Saturday, January 10, 2015

This Week in Reading - January 11

It's Sunday Post time!  This is hosted by the awesome Caffeinated Book Reviewer and gives everyone a chance to recap their week.

What I Got:

A Kitchen in France:  A Year of Cooking in My Farmhouse by Mimi Thorisson - This book is massive and absolutely gorgeous.  It's basically a coffee table book with recipes.  I haven't had a chance to really look at the recipes here but I loved that they're divided up by season. I saw some delicious looking soups in the winter chapter.

First Time in Forever by Sarah Morgan - I discovered Sarah Morgan last summer and then went on to finish off the O'Neal series in a matter of months.  I'm still a little sad that that series is over but I have high hopes for this one set in a small town.

Death of a Liar by M.C. Beaton - I'm undecided how I feel about Beaton - especially her Hamish Macbeth books but I can't stop reading them!



Currently:

Reading: Teardrop Lane by Emily March and Relish by Lucy Knisley

Listening: I finished Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan and am now listening to The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender.  Next up I think will be Wild by Cheryl Strayed.

Watching:  Finally had time to sit and watch the Christmas special of Doctor Who and I will never sleep again.  Other than that J and I have been enjoying The Taste.  We watched Jack Ryan the other day on Netflix and really enjoyed it.  It's an action movie but a lot of fun.

Off the Blog:

After reading Living Well Spending Less I have pronounced this month No Spend January.  I think J is hoping I won't be reviewing anymore self help books anytime soon. Because we're staying home more we've been watching more movies off Netflix or Amazon which has been really fun.  And I've been cooking more so I'm trying out my Pinterest boards more often.. I'm enjoying actually doing all the things we never get time to because we're always rushing around. So far the only real challenge is not stopping at the Vietnamese sub shop down the street for bubble tea or one of their amazing sandwiches.  So far I've held strong!

School has started back for everyone though it's hard to take Emma's schedule seriously.  She doesn't have to show up until 11:30 and is only there a few hours.  Other than that life is back to normal which is nice after the craziness that was last month.  The Tornado is almost back to being on his regular sleep schedule which improves his behavior immensely.

I haven't had nearly as much time to read as I've wanted so I'm starting to feel behind.  Luckily I am building a stack of reviews for books off the TBR shelf so that should help some with keeping up my resolution and keep the panic reading at bay.

On the Blog:

What Happened:


What's Coming Up:

Monday: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Review
Tuesday: Top Ten 2014 Releases I Didn't Get To
Wednesday: A Fifty Year Silence Review
Thursday: TBD Review
Friday: My Regular linkups with whatever book I'm reading
Saturday: Relish Review

Happy Reading!

43 comments:

  1. Your post reminded me that I never heard back from the publicist about the Sarah Morgan books so I just sent an email. :)

    No Spend January sounds like an excellent idea. I got the book from NG, but haven't started it yet. I do need to trim my spending so I hope it will have good advice for me.

    Stay warm and happy reading!

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    1. I modified some of her advice but it got me excited about cutting my spending which is pretty huge!
      Good luck hearing from the publicist. I'm excited about this new series!

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  2. Glad you're life is getting back to a normal speed, everything seems to slow down so much after the holidays, doesn't it?

    Hope you find more time for reading and have an awesome week!

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    1. Thanks! It definitely feels great to be back on regular schedule.

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  3. I'll be watching the ending of the special Dr Who episode later today, I started yesterday and fell asleep because I was so tired lol (no weird dreams, though !). I love that title : "the particular sadness of lemon cake", hope that book will be good. Have a great week ;)

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    1. The Lemon Cake book is interesting and I'm loving the narrator. Glad you didn't have weird dreams! It was definitely a crazy episode.

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  4. I'm new to Netflix and I have to say, so far I'm liking it. We've been staying home and it is nice to eat at home and not feel like we have to do this or do that every weekend. More relaxing.

    It's funny, I miss the holidays but it is nice to get back t a routine.

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    1. Netflix is addictive! I think my to watch list is as long as my to read list!

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  5. I'm really interested in whats on your Top 10 releases you didn't get too. I had SO many on my list.

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    1. I know! I think I could have had a list of 200 books I didn't get to!

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  6. I'm really pleased to be back in a routine, as well as having the house to myself again. ;) And Netflix rocks, it's so simple, but also very easy to lose hours, especially when it's something short like Parks & Rec.

    Here's to a good week xx

    My Sunday Post & Shelf Stack

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  7. The books you've featured are all new to me. Have you ever read M.C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin series? It's quite humorous and it's a favorite of mine.

    My post: http://www.bookclublibrarian.com/2015/01/weekly-book-recap-93.html

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  8. That big cookbook looks luscious! I'll have to look up the Sarah Morgan books. my post is here: http://fangswandsandfairydust.com/2015/01/sunday-2.html

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  9. No Spend January. That's what we need! Except maybe we'll opt for February since it's a shorter month. LOL!

    Can't wait to see your final thoughts on Relish. *holdsbreath*

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  10. I got the Sarah Morgan book, too, and I really look forward to it!

    No Spend January sounds like a great idea :) Let us know how it goes, and if you're putting money aside for something specific now that you're being more careful this month :)

    Happy reading, Katherine.

    Lexxie @ (un)Conventional Bookviews

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  11. I haven't read anything by M. C. Beaton, but now I'm curious.

    Loving the look of A Kitchen in France. I adore gorgeous coffee table books!

    Cutting back on spending sounds like a great idea....I should stop buying so many books, for one thing, or my Kindle will explode...LOL.

    Thanks for visiting my blog and have a great week.

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  12. Hehe I think it is great you are reading them. We did a no spending month once or twice and it really helped clean out the cupboards. I looked for recipes using what I had. I have Morgan's book and I am excited as well. I love the sound of the cookbook.

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  13. I like the spend less idea. It sounds like a reconnect with things you love to do and sharing time with family. I like that a lot and will try it next month.

    My Sunday Post - http://fuonlyknew.com/2015/01/11/whats-new-on-my-bookshelf-92-and-the-sunday-post/

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  14. That cookbook A Kitchen in France sounds amazing. I really should read more cookbooks, I usually get my inspiration from Pinterest. I'll check out your Pinterst account next! I love Pinterest it's great for finding new recipes.
    I also haven't had as much time to read lately and it's stressing em out a bit, it just feels off to be reading the same book for so long!
    Hope you have a great week!

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  15. We should have been back on schedule this past week, but a snow storm and my daughter having an ear infection messed it up. I'm hoping to get back on track this week. I would love to be able to spend less, since I started working I miss cooking for the family. Thanks for sharing, have a great week.

    http://mamaknowsbooks.blogspot.com/2015/01/sunday-cup-of-1.html

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  16. Ah, coffee table books are so fun to read and find. It looks like you've had a busy week - and more to come this month! Enjoy those books you're reading and have a happy week!

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  17. What the heck is Bubble Tea? It sounds different and I wonder if I would like it lol

    I'm band from reading anything self helpy and if I do I was told to keep it to myself :) I love my unhealthy family lol

    I hope you have a great week, Katherine! Happy Reading (if you get time)

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  18. I've been wanting to read Wild myself. I've seen mixed reviews but I really want to see for myself, and I always like to read the book before seeing the movie. I haven't been reading as much as I would like either but I'm not stressing about it. I will find the time when I can and if not then I will just lower my reading goals a bit. Ha! I hope that you have a great week filled with a few good books!

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  19. I love it that you are trying to slow down and do some of the things that you've planned for. Enjoy this!

    readerbuzz.blogspot.com

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  20. With all your cooking books, I have a feeling your house smells delicious. :)
    Good luck on no spend January! The good thing is it's cold out, so it's the perfect time to hibernate anyhow.
    Definitely start the year off on good intentions. Especially with the TBR. I just cleaned mine out. Late last year I was at about 400, now I'm done to at least 250. I want to clean at least 50 more off that. It's impossible to make the cuts. :P
    Happy reading!
    Brittany @ This is the Story of My(Reading) Life

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  21. Yay for reading Teardrop Lane! And as you know, I got the new Sarah Morgan too. It will be my introduction to her; I bought all three of the O'Neal books but haven't read them yet.

    Also yay to getting back to a regular schedule. I'm looking forward to that, myself. One of my New Year resolutions is to exercise more; another is to work on decluttering our basement a bit (including pruning books - eep.)

    Have a terrific week and enjoy your new books!

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  22. Nice to see you back! Making me hungry thinking about cookbook

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  23. I've never read any of M.C. Beaton's books, but I've had her Agatha Raisin books in my TBR for a long time. Have a great week!

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  24. Oh my gosh A Kitchen in France looks like a beautiful cook book. I'm looking for a good one to check out! Good luck with No Spend Jan and I'm looking forward to read your Top Ten 2014 Releases I Didn't Get To post. Have a good week!

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  25. I sort of started a No Spend for this month but only for Starbucks. I was going to Starbucks everyday but with the amount I spend there I can buy at least 5 books a week! So now I'm bringing my own coffee to work or drinking something else. I also have Netflix and I watched a couple of series during the summer. Sounds like things are getting back to normal after the holidays but I hope you get more time to read this week. Have a great week!!

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  26. A Kitchen in France looks stellar! I love international cookbooks and when they have wonderful photographs I go crazy. I saw this book on another blog last week and I neglected to add it to Goodreads. I am going to go right now so I don't forget again. Thanks so much for stopping by my blog. :)

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  27. Haha! Totally agree with you about the Doctor Who Christmas special. It was pretty creepy- and very Inception-esque I thought.
    Have a great week!

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  28. Drats! I'm still behind on Doctor Who. I think I'll catch up during the next couple weeks. Hope you get some more reading time! :)

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  29. I think one of the biggest money savers is staying home and eating in. Eating out is soooo expensive anymore. I mean we went out to eat and went bowling last night and dinner was like $80 and bowling $30. Um... so much for saving money when one night out is $100. Just crazy.

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  30. I would like to cook more too and I would really love to learn new recipes :) A Kitchen in France: A Year of Cooking in My Farmhouse by Mimi Thorisson looks so interesting :)

    WeeklyWrap@EverythingNyze

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  31. No spend January is a great idea. I should do the same, perhaps in February as I've already blown it for January LOL. ;-)
    I hope you manage to get some more reading time in.

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  32. I haven't read any Beaton works but I think she writes under Marion Chesney too; those were some of my favorite books from years ago and I've been working at re-reading them.

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  33. No spend January sounds perfect for appreciating the things you have already! I hope your month gets less busy and you get some reading time to relax.

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  34. Yay for doing some of the things that never get done. I've done the no spending thing and it really is an interesting experience. Stay strong! You can make the month! lol

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  35. LOL on the Dr. Who. Two of my kids are big fans!

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  36. The cover of A Kitchen in France is beautiful. It sounds like your January is going very well. That's great.

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  37. I will be anxiously awaiting your thoughts on Sarah Morgan's book. :-) I have a print copy of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender, but haven't read it. I'll be curious to know what you think of the audio version.

    I admire your will power not to spend money this month. What a great goal to have. I think my husband wishes I would give that a try. LOL Although I think he would have just as much trouble. I've been trying. It will be easier come April, after my daughter's birthday, I think.

    Have a great week, Katherine!

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  38. No Spend January sounds really really hard. Good luck!!

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