Sunday Post – 9/30/2018

September 30, 2018 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!

 The Last Two Weeks IRL: Life is Full of Ups and Downs

It’s been a crazy two weeks. I was out of town two weekends in a row for family gatherings: my aunt’s memorial service and our niece’s wedding. My scant time home has been punctuated by far too many medical appointments (mostly physical therapy and routine check-ups),  two separate rounds of a stomach bug, an author signing, preparing for the fall choral season, and worrying about our cat Tasha.

I saw an orthopedist, who says I don’t need surgery for my shoulder. Yay! He said to continue the physical therapy, since my shoulder is improving, but that it will take up to a year to completely resolve.

The most exciting part of this week, after last weekend’s wedding, was going with a writer friend to see Deborah Harkness talk about her books at Politics and Prose on the Wharf, in downtown DC. I’ve been a fan of Harkness’s All Souls trilogy since I first read A Discovery of Witches in 2011, a few months after it came out. I’ve been waiting for years for a chance to go to a signing. She is delightful; I would love to have had her as a teacher in college (although since she is two or three years younger than I am, that wouldn’t have been likely.) She signed my well-loved copy of A Discovery of Witches as well as her new books, Time’s Convert and The World of All Souls, both of which I can’t wait to read.

Deborah Harkness and Lark. Time’s Convert tour, Politics and Prose on the Wharf. Sept. 25, 2018. (photo © The Bookwyrm’s Hoard 2018)

 

Our kitty Tasha has not been doing well. Her mouth lesions have been bothering her more, so she has been eating less (barely at all for several days.) We took her to the vet on Friday. He gave her steroid shots in her mouth, which have helped reduce the pain and inflammation in the past. She is eating a little better now, but we will see how it goes over the the next few weeks.

My choruses start up this afternoon, so I won’t be online much today. But I’ll try to get around to everyone’s blog in the next few days.

 

Last 3 Weeks on the Blog

 

Upcoming on the Blog

 

What I’m Reading/Watching

Reading: I haven’t done much reading in the past two weeks — not by my usual standards, anyway. I finished Why Not Tonight (ARC) and A Very Merry Princess (novella), both by Susan Mallery, and Season of Wonder (ARC) by RaeAnne Thayne. I also read The Bookshop Book, which alternates between vignettes of real-world bookshops and interviews with authors about their experiences with bookstores. It was fun, and I will be going back through to make a note of bookshops I want to visit.

Currently, I’m in the middle of  The Alton Gift, the next book in the Darkover series (this one by Deborah Ross, who now writes the series.) And yesterday, in a fickle mood, I started rereading The Unlikely Ones by Mary Brown, which I haven’t read for 20 years or more.

In ongoing books, I really need to get back to The Underwater Ballroom (anthology; ARC), and I’m still slowly working my way through Year of Wonder: Classical Music for Every Day (ARC.)

Listening to: The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley.

Watching: Swallows and Amazons (BBC movie, on DVD), and a couple of episodes of Cadfael, “One Corpse Too Many” and “The Leper of St. Giles.”

 

New Additions to the Hoard

Cover links take you to Goodreads.

For Review or Review Consideration

Thank you to DAW and Kensington!

Purchased in Print

Time’s Convert and The World of All Souls are signed by the author. I now own The Calculating Stars in print, Kindle, and Audible editions, so I have no excuse for not starting it soon! I picked up The Stone Fey at the Friends of the Library bookstore at my library.

Purchased for Kindle

 

Have a good week, and happy reading!

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16 Responses to “Sunday Post – 9/30/2018”

  1. Michelle @Because Reading

    So awesome you got to her the author. I haven’t read Discovery of Witches but I have heard such great things. Your last two weeks sound super busy. I am sorry to hear about your kitty 🙁 we found a lump on Dexter and will be taking him to the vet this week. I am hoping it’s just a fatty deposit and nothing more. It would kill me if it was something more. I hope she feels better. (((HUGS)))

    I hope this week is awesome for you, Lark! Happy Reading! ox

  2. Lark

    I’m really glad you don’t have to have surgery on your shoulder. And so sorry about your kitty. Hope she feels better soon. 🙂

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      Thank you, Lark. She’s doing a bit better since the injection, but long-term (and possibly short-term), we’re fighting a losing battle: she’s a 14-year-old cat with cancer. We’ll keep her comfortable and happy as long as we can.

  3. Barb (boxermommyreads)

    Cograts on the news about your shoulder. Although it may be a long recovery, at least it won’t require surgery. Sorry to hear about your kitty. Enjoy all the time with her that you can. We’ve lost two of our boxers to cancer in the past and it’s never easy. I’ve always been curious about that Mercedes Lackey series but man, of that’s book 13, I’d have a lot of catching up to do! Looks like you had a great time at the signing!

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      Thank you, Barb! It’s not easy; we lost our other cat to the same cancer in 2017. In his case it was quick; only a few months from diagnosis to the point where we had to put him to sleep. But Tasha is our miracle kitty: 2 years and 10 months since her diagnosis. The steroid shots have kept it manageable, but I think she, and we, are starting to lose the battle.

  5. Katherine @ I Wish I Lived in a Library

    So glad you don’t need surgery on your shoulder! I remember sitting in physical therapy watching someone in shoulder rehab and feeling impatient for them! It’s definitely slow going but will be worth it. I’m sorry to hear about Tasha but hopefully the shots will make a difference. You have some fantastic books! I’ve really enjoyed Cahoon’s novellas and I love that Lea Waite series. And of course a RaeAnne Thayne Christmas book is always lovely. Have a great week!

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      I’m glad too! Yes, shoulder rehab is slow, but I’m making good progress. Tasha is eating somewhat better since her shots, which is encouraging. I wish you a wonderful week, too!

  6. Northwoman

    I’m sorry it was so hectic for you. I can’t remember if I said earlier but I had a shoulder injury about 5 years ago and after the chiro got it to about 70%, then a PT got it all the way back by dry needling which is not the same as acupuncture.

    So exciting to meet Deborah Harkness! I also enjoyed the Calculating Stars and I’m a big Dick Francis fan. I got them mostly at the library, but I got a couple on audio when they were on sale.

    Here’s to a much better week and month ahead. Anne – Books of My Heart

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      Interesting about the dry needling; I haven’t come across that before. Since mine was frozen for months, the main treatment seems to be stretching to restore range of motion, plus rehabbing the muscles which are weak from disuse.

      I’ve been a Dick Francis fan since my twenties. I have many of my favorites in hardcover, most of them picked up at various library booksales. But I like to have them in Kindle, too, and I actually haven’t read this one yet.

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      Thank you, Aj. (Just curious – how do you pronounce your name? I keep thinking “A.J.”, but I’m pretty sure that’s wrong. And I hate to get people’s names wrong, even in my head…)

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      It really was cool: a wonderful evening. And it was so much fun to share it with my friend, a fellow All Souls fan and a very good writer in her own right. Thank you for the well-wishes. I hope it heals up soon, too!