It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organise yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment, and er… add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme has had various host over the years and I’ve loved checking in with their different blogs – the newest host is Kathryn and The Book Date. I’m looking forward to following her and participating in this meme again 😉
It’s kind of weird to think that we are already halfway through the first month of the year. Winter has finally decided to make a pseudo-appearance in the DC area – we had a little bit of snow yesterday (not enough for it to really stick) and its ass-biting cold, so i’m curled up on the couch with some blankets, one of the dogs curled at my feet (no idea where the other one is) and the new season of Hell’s Kitchen going on the TV (I love me some Gordon Ramsey). I have to say that this has probably been the slowest start to reading that I have ever had in a year – its the 18th of the month and I’ve only read 10 books (and that includes 2 audiobooks). I know that seems high for some people, but i’m normally rapidly approaching the 20 book mark by this point of the year. That being said, this past week has been a slight improvement over the first week in the year with several books finished (being sick has def. made it easier to relax and read, rather than doing a million other things in the evenings).
Last Week
My big success of the week (if you want to call it that) was that I finished my designated “first book of the year.” The book, Dangerous Women, is a short story collection from a bunch of popular authors, all with the theme of dangerous women. Overall, the stories were ok, there were a couple that I really enjoyed, like Diana Gabaldon’s story Virgins (about Jamie and Ian pre-Outlander); as well as Jim Butcher’s installment (part of the Dresden Files series) and Lev Grossman’s. And unfortunately, with any anthology there were ones i just didn’t enjoy, specifically for me, it was George R. R. Martin’s – I’m probably one of the few people who hasn’t read his Game of Thrones series (although I have the entire collection on my kindle), but based on my lack of enjoyment for his short story, I’m honestly in no rush to pick it up.
The theme of my reading with several books I finished this week was “left wanting more” – 2 of the books that I finished in the last couple of days (Shimmy for Me and Goodnight Tweetheart), I wanted them to be longer. The romances between the hero/heroine felt too short and not well developed; or in the other case, the story was progressing nicely and then it just ended and I was like WTH…so that was kind of frustrating for me. I know that at least one of the books is a popular book among my friends and for some a DIK (aka a Desert Island Keeper), but for me, it was a mere 3 stars – although it was 4 stars up until the very end when I felt the ending just killed the rest of the story.
But on the other side, I had a couple of strong/enjoyable reads this week, specifically, Before I Go and About a Dragon. Before I Go (Colleen Oakley) is the story of a woman in her late 20’s diagnosed with terminal cancer and her goal to find her husband, someone else before she died. I alternatly cried and laughed during her exploits. I’m looking forward to writing my review of it in the near future. About a Dragon is the second book in G.A. Aiken’s Dragon Kin series – this series is one where I had book 1 loitering on Mt TBR for several years before I actually read it at the end of last year and I’m looking forward to continuing the series.
Currently/Upcoming Reading
when it comes to reading this weekend, I’m like the little engine that could, just chugging along – I’ve been alternating reading, watching TV and the mandatory weekend errands (laundry, grocery shopping etc). But I’ve made good progress and am enjoying the books that I have going right now. I’ve gone back to an old favorite, who I haven’t read in a few years (Sandra Brown), as well as a couple of authors that I discovered in the past year (Pam Jenoff and Marina Adair). Here’s to a great reading week!
Jenny Cooper – M.R. Hall
Dragon Kin – G.A. Aiken
Shadow Guard – Kim Lenox
The Disillusionists – Carolyn Crane
Graveyard Queen – Amanda Stevens
Dee's Book Blog 