Holiday Q & A

Well, who am I to resist a Christmas Q&A?! I spotted this one at Rebel Mommy Book Blog (see her post here).

1. Real or fake tree: I really don't care, but my husband insists on a real tree. And since we're getting a real tree, I insist on selecting and cutting down the perfect tree rather than getting a pre-cut one from the store. In Hawaii we go to a Norfolk pine tree farm; they look kind of Dr. Seuss-ish, but that's your only choice of fresh-cut Christmas tree in Hawaii.

This year's tree, complete with puppy.

2. Favorite Christmas cookie: I pretty much like any and all cookies, except sugar cookies. They're fun to decorate but not my favorite to eat (though, really, I'm not going to turn down a cookie if one's offered to me)!

3. Home or travel on Christmas: Depends on where in the world we're living! Here in Hawaii we stay home (and this year my husband will actually be working on Christmas), but when we're stationed on the Mainland we try to spend holidays with family.

4. Clear or colored lights: Colored on the tree, both outside.

5. Christmas cards?: Yes, yes, yes! I'm a snail mail fanatic. I've been sending Christmas cards since I was in elementary school!

6. Favorite present given: ...crickets. I have the worst memory and I have no recollection of what I gave for which occasion -- or even really what I've given. Let's just say I buy a lot of cool presents from Etsy!

7. Favorite present received: Probably the pogo stick Santa brought when I was in elementary school, or the reindeer bell he left me in my stocking one year (I still have it in my stocking today!).

8. Stockings?: Yes! I have a stocking that my mom embroidered for me when I was a baby, and I made a similar one for Jarrod after we got married. The pets even have stockings!

9. Christmas PJs?: Nope, that's never been a thing in my family. Maybe we'll make it one if we ever have kids.

10. Favorite Christmas carol: Carol of the Bells.

11. Favorite holiday tradition: Driving around looking at Christmas lights (nowadays, with a peppermint mocha in hand) and Christmas music playing on the radio.

12. Early or last-minute shopper: Early, typically. A bit last-minute this year.

13. Favorite Christmas movie or show: The Holiday and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. And of course I soak up a bunch of Hallmark Christmas movies each year.

14. Favorite holiday beverage: Anything peppermint -- peppermint mocha, peppermint chip shake, peppermint cocoa.

15. Cookies and milk for Santa?: Of course! Growing up we always left carrots for the reindeer too.

Monday Musings

Alohi's birthday hike!

My week: Alohi turned 1 on Saturday! To celebrate we took her on a hike. She got a little bored and bratty in the middle (in her defense, it was nearly 5 miles), but I think she had a great time! And my mantra is a tired puppy is a happy puppy, and she was definitely contentedly tuckered out.

My husband's and my Christmas roles seem to be reversed this year. Normally I'm the super-festive one and he's the Grinch, but I just haven't been feeling it this year. He actually had to convince me to go cut down our tree (I was all, "Ugh, it's soooooo much effort just to take it down in a couple weeks"), when usually I'm the one saying, "Let's go, let's go!" We had some lighted garland around our front door and I finally gave into the trend and bought a blow-up Rudolph this year, and honestly I felt like that was enough; it's ok to take a break once in a while! But no, Jarrod has been bitten by the Christmas bug and after this week our house looks like the Griswold's and our electical sockets look like the ones in "Christmas Story" that keep blowing the fuse. And, happily, I'm finally feeling a bit more festive -- I'm actually listening to Christmas music as I type this.

Reading: I stayed home from work last Monday with a cold and I spent hours and hours reading -- and blazed through "Magpie Murders." It was really two mystery novels in one -- one set in the '50s, one in present day, both in England -- and I loved it!

Then I read "Big Mushy Happy Lump," the second Sarah Scribbles book. I didn't find the comics in this edition to be quite so "OH MY GOD, that is SO me!" as the first one, but it was cute and fun nonetheless.

Next up was "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng, one of the most hyped books of the year. It was deserving of all the hullaballoo, though not perfect -- I gave it 4 stars. I will say, though, that it was one of those books that sucks you into a situation that's obviously spiraling out of control, and you just can't look away -- or put the book down! It was the first book in a while that got me to stay up way past my bedtime reading.

And now I'm reading "Christmas at Little Beach Street Bakery" by Jenny Colgan. It's cute, and I love that it features a PET PUFFIN(!!!!!), but I'm 2/3 of the way done and it doesn't feel quite as Christmas-y as I'd hoped. It's actually the third book in a series (though the other two aren't necessary to enjoy this one -- there's enough background) and I do think I might go back and read the first two. I want more of this charming island off Cornwall!

I've now read 95 books this year -- fingers crossed that I make it to my new goal of 100!

Watching: We watched the movie "Get Out" this week. It didn't seem like something I'd like and I had no intention of watching it until I saw Allison Williams talking about it on The Tonight Show and then a co-worker recommended it. It was... definitely a unique plot. I didn't hate it, but it certainly wasn't my favorite. Have you seen it? What did you think?

Also: a couple Hallmark Christmas movies. One, "A Gift to Remember," was pretty much made for me in all its cheesy glory -- it involved a bookstore-working bibliophile who likes to make crafty displays in the shop, and a cute dog.

Knitting: A Christmas-y bird ornament for my work Secret Santa. I finished it yesterday but it was too dark to get a good picture, so here he is partially completed.

Eating: I discovered this reeeally yummy peppermint-white chocolate caramel corn at Target. Peppermint is pretty much my favorite flavor, and I am now addicted.

Dreading: Going to the post office after work today! Ughhhhh! I'm usually the early bird as far as Christmas shopping and mailing, but this year I was waiting and waiting and waiting for the books I ordered from Book Depository for my Broke and Bookish Secret Santa to arrive. A month later, they are still not here, and I'm now going to be the crazy lady braving the post office a week before Christmas. And I have a ton of stuff to mail, too (the joys of living far, far away from family and friends!).

Blogging:
Monday Musings
The Book Series I Started in 2017 -- And Which Ones I'll Continue
I Judge Books By Their Covers: Christmas at Little Beach Street Bakery
Christmas Song Book Tag

Looking forward to: Taking Alohi down to the Honolulu City Lights to see Shaka Santa and Mrs. Claus. And finally doing some Christmas baking this week!

*I'm linking up with Kathryn of Book Date for It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Kimberly of Caffeinated Reviewer for Sunday Post.

Monday Musings

Our Norfolk pine Christmas tree!

My week: It was a pretty good week here, other than the cold I've come down with. I had been busy at work the past couple weeks getting stuff together for a bookish ornament-making program at the library and we had it on Wednesday. It went well and I think the kids really enjoyed the ornaments I came up with! Plus we gave second life to some books that were victims of the big book-weeding we're doing in advance of getting new carpet.

Saturday we cut down our Christmas tree. We got a Norfolk pine again this year -- the only kind you can get in Hawaii if you want to chop down a fresh one -- and we took Alohi with us to pick out her first Christmas tree.

Reading: I finished "Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI" by David Grann, and it's a book I would highly recommend. It was definitely not a happy book, but it taught me about some disturbing and sad events in our country's history that I'd never even heard of before, and in Grann's typical style it was fast-paced and readable.

I also read "Escape From Mr. Lemoncellos' Library" by Chris Grabenstein for the kids' book club at work. It's about a super-cool library and a game to find a secret route out by using literary and library clues. My co-worker and I actually came up with a similar (much abbreviated) game for our book club kids to play at our meeting this week.

Then I blew through "Young Jane Young" by Gabrielle Zevin. I read it in just over a day -- it was a very fast and easy read -- but it was pretty disappointing. It was absolutely nothing like Zevin's previous book (which I LOVED), "The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry." Pretty much every single thing I enjoyed about that book was missing here.

I finally finished "Astrophysics for People in a Hurry" by Neil DeGrasse Tyson. I had intended to read a chapter a day during Non-Fiction November, but it got pushed to the wayside. Overall it was a good book and I learned a lot, though I'll readily admit some of it was over my head!

Now I'm reading "Magpie Murders" by Anthony Horowitz, which is a mystery story within a mystery story. The second story reminds me a bit of one of my favorite PBS shows, "Grantchester," which is involves solving crimes in an English town in the '50s. So far I'm really enjoying it!

I'm up to 92 books read, and I think I'll be able to meet my new goal of 100 books in 2017!

Watching: We watched "Spider-Man: Homecoming" and I really liked it! A lot of people like the Toby McGuire Spiderman best, but I've actually enjoyed each iteration more than the last, and this is my favorite so far. I liked that Spiderman acts like an actual teenager, and he's just learning -- not always flawlessly -- how to use his special abilities.

Knitting: I finished the hat for my Broke and Bookish Secret Santa!

From the Field of Wildflowers pattern by Joji Locatelli.

Receiving: The package from my TBTB Secret Santa! Once again, I was totally spoiled. My wonderful Santa sent two books ("The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" ultimate edition, and "Vicious" by Victoria Schwab), socks to go with my "Hitchhiker" book, personalized notepaper with a knitting theme, the adorable "This is How We Roll" library-print pouch from Out of Print, some bookish postcards, and a canister of Starbucks peppermint cocoa. I love everything!

Blogging:
Monday Musings
10 Book Settings I'd Love to Visit
Turning the Page on November 2017

Looking forward to: Kicking this cold! And then baking Christmas cookies!

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

Turning the Page on October 2017

October was a fabulous month for me! My mom and brother were out for a week-long visit and we had a wonderful time playing tourist. While they were here we took Alohi for her first boat ride and her first long hike! We also went to the beach a few times, went to a luau, toured Iolani Palace, did plenty of sight-seeing, and ate tons and tons of delicious food.

At the end of October I turned 32, and I celebrated by getting a couples massage with my husband, taking Alohi to the dog park, and going out to dinner at a restaurant I'd been dying to try -- then falling asleep on the couch at 10:30!

I love Halloween, and I love working at a place that encourages costume-wearing! All of my library co-workers dressed up and we all looked fabulous. I went as a book fairy, complete with book-page fairy wings.

As far as TV and movie watching goes, I'm thrilled to say I finally got to see "Wonder Woman" and "Guardians of the Galaxy 2," both of which were great. TV-wise we're working our way through the third season of "Broadchurch" and the second season of "Stranger Things" (which, by the way, came out on my birthday!). I'm also keeping up with "This Is Us," "Poldark," and "Designated Survivor" (which is quickly losing me, unfortunately -- it's too much of a one-catastrophe-after-another show with not enough character development).

Books read: 8
Himself by Jess Kidd // 4 stars
The Marsh King's Daughter by Karen Dionne // 3 stars
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (Wayfarers #1) // 5 stars!
Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett // 3.5 stars
One Summer: America, 1927 by Bill Bryson // 4.5 stars
Setting Free the Kites by Alex George // 3.5 stars
Origin by Dan Brown (Robert Langdon #5) // 4 stars
The Alice Network by Kate Quinn // 4.5 stars

Started in October and currently reading: The House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

Favorite book: I totally loved The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet! I just felt happy reading it, and I'm really looking forward to reading the second book in the series!

Biggest let-down: The House of Leaves! It's supposed to scare the pants off me, but I actually put it down because I was so bored! I'm not giving up on it yet, though -- I do want to keep reading.

November release I'm most looking forward to: Artemis by Andy Weir!!!!

Book I'm most excited to read in November: So many! I'm working my way through all the 2017 releases I want to get to before the end of the year, plus I'm participating in Non-Fiction November so I'll be reading at least one non-fiction book. I have The Heart's Invisible Furies on hold at the library and a good friend just gave it 5 stars, so I'm definitely looking forward to that one.

Current library checkouts: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid, The Blinds by Adam Sternbergh and Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt (for the kids' book club at work)

Books added to to-read list: 6 (not bad at all -- and two were series continuations so those barely count!)

Most intriguing TBR addition: Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie (Imperial Radch #1). After reading The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, I'm craving more sci-fi set in space!

From Goodreads: On a remote, icy planet, the soldier known as Breq is drawing closer to completing her quest. Once, she was the Justice of Toren -- a colossal starship with an artificial intelligence linking thousands of soldiers in the service of the Radch, the empire that conquered the galaxy. Now, an act of treachery has ripped it all away, leaving her with one fragile human body, unanswered questions, and a burning desire for vengeance.

Favorite bookstagram: Yes, I know I said this book was my biggest disappointment of the month, but I love the Halloween atmosphere in this photo! (Plus I was excited to show off the ghostie lights I made.) Find me on Instagram @knittinglindsay!

I actually did a teeny, tiny bit of knitting this month! Between Alohi trying to "help" and general busyness, I've barely knit at all this year. I've been itching to get my hands on my needles, though, and I finally picked up (and ripped out and started over) the Newt Scamander scarf I was supposed to have given to a friend months and months and months ago.

I also made those cute ghost lights in the picture above! They were super-easy: ping pong balls, cheesecloth, Christmas lights and Mod Podge. Just put "ping pong ball ghost lights" into Pinterest and I'm sure you'll find a tutorial similar to the one I was inspired by, if you feel inclined to make your own!

Favorite post: 10 Book Characters Who Are Sexy As Hell In Their Movie & TV Adaptations. Mmmmhmmm.

Book reviews:
American Eclipse: A Nation's Epic Race to Catch the Shadow of the Moon and Win the Glory of the World by David Baron
The Marsh King's Daughter by Karen Dionne
Himself by Jess Kidd
Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett
One Summer: America, 1927 by Bill Bryson

Monday Musings

Since it was a pretty quiet week here, I thought I'd share another picture from my family's visit. My brother snapped this family photo for us on Round Top Drive, which has several pretty overlooks. That's Honolulu, Waikiki and Diamond Head in the background.

My week: It was an ok week here. My mom and brother headed home last Monday night, and Tuesday I was definitely still on vacation brain when I started back to work! We had some ever-so-slightly fall-like weather here and it was a nice treat. It was super windy, a little rainy and a couple degrees cooler than usual.

Reading: I finished "Rabbit Cake" and ultimately was underwhelmed by it. The cover and title are a pretty dead giveaway that this is a quirky book, but it was just a little too out-there for me, and it also felt more like a middle-grade novel than an adult one.

Then I finally finished "One Summer," Bill Bryson's portrait of the 1920s. I realized last week just how appallingly overdue it was and finally got my butt in gear to finish the last 250 pages, which I blazed through in three days. If you like the '20s, read this! It was so interesting and I learned so much, and Bryson's writing style keeps 450 pages of history from feeling dry.

After that I read "Setting Free the Kites" by Alex George. It's not something I'd pick up on my own -- I've learned coming-of-age YA stories are not usually my thing -- but a good friend with similar reading tastes gave it 5 stars earlier this year and I decided to give it a try. I liked that it was set in Maine in the '70s, but it was just a little boring and kind of grim.

Now I'm reading something that should be the opposite of boring -- people say it's terrifying -- "House of Leaves" by Mark Z. Danielewski. I'm not far yet, and this is a whopper of a book, and an odd and uniquely constructed one at that, but so far I'm very intrigued.

Watching: "Grey's Anatomy." Jarrod had to work until midnight on Friday so I took the opportunity to watch the entire season of "Grey's" so far. It's a show that I've been wishing would just be over already -- but I'll most likely see it through to the end. This season, though, hooked me in right away and I'm actually excited to watch the next episode, something I haven't really felt about "Grey's" in a while. (P.S. Did you know they're making a spin-off of "Grey's" about the Seattle Fire Department? Ben is going to move over to become fireman. I think I'll pass!)

We also watched "The Circle" on DVD. I never got around to reading the book, and I heard mixed reviews about both the book and the adaptation. But I actually liked it well enough. It had a good satirical message about our over-reliance on technology and social media.

Eating: Pumpkin Pecan Cobbler. It's reminiscent of a chocolate pudding cake and super-yummy. I discovered the recipe last fall and have been waiting for a good time to make it again this year!

Making: These adorable ghost lights for Halloween! They're made out of ping pong balls, cheesecloth, Mod Podge and Christmas lights. (Here's the tutorial I worked off of.) They were super-easy -- I threw them together in about an hour late Saturday night. I wanted to take a better picture but I didn't have a chance to hang them up yesterday (I'm hoping to put them on the front porch), but you can get the idea. Does your neighborhood go all-out for Halloween? Mine does, more so than anywhere else we've lived, and I totally feel like we're lacking in outside decor compared to my neighbors with their giant spiders and blow-up pirate ships and scary window decals!

Missing: Drive-thru Starbucks! I met up with two other boxer moms and a co-worker with her two dogs at the dog park after work Friday and on the way home all I wanted in the world -- to accompany my sleepy puppy and peaceful house with a book waiting for me -- was an iced caramel macchiato! But I was not about to leave Alohi in the car by herself, and the only drive-thru Starbucks here is across the island. So... no iced coffee for this dog mama. Please enjoy your drive-thru Starbucks for me. And your pumpkin scones, too. The Starbucks here never have them in stock!

Blogging:
Monday Musings
Half-and-Half: 5 Books About Food and 5 Books That Made Me Hungry
Book Review: Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett
Non-Fiction Review: One Summer: America, 1927 by Bill Bryson

Looking forward to: My birthday is this Friday! And "Stranger Things" starts back that day! I'm also expecting a package that day from Amazon UK with the British version of the illustrated "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," plus the sequel to "The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet." (The British cover is so much better!) Birthday + good show + book mail = happy day!

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

Monday Musings

Maunawili Falls hike.

My week: My mom and brother got here on Tuesday for a visit and we've had a fabulous time! We went hiking, we rented a boat and went out to a sandbar, we went to Iolani Palace and the beach and the North Shore and a luau. It's been so nice to have the week off work, play tourist and, of course, spend time with my family -- and we took Alohi us as much as we could. She went on her first long hike (and was a total champ) and on her first boat ride, where she tried (and hated) swimming for the first time. My mom and brother fly out tonight, but it's been such a treat having them here!

Reading: Not much time for reading this week, but I did squeeze in a little here and there. Monday night I finished "The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet" and I absolutely LOVED it. I can't wait to read the second book in the series. Then I started "Rabbit Cake" by Annie Hartnett, which is a quirky book narrated by an 11-year-old. It's a decent and easy read, but it's definitely not sucking me in the way "The Long Way" did.

Eating: Soooo much food! We had malasadas and bubble tea and ice cream (twice) and took my family to a bunch of our favorite restaurants.

Making: The tutu for my book fairy Halloween costume for work. It's a combination of pink, purple, light blue and white, it's ridiculously voluminous, and I love it.

Blogging:
Monday Musings
Autumn Aesthetic: 14 Fall-ish Book Covers
Book Review: Himself by Jess Kidd

Looking forward to: Watching "Guardians of the Galaxy 2" on DVD. I wanted to see it in the theater but we didn't have a chance, and it's finally come in for me at work!

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

Mom and me!

Monday Musings

My week: It was a pretty quiet week around here. We had two rainy days, which was a nice change of pace. Sunday we went to a pumpkin patch/sunflower field on the east side of the island.

Reading: I read "The Marsh King's Daughter" last week and found it to be just-ok. The premise -- the daughter of an abducted woman and her kidnapper is now an adult, and her father has escaped from prison -- was intriguing, but fell a bit flat. It definitely was not what I would call "psychological suspense" as the cover claims.

After that I spent two days trying to get into "The Keeper of Lost Things" -- another interesting premise and a gorgeous cover -- but it just wasn't what I was in the mood for. So I set it aside and did something completely uncharacteristic: despite the pile of library books I have out, I picked out one of my own books that sounded good. I'm not usually a mood reader, and I have the world's worst time actually reading the books I own, so this was a surprise!

And I'm thrilled to say I'm head-over-heels for "The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet"! It's a very charming, fun sci-fi book and I'm so glad I'm finally getting to it! I ordered it from Book Depository months ago and I've been looking forward to reading it for much longer than that.

Watching: "This Is Us," "Poldark," "Designated Survivor." We tried the new show "The Good Doctor" last week and we liked it enough to keep watching.

Movie-wise, we finally got to see "Wonder Woman"! It was just as good as everyone said it was.

Drinking: My new favorite coffee: chocolate-coconut flavor. No creamer needed, just a splash of half-and-half!

Making: My book fairy Halloween costume for the library! I'm putting together a no-sew tutu, and I made myself a pair of wings out of cardboard and a book that Alohi mutilated a while back. It took a while to decoupage the wings (something I haven't done in years!) but I'm really pleased with the way they came out. Pictures to come!

Also making: The Halloween bulletin board at work! I'm telling you, this giant whopper of a board is a commitment! I feel like as soon as I get one month's up, it's time to start working on the next month's. In any case, I really like our Halloween board, and I had lots of help from a wonderfully creative co-worker on this one.

Blogging:
Monday Musings
10 Book Characters Who Are Sexy As Hell In Their Movie & TV Adaptations
Non-Fiction Review: American Eclipse by David Baron
Book Review: The Marsh King's Daughter by Karen Dionne

Looking forward to: My mom and brother will be here tomorrow for a week-long visit!

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

Monday Musings

Friday night at the beach.

My week: It was a pretty good week here. Wednesday I got to do preschool storytime at work again to cover for a co-worker who's been out, and it was so much fun! The theme was music and we read two fun stories and made maracas -- plus, a different co-worker's husband, who's a musician by profession, came in to play some instruments for the kids, and of course they loved that. And then on Friday a group of second-graders came to the library as part of a field trip and I got to help out with that too. I read them the new Duck and Goose Halloween book by Tad Hills and asked them what they plan to be for Halloween. The kids were so adorable!

Later Wednesday we had our family pictures with the puppy at the beach, which was... an adventure. Friday evening we took Alohi to the beach for some fun time, and Saturday we went to the Hawaii vs. Colorado State football game (CSU is my alama mater).

Reading: I finished and enjoyed the non-fiction book "American Eclipse," about a total solar eclipse in 1878 and the scientists who flocked to the Rocky Mountains to see it. I learned so much and now I've added seeing a total eclipse to my bucket list; unfortunately Hawaii missed out on the August one. Then I finished the Irish novel "Himself," which was quite a bit different than I expected (I thought it was a straight-up mystery but it also had some paranormal/magical realism elements) but I really liked it, too.

Now I've just started the thriller "The Marsh King's Daughter." I'm only a couple chapters in but I'm really intrigued by the writing and the story (it's narrated by a woman whose parents were a kidnapped woman and her captor -- and now her father has escaped from prison).

Watching: "This Is Us" started back! Such a good episode, too. We also watched an interesting movie called "Denial," a based-in-fact film about a libel trial involving a professor/author (Rachel Weisz) and a historian/Holocaust denier (the guy who plays Peter Pettigrew in the Harry Potter movies).

Listening to: "Going To Mars" by Judah & the Lion.

Eating: Homemade apple dumplings. Mmmm.

Blogging:
Monday Musings
10 Novels That Feature Smart Women
Book Review: The Scribe of Siena
Turning the Page on September 2017

Looking forward to: My mom and brother will be here for a visit in just over a week!

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

Turning the Page on September 2017

*Back toward the beginning of September Jarrod and I took a short little weekend getaway to Kauai, our favorite Hawaiian island. We lounged on the beach, hiked to a waterfall and ate some amazing food. Sigh... take me back!

*It was a super-busy month at work for me. In a one-thing-after-another kind of situation, the library ended up being pretty short-staffed in September so I worked some extra hours to help out. And I also got to fill in for preschool storytime twice, which was so much fun!

*We had professional family photos taken at the beach with Alohi last week for our Christmas cards and, as expected, it was a bit of a disaster -- a certain someone is probably going to be completely covered with sand in every picture. But the photographer -- a friend of a friend -- is soooo talented and I'm sure she'll make them look amazing. I can't wait to see!

*Fall arrived! That doesn't mean much here in Hawaii, but I did drink several pumpkin spice lattes, bake pumpkin cookies, and get out all my fall decorations. Plus I was excited about the return of fall TV, especially This Is Us.

*In other TV/movie news, we finished the latest season of Homeland and the final season of Orphan Black and finally started watching the most recent trio of Sherlock episodes.

Books read: 5

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl (for kids' book club) // 3 stars
Red Sister by Mark Lawrence // 5 stars
Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton // 3 stars
The Scribe of Siena by Melodie Winawer // 3 stars
American Eclipse by David Baron // 4 stars

Currently reading: Himself by Jess Kidd and One Summer: America, 1927 by Bill Bryson

Favorite book: Red Sister, the first in a new fantasy series! It was one of the best books I've read this year.

Biggest let-down: Good Morning, Midnight wasn't a bad book, but it was so far off from what I had been anticipating.

October release I'm most looking forward to: Either Dan Brown's new Robert Langdon book or From Here to Eternity by Caitlin Doughty; I loved her first book, a memoir about working in the funeral industry, and this one is about death practices across the globe.

Book I'm most excited to read in October: The third illustrated Harry Potter is about to be released and I'd really love to read all three at once. I just had to have the other two right when they came out... but I've yet to actually read them!

Current library checkouts: Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett, The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan, The Marsh King's Daughter by Karen Dionne and Quiet Until the Thaw by Alexandra Fuller

Books added to to-read list: 10 (but I deleted a couple hundred!)

Most intriguing TBR addition: The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. I don't read much middle-grade fiction, but now that I'm doing the kids' book club at work I feel like I should. Plus a patron was absolutely raving about this book, and it sounds right up my alley!

From Goodreads: Nine-year-old Ada has never left her one-room apartment. Her mother is too humiliated by Ada’s twisted foot to let her outside. So when her little brother Jamie is shipped out of London to escape the war, Ada doesn’t waste a minute -- she sneaks out to join him. So begins a new adventure of Ada, and for Susan Smith, the woman who is forced to take the two kids in. As Ada teaches herself to ride a pony, learns to read, and watches for German spies, she begins to trust Susan -- and Susan begins to love Ada and Jamie. But in the end, will their bond be enough to hold them together through wartime? Or will Ada and her brother fall back into the cruel hands of their mother?

Favorite bookstagram: This photo has so many things in it that make me happy: my new watch, my new couch pillows, a pumpkin spice latte, a book and a picture of the Rocky Mountains. Find me on Instagram @knittinglindsay!

Favorite post: My Fall 2017 To-Read List. Even though I don't always follow them, I loooove putting together quarterly to-read posts!

Book reviews:
The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry (4 stars)
Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton (3 stars)
The Scribe of Siena by Melodie Winawer (3 stars)

Monday Musings

My week: We spent the weekend on Kauai, which, though a very quick little trip, was still rejuvenating and relaxing. We like to stay at some military beach cottages on the far west side of the island. They're pretty much in the middle of nowhere, but we enjoy the seclusion. And without all that light pollution, the night sky is absolutely stunning! Plus we love falling asleep at night to the sound of crashing waves. We sat on the beach, did a waterfall hike and ate some delicious food. It was fabulous.

I was a little worried about leaving Alohi for the first time, but we had a friend dog- and house-sit for us, so Alohi got to spend the weekend with her new BFF. As much as it was refreshing to have a break from my wild and crazy puppy -- I wrote this entire blog post without her stepping all over me, pressing a squeaky toy against my face or scratching to go out -- I missed the crap out of her!

Reading: Alert the media: it's finally happened! I have given my first 5-star rating of 2017! I absolutely loved "Red Sister" by Mark Lawrence, and I can't wait until the second installment of this fantasy series comes out in April! I told a friend that it was sort of like a mix of "The Queen of Blood" and "Harry Potter" and assassins. If you like fantasy, READ THIS ONE! (P.S. I personally think this cover is horrible -- see the much prettier U.K. one in my cover battle post here!)

I finished "Red Sister" Friday night after we got to Kauai, and then I read "James and the Giant Peach" for the September meeting of the kids' book club at work, which is this Wednesday. I've never read Roald Dahl before -- somehow he escaped my voracious childhood reading -- and I don't think I've ever seen any of the movies either. The book was ok... cute and zany, but I didn't really get the point of the story.

Now I'm reading "Good Morning, Midnight" by Lily Brooks-Dalton, which is a post-apocalyptic thriller set partly in the Arctic Circle.

(I'm still reading "One Summer: America, 1927" by Bill Bryson, but I was so wrapped up in "Red Sister" that I didn't read much non-fiction this week.)

Checking out: Once again, way too many library books. I had four holds to pick up from the public library on the same day I brought home the next six books for the kids' book club!

Watching: I squeezed in one episode of "Outlander" season 2, and we watched the last couple episodes of the most recent season of "Homeland."

Making: My AzkaBANNED Prison bulletin board -- and the accompanying Azkaban wanted poster photo board -- are finished! It was a labor of love, as all these boards are, but I really like the way this one came out! And it's been gratifying to see people reading it, getting all afluster that books they love are on the wall (many people apparently don't know books are challenged and banned!), and checking out books from the pile I've set out.

Eating: All our favorite restaurants on Kauai (including our favorite burger place, which uses local beef, and kalua pork tacos and teriyaki chicken tacos from our favorite taco restaurant). We also had the best fried Brussels sprouts -- they were mixed with jalapenos, raisins and pepitas, and topped with a delicious jalapeno honey vinaigrette. And I got my first salted caramel mocha and pumpkin scone of the season from Starbucks.

Blogging:
Monday Musings
I Judge Books By Their Covers: Red Sister
Book Review: The Essex Serpent

Looking forward to: The weekend! Even though our trip to Kauai was relaxing, it wasn't the same as having a normal weekend, and I'll actually be working quite a bit more than usual this week to help fill some gaps at work (who knew September would be the random crazy month of everyone needing time off while we're also down an employee?!). I'll also be helping out with preschool storytime for the first time ever, on the same day I have the 4th and 5th grade book club. I'm going to be so happy when Friday night rolls around!

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