Sunday Post – 10/15/2017

October 15, 2017 Sunday Post 16

The Sunday Post is hosted by the wonderful Kimba, the Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news, recap the past week, take a look ahead, and showcase our new treasures—I mean books!

 My Week

 

On Tuesday, I attended a talk and signing by Jamie Ford, author of The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet and the recently-released Love and Other Consolation Prizes. He’s a terrific speaker: warm, relaxed, and funny. I really enjoyed it. (And yes, of course I got books and had them signed!)

I’m still struggling to find the focus and motivation to read my review books, write reviews, and blog, but I think — I hope — it’s beginning to bounce back… just in time for my new indexing project, which arrived Friday. Who knows? Maybe having a project I have to work on will make writing all those reviews I’m behind on feel like a welcome break instead of a looming weight!

Other than that, it’s been a pretty uneventful week, at least personally — not so much on the national and international front, though. I’m grateful that none of my friends are directly threatened by the fires in California, but praying for all those who are in harm’s way, or whose homes and livelihoods are gone or at risk. And I hope the situation in Catalonia can be resolved without bloodshed.

Something on Sunday

Something on Sunday is hosted by Gin Jenny at Reading the End. The idea is to counteract the gloom and anxiety many of us feel by “writ[ing] about something that kept you on your feet that week… something that matters to you.”

Making music is one of my lifelines, one of the things that lifts my spirits, feeds my soul, and keeps me going. I may have lost my church choir, but I still have music in my life: the children’s and youth community choruses I direct, and the adult chorus in which I sing (all three are part of the same organization.) Last weekend’s Junior and Youth rehearsals went well, and I’m looking forward to today’s rehearsal. And Wednesday night’s adult practice was a pleasure from start to finish. I’m also considering singing in the annual Messiah concert in our nearest city.

 

Last Week on the Blog

  • Sunday Post – 10/08/2017
  • News & Notes – 10/14/2017
  • Sunday Post – 10/15/2017  – this post

 

Upcoming on the Blog

  • TOUR: Death Overdue by Allison Brook – reveiw & character guest post
  • other posts TBD
  • News & Notes – 10/21/2017
  • Sunday Post – 10/22/2017

 

What I’m Reading/Watching

Reading: I managed to get back on an even keep enough to read two review books this week: Deck the Halls (Donna Alward; ARC) and Death Overdue (Allison Brook; ARC.)  I also continued rereading Robyn Carr’s Virgin River series — this week, books 14 through 17.  I’m stopping there; I don’t plan to reread the final book right now.  I still intend to get back to Murder, Magic, and What We Wore and The Waking Land someday, as well as my growing (virtual) pile of forthcoming releases.

Listening to: I finished Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and started in on Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

Watching:   We finally finished up Sherlock Season 4. It turns out I was at least partially right when I wrote about my theory way back in 2014. Despite the satisfaction of having gotten at least some of it right, though, I didn’t enjoy this season as much as the first three. Regardless of their reasons, it was hard seeing both Sherlock and John fall apart. And the final episode was so fraught, it left me feeling shaken and wrung out.

We also watched episode 4 of Star Trek: Discovery, which is continuing to evolve into a very good show. (I’m going to stop saying, “despite the Klingon redesign.” I still really dislike it, but there’s no point in continuing to kvetch about it. It is what it is, to quote John Watson.) We’ll probably watch episode 5 tonight. It feels weird to be back to watching something that airs weekly again, though. I’ve gotten too used to plowing through an entire show at my own pace. Being limited to an episode per week seems… archaic.

Speaking of watching at my own pace, we also saw a few more episodes of Father Brown this week.

 

New Additions to the Hoard

Cover links take you to Goodreads.

For Review or Review Consideration

Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books!

Gifted/Won

Thanks to Bea of Bea’s Book Nook! I remember thinking when this book first came out that I’d like to read it. Now I can!

Purchased in print

I bought these when I went to Jamie Ford’s author event — one for me and one as a gift.

Purchased for Kindle (in the last 2 weeks)

 

Have a good week, and happy reading!

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16 Responses to “Sunday Post – 10/15/2017”

  1. Corina Paris

    ooooh I love seeing all the Robyn Carr books on your list. I loved Virgin River – it’s her best series to date, but all of her books are entertaining and always touching.

    Jim Butcher is another author I adore. His Codex Alera is my absolute favorite but I adore Dresden as well – can’t wait to read the next book. In my opinion he doesn’t write fast enough. 😀

    Have a great Sunday and happy reading.

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      I haven’t read any Jim Butcher yet, but my daughter liked the Codex Alera and really likes the Dresden Files, so I’m planning to give him a try. And I agree; Virgin River is the series that made me fall in love with Robyn Carr, and I still love it best of all her series.

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      That’s often true for me as well. I certainly spend more time down the Internet rabbit hole when I have more free time, so the free time doesn’t necessarily translate into more reading time. (Sometimes, but not always.) But when I’m crazy busy, I really need the escape and recharging time that I get from reading.

  4. Jen S.

    You’ve gotten some great books! I hope you enjoy them all. It’s great you have your music to give you something to make you feel good. I think my daughter needs that because she doesn’t do choir or band anymore.
    Have a great week.

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      Everyone needs to do some things that refresh them and bring them joy. I hope your daughter finds the right one for her! Knitting is another for me, and of course, reading!

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      I can’t read horror — it’s a bad choice for someone who struggles with anxiety, even if I’m on a more even keel these days. But I do try to read some fall, Halloween, or witchy books during October. Hence the Harry Potter re-listen, and Death Overdue was a good fit, too.

  6. Tanya @ Girl Plus Books

    I just love author events! I’m not familiar with Jamie Ford but I’m about to look him up.
    Hope you start feeling some motivation soon. I’m not feeling particularly unmotivated but I am a bit slumpy. Just not in a mood to read much and I hate it. It rarely happens and never lasts long but even so… blah. I had my own does of Harry Potter this week when I went to see Harry Potter in Concert. THe symphony orchestra provided the score to the movie and it was such a fun experience. I hope your week is off to a good start!
    Tanya @ Girl Plus Books recently posted…The Sunday Post #77My Profile

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      I think it’s hard for some of us to maintain both the discipline and the enthusiasm over a long period of time. I’ve been blogging for 9 years now, about 7 of them pretty steadily. This is the first year I’ve fallen off so badly, though I’ve had periods before when time or energy prevented me from doing as much as I wanted to.

      Harry Potter in Concert sounds like so much fun! I almost tried to get tickets, but decided there were other places to spend our going-out money (such as it is.)

  7. Charlie

    I would have loved to hear him speak. I was blown away by Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. I am also feeling that looming weight. My scheduled posts from summer have dwindled to about 15 and I’m struggling to build it back up and stay consistent each week. I also have a small list of reviews to write. I think I agonize over the writing too much when it comes to reviews. Good luck with your new indexing project.