Sunday Post (37) / It's Monday What Are You Reading

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. It's Monday, What Are You Reading is a fun weekly meme now hosted by Kathryn at Book Date, where we share what we've read and reviewed over the past week and what we plan to read next.

So snow finally arrived this past week and I ended up staying home from work on Tuesday. Thankfully it didn't stick around long and the roads were fine after that. This week it is supposed to be pretty cold (high of 12 F tomorrow). I am not looking forward to it!

This week our winter reading program kicks off at the library and I will be busy planning the adult summer reading program. It is normal to start planning big events this far in advance and performers often fill their schedules quickly. Usually I don't have outside performers come in but this year I am partnering with the Children's department to bring a penguin to the library (even though it has nothing to do with our theme of Exercise Your Mind!). Penguins are one of my favorite animals and what I like about this program is that patrons can actually pet the penguin. I was very happy that we were able to book the Newport Aquarium and now I need to figure out my other programs. One idea is to offer a one time ballroom dancing class if I can convince our local Center for the Arts to do it.

Sad to hear that Alan Rickman passed away. He was such a talented actor! I first saw him in Robin Hood as the villainous Sheriff of Nottingham and then in Sense and Sensibility as Colonel Brandon. I will always remember him for the way he brought the character of Severus Snape to life in the Harry Potter movies. I can't reread the books without picturing him as Snape.

#FitReaders Weekly Check In

#FitReaders is hosted by Felicia at The Geeky Blogger and Jen at That's What I'm Talking About

I was very happy that I reached my step goal every day this week though some days were definitely harder than others. Something that I struggle with is that my life is naturally sedentary and even at work I have a job that requires me to sit at a desk to answer phones or people's questions. I've been challenging myself to get up and move around more at work (though some days it just isn't possible) and to exercise every morning. Some days this week I exercised twice to make up for all the time I spent sitting at a computer. My hope is that when the warmer weather arrives this spring I can go for half hour walks outside on my lunch break.

Sunday--11,406 steps, exercised for 82 minutes
Monday--10,282 steps, exercised for 41 minutes
Tuesday--12,260 steps, exercised for 79 minutes
Wednesday--10,233 steps, exercised for 41 minutes
Thursday--10,557 steps, exercised for 35 minutes
Friday--11,017 steps, exercised for 51 minutes
Saturday--10,433 steps, exercised for 41 minutes

Last week on my blog:

Top Ten 2015 Releases I Meant to Read But Didn't (post)

A Step Toward Falling by Cammie McGovern

Books read:

The Things We Keep by Sally Hepworth

I liked this book though it didn't have the same emotional impact for me that Still Alice did. I liked the main characters and even the little girl Clem. I think that perhaps the way the story was told created some distance for me.

Dark Force Rising by Timothy Zahn (reread)

The Golden Son by Shilpi Somaya Gowda

I really liked this book and it surprised me when I expected the story to go in one direction and it went in another. The main character is Anil, a young Indian man who moves to Texas to study medicine and has to deal with the challenges of being a hospital intern and family matters back home. The other main character is Leena, his childhood friend and crush who has entered an arranged marriage and finds things to be very different from what she'd thought. Leena's story really touched me and made me angry for all she had to go through.

Currently reading:

The Last Command by Timothy Zahn (reread)

I'd forgotten some of the things that happen in this story so in a way it is like reading it for the first time. Once I finish this I'll need to think of what audio book to read next.

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (reread)

Right now I'm in Rivendell in the chapter "Many Meetings". This is one of the slower parts of the book but we are introduced to important characters. I've noticed before how Frodo and company will be in danger and then have a period of rest somewhere safe and then be in danger again and then have some rest and safety, etc. That seems to be the pattern for The Fellowship of the Ring but not the rest of the book as far as I can remember. 

What I might read next:

A Fireproof Home for the Bride by Amy Scheibe

We will be reading this in my evening book group this month. I have had it on my TBR pile since last year since it is also a review book but I'm just now getting around to it.

The Impostor Queen by Sarah Fine

I keep hearing good things about this book. Hopefully the worldbuilding is good as that is something I'm picky about when it comes to fantasy.

New books received:

The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi (for review)

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi (for review)

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard (library book)

The Secret Life of Anna Blanc by Jennifer Kincheloe (library book)

The Seafront Tearoom by Vanessa Greene (library book)