Sunday Summary: 1 March 2015

Last week in Las Vegas, this week in Seattle. I am attending the SHARE Spring Conference along with many other users of IBM's enterprise server hardware and software products.

Where I've been reading

All of this past week, I was in Las Vegas, traveling to Seattle on Saturday. I didn't have a lot of time to read during the week, as the IBM InterConnect 2015 conference kept me very busy. But I made up for it on Saturday. I had two flights with a three hour layover in the Phoenix airport, and I was reading almost all of that time.

What I've been reading: Completed this week

Format: eBook
Source: purchased in October 2014
Completed: 24 February

★★★★☆

The Dante Connection by Estelle Ryan is the second book in her Genevieve Lennar mystery series. Dr. Genevieve Lennard is a psychologist and one of the world's most outstanding experts in non-verbal communication. She works as an investigator for a prestigious insurance company in Strasbourg, France. Oh yes, one reason why she became an expert in non-verbal communication is because she relies on facial and postural cues from individuals she interacts due to her autism and extreme literal-mindedness. Life is challenging enough, but now she's being stalked by an international criminal.

I was enjoying this book so much that I simply flew through it. I would like to continue reading the series and I've placed the next book on my wishlist at Amazon. While this particular episode came to a satisfactory ending, the bad guy (a Russian mobster) is still out there. So, Genevieve and her friends will be challenged yet again as this series continues.

Format: eBook
Source: gift from another reader
Completed: 28 February

★★★☆☆

I discovered steampunk a couple of years ago when I read the first of Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series. I added The Iron Wyrm Affair to my wishlist based on recommendations from friends who were also reading steampunk and a friend gave me a copy for my birthday in 2013. I finally got around to reading it this month, and it took me all month to complete it.

There are some books that I can read very, very fast and others that I feel like I'm plodding through. This one fell into the second category. Initially, I was using it as a “filler” book; reading on my phone during odd free moments. Then I downloaded it into my Kindle and made it the primary book I was reading. And there I was with a book that was pretty good, but which failed to GRAB me. I don't know if I'll continue reading the series or not.

Format: eBook
Source: borrowed from Sanger Public Library via Freading
Completed: 22-28 February

I'm continuing to read my way through the Boxcar Children series, reading books 3 through 8 this week. These books were actually available in my childhood, but I never read them. So I'm making up for it 50 years later. The charming Alden children (the two oldest not really “children” in The Lighthouse Mystery as Henry is attending college and Jessica is in her final year of high school) have a series of adventures and light mysteries as they visit various locations, usually in the company of their grandfather.

I'm not going to bother providing a rating for each of them. Suffice to say that they are solidly in the 2.5 to 3 range—enjoyable books, but not ones that I'd necessarily read over again. I know I'll share these with my grandkids when they are old enough to enjoy them, so maybe that's a pretty good endorsement.

What I've been reading: In progress

When I borrowed Graduation Day from the library a month or so ago, I had to return it unread. So this week, I decided to borrow it again and set myself to reading it right away. (I just love the electronic book lending programs at my libraries that allow me to get a book even though I'm several states away from home.) This is the third and final book of The Testing Trilogy, which some reviewers have called “stunning and epic”. They are set in a dystopian future where a series of wars have devastated the United States, destroying not only the cities and its population, but have left the ecology barely able to support life. Leaders of the new United Commonwealth have instituted a cruel competition as a means of gaining entrance to The University. Cia and her friends are determined that they will be the last to go through The Testing.

And, I'm continuing to listen to Peter and the Secret of Rundoon, the third book in the Peter series by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. At this point, I have 6 hours of listening left in the book. I expect I'll get in between 1/2 and 3/4 hour each day as I commute from my hotel to the location of the SHARE conference. Even if I don't make a great deal of progress during this week, I will have enjoyed a visit with Peter, Tinkerbell, the lost boys, Wendy, and George. Not a bad way to spend my time in the car.

This Week on the Blog

And just as I found it difficult to make time to read during the week, it was also difficult to find time to add anything to the blog. So, since last week's Sunday Summary, there's only one new post; yesterday's Stacking the Shelves.

1. Stacking the Shelves (24)

Coming Up

Today begins the Take Control of your TBR Pile Challenge, hosted by Kimba at The Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It's a month-long challenge to clear out the backlog of TBR books on your shelves and eReaders. So, during March, I will be mostly reading from my books-on-hand instead of library and review books. I'll finish the books in progress and will read the one or two review books which have deadlines in March, but won't be reading any new library books or review books (unless, of course, I just CANNOT WAIT until April). It's not too late to join the challenge.

 

And, as usual, 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.