I am linking up to the Sunday Post hosted by Kim of Caffeinated Book Reviewer and The Sunday Salon (TSS) hosted by Deb Nance of Readerbuzz where participants recap our week, talk about what we are reading, share any new books that have come our way, and whatever else we want to talk about. I am also linking It's Monday! What Are you Reading? hosted by Kathryn of Book Date where readers talk about what they have been, are and will be reading.
I am catching up on the laundry as I type this, listening to the occasional flyovers of planes from the airshow nearby. The weather has been very pleasant as of late, low 80F's with a nice breeze.
What have you been up to this weekend and past week?
A person can get a lot of reading in while sitting in the hospital waiting room. My mom had cataract surgery earlier in the week, and I was able to lose myself in The Five Stages of Courting Dalisay Ramos by Melissa de la Cruz during that time. I had taken a couple days off work because of the surgery and my mom's follow-up appointment the next day so was able to fit in quite a bit of reading. The Five Stages of Courting Dalisay was the selection for my Diverse Romance book club, which met this past Thursday. Everyone enjoyed the book and we had a good discussion about different dating and courting traditions in various cultures. We always begin each meeting with a thumb up, down, or middle along with a one word description. I admit I am not the most creative in picking one word, but I felt "romantic" summed it up well, not only about the book as a whole, but also about the Filipino tradition of the five stages of courting.
This past week I also finished reading my daughter's recommended pick for me, a middle grade paranormal contemporary novel, The Girl with the Silver Eyes by Willo Davis Roberts. It is one of her favorite books that she had read a couple or so years ago. I can definitely see why. I liked it too! It is one of those books I (and Mouse) wish had a sequel.
Last night I finished Steel's Edge, the fourth book in the Edge series by Ilona Andrews. Richard hadn't been my favorite character in the previous two books, but I really came to like him in this one. And I adored Charlotte. I think she's my favorite heroine among all of them in the four books.
During the week, I also fit in the audiobook Against the Loveless World, written and narrated by Susan Abulhawa. I have a print copy but wasn't sure I would be able to read it in time for tomorrow's book club meeting, so decided to listen to the audiobook instead. It isn't an easy read, given everything Nahr goes through. The author spares no details. It was a heartbreaking novel about a Palestinian woman as she slowly becomes radicalized due to her life experiences and search for a better life for her family. I look forward to the book club discussion.
I currently am reading three books. I am continuing to follow along with my daughter's Language Arts class reading of The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. I am also reading two more of April's book club reads: Gideon the Ninth (The Locked Tomb #1) by Tamsyn Muir for the Science Fiction/Fantasy book club, and All Good People Here by Ashley Flowers for the Mystery book club. I am a little skeptical I will get them both read in time, but I will do my best.
What are you reading right now?
Thank you to everyone who voted in this month's TBR List Poll! I have been unable to pin down exactly what I am in the mood to read this month, and so book club picks and the TBR poll are proving to be especially helpful right now. All of the books I choose for the monthly polls are books I have on hand that I want to read, and these three are no different.
Thank you again to everyone for voting in this month's TBR List poll!
What are you reading next?
Following in the footsteps of Deb of Readerbuzz, who shares three good things in her Sunday Salon posts, I thought I would try to do the same. With all the worries and stressors in life, I want to highlight some of the good, even the seemingly small stuff.
1. My mom's surgery went well!
2. It's been nice enough in the evenings to open the windows for a little while before I go to sleep, and I have been enjoying the scent of the orange blossoms from the nearby orange groves.
3. I had forgotten how good a Strawberry Banana Julius is from Dairy Queen until I had one last weekend. Yum!
I hope you have a great week! Let me know what you have been reading!
Dairy Queen is a sign of spring here — ours is very small with two outdoor windows where people line up, so it’s closed from October into spring. The owners winter in Florida. So your new DQ treat makes me think it’s time to go there.
ReplyDeletebest… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Mae - Dairy Queen is open year round here, but winters here are very mild compared to what you are used it. Dairy Queen is one of our family favorites for a cold dessert. Thank you for visiting!
DeleteHow lovely that you have had such great temperatures. I have been home for 2 weeks and it has gone from mid 20s, some snow and a couple days in the 60s. I just want spring. I'm happy to hear your mom's cataract surgery went well. It looks like you have had some good reading blocks of time, Wendy. I hope this week goes just as well.
ReplyDeleteCarla - That's quite a shift in the weather! I hope spring comes your way soon. I turn to reading more often than not these days when I have some down time. I hope you have a good week. Thank you for stopping by!
DeleteI am so glad your mom's surgery was a success! That must be such a relief. Funny you should mention having the windows open as I did just the same thing over the past two days. It finally felt like the time was right.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear that your mum's surgery went well! Also well done on the reading part and tackling the laundry haha i too must do this but im avoiding it like the plague because i have to put the dry clothes away first 😆 i did recently read the Wooing the witch queen on audiobook and it was a 3.5 stars for me... hope you enjoy your next pick and have a great day ahead of you 😊
ReplyDeleteSo glad your mom's surgery went well! Cataract surgery can be so impactful, too.
ReplyDeleteI really haaaave to get round to reading Gideon the Ninth one of these days...
Sounds like you did have a good reading week. Glad your mother's surgery went well and hope her recovery is easy. I'll be looking for what you think about the Lula Dean book. I keep meaning to pick it up, but think I'll need to be in the right mood. The book banning thing tends to get me a little (or more than a little) irritated and then that carries over into other things. I've been reading a nice women's fiction book the last few days and it has suited me well. Happy endings, you know?
ReplyDeleteI can see (or not-see) that cataract surgery is in my near future. I'm glad your mom's surgery went well. I like the way your book group uses a few traditions, like the thumbs-up/thumbs-down and one-word description. I will share those with people who lead our book club discussions. I wonder how young people regard The Outsiders.
ReplyDeleteMy husband had great results from his cataract surgeries, I hope your mom does, too.
ReplyDeleteAgainst the Loveless World feels ripped from the headlines. I'm interested in how the discussion goes, too.