WEEKLY UPDATES: MORE TRIPLE DIGITS, NETFLIX, ETC.

Good morning! Today’s post will link up to The Sunday Salon, The Sunday Post and Stacking the Shelves, for weekly updates.

**Mailbox Monday is hosted at the home site: Mailbox Monday.

And let’s join Kathryn, our leader in It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?, at Book Date.

Has it been a week already since I last sat here on a Saturday morning, pondering the events of the past seven days?  The week has unfolded one day at a time, featuring triple digits…what else is new?  I did read and review FOUR books:  two were NetGalley review books, and the other two added to my Read the Books You Buy Challenge, now totaling 66 books.

I finished Season I of Ozark…which grew more and more like Breaking Bad as it progressed.  I hope there are more seasons!!

Next weekend, I am setting aside time to see the movie The Glass Castle, based on the book by Jeannette Walls.  Brie Larson, Naomi Watts, and Woody Harrelson star.

On Thursday, I got a manicure and changed up my nail color to dark blue, with minimal sparkles.  I needed to feel like something was changing here.  The photo, below, was snapped in my bedroom showing me “clutching” Pippa, my Kindle.  In the background you can see one set of bookshelves that now live in the room.

The rest of the week was more reading, some blogging, etc.  So let’s grab some coffee and take a closer look.

LAST WEEK ON THE BLOGS:

Correcting an Oversight:  Obsessively….

Tuesday Potpourri:  “Sunday Morning Coming Down”

Monthly Wrap-Up:  Hello August!

My Interior World:  Books, Comfy Setting, & My Nook….

Hump Day Potpourri:  Let’s Engage in Reading…

Hump Day Sparks:  Sharing the Moments…

My Interior World:  Coffee, Books, Dreams, Etc.

Bookish Friday:  “Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands”

Friday Potpourri:  The Queens of Tidbits & Obsessions…

Review:  Emma in the Night (e-book), by Wendy Walker (NG – 8/8)Review:  Sunday Morning Coming Down, by Nicci FrenchReview:  The Bookshop on the Corner (e-book), by Jenny ColganReview:  The Other Girl (e-book), by Erica Spindler (NG – 8/22)

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INCOMING BOOKS: (Titles/Covers Linked to Amazon)

Nothing in my physical mailbox…but an e-mail brought a new NetGalley review book:

The Best Kind of People (e-book), by Zoe Whittall (NetGalley – 9/19)

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Then I downloaded these e-books (purchased):

The Address (e-book), by Fiona Davis

Crime Scene (e-book), by Jonathan Kellerman/Jesse Kellerman

The Truth We Bury (e-book), by Barbara Taylor Sissel

The Identicals (e-book), by Elin Hilderbrand

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WHAT’S NEXT?

I am caught up on NetGalley books until mid-September, so I’ve reached out for some books from my TBR:

Currently Reading:  Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands, by Chris Bohjalian

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Then…my list includes these books, but I might veer off course:

Swimming Lessons (e-book), by Claire Fuller

Before We Were Yours (e-book), by Lisa Wingate

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And that’s my week…what did yours look like?  Oh, here’s my late lunch from Thursday: Corn Chowder, Caesar Salad, Strawberry Margarita…and Pippa, my Kindle.

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WEEKLY UPDATES: WELCOME, JUNE!

Good morning! Today’s post will link up to The Sunday Salon, The Sunday Post and Stacking the Shelves, for weekly updates.

**Mailbox Monday is hosted at the home site: Mailbox Monday.

And let’s join Kathryn, our leader in It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?, at Book Date.

 

Another week has flown by!  I read and reviewed four books, two of them NetGalley reviews, and my Read the Books You Buy total is now at 47.

The 90 – 100 degree heat has kept me indoors with the AC….which explains the four books read.

I’ve been watching Season 5 of House of Cards on Netflix, and The Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu.  Soon there will be another season of Orange Is the New Black.

I’m still watching (and loving) Season 3 of Better Call Saul, on AMC, but there are only three episodes left. Sigh.

I think the skin condition is ALMOST under control.

Finally my new little flat screen TV for the office arrived, and the Geek Squad set it up for me.   I like listening to it as background noise when I’m at my computer.

 

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What else happened this week?

LAST WEEK ON THE BLOGS:

Sunday Potpourri:  A Week in Transition…

Overcoming the Past:  Excerpting “Embrace the Whirlwind”

Tuesday Sparks:  “Same Beach, Next Year”

Hump Day Sparks:  What a Reading Week!

Goodbye to May!  A Wrap-Up…

From the Interior:  My Thoughts…

Bookish Friday:  “One Good Thing”

Friday Potpourri:  The Mounting TBR Pile…

Review:  How It All Began (e-book), by Penelope LivelyReview:  The Breakdown (e-book), by B. A. Paris (NetGalley – 6/20)Review:  It’s Always the Husband (e-book), by Michele CampbellReview:  Beach House for Rent (e-book), by Mary Alice Monroe

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INCOMING BOOKS: (Titles/Covers Linked to Amazon)

Two books came in my mailbox!  One for review, the other a purchase.  Then I downloaded (purchased) e-books.

The Beach Inn, by Joanne DeMaio (Author Review Request)

 

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Good Me, Bad Me, by Ali Land (Purchased)

 

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Downloads:

Watching the Detectives , Book 5 (e-book), by Julie Mulhern

 

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White Fur (e-book), by Jardine Libaire

 

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UP NEXT?  These two…and whatever else my mood dictates….

The Swallow’s Nest, by Emilie Richards (Author Review Request)

 

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One Good Thing (e-book), by Wendy Wax

 

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That was my week….what did yours look like?  Last night, I enjoyed one of my favorite soups at the neighborhood Elephant Bar.

 

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WEEKLY UPDATES: A WARM WEEK….

Good morning! Today’s post will link up to The Sunday Salon, The Sunday Post and Stacking the Shelves, for weekly updates.

**Mailbox Monday is hosted at the home site: Mailbox Monday.

And let’s join Kathryn, our leader in It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?, at Book Date.

It has been another good reading week, with four books read and reviewed, and all were from my TBR Purchased stacks, which brings my total for the Read the Books You Buy Challenge to 40!

An absence of wind or rain has made my interiors feel more secure…although I did have maintenance come and apply an adhesive to that blasted skylight cover…and I had to order a new market umbrella to replace the one now in tatters.  It arrived yesterday…and I will try to put it up today!

On Hulu, I want to start watching The Handmaid’s Tale.…I loved the book, and saw a movie based on it a few years ago.  Margaret Atwood has suggested (in an interview) that the world in this story may not be that far off…..

Since yesterday was Cinco de Maya, I went out for this delicious Mexican meal, complete with margaritas…Yes, two.

 

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I thought about going to see the movie The Dinner today…and I’m still contemplating it.  Perhaps I will wait until it comes to Amazon Prime?  I didn’t love the book that much…but the cast of the movie does sound tempting:  Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Rebecca Hall, Chloe Sevigny...to name a few.

 

***

Now I think I’ll curl up and read some more…but first, let’s look at my week.

 

LAST WEEK ON THE BLOGS:

April Was Unforgettable – Monthly Wrap-Up

Monday Potpourri:  Dreaming of the Beach….

Tuesday Potpourri:  “Vivian in Red”

Hump Day Potpourri:  A Week of Reading….

Coffee, Etc. – A Bookish and Not So Bookish Week….

Bookish Friday:  “A Mother’s Confession”

Review:  The Roanoke Girls (e-book), by Amy EngelReview:  A Separation (e-book), by Katie KitamuraReview:  Hot Milk (e-book), by Deborah LevyReview:  Vivian in Red (e-book), by Kristina Riggle***

INCOMING BOOKS:  (Titles/Covers Linked to Amazon)

No books in the mailbox!  But I did receive one NetGalley review book...and then I downloaded four purchased books and one Kindle Prime freebie.

The Comfort of Secrets (e-book), by Christine Nolfi –(NetGalley – 7/18)

 

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North Haven (e-book), by Sarah Moriarty (Freebie)

 

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Purchases:

#GirlBoss (e-book), by Sophia Amoruso (I loved the Netflix show!)

 

 

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One Good Thing (e-book, Ten Beach Road Novel), by Wendy Wax

 

 

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Into the Water (e-book), by Paula Hawkins

 

 

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All the Best People (e-book), by Sonja Yoerg

 

 

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WHAT’S NEXT?

Currently Reading:

What’s Become of Her, by Deb Caletti (Amazon Vine Review)

 

 

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A Mother’s Confession (e-book), by Kelly Rimmer

 

 

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And then, how about these?

Not a Sound (e-book), by Heather Gudenkauf – (NetGalley – 5/30)

 

 

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The Night the Lights Went Out (e-book), by Karen White

 

 

***

That was my week…what did yours look like?  While I am still stuffed from last night’s dinner, I am only dreaming of what I had earlier in the week…a delicious strawberry & melon salad, with a strawberry margarita.

 

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WEEKLY UPDATES: A FABULOUS READING WEEK…

Good morning! Today’s post will link up to The Sunday Salon, The Sunday Post and Stacking the Shelves, for weekly updates.

**Mailbox Monday is hosted at the home site: Mailbox Monday.

And let’s join Kathryn, our leader in It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?, at Book Date.

Another week flew by, and it was mostly sunshine around here.  So I did get out and about some, but always took Pippa with me, resulting in FOUR books read and reviewed.  Twenty-Two is now my total for the Read the Books You Buy Challenge...not a big leap this week, as three of the books I read were Vine and NetGalley review books.

Did anyone watch the Oscars?  I loved Jimmy Kimmel’s banter, as well as some of the shots he got in on “one who will remain nameless.”  The mix-up at the end was horrific…and a little hilarious.  As usual, I recorded it and watched afterwards, fast-forwarding through the parts that are less enjoyable to me.  I have not seen Moonlight...or La La Land, the “almost” win.  Both got a lot of awards.  I saw and enjoyed Manchester by the Sea...and now must see Fences.  Viola Davis is a great actress, IMO, with such diversity in the roles she plays.  I feel like seeing The Help again this weekend.

Now…today.  What to do!  I should go shopping for that Mother of the Bride dress, as April 1 is coming so fast. (My hilarious daughter, picking April Fool’s Day!).  And I suspect I might need several shopping trips.  But I don’t love shopping…unless it’s on Amazon.  Books and handbags are my favorite items to buy.  I can get them on Amazon, but I shouldn’t order the dress there. LOL.

Instead of deciding, I’m going to grab another cup of coffee…and chat about my week.

 

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LAST WEEK ON THE BLOGS:

Monday Sparks:  Ignite Your Musings…

Let’s Curl up with “The Good Neighbor”

Another Month Bites the Dust:  Goodbye, February!

Hump Day Reading:  Engaging Choices…

Hump Day Ramblings:  Past and Present…

Coffee Morning:  Some Bookish/Not So Bookish Thoughts…

Bookish Friday:  “A Separation”

Friday Potpourri:  Ponderings…

Review:  Never Let You Go (e-book), by Chevy Stevens (NetGalley – 3/14/17)   Review:  How Will I Know You?, by Jessica Treadway – (Amazon Vine)Review:  The Good Neighbor (e-book), by A. J. BannerReview:  Almost Missed You (e-book), by Jessica Strawser (NetGalley – 3/28/17)  ***

INCOMING BOOKS: (Titles/Covers Linked to Amazon)

I received one Amazon Vine review book in the mail…and one Author Review Request download…I also received one PURCHASED book in my mailbox…and downloaded another.

Persons Unknown, by Susie Steiner (Amazon Vine)

 

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Review Book Download:

Wait for the Rain (e-book), by Maria Murnane

 

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PURCHASES:

America’s Queen:  The Life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, by Sarah Bradford

 

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Download:

Dead Letters (e-book), by Caite Dolan-Leach

 

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UP NEXT:

Currently Reading:  The Good Daughter (e-book), by Alexandra Burt

 

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And then….

It Happens All the Time (e-book), by Amy Hatvany (NetGalley – 3/28/17)

 

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The Fifth Letter (e-book), by Nicola Moriarty

 

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That was my week…what did yours look like? I think I’ll grab some more coffee…and perhaps a mimosa.  Enjoy your week!

 

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WEEKLY UPDATES: UNEXPECTED RAIN DAMAGE….

 

Good morning! Today’s post will link up to The Sunday Salon, The Sunday Post and Stacking the Shelves, for weekly updates.

**Mailbox Monday is hosted at the home site: Mailbox Monday.

And let’s join Kathryn, our leader in It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?, at Book Date.

 

This past week was one of pounding, windy rain that I do not love…it was great for reading, though, and I read and reviewed four books.  Now I have completed SIX books for my Read the Books You Buy Challenge.

Besides reading, I went out to get a wonderful massage on Wednesday; later I curled up with some shows on TV.  I watched This Is Us, Too Close to Home and even saw The Girl on the Train movie (again!) on Amazon Prime Videos.    I started viewing an Amazon Prime Series, Covert Affairs. 

Yesterday I went to the movies and saw 20th Century Women, starring Annette Bening, Elle Fanning, Billy Crudup, Greta Gerwig, etc.  I loved it!

 

Afterwards, I headed over to Yard House (again!) to use another of my gift cards from Christmas.  Here’s what I enjoyed, clam chowder and a Pomegranate Press:

 

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A great week, despite the rain…which had an unexpected result in my kitchen.  It dislodged the skylight cover, which came crashing down when I opened an upper cabinet…and didn’t realize it was hanging there, literally by a thread (or corner!). It broke, of course, and will be replaced on Monday.  It feels eerie in my kitchen, looking up at all the space between where the cover was…and the roof. 

Let’s see what else went on last week.

LAST WEEK ON THE BLOGS:

It’s a Wrap!  Mini-Bloggiesta Finish Line Post

Monday Potpourri:  A Reclusive Day…

Tuesday Sparks:  “The Vanishing Year”

Curl up…and Let’s Take a Look Back…

It’s Hump Day:  Let’s Talk About Our Reading…

Grab Some Coffee & Let’s Chat…

Thursday Potpourri:  Another Late Night…

Bookish Friday:  “The Dry”

Assessing My Progress:  Reading My Own Books…

Review:  The Stepmother (e-book), by Claire SeeberReview:  The Orphan’s Tale, by Pam Jenoff (Amazon Vine Review)Review:  Always (e-book), by Sarah Jio – (NetGalley – 2/7/17)Review:  Never Alone (e-book), by Elizabeth Haynes

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INCOMING BOOKS: (Titles/Covers Linked to Amazon)

Nothing came in my mailbox!  But I downloaded four e-books.

Idaho (e-book), by Emily Ruskovich

 

 

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Moral Defense (e-book, Book 2 – Samantha Brinkman), by Marcia Clark

 

 

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Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk (e-book), by Kathleen Rooney

 

 

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The Futures (e-book), by Anna Pitoniak

 

 

 

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WHAT’S NEXT?

Currently Reading:  Sweet Lake, by Christine Nolfi (Author Review Request)

 

 

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And then…

The Marriage Lie (e-book), by Kimberly Belle

 

 

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Faultlines (e-book), by Barbara Taylor Sissel

 

 

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That was my week…what did yours look like?  I’m leaving you a parting glimpse of yesterday’s lunch, my delicious dessert:  chocolate mousse cake and coffee with Jameson:

 

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WEEKLY UPDATES: A RAINY WEEK….

 

Good morning! Today’s post will link up to The Sunday Salon, The Sunday Post and Stacking the Shelves, for weekly updates.

**Mailbox Monday is hosted at the home site: Mailbox Monday.

And let’s join Kathryn, our leader in It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?, at Book Date.

 

The mini-bloggiesta started yesterday.  Typically, I started working away on it earlier in the week.  I am impatient, and since I had my plans all ready to go…well, I had to do just that!  Here’s what I have done on my Serendipity blog (and Curl up and Read):  Mini-Bloggiesta!  January 13-15…Sign-up * Start.

My impatience could also be attributed to a very rainy week, and yes, I did some reading and movie watching…but I can never settle on just one thing.  I don’t have anything special going on Netflix…so there you have it.  The makings of misdeeds—if you can count STARTING EARLY as a misdeed.

The THREE books I read and reviewed were very engaging…and I now have FOUR books to add to my Read the Books You Buy Challenge – 2017.

I am happy that some of my favorite TV shows are back:  This Is Us...and another one that I haven’t seen much around the blogosphere, Tyler Perry’s Too Close to Home.  I started watching it because of Kelly Sullivan, who once was a favorite character that was “killed off” on General Hospital.  Just as Justin Hartley, on This Is Us, was a fan fave killed on Young & the Restless.  So…the “dead” soap stars find new life on nighttime.

Soon…(January 26), TGIT will be back!

Grab some coffee or a mimosa…and let’s chat about the past week. (Check out that mug for my “marital status”).  LOL

 

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LAST WEEK ON THE BLOG:

A Coffee Morning on Sunday:  Bloggiesta, Reading, & Changes…

Tuesday Potpourri:  “The Marriage Lie”

Hump Day Reading:  Glued to My Books…

Hump Day Potpourri:  Rain, Reading, & Blog Difficulties

A Journey:  Utilizing My One Word in My Daily Life….

Bookish Friday:  “The Stepmother”

Review:  The Woman in Cabin 10 (e-book), by Ruth WareReview:  The Other Widow (e-book), by Susan CrawfordReview:  Claiming Noah, by Amanda Ortlepp (Amazon Vine Review)

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INCOMING BOOKS:  (Titles/Covers Linked to Amazon)

My mailbox brought me three books I had purchased over the holidays…and then I downloaded two books.  Yay, me!  So much for trying to curtail the book buying.

The Princess Diarist, by Carrie Fisher

 

 

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Becoming Queen Victoria, by Kate Williams

 

 

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The Best Awful, by Carrie Fisher (Sequel to Postcards from the Edge)

 

 

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Downloads:

The Vanishing Year (e-book), by Kate Moretti

 

 

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The Dry (e-book), by Jane Harper

 

 

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WHAT’S UP NEXT?

Currently Reading:  The Stepmother (e-book), by Claire Seeber

 

 

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And then?

Always (e-book), by Sarah Jio (NetGalley – 2/7/17)

 

 

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The Orphan’s Tale, by Pam Jenoff (Amazon Vine)

 

 

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So that was my week…what did yours look like?  Since last week was rainy, I scarcely left the house…but here’s something I enjoyed the Saturday before….Elephant Bar’s Pomegranate Martini, with Mac & Cheese.

 

 

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WEEKLY UPDATES: WELCOME TO MY “NEW” VENUE!

 

 

Good morning! Today’s post will link up to The Sunday Salon, The Sunday Post and Stacking the Shelves, for weekly updates.

**Mailbox Monday is hosted at the home site: Mailbox Monday.

And let’s join Kathryn, our leader in It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?, at Book Date.

 

Welcome to our New Venue for the upcoming weeks (or months).  I do like moving events around to my various sites.  This blog was feeling “overlooked.”

Another week has flown by, but despite the fact that I had outings, including lunch at Pismo’s with a friend, I actually read more than usual.  FOUR books and one short story.  My Read the Books You Buy total is now 95!

I didn’t watch Netflix at all this week, but I did enjoy catching up on my DVR.  I deleted some of the recorded Christmas movies after watching for less than half an hour.  Why?  Well, I guess I was starting to get a sugar rush.  LOL.

I have a low tolerance for Christmas sentimentality, with all of it’s saccharine moments.  A little bit goes a long way.  I did enjoy the Dolly Parton Circle of Love movie, with that sweet little actress who plays “Faith” on The Young and the Restless. (Alyvia Alyn Lind).

Let’s take a look at the week….and enjoy caffeine while you read.

 

 

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LAST WEEK ON THE BLOGS:

Snow Sparks:  Musing About Libraries, Etc.

Tuesday Potpourri:  “The Bad Things”

My Book Journey:  A Dance!

Change of Venue for Weekly Updates…

Hump Day Reading:  Current, Past, & Future…

Bookish Thursday #39:  Serendipitous Moments

Bookish Friday:  “When All the Girls Have Gone”

Weekend Potpourri:  ‘Tis the Season…

My Interior World:  Upcoming Book Releases!

Review:  Little Deaths, by Emma Flint – (Amazon Vine)Review:  The 4th Man (e-book, short story), by Lisa Gardner (NetGalley – 1/3/17)Review:  In a Dark, Dark Wood (e-book), by Ruth WareReview:  In Her Wake (e-book), by Amanda JenningsReview:  When All the Girls Have Gone (e-book), by Jayne Ann Krentz

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INCOMING BOOKS: (Titles/Covers Linked to Amazon)

Nothing in the mailbox!  Three purchased downloads, however.

The Woman in Cabin 10 (e-book), by Ruth Ware

 

 

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The Premonition (e-book, prequel to The Sleepwalker), by Chris Bohjalian

 

 

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Missing, Presumed (e-book), by Susie Steiner

 

 

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WHAT’S UP NEXT?

Currently Reading:  The Premonition (e-book, prequel), by Chris Bohjalian

 

 

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The Sleepwalker (e-book), by Chris Bohjalian (NetGalley – 1/10/17)

 

 

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Sweet Lamb of Heaven (e-book), by Lydia Millet

 

 

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That’s it for my week.  What did yours look like?  I have no lovely food to showcase this week…but here’s another glimpse of my Christmas decorations.  I found the red table runner and place mats in a drawer…I had forgotten about them!

 

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WEEKLY UPDATES: A LITTLE SUNSHINE, A LITTLE RAIN….

Good morning! Today’s post will link up to The Sunday Salon, The Sunday Post and Stacking the Shelves, for weekly updates.

**Mailbox Monday is hosted at the home site: Mailbox Monday.

And let’s join Kathryn, our leader in It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?, at Book Date.

A week of ups and downs with the weather…some rain, some shine; and I think I might be adjusting, more or less, to my new meds.

I read and reviewed four books this week, and I’m currently reading two books…yes, two at once!  I go back and forth, although now it is harder to tear myself away from whichever one I’m reading.

Today will be about reading and movie watching.  I did watch The Big Short  last night…and it was interesting.  I didn’t understand much of the dealing, as numbers are not my thing.  But it was fun to see the energy of the characters while they played out their plan…

Now…on to sharing more of my week…

LAST WEEK ON THE BLOGS:

Bloggiesta Sign-Up Post: It’s Time!

Tuesday Potpourri: Excerpting “If You Lived Here, You’d Be Home Now”

My Interior World: Celebrating My Blogging Journey

Let’s Chase Away the Blues with “Clouds in My Coffee”

Bookish Thursday #5: A Potpourri of Events

Bookish Friday: Excerpting “Be Frank with Me”

My Interior Journey: A Work-In-Progress

Review:  A Long Time Gone (e-book), by Karen White

Review:  The Next Time You See Me (e-book), by Holly Goddard Jones

Review:  The Girl in the Red Coat (e-book), by Kate Hamer

Review:  Miller’s Valley (e-book), by Anna Quindlen (NetGalley – 4/5)

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INCOMING BOOKS:  (Titles/Covers Linked to Amazon)

Nothing in my physical mailbox!  But I downloaded TWO review books from NetGalley…and purchased one e-book.

Most Wanted (e-book), by Lisa Scottoline – (NetGalley – 4/12)

 

 

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The Children (e-book), by Ann Leary – (NetGalley – 5/26)

 

 

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Be Frank With Me (e-book), by Julia Claiborne Johnson

 

 

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THIS WEEK IN BOOKS: (Titles/Covers Linked to Amazon)

Currently Reading:

A Girl’s Guide to Moving On, by Debbie Macomber (Vine)

 

 

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Duplicate Keys (e-book), by Jane Smiley

 

 

 

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Next:

Virgin River (e-book), by Robyn Carr

 

 

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If You Lived Here, You’d Be Home Now, (e-book), by Claire LaZebnik

 

 

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That’s my week, past and future…what did yours look like?  Let’s grab some coffee, and perhaps a mimosa…and chat.

 

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WEEKLY UPDATES: MY NEW NORMAL

 

Good morning!  Today’s post will link up to The Sunday Salon, The Sunday Post and Stacking the Shelves, for weekly updates.

**Mailbox Monday is now hosted at the home site:  Mailbox Monday.

And, in anticipation of Sheila’s return, check out What Are You Reading at Book Journey.

***

My week has resumed a kind of “normal,” with my house guests up north, visiting other family members.  Before they left, we had a great night of back-to-back movies, Netflix, and popcorn.

 

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LAST WEEK ON THE BLOGS:

Celebrating My Bookish Love: Musings on a Monday

From the Interior: Excerpting “Some Luck”

Eagerly Anticipating “Under the Influence”

From the Interior: Bittersweet Moments – The Berliners Move On

My Bookish/Not So Bookish Thoughts: Snapshots of July

Bookish Friday: Excerpting “Friday on My Mind”

Review: A Window Opens (e-book), by Elisabeth Egan (NetGalley)

Review: Lost Lake (e-book), by Sarah Addison Allen

Review: At Risk (e-book), by Alice Hoffman

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INCOMING BOOKS: (Titles/Covers Linked to Amazon)

I downloaded one review book from NetGalley, and purchased one download.

X (Kinsey Millhone Book 24), by Sue Grafton (from NetGalley) – Release Date – 8/25

 

 

 

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Honest Illusions (e-book), by Nora Roberts

 

 

 

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WHAT’S UP NEXT? (Titles/Covers Linked to Amazon)

Friday on My Mind, by Nicci French

 

 

 

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Apple & Rain (e-book), by Sarah Crossan

 

 

 

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We Never Asked for Wings, by Vanessa Diffenbaugh (Amazon Vine)

 

 

 

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This is my new normal, or something approximating my old normal…what did your week look like?

Before I dive into these books, I plan to go to the movies and see Ricki & the Flash, with Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Mamie Gummer (Meryl’s daughter), and Rick Springfield.

 

 

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MY BOOKISH (AND NOT SO BOOKISH) THOUGHTS: BOOKS & MOVIES

 

Good morning!  It’s another Thursday, which means the weekend is almost here…and it’s time to talk about our Bookish and Not So Bookish Thoughts with Bookishly Boisterous.  Check out Christine’s blog to see what others are chatting about.

Do I even have any thoughts today?  I have been sticking close to home, reading and watching movies.  I saw one the other night that I watched again the next day.  I loved it that much!  It was 5 Flights Up, with Diane Keaton and Morgan Freeman.

 

 

 

Okay, this is not a movie for everybody, but I was drawn in by the NY scenes, and the characterizations of Morgan Freeman and Diane Keaton.  Alex and Ruth, who are getting older, have lived in this Brooklyn apartment for 40 years, and they are tired of climbing those five flights up to the apartment.  Plus, the neighborhood is changing—gentrifying—and the aspects that drew them in the beginning are no longer there.

It was fun (for me) to watch them hold a hilarious open house, with TV in the background showing shots of a “terrorist” scene unfolding at the bridge.  Their realtor is Ruth’s niece Lily, portrayed by an intense and rather annoying Cynthia Nixon.  She did a great job of playing THAT kind of realtor.

They also looked at some apartments in Manhattan…and that was an eye-opener for them…and for me.

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My reading started out great, with Little Black Lies, by Sandra Block, followed by Bittersweet and Every Fifteen Minutes.  (Click titles for my reviews).

Now I am struggling to get through The Shore.  Yes, I was forewarned that this is not for everyone.

 

 

 

Yes, it sounds lovely in the blurb:  “The Shore: a group of small islands in the Chesapeake Bay, just off the coast of Virginia. The Shore is clumps of evergreens, wild ponies, oyster-shell roads, tumble-down houses, unwanted pregnancies, murder, and dark magic in the marshes. Sanctuary to some but nightmare to others, it’s a place that generations of families both wealthy and destitute have inhabited, fled, and returned to for hundreds of years. “

Some of the stories are enchanting…while others, not so much.  My biggest problem with the novel is how it flips back and forth across time, picking up with characters at various points in their lives…and I didn’t think it was done that seamlessly.

But I plan to slog along a little longer….sigh.

Did anyone read it?  Thoughts?

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I also started reading an e-Arc that is much better (for me):  Black-Eyed Susans, by Julia Heaberlin.

 

 

 

As a sixteen-year-old, Tessa Cartwright was found in a Texas field, barely alive amid a scattering of bones, with only fragments of memory as to how she got there. Ever since, the press has pursued her as the lone surviving “Black-Eyed Susan,” the nickname given to the murder victims because of the yellow carpet of wildflowers that flourished above their shared grave. Tessa’s testimony about those tragic hours put a man on death row.

Now, almost two decades later, Tessa is an artist and single mother. In the desolate cold of February, she is shocked to discover a freshly planted patch of black-eyed susans—a summertime bloom—just outside her bedroom window. Terrified at the implications—that she sent the wrong man to prison and the real killer remains at large—Tessa turns to the lawyers working to exonerate the man awaiting execution. But the flowers alone are not proof enough, and the forensic investigation of the still-unidentified bones is progressing too slowly. An innocent life hangs in the balance. The legal team appeals to Tessa to undergo hypnosis to retrieve lost memories—and to share the drawings she produced as part of an experimental therapy shortly after her rescue.

What they don’t know is that Tessa and the scared, fragile girl she was have built a  fortress of secrets. As the clock ticks toward the execution, Tessa fears for her sanity, but even more for the safety of her teenaged daughter. Is a serial killer still roaming free, taunting Tessa with a trail of clues? She has no choice but to confront old ghosts and lingering nightmares to finally discover what really happened that night.

Sounds intense, right?

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So that’s what my week was like so far….and I have no idea what the weekend holds, other than reading and catching up on my DVR recordings.  What about you?

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