Sunday Mews: Wrapping Up October & My November TBR List Poll

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. I am also linking to 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. I am linking up to Nicole of Feed Your Addiction's Monthly Wrap-Up Post, where any book bloggers who write monthly wrap-up posts can link up and visit other bloggers to see what they have been reading.  

October was over in a blink. I feel like the month was just starting, and then it was Halloween. November is already looking like it will follow a similar path. The trimester is coming to an end, and Mouse has a five day weekend coming up, what with teacher conferences and Veteran's Day. Then the week after that, she is off for Thanksgiving break. I still have not heard whether I am approved for time off  that week (fingers crossed!), and so there may be some last minute running around to arrange for child care. My mother-in-law is scheduled to have triple bypass surgery on the 13th of November, and my mom will be driving down for a brief visit at the end of the month for my great aunt's 90th birthday celebration. Mouse's Nutcracker rehearsals have kicked into high gear with just over a month before performance time, and Girl Scouts is keeping us busy as well. I think Mouse might be coming down with a cold-although I'm hoping it is just allergies. None of us can afford to get sick any time soon.

New to My Shelves: 

Ghost of a Chance (Chintz 'n China, #1) by Yasmine Galenorn

Hex Marks the Spot (Drop Dead Witchy, #1) by Ani Gonzalez

Daughters of the Lake by Wendy Webb

Fan the Flames (Search & Rescue, #2) by Katie Ruggle

What I Am Reading: I am about half way through The Secret Language of Cats: How to Understand Your Cat for a Better, Happier Relationship by Susanne Schötz. (My cats are probably wondering why I am following them around all the time now encouraging them to "talk.")

What I Am Watching: I finally listened to Greg of Book Haven and began watching Riverdale. I am in the middle of the second season, I believe. I am enjoying to so far, although it has certainly taken some twists I did not see coming. I also started Chilling Adventures of Sabrina on Netflix, and am loving it. I mean, witches. That says it all, doesn't it?

Several of us from the dance studio will be going to see The Nutcracker and the Four Realms this weekend. Have any of you seen it yet? What did you think?

Off the Blog: As I mentioned above, October went by so fast.  Mouse and I spend a lot of time at the dance studio, between dance classes and rehearsals. We have had a few Girl Scout events scattered in here and there as well. Work has been crazy busy as it often is this time of year. On top of my regular work, I am in charge of putting together the Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year holiday schedules for our 24 hour operation, which means making time to figure out the logistics of making sure there is enough staff coverage to let as many employees possible get the time off they would like around those dates. Thank goodness for flexible staff willing to make comprises!

We stretched out Halloween for about a week. We did manage to make it to the pumpkin patch, although it was a close call what with everything else we had going on. Since the dance studio allowed the dancers to dress up for a week before Halloween, Mouse was able to put some of her old costumes to use. She and I attended her Fall Festival event at the school, which was a lot of fun. We did go trick-or-treating Halloween night. Although our small street does not really get into it, the next streets over go all out. People were out in their driveways with fires going as they passed out candy to the passersby. It was quite crowded as it always is, but everyone seems to enjoy themselves.

Here is what I finished reading in October:

• The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
• The Witch Doesn't Burn In This One by Amanda Lovelace
• The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel by Alyssa Palombo
• Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews

It was another slow reading month for me. I have pretty much accepted the fact that the rest of the year will follow a similar pattern, especially if I am to finish my two biggest reads of the year, Tolstoy's War and Peace and Hugo's Les Misérables. I finished October on a high note with both, being all caught up with the read-along schedules. This past month, both books saw the death of significant characters. Another one is coming soon in Les Misérables, and I am dreading it. I hope I am in a safe place when I get to that moment.

Magic Slays was by far my favorite book read this past month--it was so nice to jump back into the Kate Daniel's series again. I did enjoy my other reading as well. I wanted to re-visit The Legend of Sleepy Hollow before diving into Palombo's novel and am glad I did.  I knew some of the complaints about The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel going in, and actually wasn't bothered by them. The second half of the book was definitely better than the first. While I think The Witch Doesn't Burn In This One will not be to everyone's taste because of the subject matter, I found it to be a very powerful  collection of poetry and am so glad to have read it. I think Lovelace's voice is one that echoes that of many women in the United States today.

This Past October In Reading Mews:

• Mini Bookish Thoughts: The Good Luck Sister by Jill Shalvis/Alchemy by Marie S. Crosswell/The Risk of Rogues by Sabrina Jeffries
• Waiting to Read Wednesday (#17)
• Six Degrees of Separation: From The Outsiders to White Oleander
• Sunday Mews: Wrapping Up September & My October TBR List Poll
• Bookish Thoughts: Impossible Girl by Lydia Kang
• Top Ten Tuesday: Longest Books I’ve Ever Read
• Waiting to Read Wednesday (#18)
• My October TBR List Poll Winner
• Bookish Thoughts: The Diving Pool by Yōko Ogawa
• Waiting to Read Wednesday (#19)
• Mouse's Corner, Sunday Edition: OC Children's Book Festival
• Bookish Thoughts: Jennifer David Hesse's Midsummer Night's Mischief/Bell, Book & Candlemas/Yuletide Homicide
• Waiting to Read Wednesday (#20)
• Where Is Your Bookmark? (A Peek Into Magic Slays & and Halloween Bookish Fun)
• Poetry Corner: The Witch Doesn't Burn In This One by Amanda Lovelace
• Bookish Thoughts: Samhain Secrets by Jennifer David Hesse
• Waiting to Read Wednesday (#21)

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

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Thank you for helping 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 (unfortunately, not likely in the same month, but eventually--that's all I can promise). 

I am in the mood for something Christmas-y. It is long over do. Here are my top three choices, and I could really use your help in deciding what to read next. Which sounds the best to you?

Murder in Her Stocking by G.A. McKevett ~ Hair certainly was bigger in the '80's. Even mine.  Sounds like trouble found its way to McGill, including murder. This sounds like it will be entertaining.

As the Moonlight Magnolia Agency revisits old memories on Christmas Eve, Granny Reid takes the reins back thirty years to the 1980s--back when she went by Stella, everyone's hair was bigger, and sweaters were colorful disasters. But murder never went out of style . . .

Christmas has arrived in sleepy McGill, Georgia, but holiday cheer can't keep temperamental Stella Reid from swinging a rolling pin at anyone who crosses her bad side--and this season, there are plenty. First an anonymous grinch vandalizes a celebrated nativity display. Far worse, the scandalous Prissy Carr is found dead in an alley behind a tavern. With police puzzled over the murder, Stella decides to stir the local gossip pot for clues on the culprit's identity . . .

Turns out Prissy held a prominent spot on the naughty list, and suspects pile up like presents on Christmas morning. Unfortunately, the more progress Stella makes, the more fears she must confront. With a neighbor in peril and the futures of her beloved grandchildren at risk, Stella must somehow set everything straight and bring a cunning criminal to justice before December 25th . . . [Goodreads Summary]

A Coldwater Warm Hearts Christmas by Lexi Eddings ~  I cannot resist a bookworm heroine.  I love a good holiday romance, and this one sounds like it will be fun.

It’s hard to be the new girl in town, especially around the holidays. But when the town is Coldwater Cove, Oklahoma, there are plenty of folks willing to welcome you—and lovingly meddle in your life . . .

High school English teacher Angie Holloway has been in this little Ozark hamlet for a few years, but she still feels like an outsider. And with no family of her own and single to boot, she’s rusty when it comes to opening her heart. Nevertheless, she’s been drafted to direct the annual Christmas pageant—whether she likes it or not. As for her assistant, that job’s been handed to Seth Parker. He may be smoking hot, but the brawny construction engineer is definitely not her type. After all, she loves literature, he “reads” blueprints . . .

While Angie tries to put a new spin on the show, and Seth tries to tolerate her correcting his grammar, they both resist the locals who insist on pushing them together. But when Seth finds her copy of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility—marked up with her revealing comments—he can’t resist trying to romance her using his newfound knowledge. And Angie is surprised to find that this big, handsome lug can read her like a storybook hero . . . [Goodreads Summary]

Bells, Spells, and Murder by Carol J. Perry ~ A little murder around the holidays, psychic visions, and cat as a sidekick makes this a tempting choice!

Someone’s spreading deadly holiday cheer through Salem, Mass . . .

Lee Barrett has landed her dream job at Salem’s WICH-TV. As the new field reporter, she’ll be covering events live as they’re unfolding. Next on her holiday checklist is an interview with the beloved chairman of a popular walking tour through Salem’s historic districts. But it may be his ghost walking this snowy Noel season after Lee finds him murdered in his stately offices, bloody Santa hat askew.

With her police detective boyfriend working the case and a witch’s brew of suspects—including some bell-ringing Santas—Lee chases down leads aided and abetted by her wise cat O’Ryan and some unsettling psychic visions of her own. When a revealing clue leads to another dead body, not even a monster blizzard can stop Lee from inching closer to the truth . . . and a scoop that could spell her own demise this killer Christmas. [Goodreads Summary]

Thank you for voting! I hope you all have a wonderful week! Happy Reading!

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