Tag Archives: to read

The Monday Agenda 8/12/2013

Posted in The Monday Check-In by

MondayAgendaNot 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?

When You Were HereOpenly StraightThe Impossible Lives of Greta Wells

I read three terrific books this past week:

When You Were Here by Daisy Whitney: Done! My review is here.

Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg: Done! My review is here.

The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells by Andrew Sean Greer: Done! My review is here.

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick: I read the first 20 pages, and just couldn’t get into it — and the formatting problems with the ARC didn’t help. So, for now, this is a DNF book for me. Have you read it? Should it I give it another try once it’s available in hard copy?

The Silver Chair by C. S. Lewis: Moving along — we got a slow start, but my son and I have enjoyed the first four chapters so far.

Fresh Catch:

New to me this week: A graphic novel, a book for a discussion group, and two library books that I’d been waiting for (not entirely patiently):

Orchid, Volume 1The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

The Cuckoo's Calling (Cormoran Strike, #1)The Humans

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

The Cuckoo's Calling (Cormoran Strike, #1)The HumansTrash Can Days: A Middle School Saga

How to decide? I was on a good, long wait list for both The Cuckoo’s Calling and The Humans, and now they’re both here! I hope to find time to read both this week, once I figure out which one to read first.

It’s doubtful that I’ll finish both and still have time for anything else — but if I do, it’ll be a review copy of a new middle-grade book, Trash Can Days.

Meanwhile, our Narnia journey continues with The Silver Chair.

So many book, so little time…

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

boy1

Wishlist Wednesday

Posted in Wishlist Wednesday by

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:

Hollow Earth

Hollow Earth by John Barrowman & Carole E. Barrowman

From Goodreads:

Imagination matters most in a world where art can keep monsters trapped—or set them free.

Lots of twins have a special connection, but twelve-year-old Matt and Emily Calder can do way more than finish each other’s sentences. Together, they are able to bring art to life and enter paintings at will. Their extraordinary abilities are highly sought after, particularly by a secret group who want to access the terrors called Hollow Earth. All the demons, devils, and evil creatures ever imagined are trapped for eternity in the world of Hollow Earth—trapped unless special powers release them.

The twins flee from London to a remote island off the west coast of Scotland in hopes of escaping their pursuers and gaining the protection of their grandfather, who has powers of his own. But the villains will stop at nothing to find Hollow Earth and harness the powers within. With so much at stake, nowhere is safe—and survival might be a fantasy.

Why do I want to read this?

Reason #1:

Excuse me for getting all fangirl-y… but it’s written by CAPTAIN JACK HARKNESS! John Barrowman can, apparently, do everything. He sings, he dances, he hunts aliens, and now (in partnership with his sister) he writes children’s books! This man is just golden (and so, so pretty in his captain’s coat. See below if you don’t believe me).

Fangirlishness aside, I really do want to read Hollow Earth! It sounds like a promising, exciting start to a middle grade adventure (the sequel, Bone Quill, has just been released as well). I love the concept of the twins being able to enter paintings, and wonder what the connection to Hollow Earth and the trapped terrors will be. Add to that the Scottish setting, and I think it sounds pretty terrific!

I’ve just ordered myself a copy of both books, and plan to dive in as soon as my reading schedule eases up a bit. (Ha! Like that ever happens… ) Meanwhile, I’ll amuse myself with more pictures of Captain Jack, in all his Torchwood/Doctor Who glory:

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!

The Monday Agenda 8/5/2013

Posted in The Monday Check-In by

MondayAgendaNot 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?

Out of the EasyThe Shade of the Moon (The Last Survivors, #4)When You Were Here

Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys: Done! My review is here.

The Shade of the Moon by Susan Beth Pfeffer: Done! My review is here.

When You Were Here by Daisy Whitney: Reading now, about 175 pages into it, and I’m really liking this one so far!

The Silver Chair by C. S. Lewis: My kiddo and I just started reading The Silver Chair one over the weekend — the 2nd to last book left in our Narnia read! We’re really enjoying the series, and I’m wondering why I never read these books back when I was a kid!

Fresh Catch:

Several new books found their way to  me this week:

Fairest, Vol. 2: Hidden KingdomSeason of the Witch: Enchantment, Terror, and Deliverance in the City of LoveOpenly StraightTo Kill a MockingbirdThe Unwritten, Vol. 4: Leviathan

Two graphic novels, a non-fiction book set in San Francisco, a young adult novel, and a new copy of a classic. Not a bad haul for one week!

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

Openly StraightThe Impossible Lives of Greta WellsForgive Me, Leonard Peacock

I’m about half-way through with When You Were Here by Daisy Whitney, and looking forward to finishing in the next day or so.

Next, three books that I’m really and truly excited about — I just hope I can make a big dent in most (if not all) of them:

Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg

The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells by Andrew Sean Greer

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick

And of course, marching forward with The Silver Chair.

So many book, so little time…

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

boy1

Wishlist Wednesday

Posted in Wishlist Wednesday by

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:

Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

From Goodreads:

Rose Justice is a young American ATA pilot, delivering planes and taxiing pilots for the RAF in the UK during the summer of 1944. A budding poet who feels most alive while flying, she discovers that not all battles are fought in the air. An unforgettable journey from innocence to experience from the author of the best-selling, multi-award-nominated Code Name Verity. From the exhilaration of being the youngest pilot in the British air transport auxiliary, to the aftermath of surviving the notorious Ravensbruck women’s concentration camp, Rose’s story is one of courage in the face of adversity.

Why do I want to read this?

After sobbing my way through Code Name Verity, I really want to read Rose Under Fire — although I’m also a little hesitant about putting myself through an emotional wringer again. Elizabeth Wein’s writing in Code Name Verity is so beautiful and so heart-wrenching, and given the subject matter of Rose Under Fire, I have no doubt that this will be another incredible yet emotionally exhausting read.

What do you think of the three covers, above? As far as I could figure out, the cover on the left is the paperback version currently available in the UK; the middle is the US hardcover version, and the right is the Canadian hardcover edition. Both the US and Canadian editions will be released in September.

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!

The Monday Agenda 7/29/2013

Posted in The Monday Check-In by

MondayAgendaNot 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?

If I Ever Get Out of HereTumble & FallThe Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Chronicles of Narnia, #3)

What a great reading week! I’ve enjoyed everything I read this week, no doubt about it!

The Book of Secrets by Elizabeth Joy Arnold: Done! My review is here.

If I Ever Get Out Of Here by Eric Gansworth: Done! My review is here.

Tumble & Fall by Alexandra Coutts: I really enjoyed my sneak peak at a review copy of this new YA book. I’ve posted some thoughts on Goodreads already, but I’m holding my “real” review until closer to the book’s September release date. I thought this book was terrific — has anyone else read it yet?

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis. My son and I wrapped up this part of our Narnia read-aloud, and loved it!

Fresh Catch:

Zip. Zilch. Nada.

I bought no new books this week, and didn’t step foot in the library. A first for me!

Not that I lack for books to read…

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

Out of the EasyThe Shade of the Moon (The Last Survivors, #4)When You Were Here

I’ve only just started Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys.

Next, I plan to read The Shade of the Moon by Susan Beth Pfeffer, the about-to-be-released 4th book in the Last Survivors series.

After that, I’d love to dig in to When You Were Here by Daisy Whitney.

Meanwhile, the kiddo and I are ready to jump into our 2nd to last Narnia book, The Silver Chair.

So many book, so little time…

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

boy1

Wishlist Wednesday

Posted in Wishlist Wednesday by

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:

Letters from Skye: A Novel

Letters From Skye by Jessica Brockmole

From Goodreads:

A sweeping story told in letters, spanning two continents and two world wars, Jessica Brockmole’s atmospheric debut novel captures the indelible ways that people fall in love, and celebrates the power of the written word to stir the heart.

March 1912: Twenty-four-year-old Elspeth Dunn, a published poet, has never seen the world beyond her home on Scotland’s remote Isle of Skye. So she is astonished when her first fan letter arrives, from a college student, David Graham, in far-away America. As the two strike up a correspondence—sharing their favorite books, wildest hopes, and deepest secrets—their exchanges blossom into friendship, and eventually into love. But as World War I engulfs Europe and David volunteers as an ambulance driver on the Western front, Elspeth can only wait for him on Skye, hoping he’ll survive.

June 1940: At the start of World War II, Elspeth’s daughter, Margaret, has fallen for a pilot in the Royal Air Force. Her mother warns her against seeking love in wartime, an admonition Margaret doesn’t understand. Then, after a bomb rocks Elspeth’s house, and letters that were hidden in a wall come raining down, Elspeth disappears. Only a single letter remains as a clue to Elspeth’s whereabouts. As Margaret sets out to discover where her mother has gone, she must also face the truth of what happened to her family long ago.

Why do I want to read this?

Letters from Skye suits so many of my reading preferences: Historical setting, Scotland (!), war-time romance, multi-generational narrative. I love the idea of the contrast between the romances that happened in the lives of the mother and daughter in the different World Wars — and how one could affect and change the other. It all sounds very dramatic and dashing and so very romantic! I’m really look forward to reading this one.

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!

The Monday Agenda 7/22/2013

Posted in The Monday Check-In by

MondayAgendaNot 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.

Thank you to everyone who entered my giveaway or became a new follower this week! It’s been so much fun celebrating my 1st blogoversary with you!

How did I do with last week’s agenda?

Mist (Mist, #1)Gorgeous

Mist by Susan Krinard: Done! My review is here.

Gorgeous by Paul Rudnick: Done! My review is here.

Reading with the kiddo: Sailing ahead with The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis. We have about four chapters to go. Excellent!

Fresh Catch:

A few new ARCs this week:

… plus I ended up buying myself a copy of this book, after missing the archive date for the review copy:

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

I’m just past the halfway point of The Book of Secrets by Elizabeth Joy Arnold — and loving it. In fact, I’m having to force myself to put it down to work on this post and take on other mundane tasks like paying the bills. 🙂

Next up, a review copy of If I Ever Get Out Of Here by Eric Gansworth, a YA book that sounds great!

And, ever ambitious, I hope to find time for one more book from my shelves– most likely Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys.

So many book, so little time…

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

And don’t forget: Read what makes you happy! That’s my mantra these days… so:

boy1

Wishlist Wednesday

Posted in Wishlist Wednesday by

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:

The Incrementalists

The Incrementalists by Steven Brust and Skyler White

From Goodreads:

The Incrementalists—a secret society of two hundred people with an unbroken lineage reaching back forty thousand years. They cheat death, share lives and memories, and communicate with one another across nations, races, and time. They have an epic history, an almost magical memory, and a very modest mission: to make the world better, just a little bit at a time. Their ongoing argument about how to do this is older than most of their individual memories.
Phil, whose personality has stayed stable through more incarnations than anyone else’s, has loved Celeste—and argued with her—for most of the last four hundred years. But now Celeste, recently dead, embittered, and very unstable, has changed the rules—not incrementally, and not for the better. Now the heart of the group must gather in Las Vegas to save the Incrementalists, and maybe the world.

Why do I want to read this?

Why wouldn’t I? It sounds like a blast. People who can trace their heritage back 40,000 years — plus, a love story! This book sounds odd and quirky and wonderful, all at the same time. The Incrementalists will be published by Tor Books in September.

I think this blurb by sci-fi writer John Scalzi (author of the hilarious Redshirts) sums it up better than I ever could:

Secret societies, immortality, murder mysteries and Las Vegas all in one book? Shut up and take my money.

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!

And don’t miss out on my blogoversary giveaway — open for a few more days…

The Monday Agenda 7/15/2013

Posted in The Monday Check-In by

MondayAgendaNot 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.

This past week marked my 1st anniversary as a blogger! It’s been a blast! Don’t forget to enter my giveaway.

How did I do with last week’s agenda?

Joyland by Stephen King: Done! My review is here.

Mist by Susan Krinard. Still working on it. To be honest, it feel likes a bit of a struggle not to “DNF” it, but I’m hoping I’ll feel differently if I just give it a bit more time.

Reading with the kiddo: We started The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis this week. Our Narnia adventure continues!

Fresh Catch:

Two new books this week, one from the library and one to keep:

GorgeousBring Up the Bodies (Thomas Cromwell, #2)

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

I hope to finish Mist by Susan Krinard shortly. I’m ready to move on!

I was looking forward to reading my review copy of The Book of Secrets by Elizabeth Joy Arnold — but due to either human error (blushing) or a technical problem (sure, blame the other guy!), it didn’t get “sent to Kindle” when I thought it did… and now it’s archived and unavailable. Le sigh. Trying to figure out how to get my hands on a copy.

Meanwhile, if that doesn’t work, I’ll dive into some YA fiction, starting with Gorgeous, and if there’s time, one of my summer TBR books — most likely Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys.boy1

So many book, so little time…

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

Wishlist Wednesday

Posted in Wishlist Wednesday by

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:

In the Age of Love and Chocolate (Birthright, #3)

In The Age of Love and Chocolate by Gabrielle Zevin

From Goodreads:

All These Things I’ve Done introduced us to timeless heroine Anya Balanchine, a plucky sixteen year old with the heart of a girl and the responsibilities of a grown woman. Now eighteen, life has been more bitter than sweet for Anya. She has lost her parents and her grandmother, and has spent the better part of her high school years in trouble with the law. Perhaps hardest of all, her decision to open a nightclub with her old nemesis Charles Delacroix has cost Anya her relationship with Win.
Still, it is Anya’s nature to soldier on. She puts the loss of Win behind her and focuses on her work. Against the odds, the nightclub becomes an enormous success, and Anya feels like she is on her way and that nothing will ever go wrong for her again. But after a terrible misjudgment leaves Anya fighting for her life, she is forced to reckon with her choices and to let people help her for the first time in her life.

Why do I want to read this?

In the Age of Love and Chocolate is the 3rd book in Gabrielle Zevin’s very enjoyable Birthright series. Set just slightly in the future, the trilogy takes place in a New York in which chocolate and caffeine are illegal. Anya is heir to the Balanchine Chocolate crime family, and has to figure out where she fits in among the crime lords, the crime fighters, and her teen schoolmates, who’d really like to make it to prom without too much trouble. True, the illegal chocolate concept may not work completely as a parallel for Prohibition, but trust me — despite the occasional odd moments, the Birthright series really delivers.

Gabrielle Zevin is the talented writer of YA hits Elsewhere and Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac. You really can’t go wrong with any of her books — but if you haven’t experienced the Birthright series yet, start with All These Things I’ve Done, then move on to Because It Is My Blood. In the Age of Love and Chocolate comes out in October. I can’t wait to see how it all works out!

Besides — chocolate! Mmmmm.

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!