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 The Sunday Salon hosted by the amazing Deb Nance of Readerbuzz where participants discuss what they are reading and other bookish topics. In addition, I am 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 Kathryn of The Book Date, It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? where readers share what they have been reading throughout the week.
Work has taken a lot out of me as of late. I was recently asked if I want to formally step into my boss's shoes while she is in her temporary assignment with another part of the agency. Right now I am just acting as her in-charge (there are two of us since we are a 24/7 operation) while still doing my regular duties, which is a lot in and of itself. Despite the pressure from my own manager and another colleague that I would be great in the role, I ultimately said no. It was not a decision I made lightly. While I do not regret my decision, it comes with some guilt of letting my colleagues down and opening the door for more uncertainty within my office. I will not go into my reasons here--they are multifold--but I do feel I made the right decision for me at this time.
Between work and Mouse's school and extracurricular activities, May was, as expected, a busy month. The director/choreographer of the summer musical Mouse is in stepped down rather suddenly and everyone at the dance studio has been scrambling to fill in and hold things together. The show will go on, as they say. This month's rehearsal schedule is much more intense as we get closer to the show date. The Girl Scout season is wrapping up for the season. We are attending a troop barbecue this weekend. Early in May, Mouse attended her first overnight Girl Scout event, and had a lot of fun.
My mom was able to spend a week with us this past month (her first big trip since her surgery) and attended Mouse's school play, in which Mouse was a butterfly. All the kids did a great job, as did the teachers. May also brought us the last day of school and the first day of summer break. How is that possible?!
My reading and blogging have been far from consistent recently. I am behind in my review writing and posting, and have fallen way behind in responding to comments and visiting all your blogs. I am so grateful to all of you who have stuck with me even so. This summer I have decided to do something a little bit different. My Waiting to Read posts are scheduled out already, and so I will continue to publish those as they come up. My weekend post will be my main post, however, in which I share mini reviews and/or talk about what I am reading. My plans for a regular Poetry Corner and Short Story day, are being shelved for the time being. Right now I just want to focus on what I can manage more easily. And who knows, maybe I can work those topics into my weekend posts still! An idea is forming already . . .
We watched the 20th annual West Coast Thunder parade on Memorial Day as 5,000+ motorcycles drove through the city, including our neighborhood, in honor of those who lost their lives in service to the country.
May brought us much rain, but that did not stop my mom and Mouse from having a little fun in between the rain drops.
Mouse's Girl Scout Troop had their very own charity run for a local homeless shelter in May. The girls did an amazing job, earning over $1,200.
A friend and I attended Paint and Seed night Friday night, and this is my masterpiece (it's okay to laugh--I am not a gifted finger painter). It was a lot of fun, and I came home with not only my painting, but a Panda Plant as well!
Between work and Mouse's school and extracurricular activities, May was, as expected, a busy month. The director/choreographer of the summer musical Mouse is in stepped down rather suddenly and everyone at the dance studio has been scrambling to fill in and hold things together. The show will go on, as they say. This month's rehearsal schedule is much more intense as we get closer to the show date. The Girl Scout season is wrapping up for the season. We are attending a troop barbecue this weekend. Early in May, Mouse attended her first overnight Girl Scout event, and had a lot of fun.
My mom was able to spend a week with us this past month (her first big trip since her surgery) and attended Mouse's school play, in which Mouse was a butterfly. All the kids did a great job, as did the teachers. May also brought us the last day of school and the first day of summer break. How is that possible?!
My reading and blogging have been far from consistent recently. I am behind in my review writing and posting, and have fallen way behind in responding to comments and visiting all your blogs. I am so grateful to all of you who have stuck with me even so. This summer I have decided to do something a little bit different. My Waiting to Read posts are scheduled out already, and so I will continue to publish those as they come up. My weekend post will be my main post, however, in which I share mini reviews and/or talk about what I am reading. My plans for a regular Poetry Corner and Short Story day, are being shelved for the time being. Right now I just want to focus on what I can manage more easily. And who knows, maybe I can work those topics into my weekend posts still! An idea is forming already . . .
We watched the 20th annual West Coast Thunder parade on Memorial Day as 5,000+ motorcycles drove through the city, including our neighborhood, in honor of those who lost their lives in service to the country.
May brought us much rain, but that did not stop my mom and Mouse from having a little fun in between the rain drops.
Mouse's Girl Scout Troop had their very own charity run for a local homeless shelter in May. The girls did an amazing job, earning over $1,200.
"Please play with me."
Nap time
New to My Shelves:
Nothing new in May.
What I Am Reading: I just finished reading Juliae Kagawa's The Shadow of the Fox, my May TBR List winner. It was a good choice, and I enjoyed reading it. I am leaning towards picking up Melonie Johnson's Smitten by the Brit next.
What I Am Listening To: I am actually listening to an audiobook! It's been so long since my last one. I needed a break from the constant chatter in my head one day and started up Warcross by Marie Lu. I do not get a chance to listen to it often, but when I do, I am really enjoying it! I still remember when it was all the rage and everyone was talking about it.
What I Am Watching: I have recently watched far too much Haunted House and Wakfu. I am less a fan of the latter, but really enjoy Haunted House, which is a Korean cartoon series about a girl and her friends who live in a haunted apartment building. They catch ghosts. I believe Wakfu is French. Both are on Netflix. I have not been watching too much grown up television, I am afraid. And I probably won't be for the next three months. I am hoping to catch Aladdin in the theater sometime soon.
This Past May In Reading Mews:
- Where Is Your Bookmark? (A Peek Into How We Disappeared)
- Sunday Mews: Happy May! (Spring Roses & Dragons)
- Bookish Thoughts: Stars Uncharted by S.K. Dunstall
- Waiting to Read Wednesday: Time Travel, Family Secrets, Romance, & A Little Bit of Magic
- Where Is Your Bookmark? (A Peek Into Unraveling by Karen Lord)
- Sunday Post: May's TBR List Winner
- Bookish Thoughts: Nightchaser by Amanda Bouchet
- Waiting to Read Wednesday: Discount Armageddon, Rebel, Murder in Kew Gardens, & The Woman in the White Kimono
- Bookish Thoughts: How We Disappeared by Jing-Jing Lee
- Waiting to Read Wednesday: Crime and Poetry, The Affair of the Mysterious Letter, The Stationery Shop, & The Lemon Sisters
- Waiting to Read Wednesday: Dear Martin, The Girl In Red, One Night at the Lake, & The Orphan's Song
Tell me what you have been up to! What are you reading, listening to and watching? How was your May? Do you have anything planned for this month?
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Every Friday Coffee Addicted Writer from Coffee Addicted Writer poses a question which participants respond on their own blogs within the week (Friday through Thursday). They then share their links at the main site and visit other participants blogs.
Do you read books over 400 pages? (submitted by Elizabeth @Silver's Reviews)
Yes, I do! Though I know the size of a book can sometimes be intimidating, depending on the book. A four hundred page book isn't one that will give me pause. Six hundred or more might if it's a classic or a book I know will be a slower read. But, again, it depends on the book. If the book sweeps me off my feet, I am not likely to notice the size of it as I read. And really, isn't that the true sign of a good book, when we get so lost in the pages that we do not notice time passing or how much farther we have to go until the end? And frankly, sometimes the shortest of stories can seem forever long if I am not enjoying them.
Ultimately, I try not to let size dictate whether I will read a book or not. Some of my all time favorite books fall in the chunkster category: The Way the Crow Flies by Ann-Marie MacDonald, Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, and Victor Hugo's Les Misérables, for example. Unfortunately, it is easier as a book blogger to be drawn to shorter book because of the time constraints (whether self-imposed or otherwise) in reading and reviewing a book.
What about you? Do you find yourself avoiding books over a certain page count?
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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 Saturday 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).
A recent Waiting to Read post reminded me how much I want to read more by Seanan McGuire. It just so happens I have these three books sitting on my kindle waiting their turn. Which one should I pick up first?
October "Toby" Daye, a changeling who is half human and half fae, has been an outsider from birth. After getting burned by both sides of her heritage, Toby has denied the Faerie world, retreating to a "normal" life. Unfortunately for her, the Faerie world has other ideas...
The murder of Countess Evening Winterrose pulls Toby back into the fae world. Unable to resist Evening-s dying curse, which binds her to investigate, Toby must resume her former position as knight errant and renew old alliances. As she steps back into fae society, dealing with a cast of characters not entirely good or evil, she realizes that more than her own life will be forfeited if she cannot find Evening's killer. [Goodreads Summary]
Cryptid, noun: Any creature whose existence has not yet been proven by science. See also "Monster."
Crytozoologist, noun: Any person who thinks hunting for cryptids is a good idea. See also "idiot."
Ghoulies. Ghosties. Long-legged beasties. Things that go bump in the night...
The Price family has spent generations studying the monsters of the world, working to protect them from humanity—and humanity from them.
Enter Verity Price. Despite being trained from birth as a cryptozoologist, she'd rather dance a tango than tangle with a demon, and is spending a year in Manhattan while she pursues her career in professional ballroom dance. Sounds pretty simple, right?
It would be, if it weren't for the talking mice, the telepathic mathematicians, the asbestos supermodels, and the trained monster-hunter sent by the Price family's old enemies, the Covenant of St. George. When a Price girl meets a Covenant boy, high stakes, high heels, and a lot of collateral damage are almost guaranteed.
To complicate matters further, local cryptids are disappearing, strange lizard-men are appearing in the sewers, and someone's spreading rumors about a dragon sleeping underneath the city... [Goodreads Summary]
Meet Roger. Skilled with words, languages come easily to him. He instinctively understands how the world works through the power of story.
Meet Dodger, his twin. Numbers are her world, her obsession, her everything. All she understands, she does so through the power of math.
Roger and Dodger aren’t exactly human, though they don’t realise it. They aren’t exactly gods, either. Not entirely. Not yet.
Meet Reed, skilled in the alchemical arts like his progenitor before him. Reed created Dodger and her brother. He’s not their father. Not quite. But he has a plan: to raise the twins to the highest power, to ascend with them and claim their authority as his own.
Godhood is attainable. Pray it isn’t attained. [Goodreads Summary]
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Love your sleeping kitty! :)
ReplyDeleteLark - Sleeping kitties are so adorable. :-)
DeleteSometimes you have to make a tough decision like that and only you know what's best for you- sounds like you made the right call for you!
ReplyDeleteLove the cat pics. :)
I voted for Rosemary and Rue. I've read Discount Armageddon and liked it, but the Toby Daye series sounds all kinds of fun. :)
Greg - Thank you. It would have been a great opportunity if I aspired to move up in management, but I have no desire to do so at this point. Especially not right now.
DeleteUnfortunately my cats are not very cooperative when it comes to photographing them, but sometimes I get lucky. :-)
Thank you for voting and visiting!
Wow it sounds like May was a crazy busy month for you! The Memorial Day Parade sounds like fun, as does the paint. night. I've been wanting to do a paint night! Your sunflower turned out pretty :). Hopefully June slows down, so you can relax, and read and blog as much as you'd like. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteLindy@ A Bookish Escape
Lindy - The parade was fun to see. All those motorcycles in one place! This was my first paint night, and I really enjoyed it. I was nervous leading up to it, not being much of an artist, but it was fun. I hope you have a great week too! Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteWell done on making the right decision for you rather than doing what everyone else wanted. That can be super hard.
ReplyDeleteYour May seemed lovely but very busy. :)
Nicci - Thank you! Saying no isn't always easy for me, but this just didn't feel right to take on without being fully invested in doing so. Thank you for visiting!
DeleteThat sounds like a great month. And your fingerprint looks pretty! I hope you have a great week ahead.
ReplyDeleteGayathri @ Elgee Writes
Gayathri - Thank you! I hope you have a great week too!
DeleteAww the cat pictures are adorable.
ReplyDeleteThe parade sounds like it was blast!
Let's hope June calms down a little.
have a great week!
Genesis @ Whispering Chapters
Genesis - Thank you! I hope June will be calmer as well. Especially where work is concerned. I hope you have a great week too!
DeleteSometimes taking on more work can be too much. I knew that I just couldn't teach and take care of my own children; I knew that I'd have to sacrifice one of them, and I didn't want to do that. So I stepped away from teaching for some years. It was still there waiting for me when I was ready to come back.
ReplyDeleteI love the colors in your sunflower painting. I haven't done any art lately. I miss it.
I think you have a great plan for your blog. That's the nice thing about a blog; a blog is flexible. It's completely up to you what you want to do with it.
I feel like your cat today (your sleepy kitty). I'm going to have to take a nap today, I'm afraid. It has been an exhausting weekend.
Deb - My mom mentioned the same thing when I was talking to her about my not wanting the promotion. She was a teacher and stopped teaching to raise my brother and me. She got back into it when we were a bit older. It would have been nice to have the extra money, but the time it would take away from my family would not make up for it, I don't think. That was a part of my reasoning for not accepting it. There were other factors as well, but that was the big one.
DeleteThank you! I do better with creating art with words than painting or drawing by far, but I was pleased with how it came out. I loved that the instructor had us using our fingers.
Thank you too for your encouragement and support! I do like that there is flexibility in blogging. I learned long ago there are no hard and fast rules--I can make them up as I go along and change them when I feel like it. :-)
I hope your nap is restful! I am trying to decide how much I want to go to the store today . . . Thank you for stopping by!
Your painting is so pretty! Glad to hear that your mom is doing well after her surgery(:
ReplyDeleteEustacia - Thank you! It turned out much better than I expected. Yes, we are all glad my mom is doing so well. She is a real trooper. :-) Thank you for visiting!
DeleteFirst of all, thanks for stopping by!! :D
ReplyDeleteAbout the BBH, I do agree, sometimes shorter books are so slow that it takes me weeks (no joking) to read them when a longer book that have a good plot takes me a few days. Last year (well the end of 2017) a 400 page-book took me 3 months to read (and I finished it because I never leave a book behind), when an 800+ page-book took me a week and it was a busy week!
Have a great week!!
Laura - Yes! That's been my experience too. It really can depend on the book itself and not always the size as to how fast we get through it. Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you have a great week too!
DeleteI'm glad you were able to reach the decision that's best for you and your family... not easy to do, but sounds like the right move. Glad your mother is doing well. Sounds like a good month overall. Happy June!
ReplyDeleteJoAnn - Thank you. I really have no interest in moving up in management, and given the climate within and outside the agency right now, I am not sure I would want to be a part of it. I like where I am and doing what I am doing. And I like that it doesn't bleed over so much into my family life, which would definitely change if I took the promotion. I hope you have a great June too!
DeleteI enjoyed Shadow of the Fox too! I cannot wait to read the next one. I read 1000 page books! The Wise Man's Fear is what I will be reading this summer. So yes, I read books over 400 pages quite frequently. Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteSTS~New Books on my shelf
Jackie - I pre-ordered the second book and am really looking forward to it. I am glad I don't have to wait long! I've read a few books over 1000 pages too. I hope you enjoy The Wise Man's Fear. I've heard it is good! I hope you have a great day too!
DeleteIt looks like your mother and Mouse have shared a great visit. I hope you find some time to relax this summer, especially now that the weight of such a big decision is off your shoulders.
ReplyDeleteHave a great reading week
Shelleyrae - They did have a nice visit. :-) We have a very busy summer ahead, but I will definitely find time in there to relax. :-) Thank you!
DeleteI'm glad you made the decision regarding work that is best for you. I made a similar decision a couple of years ago and although I occasionally feel guilty about it, it was definitely the best decision for me and for my family.
ReplyDeleteSuzanne - Thank you! I do think it was the right decision for me. A weight feels like it has been lifted. I still feel bad for disappointing certain people, but that couldn't be helped. I am glad you are happy with the decision you made as well.
DeleteGlad you enjoyed Shadow of the Fox! I just read it and I loved that book! I can't wait for the sequel!
ReplyDeleteHere’s my Sunday Post!
Ronyell @ Rabbit Ears Book Blog
Ronyell - It was so good! I have the second book on my Kindle and cannot wait to read it. Hopefully soon!
DeleteSounds like you'd a busy month, Wendy. I hope June will be a better month for you. As for me, it'd be a crazy month since it's school holidays here. And I love your painting; it's so colourful!
ReplyDeleteMelody - I hope you are enjoying the school holidays! And thank you! :-)
DeleteMays are always too busy for their own good!
ReplyDeleteMouse's troop did awesome with that fundraising! I'm glad your mom is recovering and able to get out and about. :)
Have a great week! *^-^*
Shannon - Yes, May is! They really did do great with the fundraising. It's been such a good experience for Mouse too.
DeleteSorry work has been stressful for you, but it's good that you stuck to your guns and made the decision that was right for you.
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Nicole - Thank you.
DeleteWork takes a lot out of me sometimes too. Not everything about it, just some things. Sounds like your personal life is busy too with Mouse and your mom and...everything. :) If you ever get back to a Poetry Corner, I will look forward to seeing it, but as always I'm glad to see you when I do see you here. I'm not great about responding to comments lately either (catching up a little today) or visiting blogs either.
ReplyDeleteBryan - I had hoped to have more of a presence on my blog this month, but it hasn't worked out. Life. I do want to pick up with the Poetry Corner again, and was just looking over some of the poetry books in my TBR. Thank you for your support. :-)
DeleteAs far as the job thing goes. I did something similar when my boss quit. I was pretty much able to walk right into the position but it would have been like selling my soul o the devil. I said no. It would have meant more money but it would have been the death of me. Turned out, I ended up doing the job anyway but without the reporting structure and title and was given compensation for it. So when it's time to go, I leave and am not chained here like a prisoner. Plus, I am still union represented this way so there is a comfort in that.
ReplyDeleteYou always have to do what is right for you when it comes to work. You may feel an obligation but if you walked out today the place would continue on. Truth.
Ti - It sounds like you've been in a similar situation, indeed. I'm still acting in-charge for now, so we'll see what happens. I think it will all work out one way or another. And you are very right. If I walk out today, the place will continue on without me just fine.
DeleteYou just have to do what you can and it takes thoughtful choices whether it is for work or family or what books to read. I got Shadow of the Fox through the Audiosync and hope to listen to it. I have Rosemary and Rue (purchased but not yet read), so I chose that one.
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely weekend.
Anne - Books of My Heart Here is my Sunday Post
Anne - Thank you. I hope you enjoy Shadow of the Fox as much as I did. Thank you for voting!
DeleteWendy, don't sell yourself short! The colors and composition of your painting are terrific! :D <3
ReplyDeleteDonna Marie - Thank you! The colors were completely the instructor's doing and she gave us an idea for the outline, so I can't really take credit for much of it. Other than how it turned out.
Delete