by Sarah Jio: I’ve read about a third so far. Gotta love a book set at a bookstore!

One Plus One by Jojo Moyes

Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

Across the Great Barrier (Frontier Magic, #2) And in the world of reading with my kiddo, we’ve just begun book 2 in Patricia C. Wrede’s Frontier Magic series, Across the Great Barrier.

So many book, so little time…

shelf2cropped
That’s my agenda. What’s yours? Add your comments to share your bookish agenda for the week.

Happy reading!

2Jun2014

The Monday Agenda 6/2/2014… and beyond!

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

Life:

By the time you’re reading this, I’ll be on an airplane, heading out for a few weeks of family travel — featuring sun, sand, relatives, lots of food, a Rolling Stones concert, probably a water park or two, and (fingers crossed) oodles of reading time, if I can find a quiet nook to hide out in by myself!

While I’m away, never fear! My weekly features, Thursday Quotables and Flashback Friday, are already all queued up and read to go… so there will be no interruption in our regularly scheduled programming. I hope to pop in with updates and reviews while I’m away — but I’m not sure yet how much faith I have in the promise of wi-fi throughout our trip. So, nice readers, in case I don’t see you sooner, have a great couple of weeks filled with awesome reading, and I’ll catch you when I’m back.

Meanwhile, for this week’s Monday Agenda updates, read on!

How did I do with last week’s agenda?

Trouble Just One Night (Just One Day, #2.5)

Trouble by Non Pratt: Done! My review is here.

Just One Night by Gayle Forman: This newly released novella is a follow up to Just One Day and Just One Year — and if you’ve read those, then you have to go download this short-but-sweet tale, pronto! If you’re one of the many, many readers who finished Just One Year and were dying to know what happened NEXT… well, here’s your answer. I thought Just One Night was sweet, romantic, and satisfying… and now I DO know what happened after that kiss…

In Outlander world… I finished (finally) my re-read of An Echo in the Bone! I’ve had a complete blast re-reading this book with the Outlander Book Club (who, by the way, are the best bunch of booklovers and all-around great people!) And now, I wait. What am I waiting for? See below!

But first, a look at what I’m still in the middle of reading:

The Girl with All the Gifts 13th child

I’d hoped to finish The Girl With All The Gifts this week, but laundry and packing have overwhelmed me, so I’m only at 50%. Into the carry-on it goes; should make for interesting airplane reading!

The kiddo and I are getting closer to the end of Thirteenth Child by Patricia C. Wrede. It’s a good one. We’ll be finishing this book in the next few days, and I’m packing the sequel!

Fresh Catch:

Self-restraint was the catch-phrase of the week! Mainly because I was busy packing, but still… absolutely no new books this week!

Elsewhere on the blog:

I shared my thoughts about the end of the TV season in May and which shows really ended with a bang. You can read about it here.

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

What to read on vacation? Well, assuming my wi-fi works and my Kindle downloads happen on schedule, the #1 book I’ll be reading as of June 10th is:

June 10th!!!

But before then, I still have a week and a very long plane ride to fill, so here’s a selection of what I’m thinking of reading:

Bittersweet Empire Girls Rebecca The Fever The Witch of Blackbird Pond The Traitor's Wife: The Woman Behind Benedict Arnold and the Plan to Betray America

Not to imply that I’ll read this many books! But these are the main ones I’m considering… and the beauty of having a Kindle is not having to decide ahead of time!

Still, if you want to find me from June 10th onward, there’s a good chance I’ll be hiding in a corner somewhere with Written In My Own Heart’s Blood!

So many book, so little time…

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

Happy reading! I’ll see you soon!

27May2014

Wishing & Waiting on Wednesday: Blackbird

Posted in Wishlist Wednesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

My pick for this week is:

Blackbird by Anna Carey
(to be released September 16, 2014)

Synopsis via Goodreads:

This twisty, breathless cat-and-mouse thrill ride, told in the second person, follows a girl with amnesia in present-day Los Angeles who is being pursued by mysterious and terrifying assailants.

A girl wakes up on the train tracks, a subway car barreling down on her. With only minutes to react, she hunches down and the train speeds over her. She doesn’t remember her name, where she is, or how she got there. She has a tattoo on the inside of her right wrist of a blackbird inside a box, letters and numbers printed just below: FNV02198. There is only one thing she knows for sure: people are trying to kill her.

On the run for her life, she tries to untangle who she is and what happened to the girl she used to be. Nothing and no one are what they appear to be. But the truth is more disturbing than she ever imagined.

The Maze Runner series meets Code Name Verity, Blackbird is relentless and action-packed, filled with surprising twists

Sounds good and creepy, doesn’t it? Amnesia, subways, LA, on the run… I’d definitely like to find out what’s going on here! I’ve never read anything by this author, but I’m looking forward to giving this one a try.

Side note: I HATE when book blurbs compare new books to other books. Really, The Maze Runner meets Code Name Verity? I haven’t read The Maze Runner, but Code Name Verity is practically sacred to me, so I hope they’re not creating false expectations here! Do NOT invoke Code Name Verity lightly!

Okay, end of rant…

What are you wishing for this Wednesday?

Looking for some bookish fun on Thursdays and Fridays? Come join me for my regular weekly features, Thursday Quotables and Flashback Friday! You can find out more here — come share the book love!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

26May2014

The Monday Agenda 5/26/2014

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

How did I do with last week’s agenda?

The Girls at the Kingfisher Club The Farm Trouble

The Girls At The Kingfisher Club by Genevieve Valentine: Done! My review is here.

The Farm by Tom Rob Smith: Done! My review is here.

Trouble by Non Pratt: At about the 50% point, and liking it a lot so far.

13th child The kiddo and I are continuing on with Thirteenth Child by Patricia C. Wrede. Moving sloooooowly. Not the book’s fault; we just seem to have a hard time lately finding time to sit down and read.

Fresh Catch:

Bunches of new (but mostly used) books this week:

The Witch of Little Italy What Alice Forgot My Real Children Hollow City (Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, #2)

Elsewhere on the blog:

I shared my thoughts about stats, page views, and whether numbers matter — chime in here to share your input!

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

The Girl with All the Gifts Bittersweet Empire Girls

First up, I need to read the rest of Trouble by Non Pratt, which I’m really enjoying.

After that, I’m looking forward to reading:

The Girl With All The Gifts by by M. R. Carey

Bittersweet by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore

Empire Girls by Susanne Hayes & Loretta Nyhan

I have no idea if I’ll actually get to more than one or two books this week, but it’s nice to have a goal!

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 94 – 97 (no chapter on Memorial Day). The end is in sight!

Outlander love:

What do you think? Is it possible to have too many Outlander references? (Image via Starz)

And adding to the Outlander mania, here’s my Outlander-themed “shelfie”:

So many book, so little time…

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

20May2014

Wishing & Waiting on Wednesday: Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands

Posted in Wishlist Wednesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

My pick for this week is:

Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands by Chris Bohjalian
(to be released July 8, 2014)

Synopsis via Goodreads:

A heartbreaking, wildly inventive, and moving novel narrated by a teenage runaway, from the bestselling author of Midwives and The Sandcastle Girls.

Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands is the story of Emily Shepard, a homeless girl living in an igloo made of garbage bags in Burlington. Nearly a year ago, a power plant in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont had a meltdown, and both of Emily’s parents were killed. Devastatingly, her father was in charge of the plant, and the meltdown may have been his fault—was he drunk when it happened? Thousands of people are forced to leave their homes in the Kingdom; rivers and forests are destroyed; and Emily feels certain that as the daughter of the most hated man in America, she is in danger. So instead of following the social workers and her classmates after the meltdown, Emily takes off on her own for Burlington, where she survives by stealing, sleeping on the floor of a drug dealer’s house, inventing a new identity for herself, and befriending a young homeless kid named Cameron. But Emily can’t outrun her past, can’t escape her grief, can’t hide forever-and so she comes up with the only plan that she can.

I hadn’t heard anything about this upcoming new release from Chris Bohjalian until I started working on my Flashback Friday post last week about one of the author’s earliest bestsellers, Midwives. Over the years, he’s written books on a wide variety of subjects, and in genres including contemporary fiction, historical fiction, and even horror. Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands sounds completely new and different — and absolutely fascinating. I can’t wait to read this story of a teen-aged girl living on her own after a nuclear disaster. I can’t even imagine how she survives and deals with her new reality, but I’m really looking forward to finding out.

What are you wishing for this Wednesday?

Looking for some bookish fun on Thursdays and Fridays? Come join me for my regular weekly features, Thursday Quotables and Flashback Friday! You can find out more here — come share the book love!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

19May2014

The Monday Agenda 5/19/2014

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

How did I do with last week’s agenda?

Then and Always: A Novel We Were Liars The Girls at the Kingfisher Club

Then and Always by Dani Atkins. Done! My review is here.

We Were Liars by by E. Lockhart: Done! My review is here.

The Girls At The Kingfisher Club by Genevieve Valentine: I’m at about the 50% mark; reserving judgment until I see where the story goes.

13th child The kiddo and I are continuing on with Thirteenth Child by Patricia C. Wrede, although we didn’t make much progress this week.

Fresh Catch:

Bunches of new (but mostly used) books this week:

Across the Great Barrier (Frontier Magic, #2) Secrets of the Sea House The Highland Witch The Bookstore The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls The Curiosity

Elsewhere on the blog:

I started obsessing about what to read on vacation, and whether my Kindle can survive a day at the beach.

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

The Farm The Girl with All the Gifts Bittersweet

This week, I’m looking forward to:

The Farm by Tom Rob Smith

The Girl With All The Gifts by by M. R. Carey

Bittersweet by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore

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 89 – 93. It’s hard to believe we’re so close to the end!

And maybe I’ll just leave this here until August: