Monday Musings

 

My week: It was an ok week here... because of stuff going on at Jarrod's work, I hardly saw him at all this week (and he worked all weekend til late in the evening); this week will be more of the same. Wednesday was my first time helping out with the 4th and 5th grade kids' book club the library offers (we read "Walk Two Moons" by Sharon Creech) and that went well enough. On Sunday I met up with my co-workers at a hibachi grill restaurant for a going-away luncheon for a co-worker (who is also a friend and I'm so sad she's leaving, but such is military life). I was bummed that Jarrod couldn't come since it's a place we've been wanting to try -- not to mention I hate driving in downtown Honolulu!

Reading: I spent the first part of the week reading "Three Times Lucky" by Shelia Turnage, the book for next week's 4th and 5th grade book club meeting (there are two different groups who each read one book a month), and it was pretty cute. It reminded me a bit of a kids' version of Janet Evanovich, with a crime to solve, an intrepid -- if a bit goofy -- protagonist and her sidekick, and a wacky band of supporting characters.

I spent the second part of the week floundering around trying to find the right thing to read. I'm not usually a "mood reader" -- I typically just pick up the book that's due back at the library soonest. But this week nothing struck my fancy. I tried "First Grave on the Right" by Darynda Jones and the writing style totally turned me off. Then I tried "O Jerusalem," the fifth book in Laurie R. King's Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series and the story started off so slow and kept -- literally -- putting me to sleep. (Though I will get back to both of those books soon.) I thought about picking up Bill Bryson's "One Summer: America, 1927" and even read the first few pages, but I wasn't feeling non-fiction either.

Finally I got to the very last library book I have checked out -- "Just One Damned Thing After Another" by Jodi Taylor (first in the Chronicles of St. Mary's series, which features time-traveling historians) and it stuck! The writing is not perfect but it's an easy read and the story is intriguing enough to hold my apparently fickle interest. Plus, it started off going in one direction (reminding me a lot of the Invisible Library books by Genevieve Cogman) and then took a surprising turn, which saved it from feeling like something I've read before. While I'm chugging along with it, it's still not what I really feel like reading -- and I'm not sure what on earth that is! I sure hope I'm not headed for the dreaded reading slump...

Watching: "Grantchester," "World of Dance," "Deadliest Catch." I also watched the first couple episodes of the new Masterpiece show "My Mother and Other Strangers," which is set in Ireland during WWII. Movie-wise, I watched "Fifty Shades Darker" the other night and thought it was surprisingly good.

Listening to: "Whatever It Takes" by Imagine Dragons.

Baking: Maple walnut blondies. It was actually my first time ever eating a blondie, and it was passable (I mean, it's hard for me to dislike something maple-flavored!) but I don't think I'll be giving up chocolate brownies anytime soon. Plus, (and I'm slightly ashamed to say this) I think I would've liked them better if they'd been made with maple flavoring instead of real maple syrup -- it made them so sickly sweet, like guzzling straight out of the syrup bottle!

Craving: A thunderstorm (not likely -- we very seldom get storms in Hawaii). Any rain at all would be appreciated. I've seen so many thundercloud and rain pictures posted by friends this week and I'm jealous!

Buying: Another bookish t-shirt. I couldn't resist when I spotted it in an e-mail from Groopdealz! It basically sums up my life philosophy. ;) Can't wait for it to arrive!

Blogging:
Monday Musings
Book Review: Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn (4.5 stars)
I Judge Books By Their Covers: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

Looking forward to: Same as last week -- August!

*I'm linking up with Kathryn of Book Date for It's Monday! What Are You Reading?