It’s been another mixed week for me. It started poorly as I was still struggling with the dreaded flu/cold thingy which has toyed with me and my sanity over the past few months. But finally… a sane ‘me’ has emerged. Sans cough, sore ribs, headache and sinus pain. Just when I’d forgotten what it was like to feel well. 🙂

Reading-wise I did pretty well this past week, though I did (again) ditch my planned reads to pick up a new arrival or two. 

What I read

I started the week with Robin Cook’s Host. It’d been a long time since I’d read any of his work and I have to admit I’m not sure I’ll be rushing to do so in the near future.

I read (what I think was) my first Jack Reacher book, Make Me by Lee Child. It wasn’t a book I’d requested, rather someone left it in the foyer of my building. It’d only been out for a week or two, so I nabbed it. As you do. I know I get free review copies so shouldn’t be taking others’ cast-offs, but rest assured I’ve put it back where I found it.

I didn’t mind the book but found myself skimming through the MANY ‘action’ sequences (as I do when I’m watching a movie involving fight scenes or car chases). I didn’t review the book but left a comment in Goodreads that it seems more attention was placed on those scenes than the (eventual) crime itself which was quite interesting and complex… and somewhat underdone.

And finally I got around to Black Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin.

What I wrote

I reviewed Kate Morton’s new book The Lake House. I very much enjoyed it and hope this comes through in my blog post.

I shared my thoughts on Mary Burton’s I’ll Never Let You Go—which is part of a linked series but can easily be read as a standalone novel. Its theme is centred around domestic violence and I commented on the attention the issue is finally receiving in Australia.

And finally I wrote about Black-Eyed Susans. It was a book I enjoyed though perhaps less than I expected.

What I did

I feel like I achieved little last week. After finally feeling better I started to do some thinking and planning around my priorities for the rest of the year.

On that note… I drafted something which I was planning to share Friday or Saturday but it felt a little too introspective so I decided I’d hold off until my sarcastic-self returned and I could write about the topic with a level of irony my readers have come to love. #orsomething.

I did however spend some time contemplating two anniversaries which fall on 24 October… namely my seachange in 2012 and my father’s passing the year before. Naturally I’d written about both at the time—and the idea of ‘mattering‘.

Today (Sunday) I’m off to a couple of local writers’ events. It’s a “Home Grown” festival and Sunday morning we’ll hear from a few successful authors and then I’m participating in a workshop in the afternoon.

What I plan to read

I’m loath to even predict what’s up next because Isabelle Allende’s The Japanese Lover has been moving further down the pile as the weeks pass. I do know I have Michael Connelly’s latest Harry Bosch book The Crossing sitting next to my bathtub.

And then there’s David Baldacci’s The Guilty, out in early November which is sitting in the TBR pile near my bed… and whispering sweet nothings in the hope it’s catapulted to ‘next on the list’.

And who knows what’s next. I do know my review of Elizabeth George’s Banquet of Consequences and Robin Cook’s Host are coming up on the blog very shortly. And hopefully I’ll get to something non book-related for a change.

What’s on your agenda?

Im joining Kimberley from Caffeinated Book Reviewer for the Sunday Post and Kathryn from The Book Date for ‘It’s Monday!’ to share my book reviews again this week.