WEEKLY UPDATES: A GREAT WEEK…

Good morning! Today’s post will link up to The Sunday Salon, The Sunday Post and Stacking the Shelves, for weekly updates.

Mailbox Monday is hosted at the home site: Mailbox Monday.

And let’s join Kathryn, our leader in It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?, at Book Date.

Another week has slipped by, with some great books read!  I also enjoyed more blogging this week, which usually means that I have spent a lot of time on the computer. Some of that time I was glued to my laptop streaming shows.  I am now rewatching The Good Wife, a series I haven’t seen since it was on the networks a while ago.

I have also been online ordering things from Amazon, some practical things for the household and other items to spark some fun during my ongoing lockdown.

Here is a cute bag that reminds me of my more bohemian days:  It will arrive tomorrow.

Let’s take a closer look at my week…after another cup of coffee:

LAST WEEK ON THE BLOGS:

Sunday Potpourri:  Odds & Ends, Tidbits…

Tuesday Potpourri:  Hoarding More Books…

Tuesday Excerpts:  “Three Perfect Liars”

Bookish Delights…

Hump Day Potpourri:  Reflections…

Another Book Hiding Out on My Shelves…

Bookish Friday:  “Unfollow Me”

Review:  Girls of Summer, by Nancy ThayerReview:  Little Disasters, by Sarah VaughanReview:  Unfollow Me, by Charlotte Duckworth

***

INCOMING BOOKS:

Empty physical mailbox!  But I did download three e-books.

Monogamy, by Sue Miller

 

Anxious People, by Fredrik Backman

Custody, by Nancy Thayer (A reread)

***

CURRENTLY READING: 

Final Cut, by S.J. Watson

***

That was my week.  What did yours look like?  I am sharing a photo of a pleasant surprise I had for dessert this week:  Pumpkin pie a la mode…and wine!

***

WEEKLY UPDATES: READING, BLOGGING, & KVETCHING…

Good morning! Today’s post will link up to The Sunday Salon, The Sunday Post and Stacking the Shelves, for weekly updates.

**Mailbox Monday is hosted at the home site: Mailbox Monday.

And let’s join Kathryn, our leader in It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?, at Book Date.

 

My week has brought good books to my shelves and great reading material, some from the backlog, allowing me to finish reading and reviewing three books.  Six blog posts were a reminder that reading and blogging go hand and hand.  Or hand in glove, a nod to one of my titles from this week.  One downside of the reading and blogging, which included a lot of blog visits, is that my eyes are so tired that I am struggling to type this!  That doesn’t happen often.

Some of the eye fatigue also comes from all the viewing I’ve done:  movies, shows, etc., all online, which is another kind of eye strain.

When I searched my tiny fridge yesterday, I felt a momentary panic.  Almost empty!  And yes, I get food brought from the residential kitchen, but nothing has improved from those quarters.  Not only is the food often “slop,” (sorry about that!), but they tend to bring things I didn’t request, while ignoring those that I specifically asked for.  I photograph my menu requests as a reminder of their failings.  Can I say that I’m not popular?  LOL.  And they ran out of red wine again!

So…complaints aside, I added a nice little grocery app to my phone and ordered food from Save Mart…and it arrived within three hours, and I got exactly what I requested.

I still get a lot from Amazon, too, and the orders are coming more quickly.  Yay!

So I’ll stop complaining for a bit, while we grab some more coffee and study the details of my week.

***

LAST WEEK ON THE BLOGS:

Tuesday Excerpts:  “A Good Marriage”

Tuesday Potpourri:  Adding to My Shelves…

Another Bookish Hump Day…

Coffee Chat:  Comfort Reads and Viewing…

From the Backlog:  Bringing it Forward…

Bookish Friday:  “The Closer You Get”

Review:  The Girl in White Gloves, by Kerri MaherReview:  Little Secrets, by Jennifer HillierReview:  Hungry Heart, by Jennifer Weiner – (Nonfiction Challenge)

***

INCOMING BOOKS:

Three books came in my mailbox!  And I downloaded two e-books.

The Turning of the Key, by Ruth Ware

A Heart in a Body in the World, by Deb Caletti

 Clock Dance, by Anne Tyler (for reread)

***

Downloads:

This Is How I lied, by Heather Gudenkauf

The Closer You Get, by Mary Torjussen

***

CURRENTLY READING:  The Sweeney Sisters, by Lian Dolan

***

That was my week.  Exhausting, but with good books…and a delicious glass of red wine from the bottle my daughter sent over to compensate for the kitchen failure to send any.  LOL.

***

WEEKLY UPDATES: GOOD BOOKS, GOOD BUYS, & HAPPY HOUR!

Good morning! Today’s post will link up to The Sunday Salon, The Sunday Post and Stacking the Shelves, for weekly updates.

**Mailbox Monday is hosted at the home site: Mailbox Monday.

And let’s join Kathryn, our leader in It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?, at Book Date.

It is time for another Weekly Update!  How did this week fly by so fast?  Yes, I say that every week.  I did finish reading and reviewing three books, though, and I’m halfway through a fourth one.  Five blog posts seemingly flew out of my fingertips and onto my blogs.  I also created a new blog header for Snow Sparks…and here it is.  I featured a close-up of my two little Madeline Hatter dolls.  Check out two versions:  one of my laptop view, and the other of the “header.”

Creating blog headers is fun for me, but it is also a time-consuming task.  I must have worked on it for a couple of hours, trying out different photos, etc.

So…now, back to other activities.  I’ve started going to Happy Hour on Friday nights in the dining hall…something I avoided for a while.  I’m not sure why.  Oh, yeah, some of the music was not to my taste, but lately, it has improved!  Also, our little treats now include some cocktails.  Last night brought Mudslides.  LOL

My other activities this week included boot shopping, which I featured on my Coffee Chat post.  Check it out.

Now let’s grab some coffee and take a closer look at the week.

 

Tuesday Excerpts:  “Good Girl, Bad Girl”

Coffee Chat:  Books, Dolls, Etc.

Bookish Friday:  “The Heart Goes Last”

Friday Sparks:  Blog Stuff, Books, Etc.

Saturday Sparks:  Spotlighting My Spaces…

Review:  Lifelines, by Heidi Diehl – Amazon Vine ReviewReview:  The Lying Room, by Nicci FrenchReview:  Inside Out, by Demi Moore

***

INCOMING BOOKS:

Empty mailbox!  But I did download one e-book.

One Little Secret, by Cate Holahan

Everyone has a secret. For some, it’s worth dying to protect. For others, it’s worth killing.

***

CURRENTLY READING:

Good Girl, Bad Girl, by Michael Robotham

***

That was my week. What did yours look like?  Oh, and here comes one of my favorite desserts from this week.  The pound cake was covered with berries!

***

A HORRIFYING GLIMPSE OF A BUDDING ADDICT — A REVIEW

On the heels of her early days as a trend-setting shopaholic, Becky Bloomwood Brandon is back as a wife and young mother of a toddler, Minnie.

Still living with her mum and dad after the financial difficulties from the past, Becky hopes that she and Luke can finally own their own home. And she longs to convince him to try for a sibling for Minnie.

But meanwhile, she wants to throw a big, splashy surprise party for Luke in April, on his birthday.

Most of the fun of this book is watching Becky clamor about, trying to pull off the party of the century without spending much money—while acknowledging environmental issues—and still bringing something fabulous to the event.

Otherwise, the story shows us the same superficial Becky who blunders along, displaying no signs of maturity or growth. And even though Luke often seems annoyed by her addictive ways, he is more like a benevolent and amused accomplice. Even a bit oblivious and condescending. Then again, there may be some signs that Becky has learned one or two things from her mistakes, but any insight or growth are not in evidence when she deals with her two-year-old. The child screams “miiine” at every turn, in what has to be a rather grating fashion for anyone standing nearby. Any attempts on Becky’s part to rein her in fall flat.

At one point, a Nanny Consultant spends time with Becky and Minnie, (at Luke’s request), and most assuredly should have concluded that Minnie is a brat. Instead, her remarks sum Minnie up as “bright” and “feisty.” In what universe?

Luckily, most of Mini Shopaholic: A Novel (Shopaholic Series) focuses in on the party planning efforts and near-misses, which are quite hilarious. And I thought that the part Luke’s very stiff and haughty birth mother played in pulling things off was a nice glimpse beneath one woman’s cold façade.

So, yes, fans of the Shopaholic series may enjoy this one, just as I did. But if anyone is expecting Becky to have “bloomed” into a mature person, you’ll be disappointed. Three stars.