I am really excited to participate in The Sunday Post hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer and Stacking the Shelves hosted by Reading Reality.
My Life
Not a lot happened this week. Work was incredibly slow all week so the work days did drag a bit. At least, we got out a little early on Monday and only worked a half-day on Thursday. Thank goodness I can listen to audiobooks at my desk…I think that is the only thing that kept me sane this past week.
My daughter and I decided to do a little shopping after I got home from work on Thursday. I finally found a calendar and was surprised that the selection was very limited in the stores we looked at. I wonder if that is because I waited so long or if people just don’t buy calendars anymore.
I spent a lot of time reading on Friday because I really wanted to finish a book before the year ended (and I just wanted to read). We were in bed before midnight but I had one very scared dog as the New Year rang in thanks to some neighbors shooting fireworks nearby. I spent Saturday taking down the Christmas tree and getting my book room back in order. I now remember why I haven’t had a tree up in years – putting everything away is a pain!
If you celebrate, I hope that your holidays were great. How was your week?
What I’m Reading
I was able to finish 4 books once again this week. I thought that An Ambush of Widows by Jeff Abbott was very well done and Christine Lakin did a great job with the narration. Twenty Years Later by Charlie Donlea proved to be a page-turner filled with twists and turns. I decided to go ahead and listen to Hunted by Kevin Hearne after featuring it as a Books from the Backlog pick a couple of weeks ago. The last book that I read in 2021 was The Family You Make by Jill Shalvis and it was a wonderful end to a great year of reading.
I am not reading anything as I write this post. I haven’t decided what book I want to start the year with just yet but that will probably change in the next few hours.
Books Added
This was a pretty big splurge. Have I said how nice my husband is? He told me to go ahead and buy these special edition books from Subterranean Press. All five of these books are signed and numbered. The Ilona Andrews books are signed by Ilona and Gordon and include color artwork in the book. I bought The Kinsmen Universe and Small Magics by Ilona Andrews. I also picked up Hamered, Tricked, and Trapped by Kevin Hearne.
Favorite Instagram Post of the Week
What books do you add to your shelves this week?
We de-Christmased the house on Friday and it’s not nearly as fun as putting it all out. lol Funnily enough, The Family You Make was the last book I read in 2021, too!
Shalvis’ book was a hit for me too (as usual). All sorts of feel-good stuff there. I think this is late to buy a calendar. You know how retail is always so far ahead. They probably had 2022 calendars out in June.
I honestly keep waiting for the calendars to go on sale! Every time I walked into B&N since the 26th their calendars were full priced! They said they’d go on sale after New Year, but when I checked online pricing it didn’t go down! I honestly like getting my Disney desk calendar, even though I tend to find fault with some pages, lol! There can be fun facts about things I never knew, or had forgotten that I knew. My mom donates to a lot of dog charities and they all sent her calendars. So I usually snag one of those as I do like having a calendar to refer to throughout the month. Back in the day, it was where I kept tracking of signings. I miss those.
Nice new reads! So nice that you got to get Subterranean books! I’ve been treating myself to the hardcover copy of Kelley’s new series. Though with printing delays and covid problems likely, my copy from October has been delayed. Which is no big deal…I still need to read the first book of that series! Lol.
Hope you enjoy the new reads!
Here’s my StS
Have a GREAT day!
Old Follower 🙂
I have always loved picking out calendars, and used to go to Barnes & Noble and select different styles to match my rooms. But in the past three years, I’ve had smaller spaces and only bought one! But I got it online, and it was my favorite kind: a Mary Engelbreit calendar.
I love your bookish shelves! I am curious about Twenty Years Later.
Enjoy the week and the New Year!
I had a pretty low-key week thanks to a cold, but got some reading done and a few things put away. Haven’t taken down many Christmas decorations or the tree. Maybe next week, LOL. Very pretty special editions for your shelf.
Happy New Year, Carole!
what a wonderful hubby and some fabulous books
sherry @ fundinmental
Work was slower for me this past week too–it was such a relief. It’s been such a crazy busy year. I am hoping this next week will be on the slower side too, but I am not holding out much hope. We brought the New Year in awake, but quietly. We had originally planned to get together with some friends, but one of the family’s was exposed to COVID over Christmas and so we agreed to cancel–probably for the best anyway given how the virus is raging right now. We did have our traditional hot fudge sundaes though. What special books! Those look awesome, Carole. I hope you have a great week!
Happy new year!!!! I stayed up, you didn’t miss anything lol.
I don’t think I have bought a calendar in ages, sometimes our bank or telephone company gives out free ones and we use those but mainly I use the one on my phone…lol. Looks like a good reading week!
Have a great week and happy reading!
Stormi
Ooo those are some lovely books! A slow week isn’t all bad when you can listen to audiobooks. I’m reading or have read your books from last week. I make my own photo calendar so I don’t buy them other than a big one to hang near the kitchen for the family scheduling and a pocket calendar to track appts on the go. Happy New Year!
Anne – Books of My Heart This is my Sunday Post
I started taking the tree down today. It is a pain. At least I got all the ornaments off before I stopped for the day. lol
Glad I’m not the only one who did a lot of reading on Friday! I had to get a couple of books finished and finished the last one just in time! Hope you have a wonderful week!
What nice new reads you received there, and such a nice husband you have there. I am glad you were able to read so many books. As much as I love putting Christmas decor up, its not as fun taking it down.
I remember my cat (who lives with my mother) not giving anything at all about fireworks. We were all weary to see if she’d be scared or hide, but she would just lay on the couch and sleep, lol!!
Happy New Year 🙂