Books I Read: April 2016

reread:

10. Shattered Silk - Barbara Michaels In high school I loved this book and it kept coming back to me so I picked it up from the library for a fun reread.

new:

22. Red Queen - Victoria Aveyard After having a long trouble of settling down with books, I read these in a weekend, staying up until obscene times of the night to finish. I loved them.

23. Queen Song - Victoria Aveyard 

24. Glass Sword - Victoria Aveyard

25. Soundless - Richelle Mead Very different for Mead. I liked.

26. Alexander Hamilton - Ron Chernow (audio) I might never finish listening to this but I'm loving it. There's such an obvious bias that I'm now interested in reading more about the other founding fathers to get a better picture of all sides. I found out that somoene I'm acquainted with through work wrote several books about Jefferson, so that might be my next foray into political biography.

27. Spirit Gate - Kate Elliott I thought the reason I couldn't get into Black Wolves was because I didn't read the prior trilogy, but it wasn't the case. Everytime I got attached to a character, she killed them off and I had trouble following the full plot. Just wasn't to be.

Black Wolves - Kate Elliott and since the prior trilogy wasn't to be, I finally put this to bed. Not everything is perfect.

28. Ammie, Come Home - Barbara Michaels This was a fun little palate cleanser of a spooky book. I can't believe I read all of Michaels' other books in my teens and missed this one.

29. Steel Scars - Victoria Aveyard not as good as the rest of the books but a short fun read.

30. Hamilton: The Revolution - Lin-Manuel Miranda This has been bedtime reading for the past week and I'm loving it.

31. Alif the Unseen - G. Willow Wilson This was beautiful and strange and I didn't understand half of it and loved it anyhow. I might need to buy and reread this a few times.

Currently

I'm in for a dose of Currently with Katy Upperman!

Loving

This comes with a story. For my birthday, or Christmas, or some such holiday a couple years ago, I asked my husband for a pink wallet. I really wanted a pink wallet. He ordered me a beautiful leather wallet … but since he ordered it, he *thought* it was pink (or a salmon, I suppose) via the computer monitor, but it was red. Red. Very red. It was a very nice wallet otherwise and I used it with gusto, but I never stopped wanting my pink wallet.

Anyhow, two weekends ago I went to Macy’s to try to use up some store credit and found a lovely pink wallet and they were doing this ludicrous thing (ludicrous, Macy’s, really) where you could “preorder” your purchases utilizing a 25% friends and family coupon but then they had to keep your purchases for a week. So I bought it and went back Saturday to pick it up and it’s so pretty. I love my wallet. I would have also loved to have taken it home with me a week ago, but whatever.

Reading

I’m reading Alif the Unseen right now, which I get but also I don’t get. It’s set in the Middle East, and very interesting but some just goes straight over my head. I’m engrossed though.

Also the Hamiltome. So fascinating.

Watching

The answer to this is always baseball.

Listening to

The Chernow biography, still. I love it but I might be listening for the rest of my natural life. 20 hours and 42 minutes left. Chapter 19 of 44.

Also listening to Chuck as background sound. I can’t list under “watching” because I only get to listen but I’ve seen it so many times I’m good with that.

Thinking About

We’ve got a number of appointments coming up. Francine has a surgery tomorrow; dental appointments are set for the entire family, and S has an orthopedic appointment. All in the next 8 days. So that’s pretty much taking up all my brain power. Oh, and work.

Anticipating

S has a baseball tournament this weekend. I dreamed about it, so apparently I’m anticipating that.

Wishing

For extra time in the day. Every. Single. Day.

Making Me Happy

 

Currently ...

I took pictures for a day in the life post last week, but then I never got around to posting/writing it. I’m trying to decide if I should just move on and do it today or move on or try to do a whole new one. It would be excellent if I could write AND post things I mean to do, right? In the meantime, I’m hooking up with Katy Upperman for a little Currently action.

Currently:

Loving

I’m firmly entrenched in the LuLaRoe phenomena. “I like your new dress/skirt/leggings/etc!” Thanks! It’s LulaRoe, like the rest of my current closet.

Reading

I still haven’t been able to sit still for reading, but this weekend I demolished the first two books of Red Queen and one of the short stories. So much fun.  Now I’m reading Soundless by Richelle Mead and I’ve got half a dozen ebooks from the library right now so I should get on that.

Watching

BASEBALL HALLELUJAH

Also, Big Bang Theory. I’m two seasons behind but I’m catching up quick!

Listening to

Chernow’s Alexander Hamilton on Audible. I have 34 hours left, so check back with me in two weeks; I’ll probably still be at it. It is fascinating though! I’m very bad at history and slept through every history class I ever took and I haven’t nodded off yet. Commendable.

I’m also listening to My Girl while I do some things and Thomas J is getting stung to death by bees right this very second and *weep*.

Thinking about

Everything except what I am currently trying to get done. The struggle is real, today.

Anticipating

I set up a trip to visit a wonderful friend in Kansas, and so now I’m all excited. I get to see my dear friend and we’re going to a Royals/Rays game and Woo!

Wishing

For more hours in the day. More hours in the night too; I could really use some good honest sleep.

Making Me Happy

   

Books I read: March

I have been incapable of sitting down and reading for a while now. Thank goodness for audiobooks, is what I'm saying. I didn't get a lot read in March, but I'm okay with that. The whole point of reading for fun is to be able to read for fun. When it's fun.

reread:
8. Outlander - Diane Gabaldon (audio) I loved the narrator's voice. LOVED it. However, things bothered me about the book that didn't previously when I read in print. That's the way things go sometimes when you reread though, yes?

9. Attachments - Rainbow Rowell (audio) still so fun.

new:
17. The Lake House - Kate Morton (audio) husband: so does that have Keanu Reeves in it? ha. Good book.

18. Life and Death - Stephenie Meyer This was technically better written. Better edited. And just dull.

19. 11/22/63 - Stephen King (audio) I loved this up until the end. I can't explain what I didn't like unless you've read the book and I won't spoil it here. Just. Grr. Also though, it was fantastic.

All the Light We Cannot see (audio) I didn't get to finish reading the print so I downloaded the Audible, and it's wonderful. Will finish in April.

20. When Breath Becomes Air - Paul Kalanithi short and amazing, read on a plane.

21. Morning Star - Pierce Brown An amazing end to this trilogy. Really. Amazing.