Sunday Post: June Wrap Up & July TBR Poll

The Sunday Post is hosted by the wonderful Kimba, the Caffeinated Book Reviewer, and gives us all a chance to 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. 

Happy July! It promises to be a busy month for us. This first week will be relatively calm at least. My mom will be in town for a week or so after that and my husband and I will be celebrating our 18th wedding anniversary.  Mouse will be transitioning from her current daycare into a new one later in the month. It's a toss up who is more anxious: my daughter or me.

Also coming up is my 10th blogging anniversary (July 23rd). I do not have anything big planned, just a change here and there. On the last Monday of each month, I would like to add a retrospective feature where I highlight what I was blogging about 10 years before. I was inspired by Kay from Kay's Reading Life's Bookish Nostalgia and Stacy of Stacy's Books' A Look Back features, and hope you will enjoy a visit into the past with me each month. In addition, I am making Mouse's Corner a monthly feature on my blog. Mouse's Corner is where I highlight what my daughter, Mouse, is reading or up to. Up until now, the feature has been rather sporadic.

Perhaps you have noticed my new header. I'm so excited about it! It was a blog anniversary present to myself. It was hard enough waiting for July to unveil my new look that I decided I couldn't wait until my actual blog anniversary. I enlisted the services of Michelle Albanese Parsons of Limabean Designs and Because Reading is better than Real Life to design my new header. She was extremely patient with me and always professional and friendly. I am so pleased with her work. She also created a blog button for me--my first one. It only took nearly 10 years. My husband had a hand at helping me with some of the other new features you see on my blog. I owe both him and Michelle a big thank you for all their hard work.

What are you all up to this weekend? Any Fourth of July plans if you're American? I would love to know what all of you are up to, have been reading, listening to or watching this past week!

New to the Shelves: I recently won a book in a giveaway hosted by Kathy of BermudaOnion, and it arrived in the mail Saturday morning. There's something to be said for bookish mail! The book is called Vanishing Time by Katherine Britton. It sounds really good!

What I Am Reading: June was not quite the reading month I hoped it would turn into, but I am pleased with what I did read, even if not the quantity. It was a nice mix of books. I didn't manage to finish my June TBR List book, The Magician's Lie by Greer MacAllister, before the 1st of July, but I was able to finish it this weekend.

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (Fantasy)
Under An Adirondack Sky by Karen Rock (Contemporary Romance)
The Hummingbird by Stephen P. Kiernan (Fiction)
Grace Without God by Katherine Ozment (Nonfiction)

Of those four, my favorite was Stephen P. Kiernan's The Hummingbird, which I will be reviewing the week after this. Grace Without God was a step outside my comfort zone--if only because sharing anything about my own faith so publicly makes me feel a bit anxious. It was a worthwhile read though, and I am glad I took a chance on it.

I am now reading The American Girl by Kate Horsley and The Fireman by Joe Hill, both of which are quite engrossing and competing for my attention.


What I am Listening to:  This past week I started a new audiobook, this one by Ruth Ware called In a Dark, Dark Wood, narrated by Imogen Church. I am over halfway through it and listening any chance I get. It's quite good. Have you listened to any good audiobooks recently?

What I Am Watching: I finally took time out to watch the Netflix movie Beasts of No Nation based on one of my favorite books by Uzodinma Iweala. It was disturbing and heartbreaking just as the book was. I thought it was very well done. The boy who played Agu, Abraham Attah, did an amazing job, as did Idris Elba. I also have watched several episodes of the first season of Zoo, a CBS production based on a James Patterson novel with the same title. It's gotten mixed reviews, but I am enjoying it. More in line with family fare, we watched Labyrinth, Maleficent and Wreck-It Ralph recently. My husband and I had seen Labyrinth and Maleficent before but they were new to Mouse. Wreck-It Ralph was new to all of us--and quite adorable. Have you seen any of these? If so, what did you think?

What's Going On Off the Blog: Mouse is being treated for conjunctivitis at the moment. She and I spent Friday watching movies, stringing beads, reading books, drawing and building a blanket fort. Her eye is looking a lot better. She's been very brave about the eye drops, with minimal protesting. Luckily there was no swim class this past Friday, and so we didn't have to skip it.

As for me, I went in for some blood work the week before last. It was a mix of good and bad news. It was not completely unexpected, but still very disappointing. Work is work. The new Assistant Director is visiting this week and everyone wants to make a good impression. Otherwise, there is really nothing new to report.

Gracie and Snoopy

The Past Two Weeks In Reading Mews:

• Bookish Thoughts: Stone Guardian by Danielle Monsch
• Where Is Your Bookmark? (The Magician's Lie and My Top 4 Reads so Far This Year)
• Bookish Thoughts: The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith
• Mouse's Corner: Learning to Read
• Where Is Your Bookmark? (The American Girl and My Husband's Top Ten Books)
• Bookish Thoughts: Grace Without God by Katherine Ozment

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Help me decide what book from my TBR collection I should read next:

My TBR List is a meme hosted by the awesome Michelle at Because Reading. It’s a fun way to choose a book from your TBR pile to read. The 1st Sunday of every month, I will list 3 books I am considering reading and take a poll as to which you think I should read. I will read the winner that month, and my review will follow. While I will attempt to post my review that same month, I make no promises--it may go up the following month. 

I have been craving a little romance in my reading as of late and these three titles jumped out at me. All three are cross-genre novels, mystery and romance combined. The difference is one is contemporary, another historical and one paranormal. Which one do you think I should read?

Kill Without Mercy (ARES Security #1) by Alexandra Ivy ~ A Special Ops agent taking care of family matters before heading back to work didn't expect to get mixed up with a woman with dark past who is on the run from a serial killer.

Code Black (Paranormal Crimes Division #1) by Tina Moss ~ An ambitious reporter hiding her own supernatural ability finds herself in deep trouble as she unearths information on a series of paranormal murders, and turns to a special agent shifter for help.

'Til Death Do Us Part by Amanda Quick ~ In Victorian London, the owner of an exclusive "introduction" agency and a reclusive crime fiction writer team up to track down and stop a stalker.

Have you read any of these? If so, what did you think? Be sure and vote!

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© 2016, Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.