Sunday Post – 1/13/2019

January 13, 2019 Sunday Post 23

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

We flew home from New Mexico last Sunday. Since then, it’s been a week of unpacking, working, and trying (with mixed success) to catch up on everything I need to do, in real life as well as on the blog. It’s been hard to refocus; my mind feels like the dog in Up who is easily distract—SQUIRREL!

I spent a little time this week (well, more than I should have, honestly), learning to use Google Sheets and setting up my 2019 reading and challenge tracker spreadsheets. I’ve always done them in Excel before, but I like the idea of being able to look at them when I’m not on my laptop. I haven’t set up any data-crunching stuff yet, just the sheet to enter the books I’ve been reading, sheets to keep track of my ARCs, reviews, and challenges, and a list of the POPSUGAR challenge prompts.

The snow seems to be chasing us. We’ve only been back from New Mexico (where we got about three feet of snow spread over three storms in one week),  and now it’s snowing here in Virginia Depending on whose forecast you look at, we could get either 4-7 inches or 5-10 inches by the time it stops tonight. I’ll be staying cozy and warm at home today, alternating between working, curling up with a cup of tea and a book (or my husband!), and maybe taking down the Christmas decorations.

 

Last Week on the Blog

 

Upcoming on the Blog

  • The Best of Us (Robyn Carr) – tour, review
  • Top Ten Tuesday – tentative
  • WIP Wednesday – tentativeNews & Notes – 1/12/2019- tentative
  • Sunday Post –1/13/2019 – tentative

 

What I’m Reading/Watching

Reading: I had a really bad reading week in terms of time spent and pages read, though I enjoyed both books I was reading. I finished Cyanide with Christie (ARC),the third in a cozy mystery series I discovered last year. And I started A Curse So Dark and Lonely, an imaginative retelling of Beauty and the Beast with a portal-fantasy setting and a disabled heroine (with cerebral palsy.)

Listening to:  Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation by Cokie Roberts

Watching: I actually watched quite a few movies this week: Spiderman: Homecoming and The Darkest Hour were first-time screenings for us, and we also rewatched Thor and The Avengers. The Darkest Hour was excellent. All the actors were well-cast, and Gary Oldman’s performance was impressive. He really nailed Churchill’s mannerisms and emotions…though he may have overdone it slightly on the unclear diction and mumbling. (It might have been better, perhaps, to go for a shade less less realism and a tidge more clarity in the diction, for the sake of the audience’s understanding.)

 

New Additions to the Hoard

Cover links take you to Goodreads.

For Review or Review Consideration

Thank you to Avon, Bloomsbury Children’s, and especially to Harper Voyager for the gorgeous print copies of the first two Daevabad books!

Library Books

Some of my library holds came in! I’ve wanted to take a look at the new Pern novel by Anne McCaffrey’s daughter, and I enjoy listening to Neal deGrasse Tyson talk about astrophysics, so I’m looking forward to both of these.

Purchased in Print

On impulse, I grabbed a used copy of this on Amazon for practically nothing (except shipping.) It arrived last night, so I haven’t had much chance to dip into it yet.

Purchased for Kindle

I was very good and limited myself to only 2 Kindle books this week, both on sale.

 

Have a good week, and happy reading!

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23 Responses to “Sunday Post – 1/13/2019”

  2. sjhigbee

    Urg – snow… which I hate. Thank goodness you have plenty of tea and a warm husband to snuggle with. Stay safe and have a great week.

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      I love snow! Looks like I’ll be doing more working and less snuggling, though, because I’m behind on my work. I hope you have a good week, too!

  3. Jan @ Notes from a Readerholic

    Oh, you got some good books this week! I’ve already downloaded Neil deGrasse Tyson from my library and going to look for the Pern book next! I know what you mean by feeling like the dog in Up, Lark. I’ve been feeling that way since early December and I haven’t even gone anywhere during that time! I hope by this next week you feel a little more caught up.

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      The Tyson book is nice and short; I’ll enjoy it and it will count for the Audiobook challenge. Thank you for the encouragement. I hope I feel a little more on top of things by next weekend, too.

  4. Michelle @Because Reading

    The storm didn’t come up far enough to hit us. South Jersey got the most snow, we had a little less than a dusting and it’s all gone now. I really want just one nice Snow storm.

    Coming back from being away is always more crazy than going away. I need to find a way to keep track of my challenges and stuff better. As much as I LOVE technology, I am still very much a pen and paper type of person but that doesn’t mean I can’t make what I need on the computer 🙂

    Have a great week, Lark! Happy Reading! xx
    Michelle @Because Reading recently posted…Second week of a New Year! ~ WIR & SPMy Profile

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      I love the idea of bullet journaling, but so far I haven’t been able to stay consistent with it. The computer is easier in some ways, because I’m on it all the time anyway.

      The snow is nice, but so far we haven’t gotten quite as much as predicted. That’s good news for those who have to shovel (or go to work tomorrow), but I do enjoy a nice deep snow. 🙂

  6. Angela

    Astrophysics for People in a Hurry was one of my favorites from last year! Wow, that is a lot of snow! It seems like it’s snowing everywhere but where I am! Not that I’m complaining, lol.

  8. Lola

    It’s difficult when you’ve been gone to catch up on everything again once you get back. I use an excel document to track what I am reading, but putting it on google sheets is a good idea too. We haven’t had any snow this year yet and I am actually kinda hoping we’ll get some snow later still. It’s nice to stay inside when it’s cold and snowy outside.

    A Curse So Dark and Lonely sounds unique with how it’s a retelling with a disabled heroine. Your two new print books you got this week look great, I recently read a review for book 2 in that series. It sounds like a good one. Have a great week!
    Lola recently posted…Lola’s Ramblings: The Best Books I read in 2018My Profile

  10. Suzanne @ The Bookish Libra

    I’m in Virginia too and I think we’ve ended up with about 5-6 inches, enough to cancel school for tomorrow but it remains to be seen if I have to go to work or not, lol. I hope you enjoy all of your new reads!

  15. RO

    I know you’re glad to be back home, and I can totally relate to the unfocused thing causing me to not zero on any really good reading. Then add to that being sick, and it was just a yucky week.(lol) Gary Oldman is one of those actors who can do just about anything on screen, so it sounds like a pretty good movie. Aren’t superhero movies just plain fun? I love them all so much! As always, the books you’re reading look really interesting. Hugs…RO
    RO recently posted…DO FRIENDSHIPS HAVE AN EXPIRATION DATE?My Profile

  16. Nicole @ BookWyrmKnits

    Welcome home! I hope the snow doesn’t cause you too much trouble.

    Those sound like some great books. I’m curious to see what the consensus is about Gigi’s take on Pern. I was hopeful when Todd started writing them that we’d get good new Pern books, but I didn’t like his style. Maybe Gigi’s style is what I wanted from new Pern books. *fingers crossed*
    Nicole @ BookWyrmKnits recently posted…Linkity for 13 January 2019My Profile

  17. Anne

    Oh well you bring up a good point. I use Excel for a current list of ARCS and library books with dates to be reviewed, but they are deleted after I read and review them. It would be nice to have that sheet in Google since I could access it on my phone. I already access Goodreads and my shared Google calendar for the blog on my phone. But this is the final piece. I primarily look at it when I finish a book to see what I’m going to read next or update it when I get a new ARC. I’ll have to think about this.

    Well it takes a bit to get back in the swing after the holidays. We are doing perhaps better than I expected. Have a better reading week! Anne – Books of My Heart
    Anne recently posted…Audio: Melt for Him by Lauren BlakelyMy Profile

  18. Nicci @ Sunny Buzzy Books

    I’m going to be starting A Curse So Dark and Lonely this week in preparation for it’s release. I’m quite looking forward to it which is a victory as I’ve been in a ‘meh’ mood when it comes to reading.
    Can’t wait to hear what you think!

    P.s I’m envious of all the snow talk. I hope we get some snow this year… Last year was the first snow we’d had in about 4 years so I’m not holding my breath. 🙁
    Nicci @ Sunny Buzzy Books recently posted…Review: No Man Can Tame by Miranda HonfleurMy Profile

  19. Melissa (My World...in words and pages)

    Here’s to a great week. Bummer the snow is following you though. Stay warm. 🙂