Weekly Update

Welcome to my weekly update for October 24, 2016! Autumn has finally arrived here in the mountains of North Carolina! Our temperatures hovered around 80 degrees until Friday, when they dropped into the fifties. We've warmed up a bit over the weekend but the cooler temperatures have finally brought on some spectacular fall color. My husband and I visited Atlanta last weekend for a late anniversary getaway. We had a good time walking around Piedmont Park, checking out the Chihuly Nights exhibit at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, and walking around Oakland Cemetery, where Margaret Mitchell is buried. We even saw a wedding at the cemetery! We spoke to the lady working the gift shop and she said they host about 14 weddings a year. It was a beautiful, peaceful space, but that's not my idea of a wedding venue! Posted: Nothing. I promise I am trying to get back into my routine. Read: It by Stephen King Mr. Splitfoot by Samantha Hunt, read by Cassandra Campbell and Emily Woo Zeller Currently Reading: A House without Windows by Nadia Hashimi The Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle by Janet Fox, read by Fiona Hardingham The Rebels of Ireland by Edward Rutherfurd Up Next: Confession: I consider myself to be a Harry Potter fan but I've never read Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. With the movie coming out next month, I'll be picking up the book soon. What are you reading this week? It's Monday!  What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. Sunday Post is hosted by Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer. I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe in beautiful Asheville, NC. I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you if you purchase merchandise through links on my site.

Welcome to my weekly update for October 3, 2016! I made it back two Sundays in a row, so that must mean my schedule's getting back to normal. I ran a 5K yesterday morning. My time wasn't as good as I had hoped, but considering that I've had very little time for any workouts this summer either, it was better than I could have reasonably expected. My husband and I followed that up with a day of shopping at the outlet malls. Changing seasons means a changing wardrobe and after one look at my clothes for cooler weather last week, I knew a shopping trip was in order. This was a nice, rare splurge for us! Tonight's the season finale of Fear the Walking Dead. We honestly don't care much about this show, so if something doesn't happen tonight to pique our interest, we might call it quits. We went into it thinking that any Walking Dead was better than no Walking Dead but we've slowly changed our minds. Posted: The Fireman by Joe Hill--3 Stars Read: The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place by Julie Berry, read by Jayne Entwistle--4 Stars--This was a fun mystery for older MG readers! The girls of the sisterhood were an assorted, lovable bunch who nicely complemented each other. Currently Reading: It by Stephen King The Rebels of Ireland by Edward Rutherfurd Up Next: I just downloaded the audio version of Mr. Splitfoot by Samantha Hunt. It looks Gothic and I do love to read those sorts of books at this time of year. I've got a pretty hectic week scheduled at work, but hopefully I can check back in with all of you! What are you reading this week? It's Monday!  What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. Sunday Post…

Welcome to my weekly blog update for September 26, 2016 Holy moly. I'm not sure where this summer's gone. My last post was on April 7. April 7! That seems crazy. But it's also about right. That's when work just exploded on me. I haven't had time for much of anything because I've had so much going on at the office. I also decided that I hated Windows 10 right about then. It really killed my computer. I had to restart it every time I turned it on in order to connect to the internet, my connection was always unstable since I was spending more time staring a spinning loading circle than actually accomplishing anything, and I just gave up for a while. I finally sat down a couple of weeks ago and fought with it and I think I've got all the bugs ironed out. Now watch my laptop crash before I even get this posted! I don't even know where to start with anything new in my personal life, so let's just say that we're busily catching up on season 6 of The Walking Dead. We were starting to think that Netflix was never going to get it! This is our first time watching this season, so we're trying to get it knocked out before season 7 starts on October 23. I'm not much of a binge watcher since two episodes of anything is my absolute max but we have managed to watch at least one episode a night for the past week. We're up to episode 8, almost at the halfway mark. Posted: The View from the Cheap Seats: Selected Nonfiction by Neil Gaiman--3 Stars Read: I won't even mention anything I've read since my last post since it's been so long. Currently Reading: It by Stephen…

Welcome to my weekly blog update for April 3, 2016! Holy smokes. I didn't mean to take such a long break! The last time I posted was on February 21 but I have read quite a bit since then. I'm so brain-dead by the time I get home from work, I only want to veg out, which means either reading or tv. No staring at the computer and writing my own words. I went to San Francisco for a meeting one weekend in March. Usually I'm so busy at these things that I don't have time to explore. This time I flew across the country and stayed away for 3 days for a 5-hour meeting. Lots of time to play, even factoring in the two days of travel! I've visited the city before but my co-worker hadn't so we took a cruise of the bay and a double-decker bus tour of the downtown area. It was a nice trip! Posted: Nothing. Read Over the Past Six Weeks: The Iron King by Julie Kagawa Save the Date by Mary Kay Andrews, read by Kathleen McInerney Don't Lets Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood by Alexandra Fuller Stars Above by Marissa Meyer, read by Rebecca Soler Guests on Earth by Lee Smith The Martian by Andy Weir The Cats of Tanglewood Forest by Charles de Lint, illustrated by Charles Vess Magnolia Wednesdays by Wendy Wax Hot Six by Janet Evanovich The Light in the Ruins by Chris Bohjalian I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley, read by Jayne Entwistle Someplace to be Flying by Charles de Lint In Cold Blood by Truman Capote The Calligrapher's Daughter by Eugenia Kim, read by Jane McDowell Lady of Devices by Shelley Adina Currently Reading: Blackbird House by Alice Hoffman The Bookshop Book…

Welcome to my weekly blog update for February 21, 2016! Well, it's been a rough couple of weeks. Just as I pressed the "Publish" button on my last Sunday/Monday post, my mom called to let me know that one of my grandmothers had passed away. Of course I'm upset and miss her, but when I step back to look at it, we were blessed to have her so long and she was blessed with a gentle passing. She was almost 94, she still lived at home with one of my aunts to help her, she hadn't been sick, and she just laid down for a nap and never woke up. She was a sweet, quiet woman who was full of grace and we'll all miss her terribly. I did have several things scheduled to post, so it hasn't quite been a wasteland around here. Posted: Review: Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Butler, read by Ari Fliakos, Maggie Hoffman, Scott Shepherd, Scott Sowers, and Gary Wilmes--4.5 Stars Review: Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne, translated by Frederick Amadeus Malleson--3 Stars Read: River Marked by Patricia Briggs The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater Currently Reading: Someplace to be Flying by Charles de Lint--This is a re-read for the umpteenth time of one of my favorite books. I'm slowly (re)reading all of the books set in this fictional world in order. They aren't necessarily a series but I am interested to see how they flow together. I originally read them as I could get my hands on them at the library and/or bookstore. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote The Calligrapher's Daughter by Eugenia Kim, read by Jane McDowell Lady of Devices by Shelley Adina--This is my read-at-the-gym book, so it will take me a while to get through it.…

Welcome to my weekly blog update for February 7, 2016! We've had a good week here. The weeknights were pretty low-key and yesterday we went to a local RV show and spent tons of our imaginary money. :-) That's the best kind to spend, right? We were just dreaming. Last night we went to see an 80s tribute band with a couple of good friends. They always put on a good show. Tonight we're heading to a neighbor's house for a Super Bowl party. I honestly couldn't care less who wins, even though I'm a North Carolina girl, but I do like watching the commercials and halftime show and I'm sure we'll have some good munchies. Will you be watching? Posted: Review: The Discreet Hero by Mario Vargas Llosa, translated by Edith Grossman--3 Stars Review: Winter by Marissa Meyer, read by Rebecca Soler--3 Stars Read: Orphan X by Gregg Hurwitz I also officially Did Not Finish The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins, read by Clare Corbitt, India Fisher, and Louise Brealey Currently Reading: River Marked by Patricia Briggs In Cold Blood by Truman Capote Lady of Devices by Shelley Adina--This is my read-at-the-gym book, so it will take me a while to get through it. Up Next: I might get through River Marked since that series is usually a quick read for me. If I do, I'll move on to The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater. I had planned to pick this one up last week but a trip to the library derailed me a bit. I also need a new audio book since The Girl on the Train didn't pan out for me. What are you reading this week? It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. Sunday Post is hosted by…

Welcome to my weekly update for February 1, 2016! Our snow from last week is mostly gone so life is back to normal. I know some of you have a big snow storm heading your way now, so stay safe and warm! My mom's birthday was on Wednesday and my dad's is coming up on Saturday so we took them out to eat today and had a nice time with them and my sister and her husband. Otherwise it was a pretty quiet week, which was fine by me. Posted: Review: The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly--3 Stars Review: The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker, read by George Guidhall--4 Stars Read: Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Butler, read by Ari Fliakos, Maggie Hoffman, Scott Shepherd, Scott Sowers, and Gary Wilmes Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne Currently Reading: Orphan X by Greg Hurwitz In Cold Blood by Truman Capote Up Next: I'm on the hunt for a new audio book but I don't even know what I'm in the mood for. If I finish Orphan X, I'll probably pick up The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater next. I bought it for my sister for her birthday in November and she handed it to me as soon as she finished, saying, "You have to read this." What are you reading this week? Hosts: It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. Sunday Post is hosted by Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

Welcome to my weekly update for January 25, 2016! I hope those of you affected by winter storm Jonas made it through in good shape! We got about 6" off of it, which is a pretty good amount for us. The office was closed on Friday so I was able to stay home and read and watch the snow come down. Those are snowy days I don't mind! Posted: The Zig Zag Girl by Elly Griffiths--3.5 Stars Bel Canto by Ann Patchett, read by Anna Fields--4 Stars Review Link-Up page for my New (to you) Narrator Challenge Read: The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly Winter by Marissa Meyer, read by Rebecca Soler Currently Reading: Orphan X by Greg Hurwitz Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Butler, read by Ari Fliakos, Maggie Hoffman, Scott Shepherd, Scott Sowers, and Gary Wilmes Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne Up Next: I need to finish Journey so I can move on to some non-fiction. Somehow I chose it as my before-bed reading instead of my usual non-fiction and now I'm stalled out on it. What are you reading this week? It's Monday!  What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. Sunday Post is hosted by Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

Welcome to my weekly update for January 18, 2016! I've dropped off for a couple of weeks again, but there hasn't been too much to report on the book front anyway. It was my turn to download a brick of an audiobook that I've been waiting for at the library just after I started reading a brick of a "real" book. I don't seem to be making fast progress on either front. In real life, we celebrated my grandfather's 97th birthday today! Happy birthday, Papaw! Posted: Not much in the past two weeks. Just the review link-up posts for the 2016 Nonfiction Reading Challenge, 2016 Southern Literature Reading Challenge, and 2016 Books in Translation Reading Challenge. I'll get the review link-up for my 2016 New (to you) Narrator Reading Challenge posted this week. There's still plenty of time to sign up for any of these challenges as they run all year! Read: The Zig Zag Girl by Elly Griffiths, read by James Langton Currently Reading: The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly Winter by Marissa Meyer, read by Rebecca Soler Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne Up Next: As I said earlier, I'm not making fast progress on any of these. Just wish me luck finishing Winter. I only have 6 days to finish the last 6 parts and I usually only manage about an hour of listening each day. I'll be close and I can't renew my checkout if others are waiting, as I know they are! What are you reading this week? Hosts: It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. Sunday Post is hosted by Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

Welcome to my weekly update for January 4, 2016! I hope everyone had a safe, fun New Year! We took it pretty easy and just went out to eat on New Year's Eve, watched a movie (The Gay Divorcee, an old Astaire/Rogers musical), then watched the ball drop. The rest of the weekend we mostly lounged around, although we did take down all our Christmas decorations on Saturday. I love the decorations, but I'm also glad to get my house back in order when the holiday is over. There's been a lot of busy end-of-the-year posting around here lately! Posted: 2016 Nonfiction Reading Challenge 2016 Southern Literature Reading Challenge 2016 New (to you) Narrator Reading Challenge In case you missed it, I'll link to my 2016 Books in Translation Reading Challenge as well. You can read 1 book and still be successful in each of the above challenges, so I hope you'll join me! My Top Ten Books of 2015 My 2015 Reading by the Numbers First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen: Book Review--3.5 Stars The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett, read by a full cast: Book Review--3 Stars My Sign-Up Post for The Eclectic Reader challenge, hosted at Book'd Out Read: The Discreet Hero by Mario Vargas Llosa, translated by Edith Grossman Currently Reading: The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly The Zig Zag Girl by Elly Griffiths, read by James Langton Up Next: I'm trying to decide on a nonfiction title to read. Any suggestions? I think I'm in the mood for something along the lines of narrative nonfiction of any sort. What are you reading this week? Hosts: It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. Sunday Post is hosted by Kimberly at Caffeinated Book Reviewer.