Sunday, October 12, 2014

This Week in Reading - Oct 12



It's Sunday so time to link up with The Caffeinated Reader to talk about what's happening on and off the blog!

What I Got:

Dreaming Spies by Laurie R. King - This is the most recent in the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series which is one of my favorites. I'm a little behind but this doesn't come out until toward the end of February so hopefully I'll have time to catch up before my review is due.

Tim Cratchit's Christmas Carol by Jim Piecuch - Christmas Carol part 2 told through the eyes of Tiny Tim all dressed up.

Tagged for Death by Sherry Harris - It's a new cozy mystery series featuring a bargain hunter.  Couldn't resist!

If You've Got It Haunt it by Rose Pressey - Another cozy mystery series this one featuring a vintage clothing store and ghosts.  

All of these are from NetGalley

Currently:

Reading:  The Woman Who Would Be King by Kara Cooney  and Deadly Tasting Jean-Pierre Alaux and Noel Balen.  So far I'm enjoying both very much.

Listening:  I took a break from listening while we were on vacation so I'm still about halfway through with The Lost Art of Mixing by Erica Bauermeister.

Watching: I missed all the shows last week since we were out of town so I'm going to be playing catch up for most of this week.  I'm think I'm looking forward to NCIS and NCIS; New Orleans the most.

Off the Blog:

We had a fantastic time on vacation!  The weather couldn't have been better.  Paul and Emma spent a lot of time exploring and going down to the river.  J and I took the Tornado and did a little road exploring and I've now seen more of extremely rural south Mississippi than I ever expected to see.  I did get some reading done and am looking forward to getting caught up on my blog visiting to see what everyone else has been up to this week.  

Paul opening the box that contained his birthday llama.  The Alabama blanket is a gift from his girlfriend.  The rest of us try and pretend he's not an Alabama fan.  

Emma on the drive down.  I think she got 6 books read in the 4 nights we were there.

The Tornado and Duffy - the world's biggest and sweetest dog.  He seems to be a Mastiff/St. Bernard/Bloodhound mix.  


More running.  He does that a lot.

On the Blog:

What Happened:

Saturday:  Cookbook Review - Food Network's Sweet

Coming Up:

Monday: Coming Home - Review (a promising new small town contemporary series)
Tuesday:  The Top Ten places books have made me want to visit
Wednesday:  The Question of the Missing Head - the first in the Asperger's mystery series
Thursday:  The Woman Who Would Be King - a biography about the Egyptian Pharaoh Hatshepsut
Friday:  Link ups!
Saturday: A cookbook review

Happy reading and have a great week!

52 comments:

  1. Looks like you had a wonderful vacation...great photos! Enjoy your week, and I love the cover of Dreaming Spies.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It grabbed me too! It's definitely a series worth trying if you haven't read it.

      Delete
  2. Great vacation. I love your pictures. And I am loving NCIS episodes this season. I haven't seen NCIS New Orleans yet but I'm planning to as well. Have a great week ahead! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Emma is a girl after my own heart. I love that you all pretend he isn't an Al fan :snort: My hubby turned all of my kids into die hard Philadelphia fans in all sports, and they have him watching the Huskers. Glad you all had a nice vacation, but we are happy to have you back :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We're all Auburn fans here (Emma's heading there next fall!) so we ignore Paul's Alabama loyalty. It's best.

      Delete
  4. Glad you enjoyed your vacation. 6 books in 4 nights? That's awesome.

    Here's mine:
    My Week in a Wrapped #3

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's kind of fun when you see your own traits in your kids! I just wish I was able to read that much now!

      Delete
  5. Glad you had a good vacation, looks like a fun trip. Dreaming Spies is one I'm not familiar with, but after reading the description I'm curious. I'll have to keep an eye our your thoughts on it.

    Enjoy the new mysteries, they look like a lot of fun.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! We had a lovely time! Dreaming Spies is the newest in a long running mystery series that I definitely recommend. It'd probably be best to start at the beginning though!

      Delete
  6. Dreaming Spires looks fantastic. Why have I not heard of this series before! It sounds like something I'd love.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You should try it! It's an interesting series - start at the beginning though. I think the first one is Beekeeper's Apprentice.

      Delete
  7. Your house is beautiful. Keep that kid running and maybe he'll get a track scholarship.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The boy doesn't walk he runs at all times. Keeping him running isn't an issue right now!

      Delete
  8. So glad you had a wonderful vacation! The books will always be there...

    ReplyDelete
  9. Sounds like you had a fun vacation. The pictures are wonderful. My Duffy is a big dog. LOL And the llama. I recall your story about that:)
    I'm going to check out If You've Got It Haunt It. A cozy with ghosts, sounds fun.
    Here is my Sunday Post - http://fuonlyknew.com/2014/10/12/whats-new-on-my-bookshelf-82-and-the-sunday-post/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He's ridiculously big but so great! We did have a lovely time and the llama was great! I'm hoping If You've Got It Haunt it will be good. I do love cozies with a ghost thrown in.

      Delete
  10. Nice photos--family trips are fun--and harder to arrange as the kids get older. Love the description of the books you're reading now. They sound like my kind of stories. Beautiful cover on the forthcoming Laurie King book. I've read the first in the series (for a book club) and MUST get back to this series. I like her writing style and have enjoyed some of her stand alone novels.

    My recap: http://www.bookclublibrarian.com/2014/10/weekly-book-recap-85-blogoversary.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are so right about that! With work schedules, multiple schools and all the rest getting a vacation planned in near impossible! I love Laurie King's books though I haven't read any of her stand alones.

      Delete
  11. It looks like you had a great vacation! Love the pictures and the house in the background of the last one is gorgeous!

    Have a great week!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We really did! Thank you! It's my grandparents' house but I've always loved it.

      Delete
  12. Beautiful photos. beautiful children! Glad you had a fun vacation.

    I really need to start the Laurie King series. I have yet to hear any poor reviews for any of them!

    I've seen the Asperger mystery book, The Question of the Missing Head around. I really hesitate to read it though. My son was diagnosed with AS way back when in the first few years of having it recognized in the U.S., before it became the "disability flavor of the month"--the label is now being removed to just be considered the higher end of the Autism spectrum. I cringe at the stereotypes and misinformation about folks living with it. Hope the author did her research well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think you might enjoy this mystery. The author has written many books about Aspergers and I found it really interesting. I do agree about the flavor of the month issue. When I was in school it was ADHD and now it's Autism.

      Delete
  13. I've got the first book in the Laurie King mystery series on my shelves. I need to read it already! And I grabbed both of those cozy mysteries from NetGalley as well....it is an addiction I tell you :) I hope that you have a great week in books!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Definitely an addiction but I think there might be a lot of us that suffer from it! Definitely read the Laurie King series. It's really great!

      Delete
  14. Mmmm...The Woman Who Would Be King? Interesting!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was really interesting! Definitely recommend it!

      Delete
  15. Sounds like you got some great books to read! :)

    Stormi

    The Week In Review

    ReplyDelete
  16. Glad you had a great vacation!

    Tagged for Death is on my wishlist. It looks like it would be right up my alley.

    Have a great week! Good luck catching up!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! It was really nice. I'm excited about the new cozies. NetGalley got me this week!

      Delete
  17. Glad you had a good vacation (and what a lovely farmhouse!) The Tornado looks so happy.

    I'm delighted you got Dreaming Spies, too! It looks and sounds so good. I follow Laurie King's blog, and she posted some of her Japan photos - just beautiful.

    Have a great week, my friend!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! We had a great time!

      I'm excited about Dreaming Spies! I'm hoping I'll have time to get caught up before I get to this one.

      Delete
  18. Looks like you had a great vacation and so nice to see a few photos from it too! Hope you have a great week and enjoy your new books.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! We had a great time but it's always nice to be home!

      Delete
  19. Looks like y'all had a great time! I had to laugh when you said Tornado runs a lot - I know all about that and little ones. Makes you wish you could bottle their energy!

    Emma's a girl after my own heart - using vacation to devour books! That is what vacation is for, right?!

    Have a great week!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I did the same thing with vacations when I was her age so it's kind of fun to see yourself in your kids - especially when it's positive! I definitely wish I could bottle his energy. The child doesn't stop!

      Delete
  20. I am glad to hear you had an awesoem vacation! And lol at Pauls face when he noticed that llama. Tornado seems full of energy, an wow that dog is almost as large as him. My sister is always like that even though she's 22 now she's still as active as a little kid ;).

    I always read a lot during vacations as well, although that clashed sometimes when my sister wanted to go out and my mom was stuck between us.

    I hope you havea great week and get all caught up again!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm fairly energetic but that child has me beat. He fights sleep every single night. The dog is definitely as big as him and actually weighs more than I do. He's a giant!
      I feel a bit sorry for your mom stuck between someone who wants to read and some one who wants to go out. I sympathize with you though!

      Delete
  21. Seeing your new Laurie R King book has reminded me that I have the first books in this series which I still haven't read yet! They sound so good I couldn't resist buying them when I saw them in the bookshop, I really must get around to reading them.

    Glad you had a great time on vacation :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Read it!! They can be a smidge dry but it's a great series. I love the spin on the Sherlock story especially.

      Delete
  22. Looks like you had a great time on the trip. :) Glad to hear! It's wonderful to get to relax like that.

    Hope you have a great week this week!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We did and it was really nice to get to spend time together without a dozen things that needed to be done!

      Delete
  23. Don't faint, but I didn't visit NetGalley once this past week. lol Of course, now I have the urge to go running over there. Not actual running like the Tornado, cuz if I'm actually running, someone is either bleeding or there's something scary chasing me. And that llama look. LOL! My youngest son's bday was Tues and I wrapped a bag of Jalapeno Cheetos (a favorite of his) and gave them to him along with his other presents. The look I got...hehehe!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What's the fun of having kids if you can't mess with them a bit (in a purely affectionate way of course!). I'm with you on the running. I like the idea of being a runner but my knees object to it. You didn't go on NetGalley all week?? I think you should get some kind of prize. That's pretty amazing.

      Delete
  24. I hung onto my copy of King's first book in her series still hoping to someday read it (I still can't believe I let go of so many of my books!). One of these days . . .

    I am glad to hear you had such a good vacation with your family. It sounds so nice and relaxing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You should definitely read this series! I think you'd enjoy it. I understand the one of these days thing though. There's so many books out there just begging to be read.

      We had a really nice time! I'm not sure if a vacation with a 4 year old is ever relaxing but this was about as close it could get!

      Delete
  25. Nice pictures; it looks like you all had fun.

    I read the first book in Laurie King's series, many years ago, but I may try again.

    Have a great week!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hehehe!! Love the pics of the kids... Mine are 9/7/5 and all run a lot!!
    Enjoy your new reads!

    Thanx for visiting My Weekly Wrap-Up!
    Naomi @ Nomi’s Paranormal Palace

    ReplyDelete