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?

It’s been a pretty fun and eclectic reading week:

Charming (Pax Arcana, #1) Before I Met You Will in Scarlet Longbourn

Charming by Elliott James: Done! A terrific first book in a new urban fantasy series. My review is here.

Before I Met You by Lisa Jewell: Done! Contemporary fiction meets historical fiction in a novel set in both the 1920s and 1990s. My review is here.

Will in Scarlet by Matthew Cody: Done! An exciting middle grade book about Robin Hood and his Merry Men. My review is here.

Longbourn by Jo Baker: Just started over the weekend, and I’m currently about 25% of the way into this new look at the world of Pride and Prejudice… as viewed by the servants below-stairs.

And in kids’ books, my son and I are about 1/3 of the way into The Expeditioners by S. S. Taylor, and we’re really enjoying it. It’s a steampunk adventure story, filled with mysterious maps and clever kids. After a bit of a slow start, we’re hooked!

Fresh Catch:

In keeping with my new need to name everything, I’m calling this my Pile of Sadness:

Why? Because these four books are YA new releases that I bought for myself and can’t wait to read… but I’m trying to stick to a vow* that I made to get caught up on my NetGalley backlog before reading anything else. It’s the right thing to do, and it seems to be working… but then I look at my Pile of Sadness and feel all sorts of tearful longing building up inside…

Must. Be. Strong.

*So what’s this vow about? I wrote a post yesterday about, among other things, my mid-October reading resolutions. And whatever else came to mind. You can read it here.

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

Sticking with my decision to catch up on review copies, I have this coming week’s reading all queued up:

Longbourn

First up, I’ll need to finish Longbourn by Jo Baker. Then onward with:

The Incrementalists by Steven Brust and Skyler White
Bad Houses by Sara Ryan and Carla Speed McNeil
How To Be a Good Wife by Emma Chapman

I’m actually loving everything I’m reading these days… but that Pile of Sadness is so tempting… and I just got an email notification that I have some library requests ready for pick-up. Must. Be. Strong.

So many book, so little time…

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

9Oct2013

Wishing & Waiting on Wednesday

Posted in Wishlist Wednesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

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 pick for this week won’t be released for several months yet — but it’s never too soon to highlight a book I wish I didn’t have to wait for!

Night Broken (Mercy Thompson, #8)

Night Broken by Patricia Briggs
(release date March 4, 2014)

Synopsis:

#1 New York Times bestselling author Patricia Briggs’s Mercy Thompson series has been hailed as “one of the best” (Fiction Vixen). Now, Mercy must deal with an unwanted guest—one that brings a threat unlike anything she’s ever known.

An unexpected phone call heralds a new challenge for Mercy. Her mate Adam’s ex-wife is in trouble, on the run from her new boyfriend. Adam isn’t the kind of man to turn away a person in need—and Mercy knows it. But with Christy holed up in Adam’s house, Mercy can’t shake the feeling that something about the situation isn’t right.

Soon, her suspicions are confirmed when she learns that Christy has the farthest thing from good intentions. She wants Adam back and she’s willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen, including turning Adam’s pack against Mercy.

Mercy isn’t about to step down without a fight, but there’s a more dangerous threat circling. Christy’s ex is more than a bad man—in fact, he may not be human at all. As the bodies start piling up, Mercy must put her personal troubles aside to face a creature with the power to tear her whole world apart.

Why do I want to read this?

BECAUSE I LOVE THIS SERIES! Okay, I’ll stop shouting now. Night Broken is the 8th book in the outstanding Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs — and this is one series that I hope will go on and on. I love the world that Patricia Briggs has created, and Mercy herself is an amazing heroine — strong, capable, loyal, and fiercely loving. The pack dynamics are endlessly fascinating, the relationships are complex and multi-layered, and the plot of each new installment moves the overall story forward while also presenting an immediate adventure full of danger, tension, and suspense — plus one hell of a terrific love story. I am so excited to see what happens next in Mercy’s world, and at this point, I’m ready to keep reading about her for as long as the author keeps writing about her.

Oh, and how about that cover? LOVE it.

What are you wishing for this Wednesday?

So what are you doing 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!

7Oct2013

The Monday Agenda 10/7/2013

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

How did I do with last week’s agenda?

Doctor Sleep (The Shining, #2) Sky Jumpers (Sky Jumpers, #1) Charming (Pax Arcana, #1)

What a great reading week it’s been!

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King: Done! It seemed to take me much longer than I’d expected, but I finally finished. Loved it! My review is here.

Sky Jumpers by Peggy Eddleman: Done! Totally enjoyed this adventure story for the middle grade set. My review is here.

Charming by Elliott James: At about the 80% mark, should be finished later today. Quite a fun new world of urban fantasy to explore!

And in kids’ books:

Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo (Leven Thumps, #1) The Expeditioners and the Treasure of Drowned Man's Canyon

Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo by Obert Skye: Sadly, this one is going on the DNF pile. My kiddo and I really tried to stick with it, but after reading about 2/3 of this book, we still had no idea what was going on — and didn’t find it interesting enough to try to find out. We both felt that we could walk away, and so we did. Moving on…

The Expeditioners by S. S. Taylor: Our next read-aloud book is set in a steam-punk-ish world with all sorts of neat twists. We’ve only read two chapters so far, but it’s hooked us both right away.

Fresh Catch:

I can’t keep up! My pile of newly released (and promptly purchased) YA books keeps growing. Here’s this week’s addition:

Picture Me Gone

I’m really looking forward to reading this one, but I’m going to have wait a few weeks. Why? Read on…

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

I have a new goal, and I think it’s one that I can actually achieve! My Kindle is getting completely backed up with review copies that I haven’t gotten to yet (BTW – thanks, NetGalley! xoxo), and I think it’s time to really tackle the backlog! My resolution for October is to catch up on all of the ARCs currently waiting for me, with publication dates anytime from this past summer (yes, I’m behind) through November. And only then will I go back to my overflowing bookshelves and dive into the books I’ve treated myself to but haven’t read. (What? Buying books and not reading them? Shocking situation! Can anyone else relate?)

So here’s what’s up next for this week:

Before I Met You Will in Scarlet Longbourn

Before I Met You by Lisa Jewell
Will in Scarlet by Matthew Cody
Longbourn by Jo Baker

The only teensy hitch that I foresee is that Just One Year by Gayle Forman is being released this week and… well… I may have to make one exception to my reading resolution and read it THE SECOND IT ARRIVES because I have been dying to know what happens for months now!!!

Anyone having a problem keeping up with their review copies? Please tell me I’m not alone!

So many book, so little time…

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

1Oct2013

Wishing & Waiting on Wednesday

Posted in Wishlist Wednesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

This week, I’m focusing on an upcoming release that I heard about for the first time just a few days ago:

My Real Children by Jo Walton
(release date May 20, 2014)

Synopsis:

It’s 2015, and Patricia Cowan is very old. “Confused today,” read the notes clipped to the end of her bed. She forgets things she should know—what year it is, major events in the lives of her children. But she remembers things that don’t seem possible. She remembers marrying Mark and having four children. And she remembers not marrying Mark and raising three children with Bee instead. She remembers the bomb that killed President Kennedy in 1963, and she remembers Kennedy in 1964, declining to run again after the nuclear exchange that took out Miami and Kiev.

Her childhood, her years at Oxford during the Second World War—those were solid things. But after that, did she marry Mark or not? Did her friends all call her Trish, or Pat? Had she been a housewife who escaped a terrible marriage after her children were grown, or a successful travel writer with homes in Britain and Italy? And the moon outside her window: does it host a benign research station, or a command post bristling with nuclear missiles?

Two lives, two worlds, two versions of modern history. Each with their loves and losses, their sorrows and triumphs. My Real Children is the tale of both of Patricia Cowan’s lives…and of how every life means the entire world.

Why do I want to read this?

I love dual narratives in which either version may be true — if the narratives are both plausible and the writing is engaging. In the hands of Jo Walton, I have no doubt that My Real Children will be excellent. I loved Among Others, which is a beautiful book that is so very hard to describe (fairies and twins and science fiction, oh my!).

What are you wishing for this Wednesday?

So what are you doing 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!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

30Sep2013

The Monday Agenda 9/30/2013

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

How did I do with last week’s agenda?

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

Why do I feel like I’ve had no time to read this week? Oh yeah, real life intrudes once again… I’ve been grabbing my reading time in teeny, tiny increments all week, and I’ve made little to no progress in my stacks of books waiting to be read.

Here’s what I managed to read in the past seven days:

The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes: Done! My review is here.

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King: I started it on Wednesday, and I’m just past the 60% mark at this point. I like it so far — just wish I had more time!!

And in kids’ books:

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

Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo by Obert Skye. My kiddo and I are reading this one together, and so far, he likes it more than I do. I’m finding it kind of dark and scattered, and we’re far enough into it by now that we should have a better sense of what’s going on. If it were just me, I might move on at this point, but kiddo seems to want to continue — so onward we go.

Fresh Catch:

Holy crow, was this a big week for acquiring books! I attended my very favorite annual event, the Big Book Sale in support of our public libraries. Over 500,000 items on sale in a huge warehouse, with avid booklovers crowding around the tables, and everything priced at $3 or less. I wrote about it here last year — so much fun! This year, I showed a bit more restraint than usual, but still managed to come home with 25 books (for a whopping price of $46!).

Among my finds were 12 ARCs for books that have just been released this year (including Double Feature by Owen King, The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes, More Than This by Patrick Ness, and Maya’s Notebook by Isabel Allende), a beautiful hardcover edition of The Book Thief to replace my old battered paperback, and copies of several books that I’ve been meaning to get to, including a few more Thursday Next books by Jasper Fforde and Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman.

On top of all that, this week saw the arrival of two eagerly awaited new releases as well as a couple of library books for me to read with the kiddo:

Doctor Sleep (The Shining, #2) Shadows Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes The Expeditioners and the Treasure of Drowned Man's Canyon

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

The Incrementalists Sky Jumpers (Sky Jumpers, #1) Charming (Pax Arcana, #1) Before I Met You

Assuming I get through Doctor Sleep in the next few days, I need to tackle the review books that have started to pile up:

First up: The Incrementalists by Steven Brust and Skyler White.

After that, one of several possibilities:

Sky Jumpers by Peggy Eddleman (a middle grade book)
Charming by Elliott James
Before I Met You by Lisa Jewell

We’ll just have to wait and see what strikes my fancy when the time comes to start something new!

So many book, so little time…

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

24Sep2013

Wishing & Waiting on Wednesday

Posted in Wishlist Wednesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Wednesday is a perfect day for a good book meme, and I thought I’d branch out a bit! I’ve been participating in Wishlist Wednesday, hosted by Pen to Paper, for over a year — and I’ve been wanting to jump into Waiting on Wednesday (hosted by Breaking the Spine) for a while now too. So why not do both?

Wishlist Wednesday is a place to highlight any book from our wish lists — old, new, not yet released — that we’re dying to read. Waiting on Wednesday focuses on upcoming new releases.

Some weeks, I’ll probably have two different books to wish and wait for… but this week, here’s one that works for both!

My wishlist book this week is:

Lair of Dreams (The Diviners, #2) by Libba Bray
(release date April 22, 2014)

From Goodreads:

After a supernatural showdown with a serial killer, Evie O’Neill has outed herself as a Diviner. Now that the world knows of her ability to “read” objects, and therefore, read the past, she has become a media darling, earning the title, “America’s Sweetheart Seer.” But not everyone is so accepting of the Diviners’ abilities…

Meanwhile, mysterious deaths have been turning up in the city, victims of an unknown sleeping sickness. Can the Diviners descend into the dreamworld and catch a killer?

Why do I want to read this?

Because I absolutely loved The Diviners, and can’t wait to see what happens next! Evie is a fabulous main character, and I love the 1920s New York setting. The Diviners was a perfect mix of creepy and absolutely snazzy — and I was just so excited to find out this week that book #2 has a title, a cover, and a release date!

Who else is excited about Lair of Dreams?

So what are you doing 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!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

23Sep2013

The Monday Agenda 9/23/2013

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

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.

17Sep2013

Wishlist Wednesday: All The Truth That’s In Me

Posted in Wishlist Wednesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Welcome to Wishlist Wednesday!

The concept is to post about one book from our wish lists that we can’t wait to read. Want to play? Here’s how:

Follow Pen to Paper as host of the meme.
Do a post about one book from your wishlist and why you want to read it.
Add your blog to the linky at the bottom of the post at Pen to Paper.
Put a link back to Pen to Paper somewhere in your post.
Visit the other blogs and enjoy!

My wishlist book this week is:

All the Truth That’s In Me by Julie Berry
(release date September 26, 2013)

From Goodreads:

Four years ago, Judith and her best friend disappeared from their small town of Roswell Station. Two years ago, only Judith returned, permanently mutilated, reviled and ignored by those who were once her friends and family. Unable to speak, Judith lives like a ghost in her own home, silently pouring out her thoughts to the boy who’s owned her heart as long as she can remember—even if he doesn’t know it—her childhood friend, Lucas. But when Roswell Station is attacked, long-buried secrets come to light, and Judith is forced to choose: continue to live in silence, or recover her voice, even if it means changing her world, and the lives around her, forever. This startlingly original novel will shock and disturb you; it will fill you with Judith’s passion and longing; and its mysteries will keep you feverishly turning the pages until the very last.

Why do I want to read this?

I just recently stumbled across a preview for this book, and haven’t been able to stop thinking of it since. It sounds incredibly disturbing, and yet I found the little excerpts I’ve read so far to be beautifully written, with quite a unique style. The synopsis makes me want to know more: What happened to Judith? Why is she being shunned? What really happened to her friend, and what are the secrets of the town? I’m hoping to get my hands on a copy before too long — I want answers!

What’s on your wishlist this week?

So what are you doing 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!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

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.

11Sep2013

Wishlist Wednesday: Longbourn by Jo Baker

Posted in Wishlist Wednesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Welcome to Wishlist Wednesday!

The concept is to post about one book from our wish lists that we can’t wait to read. Want to play? Here’s how:

Follow Pen to Paper as host of the meme.
Do a post about one book from your wishlist and why you want to read it.
Add your blog to the linky at the bottom of the post at Pen to Paper.
Put a link back to Pen to Paper somewhere in your post.
Visit the other blogs and enjoy!

My wishlist book this week is:

Longbourn by Jo Baker
(release date October 8, 2013)

From Goodreads:

• Pride and Prejudice was only half the story •

If Elizabeth Bennet had the washing of her own petticoats, Sarah often thought, she’d most likely be a sight more careful with them.

In this irresistibly imagined belowstairs answer to Pride and Prejudice, the servants take center stage. Sarah, the orphaned housemaid, spends her days scrubbing the laundry, polishing the floors, and emptying the chamber pots for the Bennet household. But there is just as much romance, heartbreak, and intrigue downstairs at Longbourn as there is upstairs. When a mysterious new footman arrives, the orderly realm of the servants’ hall threatens to be completely, perhaps irrevocably, upended.

Jo Baker dares to take us beyond the drawing rooms of Jane Austen’s classic—into the often overlooked domain of the stern housekeeper and the starry-eyed kitchen maid, into the gritty daily particulars faced by the lower classes in Regency England during the Napoleonic Wars—and, in doing so, creates a vivid, fascinating, fully realized world that is wholly her own.

Why do I want to read this?

I’m a Pride and Prejudice fan, although I do usually try to avoid re-tellings, which mostly strike me as attempts to cash in without being terribly original. (Notable exceptions, for me, are Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Death Comes to Pemberley — and in movies, Bride and Prejudice!) From the description, I’d say that Longbourn sounds a bit Downton Abbey-ish, with the focus on the happenings below stairs and how those crazy Bennet sisters create chaos for their mostly silent servants.

This strikes me as being a fresh approach to a familiar story, and I have high hopes for it! I’ve just received an ARC, which I plan to get to in the next few weeks, and I’m hoping Longbourn will be as fun and entertaining as it sounds.

What’s on your wishlist this week?

So what are you doing 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 blog hop or 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!