Sunday Summary: 9 August 2015

It's simply awful to be sick when you're out of town. This past week I was working in Detroit, and caught a short stomach virus. It sent me to bed for 13 hours. Me! A woman who usually sleeps 5-6 hours each night and is perfectly happy. When I got in from work on Tuesday afternoon, I went straight to bed. I'd like to say that I slept through to the morning, but anyone who has had a stomach virus will know that didn't happen. Fortunately, but Wednesday morning, the tummy was recovered. I was a bit weak and needed to go to bed early each of the next couple of nights, but otherwise I weathered it well.

Where I've been reading

Detroit, the Motor City. It was another one of those week-long business trips, starting with an early-morning flight from Dallas to Detroit on Monday and ending with the return flight on Friday afternoon. I never turned on the TV in the hotel—reading in the evenings after work. And even giving up TV for reading didn't seem to solve the problem of just not finishing as many books as I have set as a weekly goal. That's because the work days were long, I had to spend part of my evening each day working, and I found that I needed to go to sleep earlier than usual.

My return home was simply a turn-around. I had time to do three loads of laundry and then repack my suitcase for two weeks away from home. I flew out to Orlando to attend a conference and then I'll be taking a vacation the week following. Another of the famous “Elsi and hubby road trip” kind of vacation. While I may not find much free time for reading at the conference, I plan to use all the miles between Orlando and my home in Texas absorbing the written word.

 

What I've been reading: Completed this week

There was quite a variety in the books I read this past week. I simply didn't read as much as I had hoped and therefore didn't finish as many books as I had hoped. Kris Longknife: Tenacious is the last-so-far in this military SF series by Mike Shepherd. Another volume is due in October. It's also the last book in a series that I targeted as a 2015 reading challenge, so I've made that particular milestone. Blanche Passes Go is the last of four books in an outstanding mystery series. It's outstanding not because of the mysteries, but because of the characters. Look for a review very soon since this book was given to me through NetGalley. And the last book I finished during the past week was A Lost Witch, the seventh and final book in Debora Geary's Modern Witch series. I've been reading these one per month, borrowing each volume from the Kindle Lending Library at Amazon.

Kris Longknife: Tenacious by Mike Shepherd
Blanche Passes Go by Barbara Neely COYER book #18
A Lost Witch by Debora Geary

What I've been reading: In progress

I've almost finished reading Low Midnight, the second of the two eBooks I borrowed from the library this week. Thought I might finish it on Saturday, but I fell asleep with only 10 pages to go. Then there's The Lost Quilter, another library book, but this time one that is printed on paper. I'm about ¼ of the way into it. I have a history of losing library books, so I left this one in my car when I got to the airport. Hubby is driving to meet me, so I'll resume reading it when he gets to Florida.

Lastly, there's The Novel Habits of Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith, the latest book in his Isabel Dalhousie series. You know that phrase, “money was burning a hole in his pocket”? Well that's exactly how I felt as soon as I clicked the button to buy the audiobook. I actually set aside the in-progress SF novel I mentioned last week, and will resume it as soon as I have listened to all of this one.

Low Midnight by Carrie Vaughn
The Lost Quilter by Jennifer Chiaverini
The Novel Habits of Happiness by Alexander McCall Smith

This Week on the Blog

That lack of free time also cut into the blog. I have a couple of unfinished reviews to post and I failed to pull together a Focus on Freading post for this week. Well, I'll just have to get on the ball for this upcoming week.

1. Month in Review: July 2015
2. Stacking the Shelves (44)

 

I'm pleased to be 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.

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