Currently: What I'm Eating // Reminiscing About // Planning // Reading // Enjoying

Time: 1:25pm
Eating // Nothing. And I probably won't eat anything for a few more hours because Noel & I went to Prep & Pastry for breakfast this morning, and wowzers am I still full. Noel got the Salmon Beni and I got the Breakfast Sammy, and we split a Churro Doughssant for dessert. (I am ALL about restaurants that offer breakfast dessert.) 
Drinking // A water and a diet coke. I'm the kind of person who always needs 2-3 cupholders in a vehicle. Which works out ok, except on the rare occasions I have a passenger old enough to sit in the front seat and steal one of my cupholders.
Planning // The book/song schedule for the new toddler story time I'm starting at church on Monday morning. I'm pretty excited about it!
Reminiscing About // Wuv. Twue wuv. Our 10th anniversary was yesterday, and thanks to the glory of social media, I've been indulging in a trip down memory lane. I shared a handful of pics on Instagram, if you want to see some silly pictures of Noel and I. 
Wishing // That my house would clean itself. Eleanor stayed home sick from school on Thursday & Friday (and judging by how congested Juliet sounds today, she's catching it). Anyway, what with small, cranky people to entertain, and the fact that we've had a busy couple of days with socializing for friends' birthdays, and celebrating our anniversary... the house is a DISASTER. Which wouldn't be a huge problem, except that I'm having 15 friends over to celebrate Harry Potter's 36th birthday tomorrow night. So yeah, I've gotta motivate myself away from my celebratory lazy indulgence, and into cleaning mode sometime this evening!
Enjoying // All the #DemsinPhilly tweets on Twitter made me quite happy. And that video of Bill Clinton playing with balloons makes me giggle so much!
Reading // I'm loving Truly, Madly, Guilty on audio, and I read the entirety of Eligible yesterday. I thought it was a fun read, and I enjoyed the luxury of staying up late with a book, since I knew we'd get to sleep in today (the girls spent the night at my sister-in-law's house last night). 
Debating // My new haircut. I got it cut and got purple lowlights put in yesterday. I really like the haircut, but the purple actually doesn't particularly show. I'm torn between "I paid a lot, I should contact the stylist and ask for a re-do since I'm not happy" and "Ack, I can't be confrontational, I'll just wait and do some home dye later..." We'll see what wins. 
Watching // I've been indulging in quite the Orphan Black binge lately. Noel's going to be gone at another birthday party tonight, and I think after I get the girls to bed, I'm going to try and finish off season 2.
Time: 1:40pm

What are YOU into?

P.S. I'm planning to link this up with Leigh Kramer's What I'm Into link-up... if I remember!

Currently: What I'm Watching/ Doing/ Reading/ Listening To

Currently: 9:34pm

• Watching // Fixer-Upper. Guys, HGTV and Food Network are what I missed the most when we gave up cable, and now Netflix has so many options! Yippee!
• Reading // I've been working through The Boys in the Boat in the evenings before bed (it's a perfect before-bed read for me), and The Bassoon King on audio in the car. I need to get another audio started on my phone, or another book (since I'm kind of falling behind on my #harrypotterthon16 plans already), but I've been, ahem, sidetracked by Fixer-Upper. 
• Kid-Reading // Eleanor has been really into the Cupcake Diaries and Piper Reed, and Juliet is OBSESSED with the Muddle & Match Imagine book from Usborne. 
• Doing // Avoiding the heat! We've been visiting grandmas (mostly to take advantage of their swimming pools, ha) and the library a LOT. I think tomorrow we may break things up with a Trader Joe's run. Ah the excitement. I'm already counting down the days till October, when we can get back to our park time routines again.
• Listening To // I'm still loving The West Wing Weekly so much. And I've joined the Hamilton obsessives - the music is just SO GREAT.
• Planning // We're doing little themed weeks all summer (I say "all summer" as if it's super long, even though we only have 5 weeks till first grade starts.) This week is Princess Unicorn Camp, and next week is Nature Exploration Camp. I'm trying to decide if I'm brave enough to take the girls up Mt. Lemmon on Friday.
• Eating // Way, way too much sugar. I sprained my ankle pretty badly last month, so I haven't been able to do any of my exercise classes at the Y since then. So, naturally, I'm compensating by eating way more food. Ah well, hopefully I'll be able to get things under control once start exercising again.

What are YOU currently into?

Monday Fun - Bookish Links and Quizzes

Happy Monday! Here are a few fun distractions to beat the Monday blahs.

• I'm so surprised by this list I came across. The BBC asked a bunch of non-British critics to rank the most important English novels of all time... and they compiled a list of 100 titles. And I've only read 18 of them! I guess my Anglophilia only extends to non-important British books, ha!
• I only got 17 out of 20 on this YA Book Cover quiz. Shocking!
• Do you love these book pins as much as I do?! They're so adorable!!
• And, I'm feeling super happy about my decision to host #harrypotterthon16 this summer, especially after seeing all of these cast photos from Harry Potter and the Cursed Child! I wish I was in London this summer! And that I had thousands of dollars to spare for a ticket... 
• This list of American foods an Australian reader misunderstood made me laugh a lot! I love that she pictured "ice cream sandwiches" as scoops of ice cream between slices of white bread.

From the Quirky Bookworm archives for this week:

4 years ago: Audio Review: The Likeness by Tana French
3 years ago: How fast do YOU read?
2 years ago: What Does the Fox Say? (A Dramatic Reading)
1 year ago: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up (A Book Review, With Pictures)

I kind of forgot about the "What Does the Fox Say?" phenomenon! Must get Juliet to start saying "Geringadingdingdingding" again.

June 2016 Book Releases to Watch For

There are a bunch of really fun books coming out in June! I've already read a few early copies of some of them, but there are others I can't wait to check out!

Modern Lovers by Emma Straub*

I haven't read Straub's more famous book (The Vacationers), but I enjoyed this tale of midlife crisis and love. During a hot Brooklyn summer two couples (Elizabeth & Andrew and Zoe & Jane) discover that their kids are sleeping together. Elizabeth learns some shocking things about Andrew's past, and Zoe makes some surprising discoveries about her future with Jane.

The Space Between Sisters by Mary McNear*

Another summer novel; this one set on a Minnesota lake, where two very different sisters -- carefree Poppy and uptight Win -- must reconcile some difficult situations in their pasts while navigating new relationships with two handsome men.

Hogwarts Classics by J.K. Rowling

I never bought Tales of Beedle the Bard, but this new boxed set is so pretty I just might have to!

Duty and Honor by Tom Clancy

I know this one seems randomly off-brand for me, but in high school I went through a BIG Tom Clancy phase, and I usually read the new Jack Ryan novels eventually, mostly just out of nostalgia.

Outlander Kitchen by Theresa Carle-Sanders

This one kinda makes me laugh, not gonna lie. But it would be a good present for the Outlander addict in your life! (Because he/she has probably already ordered book 8 in the series, which also comes out in June.)

Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War by Mary Roach

I didn't enjoy Roach's Gulp, but I really liked Stiff, so I think I might give this new one a shot. I love this kind of light nonfiction.

Romeo and/or Juliet by Ryan North

This seems so fun! I read a choose-your-own-Austen adventure book a few years ago, and this seems similarly entertaining.

Death on the Sapphire by R.J. Koreto*

A fun historical mystery set in Edwardian England, starring suffragist Lady Frances Ffolkes as an intrepid amateur investigator. I really enjoyed this one - it was a bit reminiscent of the Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear.

What books are YOU looking forward to?

*Shelf Awareness sent me these for review, but all opinions are my own. Also: cover images are affiliate links.

Currently: What I'm Obsessed With // Listening To // Reading // Eating

Time: 9:37 am

Obsessed With // I periodically have a resurgence in my genealogical obsession, which, if you follow me on Twitter, you've probably seen a lot of lately. I've had a couple of breakthroughs though, and traced back 5 generations of every single branch of my maternal grandmother's family. (So 7 back from me!) I'm back in the Revolutionary War era though, and record-keeping gets pretty dicey, especially for females, who only got a checkmark on the census (only free, white, heads of household were listed by name). So I'm not sure how much further I'll be able to go on a couple of these branches.
Eating // I'm trying to go sugar-free for a while, because I have been eating a ton of it lately. (There have been far too many chocolate chip cookies and doughnuts in my life!) I didn't have any sugar yesterday, woohoo, and so far so good this morning.
Drinking // I'm also trying to cut back on my diet coke habit, and replace part of it with sparkling water. I really, really like soda, and I don't much care for sparkling water, so it's a work in progress. 
Listening To // I'm finally (belatedly) jumping on the Hamilton train. I've been listening to the Hamilton soundtrack, and it's SO good! I think that's what actually spurred the latest genealogical craze, because my research is in the same timeframe as Alexander Hamilton's life. I'm also listening to Shadow Spinner, one of the May-June picks for the RTFEBC. 
Reading // Honestly, not a lot. We had a super fun weekend celebrating Noel's 35th birthday (and we had kid-free time for the first time since June 2013!). We ate out a lot, and watched movies loudly (no sleeping kids!), and went shopping, and just had a generally lovely time. But, I didn't read at all. So the last couple of days I've been trying to hurry through Not Dead Enough, to review for Shelf Awareness. It's a mystery set in the Portland area, revolving around a dam which was built 50 years ago, cutting off the Wasco tribe's access to their traditional salmon fishing grounds. In the present day several people have been murdered, in an attempt to hide secrets about the dam. I'm really enjoying it!
Planning // Less than normal this month. I think I'm going to skip the "what I'm planning to read" post that I usually do at the beginning of the month. I'm also taking it easy in terms of social plans, because a lot of stuff just naturally crops up this time of year. I can't believe that in about 20 days Eleanor will be done with kindergarten! So crazy how fast this school year has gone by.

Time 9:52 am

What are YOU currently into?

April Reading Wrap-Up, Part Two

On Wednesday I shared with you how I did with the books I planned to read in April. I read 4/7 of them, which isn't awesome. But! I did read another 6 unplanned books, for a grand total of 10, which is pretty great. Here are the ones that snuck into my month! A very high percentage of them were AWESOME books, which is why I let them sneak in and mess up my plans.

The Winner's Kiss by Marie Rutkoski was great. It's the final novel in her Winners trilogy, and I really enjoyed it. They're set in a fictional world where the dominant nation, Valoria, obviously reflects Ancient Rome. Kestrel, daughter of Valoria's most illustrious general, ends up falling for Arin, her Herrani slave. But then the Herrani revolt against Valorian rule, and Kestrel and Arin end up on opposing sides in a war. The books are quite poetically written, and I enjoyed the whole series. I gave this one 4.5/5.

Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard is actually quite good, it just pales a bit in comparison with all the AMAZING books I've read this month. I'm only about halfway through it, but I still have a day left in April, so I think I'll finish it. 3/5 (so far). 

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. This was amazingly good. It's about a curmudgeonly old man with a heart of gold, and it made me laugh out loud so many times, and made me cry a lot, and you HAVE to listen to the audiobook. It's just so so so good. 5 out of 5 stars. Plus an extra credit star.



Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater. I'd been waiting for the final book in the Raven Cycle for so long that the fact that it's publication date was FINALLY arriving, kind of caught me off guard! I'd meant to read the first three books again, but since I was short on time I just re-listened to BLLB. It's just as good the second time around - actually the hilarious interactions between Blue Sargent and her sort-of-aunt Calla and the teenage boys who are at the heart of the story were perhaps even better the second time around. I'm happy to report Stiefvater's brilliant way with words is equally delightful in print and on audio. 5/5

The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater. Guys, I'd had this book pre-ordered since March 4, 2015. It arrived at my house on April 26th... and I *said* I was going to try to savor it, but yeah. That didn't happen. I finished it in 4 hours. It's SO GOOD, and I want to say more. But I can't without MAJOR spoilerage. Let's just say it's about journeys and magic and evil and love and happiness and basically ALL THE THINGS. Seriously, if you've ever read this blog before, you've probably heard me raving about the Raven Cycle. I don't know what else to say - GO READ THEM. 5/5

My Kitchen Year by Ruth Reichl. This was a lovely read, as are all of Reichl's books. It's quiet, and full of delicious recipes, and a nice antidote to all the sprawling, epic fantasy I read this month. I was really tempted to buy this one, so as to have the recipes for later, but I might just snap a few pics of the library book, and actually make sure I like the recipes before I splurge on a hard copy. 3/5

Have I talked you into the Raven Cycle yet?

This post contains affiliate images. Thanks for supporting Quirky Bookworm!

How TWWW Is Ruining My Reading Life

I haven't read any books since we got back from vacation... almost 2 weeks ago! (The horror!!) I mostly blame The West...
Posted by Quirky Bookworm on Thursday, April 7, 2016

If you follow me on Facebook, I revealed my guilty secret yesterday... I haven't read a book in 2 weeks! There are several reasons for that: 

• I've had trouble getting into a couple of books I've started.
• My sister is staying with us right now, and we've had a couple of evenings of long conversation (instead of book reading). 
• But mainly, I started listening to The West Wing Weekly Podcast. I was so excited when I heard it was coming out (coincidentally right after I'd rewatched the pilot episode of West Wing). And listening to the podcast has inspired me to keep rewatching... I may or may not have binged 18 episodes in the last two weeks.

So, sorry guys, nothing new to report on the book front. I'll send you the finest (virtual) muffins and bagels in all the land to make up for it!

If you are a West Wing fan, you should absolutely check out TWWW podcast. It's so fun! And if you aren't a West Wing fan, what's wrong with you?! Start watching now! It's such a lovely antidote to the actual political scene this year...

Are you a West Wing fan?

April Reading Plans

Eleanor's reading plan for April is to re-read all the Ivy & Bean books, and all of the The Sisters 8 books. I told her I wasn't buying any more Ivy & Bean books since she finishes them in about 20 minutes each. So now whenever we go to the bookstore or library, the trip has to be at least 20 minutes, to give her time to read one, haha.

My reading plans are a bit more specific.

Here's what's new on my stack!

Spark Joy by Marie Kondo
Why is it on my list? I'm kinda interested to see what else Kondo can say on the topic of organizing! And c'mon, it's fun when she talks to her socks.
Where I got it: From the library.

The Rules of Love & Grammar by Mary Simses
Why is it on my list? Shelf Awareness sent it to me. And it has a pretty cover! Plus guys, the description on the back says, "Grace finds herself working at a local bike shop with Mitch, who gets rattled by Grace's penchant for pointing out mistakes." Um, let's just say I related a *tiny* bit to this character.
Where I got it: From Shelf Awareness, for review.

My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher
Why is it on my list? My friend Meghan recommends it very highly. She put it on her top 10 of 2015 list (and she reads more books than I do!), so I figured I'd better give it a shot.
Where I got it: On audiobook, from the library.

Modern Lovers by Emma Straub
Why is it on my list? I've heard pretty good things about The Vacationers, and this cover is so fun.
Where I got it: From Shelf Awareness, for review.

In Other Words by Jhumpa Lahiri
Why is it on my list? I read a glowing review of it... somewhere. I've been meaning to read Jhumpa Lahiri for ages, and the dual-language premise of this one was intriguing to me. Plus, since I enjoyed Only in Naples last month, I'm kind of in the mood for another Italian setting.
Where I got it: Well, I don't quite have it yet. But I'm #1 on the hold list at the library!

Even Dogs in the Wild by Ian Rankin
Why is it on my list? I loved reading Saints of the Shadow Bible last month, so I quickly requested a copy of his latest book, which just came out in January.
Where I got it: From the library. I just got the email about 10 minutes ago! I'm hoping to get to the library to pick it up tomorrow.

Son by Lois Lowry
Why is it on my list? You may remember that I read the first three books in the Giver quartet last fall. And have been waiting on Son for aaaaages.
Where I got it: Well, I'm FINALLY #1 on the hold list. So I better get it soon!


Something Romantic
Why is it on my list? I haven't read much romance in recent months, and I'm in the mood for one I think. So I'll probably squeeze in a Georgette Heyer or Mary Stewart reread.
Where I got it: I own almost the complete oeuvre of both of those authors!

What are YOU planning to read this month?

I was sent advance copies of some of these. And the images are affiliate links. Thanks for supporting Quirky Bookworm! Oh, and I'm planning to link this post up with Sheila's New on the Stack link-up. 

Currently: What I'm Planning/ Laughing At/ Reading/ Clicking On

Time: 2:31 pm

Making // I'm in a very Easter-ish frame of mind here today. I made some Easter bunny foam crafts with Eleanor and Juliet on Friday, and then this morning at church I made rooster crafts with the 4th & 5th grade class I'm teaching. (I'm going through a Lenten series with them, adapted from A Sense of the Resurrection.) 25 kids + feathers + glue was maybe not the brightest idea I've ever had... but they enjoyed it!

Reading // We're reading lots of Easter picture books. I think I'm going to buy Emma's Easter this year, we checked out Hop! Hop! from the library, and we own most of the other ones I talked about in this post. As for me, I'm working on Only in Naples for review, and Stars Above for fun. Since Stars Above is a collection of short stories, it's helping me be a little more disciplined. I'm rewarding myself with a short story every time I complete a task on my to-do list. 

Planning // I'm also planning my Easter dinner menu already. We're going to be out of town for a couple of days the week before Easter and I want to have everything lined up and easy, so that I'm not stressed when we get back. I'm thinking that this galette will have to be included for sure.

Clicking On // I thought this library scavenger hunt from Book Riot was really fun. And, speaking of libraries, does your library support this Chrome extension? It might be the best thing ever!

Smiling At // Juliet's book naps never get old. I've listed a bunch of them here, if you want cute pics of a toddler sleeping with books!

Laughing At // The Popcast's latest episode -- where they compare presidential candidates to Lost characters. I was dyyyyying.

Rearranging // I moved tons of furniture around and decluttered this week, making 4 rooms in our house pretty different! I got a little worried when I couldn't find Eleanor at first the other day... till I eventually came upon her reading by flashlight in a newly decluttered closet.

 
Time: 2:47 pm. And that pretty much sums up life Chez Howard this week! How about you? Anything new and exciting? What are YOU reading?