Sunday Post (55) / 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.

I had a busy week because of my library program but now things are quiet and I will have a chance to get caught up on other stuff like grocery shopping, planning my vacation this fall and reading :) 

My murder mystery dinner was Thursday night and it went very well. I couldn't guess who the killer was and I was a little disappointed by how the mystery resolved but at least a handful of people did guess correctly. Everyone had a good time and I even received some donations toward more murder mystery dinners in the future. Good thing I plan to do one more this fall. My focus for the next few weeks will be on our mini Comic Con but I am not as involved in that as the youth services specialists. I did find a very talented manga artist who will be teaching the kids and teens (and any interested adults) how to draw manga characters as well as someone from an area university who will be bringing their 3-D printer in to demonstrate how it works by printing 3-D superheroes and villains. We are very excited about that! Now I just have to come up with a costume!

Last week on my blog:

My Top Ten 2016 Releases So Far (post)

738 Days by Stacey Kade (review)

Summer Comment Challenge Sign Up (post)

Books read:

The Winemakers by Jan Moran

I liked this one quite a bit. It had a dual story line though it mostly took place in the 50s. I initially disliked the mother, Ava until I found out what she'd been through. I really enjoyed the descriptions and learning about wine and wine making. 

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman

Although I liked A Man Called Ove more than this one, I did laugh out loud sometimes while reading it and I loved the Harry Potter references among other things. It took awhile to get into the story because of the fairy tale stuff but the characters were fun, especially Elsa's crazy grandmother. My one major irritation was that they fed the dog chocolate. Maybe the author has never owned a dog but that is a huge no-no!

Currently reading:

Life Just Got Real by Sadie Robertson

I just started this and so far it's not bad. I have a feeling it will be popular at my library where so many people are fans of the Robertsons and Duck Dynasty. I'm not a fan of the show but I was impressed with Sadie's personality on Dancing with the Stars so I thought I'd give this a try.

Currently listening to:

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling (reread)

Jim Dale's rendition of Weasley is Our King is stuck in my head but I am enjoying listening to this although like Elsa (from My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry) it isn't my favorite of the Harry Potter books. I liked the formation of Dumbledore's Army and seeing Dumbledore and other characters outsmart Umbridge.

On my TBR pile:

If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo

I've never read a book written from the perspective of a transgender teen before and I've heard really good things about If I Was Your Girl. It received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Kirkus so I have high hopes.

Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler

I've also heard good things about this contemporary retelling of The Taming of the Shrew from other bloggers so I hope to get to it soon.

Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty

I just featured this for my Waiting on Wednesday pick so I was thrilled when I found it was available to request from Netgalley. I loved Big Little Lies, The Husband's Secret and What Alice Forgot so this is one of my most anticipated reads for the summer. 

Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave

I've only read Little Bee but I wanted to read this one since it is historical fiction set during WWII.

Exile for Dreamers by Kathleen Baldwin

I can't wait to read this sequel to A School for Unusual Girls. I don't know if I'll get to it this week or have to wait till the weekend when I usually have more time for library books (it's much easier to take my Kindle with me during the week). If I'm really motivated and get through my current book this afternoon maybe I can get started on Exile for Dreamers :)

New books received:

Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty (for review)

Life Just Got Real by Sadie Robertson (library book)

A Murder in Time by Julie McElwain (library book)