Sunday, February 28, 2016

Week in Review ~ New Books and Monthly Reading Update



How was your week everyone? We had a little scare this week as our middle granddaughter  (LEFT) had pneumonia. She and Grover were so good about taking their breathing treatments though and both made a nice recovery.  This 22 month old little peanut has been sick so often: ear infections, then tubes which popped out after 3-4 months, stomach bugs and lots of colds as well. She is not a good eater at all and her big sister is in preschool so perhaps she brings the germs home with her.


If you have a cat who loves to play try this fun cat dancing toy.
  Only $3.99 on Amazon.
It was an immediate hit with our cats and great exercise for them as well.

This Week in Books 

My book group met this week to discuss The Bell Jar; Sylvia Plath. II seems inappropriate to say most everyone "enjoyed" this book as the story is a dark one, but it sure provided for a lively discussion.  Surprisingly, almost everyone in the group of 12 knew someone who lost a loved one to suicide. This was a reread for me but, even more enjoyable this time around. Despite it being a dark read, I loved the humor as I read as well.  Next months read is Z: Zelda

Reviewed 
Finished Reading (no review yet)

In Progress
New Books

(Monthly Reading Summary)

  1. When Breath Becomes Air; Paul Kalanithi (NF/memoir) - 4.5/5 (audio) (Jan)
  2. Looking Back: A Chronicle of Growing Up Old in the Sixties; Joyce Maynard - 5/5 (NF/memoir) (library) (Feb)
  3. American Housewife: Stories; Helen Ellis - 2.5/5 (audio & eGalley) (Feb)
  4. The Madwoman Upstairs; Catherine Lowell - 4/5 (eGalley) (Feb)
  5. French Leave; Gavalda - 4/5 (print-my shelves) (Feb)
  6. River Road; Carol Goodman - 4/5 (print-publisher) (Feb)
  7. Love in Lowercase; Francesc Miralles - 4/5 (print-publisher) (Feb)
  8. 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl; Mona Awad - 3.5/5 (print-publisher) (Feb)
  9. The Bell Jar; Sylvia Plath - 5/5 (library-reread) (Feb)
  10. Good to a Fault; Marina Endicott - 4/5 stars (print-my shelves) (Feb)
  • Eleanor; Jason Gurley - Read but no review yet (very good - read it)
  •                Miller's Valley; Anna Quindlen  - Read but no review yet (very good - read it)
YTD STATS
Books Read - 25
(3) NF - 22 (Fiction)
(3) translated works
(4) debut
(6) Library Books
(3) audio books
(4) ARCS
(6) eGalleys
(6) my shelf
(I'm most pleased that 24% on  the books that I read in 2016 were books from my shelves.  I also donated 126 books this month bringing my unread print books on my shelves down to - 299.  I hope to bring this down to 250 by the end of the year. How's your reading going in 2016?

This Week's Plans

Today I'm meeting a friend for coffee.  I haven't seen her since I retired in July and she is retiring in May so we will have plenty to talk about I'm sure.  Friday we'll be celebrating my DIL and SIL's birthdays. We have so many February through April birthdays in our family.  Hope you all have a great week.

31 comments:

  1. I am glad to hear your granddaughter is on the mend! Hope you have a great reading month in March!

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    1. Thanks Kailana - hope you have a great reading month as well.

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  2. Oh my gosh - I LOVED Z: A Novel of Zelda when I read it a few years back! I hope your book club enjoys it!

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  3. We sure are happy the little on is okay!!!

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  4. I'm glad to hear that your granddaughter is doing better! How awful. I have friends who children seem to just get every bug but most seem to grow out of it at school age so hopefully that will be the case for her as well. I'm wanting to read Z: Zelda. It's been on my TBR for ages but hasn't quite happened yet. Have a great week!

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  5. Glad your granddaughter recovered well. Pneumonia is so scary!! I cannot wait to take Shreya for swimming - it will be fun, she already loves water a lot!

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    1. It's funny how all kids seem to love water --scary too though when they have no fear when very little.

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  6. The Oxford Inheritance has me interested! Enjoy all your books!

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  7. Glad your granddaughter is ok. Must have been worrying. Enjoy your catch up coffee and have a good week!

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    1. Thanks Emma - coffee with my old coworker was very fun today.

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  8. Glad to hear your little one is on the mend. My 2 younger kids were always sick with respiratory type ailments. Maybe the oldest brought home germs from school, even though she didn't get sick a lot.

    That cat toy and the cat ! looks cute. I can't leave cat toys around the house anymore as daughter's mutt will eat them, sigh. My older dogs would ignore them, as they know the cats rule the roost :)

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    1. Rita, it's funny how some kids get catch everything and others don't - the bathing beauty has been very very healthy (fingers crossed) but she is an only child and not in daycare.

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  9. Glad your granddaughter is feeling better. Both the girls are adorable! So is the cat :). I bet our cat would love that toy.

    Have a great visit with your friend!

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    1. Thanks Vicki - our cats have been getting lots of exercise LOL

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  10. That pic of your granddaughter in her bathers and hat is ADORABLE!

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  11. Your grandchildren are adorable Diane. Happy to hear Grover's buddy has made a good recovery. The hat thing is so sweet. Enjoyed your book selection again. Have a great week :)

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  12. Your grand daughters are cute! glad the older one is doing better.

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  13. Glad to hear your granddaughter recovered from phenomena. I'm sorry to hear she is so susceptible to health problems and hope she grows out of it. Thanks for sharing your photos. Your grandchildren are adorable! Happy Birthday to your DIL & SIL. It looks like you had a great reading month. Enjoy the start of Spring!

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  14. I am so glad your granddaughter is doing better, Diane. My daughter has had pneumonia several times over the years and now every time she gets a cough or a cold, I worry. I haven't yet read The Bell Jar, but it's on my TBR shelf waiting its turn. I've heard such good things about it. I hope you have a great week, Diane!

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  15. Looks like you had a great reading month in Feb. I'll be interested to see your review of the new Anna Quindlen book. I think her novel I remember most is One True Thing. A killer.

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  16. Sweet little caboodle! She sounds a little like my middle one--so little, not a great eater, and sick fairly frequently. It's a struggle. I'm sorry she had pneumonia and I hope that she is feeling better now. It's tough when the germs travel home from preschool!! We've been dealing with that a bit this winter, too.

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  17. Aw, poor little girl. I hope she's feeling better.

    I'm having a great year of reading, so far. 8 books in January and 8 in February. That's a lot for me! Of course, graphic novels help to boost those numbers. ;)

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  18. So sorry about your middle cutie! Scary times when they are seriously ill. I know what it's like to have a kid who gets sick and is a picky eater! Good luck!

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