It’s been a slow reading week over at my place. It has however, given me time to catch up on some reviewing. And some binge-television watching. Which may – or may not – be inversely proportional to my reading. 🙂

What I read

I started the week with Pendulum and I have to admit I struggled with it a little. Or lot. I nearly put it aside a couple of times but made it in the end. And I eventually got to My Husband’s Son by Deborah O’Connor.

What I wrote

As I said, I caught up on some reviewing:

The Chemist by Stephenie Meyer – I enjoyed the premise of this book and think it had potential, but wasn’t entirely sold on the plot
The Woman on the Stairs by Bernhard Schlink – a slow but intriguing tale of self-reflection and regret
Someone is Watching by Joy Fielding – a psychological thriller I very much enjoyed.

 

I also blogged about ‘my birthday’ which falls later this month and, as I turn 50 next year I wondered if I should develop a pre-birthday bucket list of sorts. And my weekly hosting #lovinlife post was just a check-in about life in general, but with an upbeat twist.

What I did

My mother visited and brought her Christmas tree along for an outing. I’m usually very bah-humbug re Xmas so don’t make much of an effort on the decorating front (cos you just have to take them down again FFS!). But I’m hosting Christmas this year and, as my mother’s house is jam-packed with stuff, she brought her tree here to watch over our presents this year.

We’ve had some hot weather, but it’s been accompanied by big winds here so my house on the hill has felt like something out of Dorothy’s Kansas and I’ve waited for it to go spinning off into some alternate reality.

Speaking of alternate realities, I watched Stranger Things this week. I’m not sure I understood all of it but I very much enjoyed it. The other day I suggested it was a cross between Stand By Me and The XFiles. But I’ve read stuff about it since and gather its directors are paying homage to a whole heap of 80s classics.

I started to watch Black Mirror but hadn’t realised each episode was an individual story (akin to The Twilight Zone) and it just didn’t grab me, so won’t hurry back to it any time soon. So I’m now watching the final season of Falling Skies (having seen the first four seasons on DVD back when there was a local Blockbuster).

What I plan to do

I’ll probably not post next Sunday as I’ll be in New Zealand and not sure what internet access / coverage I’ll have. I’m flying over Saturday to spend 4-5 days with a close friend and her partner in earthquake-laden Christchurch so have asked them to promise to keep that part of the world quiet while I’m there.

I’m in Brisbane for a day or two either side of my New Zealand trip but away for as little time as possible – because I only have the one week off, and am like my non-travelling parents and kinda think (at the moment) there’s no place like home.

I’m undecided whether I’ll rely on eBooks or take a paperback or two o/s with me, but will play that one by ear. I’d earmarked Himself by Jess Kidd and Ann Cleeves’ Cold Earth for this week but the arrival of Alice Hoffman’s Faithful and Jessica Treadway’s How Will I Know You may require a rethink!

It feels weird to think I’ll be overseas this time next week. Interestingly I’m not really thinking of it as my Christmas / summer break and find I’m surprised that others have already started their Xmas holidays.. I mean, we’ve got weeks and weeks until Christmas. Haven’t we?!

And that’s my book reviewing and reading for this week. Have you got any holidays coming up?

As usual I’m linking up with Caffeinated Book Reviewer; and The Book Date for ‘It’s Monday!’