My week: We saw "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" on Monday and I totally loved it! It was such a fun movie, and more lighthearted than the last couple Harry Potters. I totally want a bowtruckle and a niffler! I also had a job interview this week at the Air Force base library where I worked last time we were stationed here. They finally had an opening! Fingers crossed...
Jarrod had to work on Thanksgiving from noon to midnight, but I did get to see him for a couple hours in the morning. I did a three-way Skype with my parents and brother along with my grandma and cousins, which was a nice treat, and I basically had the laziest day ever. Friday we had our Thanksgiving feast, Saturday I put out all my indoor Christmas decorations, and Sunday ended up being a quiet football- and knitting-filled day. We'd planned to go to the beach but the weather didn't cooperate.
Reading: I blew through Janet Evanovich's latest Stephanie Plum book (they can always be counted on to be short and sweet these days!), then started "The Fifth Season" by N.K. Jemisin, a fantasy novel I've seen raved about a lot lately in the blogosphere. The plot is a little complex to describe briefly here -- it involves a very volatile planet Earth and a special group of people both feared and necessary who have the power to harness seismic energy -- but I really enjoyed it and I think any fantasy fan would too. My only complaint was that, though super readable, the writing was sometimes a little too YA-ish for my taste.
Yesterday I started "The Christmas Town" by Donna VanLiere; it's super-short and I'll have it done in no time. Next up: "Nevernight" by Jay Kristoff. I usually stay away from YA books, but sometimes the fantasy ones pull me in. I had high hopes for this one, but some of the reviews on Goodreads complained about the writing style so we'll see!
Knitting: I've been working on the Gilmore Girls mystery knit-along the past couple days. It's meant to be worked on while watching "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life," but I want to focus when I watch the four new episodes, so I've been knitting while finishing up my re-watch. I like the way the cowl is coming out so far and I'm glad I splurged and bought the accompanying kit from a yarn-dyer on Etsy. The main color is called "aspen forest" and it reminds me of Colorado! All four clues are out now, but I'm just starting clue 3. Here's a picture of clue 1... I don't think it would spoil too much for anyone who hasn't started knitting yet.
Eating: We had an amazing belated Thanksgiving feast of fried turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn pudding, roasted brussels sprouts and butternut squash with cranberries and pecans, cranberry sauce, rolls, and cranberry punch. And I made a yummy pumpkin-swirl cheesecake that came out really well -- even Jarrod complimented it, and he's not the world's biggest dessert fan (crazy guy!).
Watching: We started watching the super-hyped Netflix show "Stranger Things" last week. I love the '80s nostalgia, and I'm enjoying the show, even though it's not quite as amazing as I expected after all the rave reviews. The plot definitely has me intrigued, though, and I like the characters.
I also did some more "Gilmore Girls" re-watching. I'm on the first disc of season 7 now; I see some extensive binge-watching in my future this week because I'm anxious to finish the original series so I can start "A Year in the Life"!
Buying: I'm not a huge Black Friday shopper though I typically do a little online browsing. This year I was thrilled to finally get the Bose bluetooth speaker I'd been eyeing for a while. I'm so excited for it to come in the mail!
Blogging:
Monday Musings: Happy Thanksgiving!
10 Things I'm Thankful For
Review: Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler (3.5 stars)
Upcoming Release: To Capture What We Cannot Keep by Beatrice Colin (3.5 stars)
Looking forward to: Getting comfy on the couch with a Starbucks peppermint mocha and watching the first episode of "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life."
Jarrod had to work on Thanksgiving from noon to midnight, but I did get to see him for a couple hours in the morning. I did a three-way Skype with my parents and brother along with my grandma and cousins, which was a nice treat, and I basically had the laziest day ever. Friday we had our Thanksgiving feast, Saturday I put out all my indoor Christmas decorations, and Sunday ended up being a quiet football- and knitting-filled day. We'd planned to go to the beach but the weather didn't cooperate.
Reading: I blew through Janet Evanovich's latest Stephanie Plum book (they can always be counted on to be short and sweet these days!), then started "The Fifth Season" by N.K. Jemisin, a fantasy novel I've seen raved about a lot lately in the blogosphere. The plot is a little complex to describe briefly here -- it involves a very volatile planet Earth and a special group of people both feared and necessary who have the power to harness seismic energy -- but I really enjoyed it and I think any fantasy fan would too. My only complaint was that, though super readable, the writing was sometimes a little too YA-ish for my taste.
Yesterday I started "The Christmas Town" by Donna VanLiere; it's super-short and I'll have it done in no time. Next up: "Nevernight" by Jay Kristoff. I usually stay away from YA books, but sometimes the fantasy ones pull me in. I had high hopes for this one, but some of the reviews on Goodreads complained about the writing style so we'll see!
Knitting: I've been working on the Gilmore Girls mystery knit-along the past couple days. It's meant to be worked on while watching "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life," but I want to focus when I watch the four new episodes, so I've been knitting while finishing up my re-watch. I like the way the cowl is coming out so far and I'm glad I splurged and bought the accompanying kit from a yarn-dyer on Etsy. The main color is called "aspen forest" and it reminds me of Colorado! All four clues are out now, but I'm just starting clue 3. Here's a picture of clue 1... I don't think it would spoil too much for anyone who hasn't started knitting yet.
Watching: We started watching the super-hyped Netflix show "Stranger Things" last week. I love the '80s nostalgia, and I'm enjoying the show, even though it's not quite as amazing as I expected after all the rave reviews. The plot definitely has me intrigued, though, and I like the characters.
I also did some more "Gilmore Girls" re-watching. I'm on the first disc of season 7 now; I see some extensive binge-watching in my future this week because I'm anxious to finish the original series so I can start "A Year in the Life"!
Buying: I'm not a huge Black Friday shopper though I typically do a little online browsing. This year I was thrilled to finally get the Bose bluetooth speaker I'd been eyeing for a while. I'm so excited for it to come in the mail!
Blogging:
Monday Musings: Happy Thanksgiving!
10 Things I'm Thankful For
Review: Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler (3.5 stars)
Upcoming Release: To Capture What We Cannot Keep by Beatrice Colin (3.5 stars)
Looking forward to: Getting comfy on the couch with a Starbucks peppermint mocha and watching the first episode of "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life."
I'm linking up with Kathryn of Book Date for It's Monday! What Are You Reading?
My friend shared her copy of the new Evanovich novel. Thanks for the reminder. It's just what I need after a heavy dose of nonfiction this month.
ReplyDeletehttp://readerbuzz.blogspot.com/2016/11/nonfiction-november-be-expert.html
Ooh brilliant! I didn't know there were going to be nifflers in Fantastic Beasts! I loved those guys in the Harry Potter books. I'm not sure about whether I want to see Stranger Things...it sounds intriguing but I'm not 100% sold yet!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you had an awesome and relaxing holiday - just the way it should be. I heard great things about The Fifth Season and I think my library just got a copy in so maybe I will give it a go. Good luck on the job interview - sounds perfect for you.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you had a great holiday. I'm going to have to read The Fifth Season but it sounds a little complex for the reading mood I've been in lately. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
ReplyDelete"Sranger Things" got better for me the further I got into the series. I hope you enjoy it! Good for you on waiting until you make it through your Gilmore Girls rewatch before you watch the Netflix episodes. I only made it to half of season 5 before they released and I just couldn't wait. Can't wait to read what you think!
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