Sunday Summary: 27 December 2015

Good morning all. I hope your Winter holidays have been fabulous. We celebrated Christmas at my son's house. I cooked a morning brunch of sausages, biscuits, scrambled eggs, ham, and sweet rolls. After breakfast, we sat around to exchange presents. Weeks ago, my daughter asked me what I wanted for Christmas, and I told her I didn't have any particular wishes—just lots of boxes to open. So that's what I got. And every box I opened contained a wrapped gift for someone else. It quickly became a contest to guess whose present might be in my box. But I wasn't left out; my kids know my weakness for books, so I received gift cards to buy books with.

Where I've been reading

Since I had taken the entire week as vacation time, I was at home here in Texas. Well, here in Texas, but not necessarily “at home”. The two five-year-old grandchildren were out of school, so I drove down to my sons' house a couple of days to spend the day with them. It was so warm here in Texas that we went to the park with just t-shirts and jeans. Driving back and forth from my house to where my sons live gave me lots of time to listen to my current audio book, The Guilty by David Baldacci.

 

Sunday Summary: 20 December 2015

This week I'm combining my Sunday Post and Stacking the Shelves. I've been ignoring my online presence—forums, blog, Facebook, even e-mail—for a couple of weeks as I focus on taking care of things at work. Now that I have a couple of weeks of vacation at the end of the year, I hope to be a bit more visible.

With Christmas coming up, I'm lucky to have two grandchildren nearby to share the holiday with. Yesterday, I flew to Las Vegas to pick up grand-daughter Victoria for a two-week visit with her Daddy. Since he had to work yesterday, I had the honor of escorting her to Texas. He'll take her back just in time for school to start up again.

Where I've been reading

A week ago I was returning from New York City. Everything was brightly decorated and I was fortunate that the weather was quite mild. In fact, I kept wishing I had left my coat at home and just taken a light-weight jacket to keep the wind at bay. I read on the plane both directions and then read in my hotel room each evening instead of turning on the television.

This week just past, I was blessed to be at home. I tried to make plenty of time for reading as I really would like to make my goal of 200 books for 2015. I knew it was a stretch goal when I set it, and I'm running out of time!

 

Sunday Summary: 6 December 2015

As I wrote yesterday, I was offline for a couple of weeks. Life suddenly got very complicated and blogging was the thing that had to go. I'm back, but just barely. I need to write and post three reviews for ARCs that I've read, and I want to keep up the two weekly posts of new books received and what's been going on in my reading life. Maybe during the holidays I'll blog ahead a little bit.

Where I've been reading

This past week I was working in Montreal. Such a lovely city and even more so with the Holiday decorations everywhere you look. It was cold—especially to this Texan—so I didn't spend any time out of doors. And, because I'm so conscious of how far behind I am in reading toward my goal of 200 books in 2015, I never turned on the television. Instead, I read from suppertime until bedtime. Wish I could make myself do this while I'm at home, but the hubby is a TV fan and I give in to the attraction.

 

Sunday Summary: 8 November 2015

Another slow week of reading. I only completed three books, so I'm sliding just a wee bit more behind when it comes to my goal of reading 200 books in 2015. So far, I've completed 165 books and with 7 weeks left in the year, I need to complete an average of five books each week to meet my target of 200. Whew! That's a lot of reading. Guess I need to stop watching TV and Netflix until I've caught up.

Where I've been reading

I was at home all week long. It was the second week in a row that I've been able to sleep in my own bed. However, I had to commute to the office in Dallas instead of working from the house. The good thing about commuting is that I get to “read” by listening to an audio book as I'm driving the hour and a quarter each way. I listened to an entire book in three and a half days and got started on another one.

 

Sunday Summary: 1 November 2015

Work has been brutal for the past couple of weeks. I'm so tired in the evenings that I just cannot focus on a book. Therefore, I remain a couple of books off the pace to complete 200 by the end of the year. I'm really counting on the holidays to help me rise to the challenge.

 

Where I've been reading

I've been at home! It has been so nice to work in my home office all week long, sleep in my own bed, and not to be in hotel rooms. I get to stay at home another week, though I do have to commute to the office rather than working from my house.

 

What I've been reading: Completed this week

All of the books that I read this week were from the library. Two were electronic books and two were hardbacks. And three of these books are part of my Finishing the Series challenge for 2015. I now have two more books to read in the Elm Creek Quilts series and three more in the Brother Cadfael series. And there's two months in which to read them. I think I'm solid on this challenge.

Sunday Summary: 25 October 2015

Arghhh! I need to spend more time reading, or I need to pick shorter books, or both. I'm still behind schedule to meet my goal of 200 books by the end of the year. With nine more weeks left in the year and 42 books to read, I'm going to need to average close to 5 books per week to meet my goal.

Yes, I picked a goal that I knew was going to make me push, but I also expected to be reading a lot more middle-grade books than I have so far. Guess I need to take a look at my TBR stack and line up some of those YA and MG books, moving them to the top of the list.

However, when it comes to the Blog Ahead Challenge, I've finally made some progress.

Where I've been reading

After a delightful weekend at home in Texas, I traveled to St. Louis on Monday morning. Spent an uneventful week there—longish days, but no crises. The trip home on Thursday night made up for it, though. Due to stormy weather in Dallas, my flight was diverted to Shreveport where we sat on the ground for almost three hours before we could take off to complete our trip to Dallas. It wouldn't have been so bad except that there was no airflow within the plane. I usually get quite chilled during a flight, but that wasn't the case at all this time! Everyone was hot and cranky by the time we landed in Dallas at 1:15, four hours later than scheduled.

Sunday Summary: 18 October 2015

It was an interesting week for reading. I started out at my sister's house in Orlando and eventually found my way home on Friday evening, just in time to join with over 2000 other readers in Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon. Reading all of Saturday (well starting at 7am!) helped to bring my weekly average up just a little bit. I read a total of 472 pages in the 24 hours of the read-a-thon, reading one book from beginning to end and finishing half of another. AND, I have now read 155 books toward my goal of 200. That's one more book than I read in 2014.

Where I've been reading

Spent another week away from home. Mid-day on Sunday, I left my sister's house and drove to Jacksonville, Florida. I had meetings with customers on Monday and Wednesday, working from my hotel room on Tuesday. On Thursday, I flew to Birmingham (Alabama, not England) by way of Charlotte, North Carolina, and met with a customer on Friday before flying home to Texas.

 

Sunday Summary: 11 October 2015

I keep having to pinch myself to remember that it's really October. The year is flying to a close so quickly! This week I again completed three books, but that's one short of the number I need to read each week if I'm going to get to 200 by the end of the year. I should find a little more time to read next week since I have several flights and I'll be taking my suppers alone.

Where I've been reading

Ah yes! I've been in Florida. From Monday through Friday, I attended a conference in Orlando and then drove up to my sister's house just north of Orlando to spend the weekend. I enjoyed the conference very much. Many of the technical sessions were educational and I picked up some new information about the software that I use. I also enjoyed getting to spend time with various colleagues throughout the week.

 

What I've been reading: Completed this week

The Union Quilters
by Jennifer Chiaverini
Format: Hardback
Source: borrowed from the library
Completed: 4 October

★★★★☆

The Union Quilters is the 17th (of 20) books in the Elm Creek Quilts series. Set in the time of the U. S. Civil War, the women of Elm Creek Valley in Pennsylvania are left behind when their husbands, sons, and brothers are mustered into the Union Army. The Bergstrom women—Anneke and her sister-in-law, Gerta—join with their neighbors to make quilts and raise funds to support the troops from their community. Weaving the account of the company's battles in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia with the stories of the community they left behind, Jennifer Chiaverini has delivered a compelling account of a war that changed the very fabric of American life.

Sunday Summary: 4 October 2015

As I write this, I'm sitting in the living room of a dear friend who lives in Auburn, AL. We're here to celebrate Homecoming, the annual gathering of alumni for parties, tailgaiting, and football. We have made it a tradition to get back to Auburn each year for Homecoming even though we now watch the game on TV instead of trekking to the stadium. We have BBQ planned for supper around half-time and lots of snacks for before and after. No one will leave here hungry!

Where I've been reading

You wouldn't believe my travel schedule this past week. I flew 7 segment in 3 days to get from Dallas to Poughkeepsie to Louisville and back to Dallas. This was to facilitate two back-to-back meetings in Poughkeepsie and Louisville, respectively. As soon as I landed in Dallas, hubby packed me into the car and we started cross-country toward Auburn. With all those flights, I did have plenty of time to read—when I wasn't dozing. I didn't take as much advantage of the time in the car because I was definitely sleeping to make up for the overnight flights on Tuesday night.

 

Sunday Summary: 27 September 2015

I started this past week having lunch with hubby's parents. They're both in their early nineties, and I hope I'm as “with it” when I reach that age. They live in the house they've occupied for over 20 years and Dad still drives, so that makes them totally independent. Mom is an avid reader and we've shared many books over the years. She's not reading as much right now because it's baseball season! Once the World Series is over, her reading pace will pick up. I'll be researching books from her favorite authors and seeking out new authors who write in a similar style.

Where I've been reading

This week's travel was a leisurely trip to San Antonio. It's only a one-hour flight away and I flew down on Monday morning and home on Thursday afternoon. I was very busy all week long and didn't have time for a lot of reading. (That's the down-side of those short flights!) I did, however, have time to relax and rest up for the frenzied travel that is scheduled for next week.

 

Sunday Summary: 20 September 2015

Where I've been reading

This week was marked by a business trip to Raleigh. All-in-all it was an easy excursion with non-stop flights on Monday and Wednesday. I used my in-flight time well, reading for most of the trip. Unfortunately, I found very little time to read the rest of the week. I listened to another couple of hours of Fire with Fire while I was in the car, but otherwise, I made little progress reading until I returned home.

 

Sunday Summary: 12 September 2015

Where I've been reading

It was so nice being home all week for the second week in a row. The week started with the Labor Day holiday. Then I had a few crises pop up at work and felt like I was chasing my own tail at times, but it was nice that I was at home when this happened. It was so much better than being on a business trip when I would have had more obligations to interfere with resolving the problems that had arisen. It can't last, however. I'm heading out on Monday afternoon.

 

Sunday Summary: 6 September 2015

In this post, I begin my second year of weekly Sunday Summary posts.

Where I've been reading

This week I've been mostly at home. I made a very quick business trip to Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday. My flight from DFW took off at 6am and I arrived back in Dallas at 6am on Thursday. The travel comprised four flights: Dallas to Phoenix to Portland and then Portland to Los Angeles to Dallas. Lots of time to read, but also plenty of time to sleep! On the red-eye flight from Los Angeles, I slept most of the way.

 

What I've been reading: Completed this week

The Raven in the Foregate
by Ellis Peters

Format: eBook
Source: borrowed from library via Freading
Completed: 30 August

★★★☆☆

A year ago, in the very first Sunday Summary post, I was reading the first book in the Brother Cadfael series, A Morbid Taste for Bones. This past week, I completed reading the twelfth book, The Raven in the Foregate. I'm still entranced with Ellis Peters' masterful descriptions of medieval life and with her leading character, Brother Cadfael, a aging Benedictine Monk.

The war between King Stephen and Empress Maud is still going on. For now, Stephen is prevailing and Maud is gathering her forces to make another try for the throne. Although the political scene is relatively calm, things at the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul are not going well. Abbot Radulfus has returned from Winchester with a new priest for the parish church—a priest whose rigid manner has earned the dislike of one and all. When Father Ailnoth is found drowned in the nearby mill pond, Brother Cadfael must find out how and why he died. Was it an accident, or was he murdered?

Sunday Summary: 30 August 2015

With the return to work this week, the number of books I completed dropped a little bit. I'm still staying on schedule—barely—to meet my goal of reading 200 books this year. I'm having to push to make this goal and I'm thinking that I'll drop the goal just a little bit in 2016.

Where I've been reading

But, the return to work also meant a return to travel. My week started very early with a 6am flight to St. Louis. I then drove to Columbia, Missouri, where I worked until Thursday evening. Returning to St. Louis on Thursday afternoon, I then flew to Des Moines, Iowa—by way of Chicago. After a morning of business in Des Moines, I flew home to Texas. Hubby met my plane and we had dinner at a favorite restaurant near the DFW airport.

You'd think all of those hours on the airplane would mean a lot of reading getting done, but I found myself dozing from time to time. And dozing meant some re-reading each time I awoke.

 

Sunday Summary: 23 August 2015

Vacation Week plus read-a-thon. What could be a better combination? This week is the 14^th Bout of Books read-a-thon. It started on Monday morning and ends at midnight tonight. It's one of my favorite reading events, combining the focus on books and reading with a very social atmosphere.

Where I've been reading

In the early part of the week, hubby and I were winding our way home from Florida. We spent Sunday visiting with dear friends in Panama City, then headed out on Monday morning. We broke the trip up into two days, giving us the opportunity to sleep in (just a bit) before getting a wonderful freshly-cooked breakfast to start off the day. I read and read while hubby was responsible for driving. Well, I slept some, too. The car was cozy and there was no distraction from Internet and e-mail. We had smart phones, of course, but since we took the “back roads” part of the way, we were in areas with very poor cell coverage. That was fine with me—I had BOOKS.

 

Sunday Summary: 16 August 2015

I didn't think about it until just now, but all the books I read this week were library books. Most were eBooks, but one was a hardback edition. I've said this before, but I am so excited that my library offers eBook lending.

Where I've been reading

This past week, I was in Orlando—actually down by Disney World—attending a technical conference. As is usual at conferences, the days were long and the evenings filled with conference-related activities. So I had to squeeze in reading time on the Sunday before everything started and then on Friday and Saturday after it was all over.

 

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.

 

Sunday Summary: 2 August 2015

Where I've been reading

I was back in my old stomping ground in the Southeast. Work took me to Atlanta for most of the week, so I decided that I would drive there instead of flying. That let me visit friends and family members along the way to-ing and fro-ing. It's roughly 14 hours to drive from my house to Atlanta. Stopping off to see people gave me nice breaks so that I didn't burn out all alone in the car. And, I had audiobooks with me to keep me entertained.

 

Sunday Summary: 26 July 2015

Where I've been reading

After a short road-trip and vacation and then two weeks working from home, I went back to a more normal work schedule this week. I flew to Northern Virginia on the outskirts of Washington, DC, on Monday morning and back home on Thursday evening. I wound up with a lot of new library books this week due to requests/holds all coming in at the same time. Fortunately the books borrowed through Overdrive had a three week check-out period, giving me plenty of time to schedule them in over the next couple of weeks. And, on Saturday afternoon, I set out on a drive from Dallas to Atlanta. Although it's only about fourteen hours on the road, I decided to break it up over two days. So here I sit on Saturday night in Jackson, Mississippi, making the final updates to this week's Sunday Summary.

 

Sunday Post: 19 July 2015

Where I've been reading

I had a second week at home in Texas. I would have liked to take care of stuff that needs to be done, but I didn't. I still have a huge mound of laundry to wash, dry, and fold. I haven't made the sweet potato muffins I promised my hubby. I didn't sew or knit at all during these past two weeks. I just worked, read, and watched a little bit of TV. And, I spent each Saturday with my grandson. He's become quite the engineer or architect with Legos, building cars and boats and buildings with amazing creativity for a 5-year-old.