It feels like such a cliché to start these posts with a comment about how quickly the last week’s flown by… but seriously, didn’t I just write my Sunday Post? Could that really have been an entire week ago?
Anyhoo… without further ado, onto the excitement that was my week.
What I read
It’s been a light reading week for me. I started the week really behind in my reviewing so didn’t allow myself to start reading for a couple of nights, but I’ve also had stuff on, so have only added two books this week.
I read Joanne Tracey’s Wish You Were Here and later, David Baldacci’s No Man’s Land – the fourth in the John Puller series.
What I wrote
It was also a slow blogging week as I struggled (early in the week) to find the time and headspace to get any writing done.
Eventually I reviewed Wish You Were Here – a book I very much enjoyed; wrote about some of the benefits of being ‘middle-aged’ (though I’m still not sure how I feel about that moniker); and published an author interview with Anna Romer about her amazing ability to place readers in her books. Anna’s also an artist so I wondered if being visually creative helped.
What I did
Last week I mentioned I had a big work meeting / workshop thingy this past Thursday so the preceding days involved preparing for that. I’m a bit anal so had talking points for the facilitators and the like. The day itself was okay though there were the inevitable fuck-ups… the venue put us in the wrong spot; then the air-conditioning didn’t work for a while. But… I think the day (eventually) went okay.
I haven’t even opened my NaNoWriMo novel yet. The keener of my writing friends are already up to 10,000 words and I can’t decide whether I should even start or just not bother given my current lack of enthusiasm.
Oh, and did you notice I changed my banner? It looks a bit weird and I’m not sure if that’s my bad photo-shopping skills or cos I’m not used to my hair cut and colour! I was blonde last time my hair was this short.
What I plan to do
I’ve got one day of work travel this week and then I’m hoping that’s my last trip for the year as I’m a bit tired of all of the driving I’ve been doing.
My book arrivals seem to have slowed. I think I’ve been requesting fewer hard copies, though I note I’ve had a lot of NetGalley rejections lately. Most have been because they’re US / UK releases, but still…. #hmph! But there were only two new arrivals this week – one print copy (Something to Say from Frankie magazine) and one eBook (While You Were Sleeping by Kathryn Croft).
And… I need to catch up a few house-related things I’ve not yet done: get an electrician in to fix / replace security lights; organise a new security screen door and do a massive clean as my mother’s coming to stay before / after eye cataract surgery later in the week. I also want to work on my study a bit as it’s a great space, but I’ve done nothing with it as yet.
And that’s it for this Sunday Post. As usual I’m linking up with Caffeinated Book Reviewer; and The Book Date for ‘It’s Monday!’ I’m also linking up with Denyse Whelan and Life This Week.
Do you have any exciting plans lined up for this week?
November 5, 2016
I like your new header and how you have it reflecting the new hair cut! I also love your picture, a part of me wants a short cut but I am afraid it will make my face chubby, so maybe after I lose some more weight. It can be one of my goals. 🙂
Enjoy your reads,
Stormi
November 6, 2016
Thanks Stormi. I’ve been losing weight so had planned to go shorter when I got to a certain weight. Plus I sweat a lot and it’s easier with really short hair – you can’t tell if it’s wet and sweaty or just has lots of product in it!
November 6, 2016
I have periodically cut my hair very short as an adult– not recently– but it’s so freeing! A little lip color or mascara and it works for me 🙂 You look good with your new cut/color, nice!
I love Baldacci– will have to check out this title, though I didn’t read book 3 in this particular series. I’m waiting impatiently for the next Amos Decker really!
November 6, 2016
I missed no. 2 in the Puller series, but I don’t think it mattered. There was some reference to what happened in book 3 here but mostly it was just mentioned as an update. (And I love Amos Decker too!)
Yes, this is the fourth or fifth time I’ve been really short. Usually I last a year or two and then try to grow it. Spend 2+ years getting it long and then get hot and irritable and get it cut off again! (Keeps me busy I guess! 😉 )
November 6, 2016
Hmm you have me interested in Anna Romer now, I love the cover and think I’ll keep this one in mind. Love the hair and perfect for the coming hot weather you no doubt will experience.
November 6, 2016
Yes, I very much enjoyed the Romer. Another blogger mentioned that they struggled with it a little, so I expected to… so when I read it in a sitting I was quite surprised!
November 6, 2016
Loving your new hair. It looks fabulous. Thanks again for your review. My week will be spent worrying about how I’m going to walk up that mountain I haven’t trained enough for!
November 6, 2016
Well done for even attempting it. I’ve done no exercise in the past week and just transferred the last month of my gym membership over to a friend. So I need to get into some healthier habits!
November 6, 2016
Your hair looks great and really suits you. I wish I could wear hair that short but I just look like a twelve year old boy (with a wrinkly face).
November 6, 2016
I wish my face wasn’t so blotchy / freckled etc… or I could wear makeup to cover it up. I know I’ll appreciate it when it gets hot and it’s SO easy to manage. Before I made my seachange I had really short hair (blonde) and used to go to the gym every lunch and just washed my hair with soap after and let it dry back in the office. I’m not usually someone who uses product, but I do when it’s short but I never ever use a hairdryer. Way too hard if you ask me!
November 6, 2016
How stupid am I, I never even noticed the graphic had changed at the top. It looks really good and suits you so well! I know what you mean about days going by quickly especially as people keep mentioning Christmas!!
November 6, 2016
The graphic looks weird to me. A friend has offered to change the colour professionally (via some real program not a dodgy website which is what I used). But I’m not sure if it’s also cos I’m not used to it being dark and short again. The mid-length one looked weird when I went to that from the long hair… and the dark blonde looked weird when I changed it from light blonde to dark blonde!
November 6, 2016
Love the new hairstyle Deb. Love the colour too. Mind you, blonde really suited you too
November 6, 2016
The very first time I went brown (in the mid 1990s) I was buying new glasses. The sales assistant told me how well the frames matched my hair. I explained that I was about to go lighter – go blonde. She looked worried and asked if I thought being blonde would suit me. I had to explain I’d been blonde for 24yrs of my life before going brown, so I thought it’d be okay! 🙂
November 6, 2016
I was going t do NaNo but I just knew I’d be too busy to do it in Nov., so I was kinda bummed but c’est la vie. I wish you good luck though! And I did notice the graphic change right off, it looks good! I didn’t read a lot this week, the US election is almost here and I’ve been preoccupied reading all the political stuff. Why do I put myself through that lol? It’s not like I’m undecided, who could be after like the world’s longest campaign? Seriously it seems to go n forever. Anyway… yeah you’ve been driving quite a lot! Hope that slows a bit… and that you’re acclimating to your new place! Happy weekend!
While You Were Sleeping looks like a good thriller.
November 6, 2016
It is shocking to see the darker hair on the banner, but you wear it well. I am jealous. I would love wash and go hair. Although, my long hair is easy to throw up into a bun. NaNo terrifies me, I would analyze everything I wrote to death..lol Have a fantastic week!
November 6, 2016
Long hair is handy for that reason Kimberly, but I get sweaty so the hair on my head is all wet and I have this blonde dry ponytail and it looks weird. And yes, I’m looking forward to managing it more easily!
November 6, 2016
I also really think it was just Sunday like.. yesterday. It’s crazy right?! Where do the days go?
I like your new banner. You definitely see it right away, but I think it looks good. And more importantly.. I think it really fits you. You look good! 😉
Have a great week!
November 6, 2016
Thanks Maureen!
November 6, 2016
I noticed the darker hair first on the Linky…and then here, at which point I realized you had changed the banner…lol. I like it!
I always wonder the same thing every week; is it Sunday already? Our lives are flying by…
I want While You Were Sleeping…and I, too, had a NetGalley rejection this week…and a couple of weeks ago. When that happens, I find it hard not to take it personally, and their reasons never seem applicable. My profile is the same one that earns other approvals.
Enjoy your week, and thanks for visiting my blog.
November 6, 2016
I know re NetGalley. The emails are obviously automatically generated but the ‘you may wish to update your profile or add more information’ annoys the crap out of me. They do sometimes say it could be a geographical thing and I know when I request something being published in the US or UK it might be rejected but it’s often not the case so mostly I’m confused!
November 6, 2016
Your hair looks great! I’m doing nano too but I’m not stressing over word count. I’m using it as a framwork to get into a writing habit again. Have a great week!
November 6, 2016
I think I just need to start as I’ve gotten myself in a tizz over the fact I haven’t and feeling like I’m really behind in everything as a result!
November 6, 2016
I like the hair and the banner!
November 6, 2016
Thanks so much!
November 6, 2016
Your new hair cut looks great on you. Shows off your cheek bones and eyes really well. I have a similar haircut and love how easy it is to just get up and go. Used to have hair down passed my hips. Sure don’t miss that work. Great looking new banner too:)
My Sunday Post
November 6, 2016
Thanks Laura, and yes it is easy to manage isn’t it. There isn’t much of it for it to go too far wrong! 🙂
November 6, 2016
I love your new hair cut! It’s very pretty! I’m also doing NaNoWriMo this year, and I’m not at 10,000 words either. I’m at 5594, but it’s better than nothing. You should totally do NaNo! Even if you don’t reach 50,000 words, you still started a book! Hope that you give it a try. 🙂
November 6, 2016
True… I just need to start. Maybe tomorrow (and yes, I know that’s wrong). Today’s been a sh*t of a day quite frankly and I’ve got Monday off so hopefully I can get stuck into it then!
November 6, 2016
I know someone who finished in three days, haha. But I also know plenty of people who haven’t reached 10k yet on their nano novel. It is for the fun though, right? And I really like the new hair cut.
November 6, 2016
Is that Cait from Paper Fury who wrote the 62,000 words in three days? I read her blog post about it and was amazed, though she’s done similar before she says. And yes, you’re completely right… it’s all for the fun of it!
November 6, 2016
The first thing I noticed was your new banner – nice. And your haircut looks great too.
I’ll look forward to hearing about the Frankie book. I’ve also had a few rejections from NetGalley lately (I haven’t asked for much this year, combo of wanting to get through my TBR stack and because I have so many NetGalley books that I haven’t yet read).
November 7, 2016
I didn’t request much from NG for a while as I had a lot of print copies but they’ve dwindled off (I think I’ve requested less rather than not getting what I’ve requested) but it can be disheartening to get the NG refusals. I really wanted to read the latest Karen Rose, but got no’s from both US and UK publishers…
November 6, 2016
Love the new haircut, and I love even more that everything on your blog already reflects the change!
I think for NaNo, you could still do it – it’s up to you if you want to just use a lower goal, or if you think you can do it even if you started later.
I’m doing NaNo for my thesis, so I probably won’t reach 40000 words, because I don’t need that many 😀
Have a wonderful week ahead and happy reading.
November 7, 2016
It’s true… the perfectionist in me wonders why even start if I’m not going to do it ‘properly’ or have a chance at reaching the 50,000 word goal. But any words are better than none!
November 6, 2016
Your hair looks great! And good luck with NaNo!! I was honestly feeling really uninspired and then I started and ended up being really fun and I’m quite happy with my story. So whatever you decide….LOTS OF CAKE FOR YOU!! I have no real plans this week except to start Gemina which I’m SO SO EXCITED ABOUT.
November 7, 2016
I can’t believe you finished (exceeded!!!) NaNo within three days Cait! That was amazing! I wonder if there’s a record of some sort?!
November 6, 2016
I like the header and the hair cut. I think they both look great.
November 7, 2016
Thanks Emma. x
November 7, 2016
Wait…wut?! We are *not* middle-aged. I refuse to use that word! *falls to floor, kicking feet* LOL
I like your hair! And the header. I had purple highlights in mine after I cut it all off and they’ve faded out for awhile now. I want them back. Maybe for Christmas.
You should start NaNo anyway and just go at your own pace. I’d say just ignore how many words others have written. It can be too intimidating when you’re struggling. Good luck and happy writing!
November 7, 2016
I know… I think it’s the phrase ‘middle-aged’ more than anything. Perhaps I just remember those daggy people of my youth?!
And I think some purple for Christmas would be perfect. Or some green?
November 7, 2016
I love that you changed your header to reflect your new look! Very cool! 🙂
Good luck with NaNo if you decide to go for it. I’m sorry you’re not feeling enthusiasm for it yet, but from what I gather there’s multiple writing sessions over the year right? So you could always do it some other time. Enjoy your new reads, Debbie!
November 7, 2016
Thanks Nick! True – there are a lot of NaNo camps and the like, plus I’m not completely out of time yet to participate this year. Am trying to look on the positive side and remind myself there are still 3wks left this month!
November 7, 2016
I actually plan on coloring my hair too. I want to go for burgundy highlights; I have dark hair so I hope it will look good!
As for your banner, I thought it looked different! I like it because you can change it with each new look that you get, so that’s pretty cool 🙂 Hope you have a great week! ~Aleen
November 7, 2016
Last year I had the banner designer do three different hair lengths and change my hair from light blonde to dark blonde. I didn’t get him to do a chocolate brown colour as I didn’t know that was going to happen, but a blogging friend has offered to do the change more professionally via some special software, so will get her to have a look at it.
November 7, 2016
I read my first David Baldacci book earlier this year and really enjoyed it. I must try and fit more in. I love your hair and it’s cute that you altered your banner to match. I always get the hump a bit about NG refusals, and it’s so silly as I already have too many books to read.
Middle aged….meh…I hate that title and in my head I’m not! But if I think about it logically, well….
November 7, 2016
I know Trish, it’s that damned logic that will ruin everything for us every time! 😉
November 7, 2016
I love your new ‘do both in real life and on the banner. Its very Qld summer friendly! I do not understand the pressures I see people put themselves under for the writing thingy. I can’t work to the ‘competitive’ like conditions even though I like a deadline or plan. Anyhoo, like all things, ‘to each his/her own’. I hope whatever you want to do is done! House plans for improving sound good. Hope Mum’s surgery goes well. Denyse x Thanks for linking up AND being a great supporter of the link up!
November 7, 2016
Thanks Denyse. Was able to follow up on a couple of house-y things today but some will take some time.
November 7, 2016
You hair is wonderful. I did notice the change in your banner. Looking forward to the John Puller book. Wishing your mom a easy surgery and quick recovery.
November 7, 2016
I enjoyed the latest in John Puller but have a bit of a crush on his older brother I must admit. I think Baldacci should start a Robert Puller series! 😉
November 7, 2016
Why does the air con always break at a function or something? It’s like a rule….
November 7, 2016
I know. Fortunately they had people arrive and fix it pretty quickly.
November 7, 2016
Love the hair! 🙂 And the new banner.
Glad the big work day turned out Okay in the end but there’s always some teething problems with that sort of thing.
The closer we get to the end of the year the fast it seems to go by! Sorry about your lack of NaNo enthusiasm – maybe just put a few words in and see how you go?
Hope you’re having a great week!
November 7, 2016
Yes… I hope to get stuck into my NaNo book later this week. (And thanks re the hair and work stuff!)
November 7, 2016
I like your new header. I have to change up my header from time to time, but now that my hair really is blue, I shouldn’t have to change it dramatically until I die.
https://readerbuzz.blogspot.com/2016/11/im-loving-texas-book-festival.html
November 8, 2016
Ha yes… my header itself has been the same for about 5yrs or so and I just change the hair to suit! 🙂
November 8, 2016
Ooooh nice books this week! And I love your new hair! I think your banner looks great 😀 Have a great week!
Here’s my Weekly Recap!
November 8, 2016
Thanks Tracy!
November 8, 2016
I’ve had a ton of Netgalley rejections too! Very disappointing, although my stats are horrible because I requested a ton of books years ago that I never reviewed. It sucks because I have reviewed every book I have requested in the past year or two.
November 8, 2016
My % is up over 95% so I don’t think it’s that for me… who knows…. But it is frustrating!
November 8, 2016
I did notice the new header – love the new hair!! I know those presentation woes all too well – I turned up to present at on off-site location once only to discover that the computer system was completely down, so no power point – I think I had a bit of a cry in the bathroom, then ended up going old school with a whiteboard and laughable drawing skills!! Sometimes all you can do is laugh….after the fact, of course… 😉
November 8, 2016
I actually hate presentations so always take hard copies just in case. And I think people were understanding. We had this meeting in a small town mid-way through the region and options were limited and most of those present were from various small places around the region so had no problem with the venue itself. (Having said that, we probably need more space in future!)
November 8, 2016
Sorry you haven’t got to start on NaNo yet :-/ But hey, it doesn’t HAVE to be November to write, so you can start now and keep going as long as you need 🙂
I noticed the banner right away and was like, “Oh! She must’ve cut her hair!” Lol. It looks great 🙂 And the banner also looks great, not like bad Photoshopping, so I think it’s just that you’re not used to it.
November 9, 2016
I hope that’s it Kirsten and yes, you’re very right about the writing thing. Just starting would be an achievement in itself at the moment.
November 8, 2016
I’ve just read your review of Wish You Were Here – looks like my kind of read. While You Were Sleeping also looks like a good read.
I love your new haircut and even better that you have adjusted your blog picture to match! I’m not so brave to cut my hair, I’ve had it long and the same style for years! It’s great to hear you have cut it as you reached your goal of losing weight – well done!
Have a good week!
Amanda @ Mrs B’s Book Reviews
November 9, 2016
Thanks Amanda! And definitely check out Wish You Were Here if you get a chance!
November 9, 2016
Love your haircut! Looking fabulous!
November 10, 2016
Thanks Jess!