Today I’m participating in the WordPress weekly photo challenge and this week’s theme is “the sign says”. I’m doing this on my photography website, so hop on over to see shameful typos, outdated rules for teachers and a sign hinting at a beautiful love story.
I know, today is Friday, not Wednesday, and I have the nerve to post a WWW Wednesdays update. These past couple of weeks have been pretty hectic for me. I mainly had to deal with things I’d rather not have to bother with. Fortunately some really good stuff happened to balance out the bad. I missed the past couple of WWW Wednesdays and I didn’t want to wait another week since we’ve read many good books recently. Here’s what’s been keeping us up at night…
My bookshelf
– What I’m currently reading
Relic by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child, the first book in the Pendergast series. I read Still Life With Crows a few months ago and I found Special Agent Pendergast’s character so fascinating, I wanted to read the other novels he’s appeared in.
– What I recently finished reading
Nicholas Saint North and the Battle of the Nightmare King by William Joyce. I read this first book of the Guardians of Childhood after I read books #2 and 3 because of a long library’s wait. I think it’s the very best of the three so far and I really, really enjoyed reading it and learning more about St North’s past. My eldest loved this book too, along with the others in the series. William Joyce is brilliant at creating magical worlds and amazing characters. Just like his other books, the story just sucked me in from the very first page. I can’t wait till book #4 comes out in the fall and I plan to buy the complete series once all the books are out. A great saga about good vs. evil, magic and belief – a must read for anyone (kids and adults alike) with a sense of adventure!
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. I first read this book in middle school and then again in high school, so it’s been a long time. And it’s a good thing because even though I remembered the story pretty well, I couldn’t remember the final twist and who dunnit. This really is Agatha Christie at her best when it comes to writing murder mysteries.
Why Is It Always About You? : The Seven Deadly Sins of Narcissism by Sandy Hotchkiss. A fascinating book on narcissists and how to recognize them around you. Hint: there are a lot of them, some of them a lot worse than others. The book explains the “seven deadly sins”, i.e. the seven main characteristics of narcissistic people, each followed by advice on how to cope or detach from someone’s hold. Unfortunately for the most extreme cases of narcissism, the only way to get rid of such person is to wait for them to find another victim to latch on and start abusing instead of you. In my case, not something I can see happening soon, so I hope to find more solutions in other books. Narcissistic people are some of the most toxic people to have around. They will try to destroy you to make themselves feel better. Run like the wind if you see one!
The Cat Who Could Read Backwards by Lilian Jackson Braun. Although I’ve always wanting to read one of Lilian Jackson Braun’s cat series, it’s taking me a very long time to finally do so. I decided to start with the first book, so I could understand the origins of the cat. Written in the 1960s, this is a typical good murder mystery. Dark enough to keep you intrigued, not gross enough to make you gag (Preston & Child are geniuses when it comes to force you to keep reading horror books so you know how it ends!). With a nice few twists that kept me guessing till the end, I found this book very entertaining and I’m looking forward to reading more of The Cat series.
– What I think I’ll read next
Running Blind by Lee Child, the #4 book in the Jack Reacher series.
My kids’ bookshelf
– What they’re currently reading
– Marsupial Sue Presents The Runaway Pancake by John Lithgow. We LOVE this book so much, my kids ask to borrow it from the library a few times a year. John Lithgow, a brilliant actor and a children’s book author with a great sense of humor, retells the story of the gingerbread man using a pancake. The book comes with an audio CD of Lithgow telling the story live to a group of young children and singing the runaway pancake song. Priceless! And believe it or not, this is a song that will get stuck in your head the whole day but you won’t mind, because it’s so funny.
– The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs by William Joyce. Yes, another William Joyce book! And this one loosely inspired the new animated movie Epic. When an old woman gets sick and her garden begins to die because nobody waters or maintains it, the doodle bugs call on the Leaf Men to make things right again. A great story of courage with a beautiful ending!
– What they recently finished reading
The Yuckiest, Stinkiest, Best Valentine Ever by Brenda Ferber. Tedd Arnold, who writes and illustrates the Fly Guy series, is the illustrator for this book, his brilliant style a perfect complement to the story. Young Leon has a huge crush on young Zoey and decides to proclaim his love on Valentine’s Day. But the Valentine card he designs strongly disagrees and runs away, starting a chase across town. Even my boys, who think girls and Valentine’s day are too mushy, enjoyed this story very much.
– The Hoppameleon by Paul Geraghty. A very cute story about a frog who doesn’t know what he is, but just wants to find a friend who is just like him. After meeting so many animals he thinks he looks like, he calls himself a “babylizzyparroturtlehoppameleon”. Quite a tongue twister story, very funny to read!
– What I think they’ll read next I don’t know but I’m sure it will be good stuff. What about you? Any books you or your kids are reading you’d like to share?
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Perfecting Motherhood 
Yeah, I understand your blogging absence. Things have been busy hectic here too, and when I get down time, I want to enjoy outside…not sit and blog or touch the computer some more. Love your book descriptions you’ve read. That Pendergrast one intrigues me. But I first have to read a Jack Reacher book before I try that one.
I don’t mind working on a variety of projects while having to handle multiple other tasks. But when some people keep providing purposeful interference, I tend to lose focus and become less organized and productive. I think I just have to stick to making a daily to-do list to guarantee some things get done.
The Jack Reacher books are very different from the Pendergast books, but in a way similar too. Both have murder mysteries in a thriller format, but the Preston & Child books have more horror in them. Both types are excellent, just not so good to sleep at night since you can’t put them down.
By the way, did you see my Wisteria blooms? I remember you saying you like Wisteria, so I think you’ll enjoy them.
I just started ‘The Night Circus.’ It’s been on my shelf forever. I didn’t think I’d like it, but so many people recommended it. At 80 pages in, I’m enthralled. Great writing. Great story, unlike anything I’ve read before.
Oh oh oh, I’ve had it on my to-read list for a long time! Thanks for reminding me, I’ll request it from the library. It does sound very unique and intriguing.
And surprisingly suspenseful, too.
Hopefully I won’t lose too much sleep staying up to read it! I read enough books like that already. :-)
So glad you enjoyed “And Then There Were None.” I read it a few weeks ago and loved it.
I think it’s one of her best. Not that any of her books are bad either. She was such a brilliant writer, sticking to the facts, without the fluff. That’s my favorite type!
That’s my favorite too! “Just the facts, ma’am. Just the facts.” With a slight degree of exposition to set the stage.