Sunday Post – 11/04/2018

November 4, 2018 Sunday Post 21

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

I hope you’ve all enjoyed an extra hour of sleep this morning! (Well, those of you in the US going off of Daylight Savings Time, at least.) I turned in my freelance project early in the week and had a few days’ breather before the next one arrived… along with change requests for the first one, which I’ll be finishing up today or tomorrow. Halloween was fun; we had more trick-or-treaters than in the past few years, so I’m glad Mr. Bookwyrm bought plenty of candy. I saw some great costumes, but didn’t dress up this year, as I had to leave for a choir practice at 7:30. I didn’t think the people behind me would appreciate my tall, pointy witch hat!

Creatively, it was an average week: I spun up 4 oz. of some really soft hand-dyed BFL (that’s Blue-Faced Leicester) wool in “Pumpkin Spice” colors. It’s sitting on the bobbin, waiting to be chain-plied. (See photo below.) I also knit another couple of inches on my secret project. And I’m slowly getting past October’s reading slump—I hope! Mostly through rereading, which is my usual reaction to a slump. I still seem to be in a reviewing slump, though.

 

The singles I spun this week, alongside the kitty pumpkin carved by Mr. Bookwyrm.

 

Challenge Update

Eep! I’m not doing well on my challenges, especially given that it’s already November. I failed both my October challenges (ARCtober and Blog Ahead.)  I’m six books behind on my Goodreads challenge. And I haven’t read anything for The Backlist Reader Challenge in a while. At this point, I’m not sure if I can reach my goal.

 

Last Week on the Blog

 

Upcoming on the Blog

  • WIP Wednesday – tentative
  • Other posts TBD
  • News & Notes – 11/10/2018 – tentative
  • Sunday Post –11/11/2018 – tentative

 

What I’m Reading/Watching

Reading: I reread Ngaio Marsh’s Light Thickens for Halloween; it’s a murder mystery set during a production of Macbeth, which felt appropriate to the season. I love Marsh; she was a contemporary of Christie and Sayers, and is considered one of the grande dames of British Golden Age mystery. After Light Thickens, I decided to reread Killer Dolphin, set in the same theater with the same director, but 20 years earlier, when he was a young man. The detective is the same, too, of course: Roderick Alleyn of Scotland Yard, one of my favorite detectives. I can feel a Ngaio Marsh binge-reread coming on…

I’m currently reading an ARC Uneasy Lies the Crown, the newest Lady Emily mystery by Tasha Alexander, which just came out.

Listening to: I couldn’t decide on my next audiobook—it’s going to be hard to top The Calculating Stars and The Fated Sky! So I’ve been listening to podcasts, mainly Imaginary Worlds and Writing Excuses.

Watching: More British mysteries this week: the Campion mysteries “Police at the Funeral” and part of “Death of a Ghost” (unfinished because my DVD stopped playing midstream, and I can’t seem to fix it. And it’s out of print, darn it, so I can’t easily replace it.) And an Inspector Alleyn mystery, “Dead Water.” (Yes, based on the Ngaio Marsh series I mentioned above. They adapted 9 of her books for TV, but alas, neither of the mysteries I read this week.)

 

New Additions to the Hoard

Cover links take you to Goodreads.

For Review or Review Consideration

Nothing this week!

Purchased for Kindle

Oathbringer is more for Robin than me. I plan to read the series at some point, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet. I want to reread the Ngaio Marsh; I’ve read the Carola Dunn; and I’ve read other books in the Crombie series, but not this one.

Have a good week, and happy reading!

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21 Responses to “Sunday Post – 11/04/2018”

  1. trin carl

    I’m glad to hear you’re making challenges at least. I’ve been in a rut, maybe it’s all that Halloween candy. I’ve been thinking about Nanowrimo challenge for November but who knows.

  4. Samantha

    I fail 9/10 challenges so you are in good company! I actually was successful with ARCtober but that is the first one I’ve ever been successful with. Hope you have a good week!
    Samantha recently posted…#SundayPost: November!My Profile

  5. Angela

    Hooray for that extra hour! I needed it. Except now it’s going to be dark when I’m driving home from work, so that kinda stinks. We had lots of trick or treaters, too! It was fun.

  8. A Voracious Reader

    It sure didn’t feel like I got an extra hour of sleep. lol But having it dark by dinner time is just bullshit. Gah!

    I used to love challenges, but now they just stress me out, so I only do the Goodreads yearly one. I had it set to 150 books (a small number for me, but life has been challenging lately) and by Oct I realized I wouldn’t make it, so I dropped it to 100. I just finished book 101 and I feel better. I hope you make your goals. {{{posivibes}}}
    A Voracious Reader recently posted…AVR Weekly News ~ 266th EditionMy Profile

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      I know what you mean. I cut back on challenges this year, and I may cut back even further next year. I’m not readjusting my goal yet, but I’ll re-assess in mid-December. I’m OK with saying, “You know what, I’m just not going to make it,” and dropping it down by 10 or 15 books. I’ll be close, at least.

  9. RO

    I always suck at challenges(lol), so kudos to you for getting it done at least a little. That’s the pits about your DVD Player! I’m impressed with the pumpkin by hubby – very cool. Kudos on getting it done with the knitting on the secret project. Can’t wait to see what it is. Hugs…RO

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      Oh, the DVD player is fine; it was the disk itself. DVDs aren’t as long-lasting as we all thought they would be, back when they started overtaking VHS as a medium.

      I probably can’t post the secret project(s) until after Christmas, as I’m not entirely sure who in the family does or doesn’t read my blog. But I’ll try to get photos to post after Christmas.

  10. Northwoman

    Oh you got some good books!

    When I am in a slump, I switch it up slightly in genre and that works wonders. Of course, I read many genres so it is easier for me than it might be for others. I don’t have any solution for reviewing slumps except I do better earlier in the day or when I am not squishing it in at the last minute.

    I hope this week is great – happy reading!
    Northwoman recently posted…Audio: Ethan and the Key by Dennis CanfieldMy Profile

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      I read a lot of genres, too… well, several, anyway. A lot if you count all the subgenres. Fantasy (YA and adult), a little SF, mystery (traditional, historical, and cozy), romance (historical, small-town contemporary, and occasionally fantasy or paranormal), and romantic suspense, plus a smattering of historical and contemporary fiction, middle-grade fiction, and nonfiction. Sometimes just switching genres gets me out of a reading slump, but occasionally I just have trouble getting drawn into anything.

      As for reviewing slumps, maybe I should try the “early in the day” idea. Of course, sometimes it’s just that I have so much actual work to do that I just don’t have the time or energy for review-writing, too! (I freelance, so my schedule fluctates.)

      Thank you for the encouragement — I really appreciate it!

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      Wow! I don’t think we’ve ever been that low; the worst year was around 12. But we’re in a development (without sidewalks) in a county that is a mix of farms, rural residential, and development neighborhoods. Many of the families who don’t live in developments drive their kids into one of the developments to do their trick-or-treating, because it’s both too far and unsafe to walk from house to house along the unlit country roads. So we always have some trick-or-treaters, even though our child and most of our neighbors’ kids have grown up and left home. 🙂

  12. sjhigbee

    I love the pumpkin colours of your yarn – aren’t you clever?? And Mr Bookwyrm isn’t shabby a carving pumpkins, either… As for your reading/reviewing slump, I’m guessing you are tired and/or busy. It’s allll a matter of headspace.

    I hope you have a peaceful, restful week:)