Weekend Mews (09/23/2017)

I am linking up to the Sunday Post hosted by the wonderful Kim of Caffeinated Book Reviewer, 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. As well as Stacking the Shelves hosted by the great Team Tynga's Reviews and Marlene of Reading Reality a meme in which participants share what new books came their way recently.

Happy autumn! It is now officially fall. My daughter was getting out the car the other day, and I suggested we go leaf stomping as there were some brown leaves scattered on our driveway. She took great pleasure in turning them into dust, hearing them crunch beneath her feet. Most of our trees' leaves are still green. Another sign of fall came by way of my needing to cover up at night these last couple of nights. I noticed the neighbors one street over have hooked up their Halloween lights (Christmas lights, but for Halloween) and the dance studio Mouse takes classes was decorated with ghosts, and spiders and jack-lanterns this week. Soon we will be planning our trip to the pumpkin patch, I imagine. 

What are you up to this weekend? Mouse had an early morning soccer game today (another win for their team-yay!). As is becoming our tradition this soccer season, we followed it up with breakfast out. Then it was off to the library. We have settled in for the afternoon. Mouse and I made a blanket fort, which she said turned out pretty awesome. But only one person can fit in it at a time. A small person at that. We also did a little science project. Now we are trying to decide what to do about dinner. I voted for ice cream, but I do not think my husband and daughter will go for that. Well, maybe my daughter will . . .

Thank you to everyone for their kind thoughts and well wishes for my senior cat, Parker. He is scheduled for an ultrasound this coming week. The fur on his belly has just barely grown back after the last one. Poor little guy.

New to My Shelves (book covers are linked to Goodreads page for each book, with the exception of the library books): 

Thanks to Alicia of A Kernel of Nonsense, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli finally made it off my wish list and onto my TBR pile. I am looking forward to finally reading this one!

I am very picky about which books I select to read for Penguin's First to Read program because I am not a fan of reading books in PDF format. Occasionally, a book is offered though that I just cannot resist. Death in the Stacks by Jenn McKinlay is one such book.  Although I haven't read any of the other books in the series, cozy mysteries tend to be suitable for stand alone reading, and so I'm going to give the series a try with this one. 

I was slow about getting around to choosing my Kindle First book for September. I went with Teresa Driscoll's I Am Watching You. It feels like it's been a while since I lost myself in a good thriller, and the premise of this one appealed to me.

Little Britches and the Rattlers by Eric A. Kimmel, illustrated by Vincent Nguyen
The Magic School Bus: Comes to Its Senses by by Kristin Earhart, illustrated by Carolyn Bracken, created by Joanna Cole
Jane vs. the Took Fairy by Betsy Jay, illustrated by Lori Osiecki
Frozen Fever: Anna's Birthday Secret adapted by Jessica Julius
Clark the Shark by Bruce Hale, illustrated by Guy Francis
Rulers of the Playground by Joseph Kuefler

What I Am Reading: I am a good way into The Fire by Night by Teresa Messineo. Set in World War II, the novel is about two nurses stationed on different fronts of the war, one in Europe and the other in the Pacific. I suspected I might like the book given my attraction to WWII fiction, but I find I am enjoying it even more than expected. I plan to finish it soon, and then dive back into Brad Watson's Miss Jane. I seem to have let that one fall by the wayside this month somehow.

What I Am Listening To: My cat, Gracie, purring on my lap as I type this.

What I am Watching: The Magic School Bus. Oh, and I took Katherine of I Wish I Lived in a Library up on her recommendation to see a Hallmark Aurora Teagarden movie, Real Murders. I thought it was a lot of fun.

What My Week Was Like: It was a typical week in the Literary Feline household. I found myself with a little extra reading time a couple times this week, which was nice. Homework went a little more smoothly this week--we're starting to find our groove. This school year, Mouse is much more talkative about her school days, which is nice. I get more than an "I don't remember" out of her when I ask her questions about it.

It was a rough week at work. The kind of days that make me come home and hug my daughter close and thank my lucky stars.

We got a flyer about the upcoming Holiday Showcase for Mouse's dance studio. It only took a couple hours for my eyes to return to their sockets after bulging out at the cost of the costume.

What I Am Worried About: I am still worried about Parker. And with another earthquake hitting Mexico (my prayers go out to those impacted), I am making more of an effort to make sure we are prepared in case we get one here. The last big one I went through was the Northridge Earthquake in 1994. I have felt several more since then, of course, but none of those have caused that much damage.

What I am Grateful For: This beautiful day and being able to spend it with my family. Oh, and also to Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches.

This Week In Reading Mews:

• Mouse's Corner: Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell & David Catrow & The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires
• Where Is Your Bookmark? (Owl and the Japanese Circus & the Top Ten Books on My Fall TBR List)
• Wishing For Wednesday: Where I Go Book Crazy Again
• Bookish Thoughts: I Want My Epidural Back by Karen Alpert
• Friday Fun: Good Food, Banned/Challenged Books & Authors I'd Like to Meet--or Not

Around the Blogosphere:

• Amber of The Literary Phoenix wrote a great post about Banned Books, just in time for Banned Book Week - Why Books are Banned & Other Injustices to Free Speech
• Discussion Post: The Struggles of Blog Commenting and Why We Should Do It Anyway - Suzanne of The Bookish Libra hosts an open discussion about blog commenting.
• Katherine of I Wish I Lived in a Library brings up an issue we all likely run into on occasion: Ramblings from the Stacks - Knowledge Gaps 
• A Novel Change is a one stop blog to find out what reading challenges are taking place around the book blog community. The only problem is that it takes help from all of us to let them know about those reading challenges and events. If you are planning to host a challenge or event, be sure and stop by A Novel Challenge and let them know. They'd be happy to advertise for you. -  Seasons Change 

Tell me about what you have been up to! What are you reading, listening to and watching? How was your week? Do you have anything planned for this coming week?

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© 2017, 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.