Sunday Summary: 16 November 2014

This was a very good week—I found plenty of time to read and I did a lot of maintenance on the blog. As in past weeks, I'm linking up with The Sunday Post, hosted by Kimba @ The Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on the blog, showcase books and things received. Share news about what is coming up on the blog for the week ahead.

Where I've been reading

It was a wonderful week at home. It seems like it's been a long time since “Reading in Texas” was coming to you from Texas. Without travel, I struggled to make time to read. After all, I wasn't spending long periods in the car or on airplanes. And, since hubby and I were trying to eat more meals at home, I didn't get my usual extra reading time as he drove us to and from a restaurant. Instead, the meal prep time (which sometimes involved cooking and at other times was simply warming up left-overs, making a salad, or slicing fresh fruit) actually cut into my reading time. But I persevered. I finished three books, one of them an audio book that I started reading near the end of October.

What I've been reading

Format: eGalley
Source: review book from NetGalley
Completed: 11 November

★★★★☆

I kept wavering between 4 and 5 stars for As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust. I'm a real fan of Flavia de Luce, the young protagonist in Alan Bradley's series of mystery novels. The prior book was released on January 14, and I checked it out of the library the day it arrived. It only took me two days to read The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches. So I was thrilled when my request to receive a review copy of As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust was approved. It actually took me four days to read this book and I enjoyed every minute of it. As I have time to think about it, however, I don't think this was the very best of the series, so let's settle for 4 stars. (I think I need to change my scale to provide for ½ stars as well.)

So, what is As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust all about? Flavia has been bundled off to boarding school in Canada—the same school that her mother had attended as a girl. In her usual style, Flavia pretty much does her own thing rather than falling in line with the schedule of school and dormitory life. Of course there's a murder and Flavia is leading the charge to identify the dead woman and determine how she died. Expect a more thorough review closer to the publication date of January 6.

Format: Audio CD
Source: purchased September 2014
Completed: 15 November

★★★★☆

Another young protagonist that I truly adore is Bertie Pollock, who celebrates his seventh birthday in this latest episode of Alexander McCall Smith's 44 Scotland Street series. Bertie longs for the day he turns 18 and will be out from under his mother's control. Irene Pollock, on the other hand, long ago plunged whole-heartedly into “The Bertie Project”, applying her own approach to child-rearing which includes psychotherapy, Italian lessons, playing the saxophone, enrollment in a progressive school, and dressing Bertie in pink overalls. It's all delightful.

This book was published in the UK in 2013 and is scheduled to be released in the USA in early 2015. Since I prefer to listen to this series rather than read the text, I had to wait for the audio to become available in the UK. I then ordered it directly from ISIS Publishing. Being unsure that they'd ship to me in the USA, I had the CDs delivered to a pal in England. He was willing to take delivery of the CDs and then deliver them to me when we both attended a conference in October.

Format: eGalley
Source: review book from NetGalley
Completed: 15 November

★★★☆☆

The Oblate's Confession was one of the first books which I received from NetGalley. It caught my eye primarily because I had just started reading the Brother Cadfael Medieval mysteries and was enjoying reading about this period in English history.

The story is delivered in first person by the oblate himself. (During this time, “oblate” referred to a child who was given to a monastery by his or her parents.) The story proceeds very slowly with the elderly oblate telling of his early years in the monastery, and the great sin which he committed. It's a thoughtful recollection, but not without a bit of humor.

I'm giving this book a very solid three stars. Look for a proper review later in this coming week.

This Week on the Blog

1. Review: Nightmares!
2. Book Blogger Hop: 14-20 November
3. Stacking the Shelves (12)