Saturday, November 26, 2016

Sunday Post: A Book Worth Fighting For & Pajama Fun

I hope you all have had a great week. To those who celebrated Thanksgiving, are you still feeling full after all that food? I know I am!

Here's what I have been up to . . .

New to My Shelves: I know you are supposed to avoid buying anything for yourself the closer to Christmas you get, but I couldn't help but splurge on two books from my wish list recently Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty and Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Parris.





I was curious when publisher Simon & Schuster sent me an e-mail offering me a free book if I took part in a survey through Jellybooks. I wasn't going to participate, but then I saw the cover for The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See, and I couldn't resist.


And then from Penguin Random House's First to Read Program, I won a copy of Elan Mastai's All the Wrong Todays, which I don't remember requesting, but then I saw the word time travel and realized that was probably why. I am looking forward to reading this one soon.



What I Am Reading: For much of the week, I was in the middle of several books at once, which is unusual for me. It had everything to do with which book I had handy when. I finished Lazaretto by Diane McKinney Whetstone and Nicola Yoon's The Sun Is Also a Star. I got back into The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist and am in the middle of The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane (that second chapter is a heart crusher, But I am so in love with this book so far), and I am reading First, Break All the Rules: What The World's Greatest Managers Do Differently from Gallup which is assigned reading for work (my daughter is quite fond of my "work" book--she calls it her book of Edgar Allan Poe Magic and carries it around everywhere when I'm not reading it--it doesn't even have pictures or mention Poe).

What I Am Listening To: I did not get a chance to listen to my audiobook, Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn at all this past week, but I am looking forward to doing so this coming week.

What I Am Watching: A lot of My Little Pony. Ugh. Oh! And we did get to see the movie Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. I want to see it again. It was amazing and wonderful, and I am glad I got a chance to see it.

What's Going On Off the Blog: This past week was a nice one. I had the week off, and Mouse and I enjoyed three Mommy and Daughter days in a row. She would wake up every morning and ask, "Is it a Mommy and [Mouse] day?" Her smile got so big when I said yes. I wish I could say we did something extraordinary in our time together, but it was relatively low key. Monday we dropped by my office to pick up the book I need to read for work. Mouse loves visiting my office, and especially likes walking around saying hello to everyone. Tuesday we attended a memorial service in support of a friend whose mother recently died. It was a beautiful service. I had only planned to stay an hour at the most, but nearly two hours in, Mouse showed the first signs of restlessness and asked if we could go soon. We ended up staying until the end (2 1/2 hours). I was really proud of her. She spent much of the time coloring and drawing. Wednesday was a pajama day. We spent some time outdoors playing in her sandbox and having a tea party. She thought it was funny that we were still in our pajamas. Anjin was able to come home early that day, which was a nice treat.


I let everyone sleep in on Thursday, while I addressed Christmas card envelopes and watched the 90th Macy's parade. We enjoyed a Thanksgiving Dinner out and had a nice day together, just the three of us. Friday was more of the same, although we did step up the house cleaning. Time to decorate for Christmas!

What I Am Enjoying: Time off from work with my family, and getting ready for Christmas.

How I Am Feeling: Sad to see my vacation come to an end. A little nervous about Mouse's upcoming parent/teacher conference. Frustrated with my daughter's dentist who keeps cancelling her dental appointments and rescheduling them (this is the third time for the same appointment). But overall, I am feeling rested and am in good spirits.

Last Week In Reading Mews:

Tell me about what you have been up to! What are you reading, listening to and watching? How was your week? Do you have anything planned for this coming week?


*

Every Friday Coffee Addicted Writer from Coffee Addicted Writer poses a question which participants respond on their own blogs within the week (Friday through Thursday). They then share their links at the main site and visit other participants blogs.

Name one book that you would fight for on Black Friday!
Oh, goodness! This is a tough question. I do Black Friday online and try to avoid going to actual stores if I can. As much as I would like that big screen television for $1, I don't have the energy or motivation to fight the crowds. That aside, for the sake of this week's question, I would have to say the next book in the Others series by Anne Bishop. I would pull hair for that one. Well, not really. Maybe? No, no. Of course not. But if it really was the last copy and there was no other copy available anywhere . . .

What about you? Is there a book you would fight over on Black Friday? If it was the last copy on earth?


I hope you all have a great week! Happy Reading!




The Sunday Post is hosted by the wonderful Kimba, the Caffeinated Book Reviewer, and gives us all a chance to recap our week, talk about what we are reading, share any new books that have come our way, and whatever else we want to talk about. 


© 2016, Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

48 comments:

  1. I hope the parent - teacher conference goes well. It's supposed to be constructive or helpful isn't it?

    I hope you enjoy Little Big Lies. I did but was probably a little disappointed after so much hype!

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    1. Deborah - I hope it does too. My daughter seems excited that I will be meeting with her teacher, so that's a good sign, right?

      I don't remember much of the hype surrounding Little Big Lies, to be honest. I just remember liking one of her other books quite a bit and thinking this one sounded good too. Hopefully I will like it. :-)

      Thank you for visiting today! I hope you have a great week.

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  2. I'm glad you'd a wonderful Thanksgiving, Wendy. December tends to be both a busy and money spending month to me; which I'm sure many will agree with me. It's also a month which it's especially hard to say no to the things I see and want, even library books since I've told myself I need to finish reading mine first.

    Lisa See's new book sounds interesting. I've to admit I haven't read all of her books but the only book I read so far was good.

    I don't like shopping with all the crowds and would rather shop online. However some items are best to shop in physical stores, such as shoes.

    Hope you've a great week ahead, Wendy!

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    1. Melody - Thank you! This time of year is awful for my bank account. I spend so much on gifts for family, you'd think I would know better than to spend it on myself too.

      I haven't read all of Lisa See's books either, although I have read a few. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is my favorite of hers, but this one is up there too. We'll see if it continues that way the more I read of it.

      I much prefer shopping online. In fact, most of this year's Christmas shopping has been done online already. You are right though, some items need to be shopped for in person. Like shoes, definitely.

      I hope you have a great week too, Melody!

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  3. Oh, I just read Big Little Lies recently! It was my first Moriarty. I really liked it.

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    1. Jean - I am glad to hear you enjoyed Big Little Lies. I have read one of her other books (The Husband's Secret) and enjoyed it.

      Thanks for stopping by, Jean! Have a great week.

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  4. I am stuffed, and have been since Thanksgiving lol. I loved Big Little Lies and I hope you enjoy it too. My Little Pony ha ha. Enjoy!! :) Seriously though glad to hear Fantastic beasts is good, I'm debating whether to see that or The Girl on the Train when I hit the movies next. They both look good!

    Sounds like you had a fabulous week, good for you! Family time is always nice. Hope your week ahead is nice as well. And I agree about Black Friday! :)

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    1. Greg - I ate way too much on Thanksgiving. Haha. I am glad to hear you loved Big Little Lies. I am looking forward to reading it. :-)

      If I hear the My Little Pony theme song one more time . . . Haha!

      You can't go wrong with either movie. Girl on the Train was good and so was Fantastic Beasts. I hope you enjoy whichever you see!

      I hope you have a great week, Greg! Thanks for stopping by.

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  5. Glad you enjoyed watching Fantastic Beasts! I really want to see that movie!

    Here’s my Sunday Post!

    Ronyell @ Rabbit Ears Book Blog and join in this week’s Book Photo Sundays!

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    1. Ronyell - I hope you are able to see Fantastic Beasts soon. It's definitely worth seeing. :-) Thanks for visiting and have a great week!

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  6. Awww, Mommy and Daughter days, how sweet <3 You don't have to do anything exciting, just spending time together is what counts!

    Oh goodness, if I were going to fight for any book, it'd probably be the final book in one of my favorite series that I've been waiting years for. I'm dying for that final book already and would never survive if I couldn't have it lol.

    Have a great week!

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    1. Kristen - We did enjoy our time together. :-) The last book in a favorite series would definitely be worth fighting for. I hope you have a great week too! Thanks for visiting.

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  7. Seeing it is just my son and I for Thanksgiving dinner, I have wanted to say to heck with cooking and go out to dinner, but we can never trust the weather around here, so I always end up cooking. Ha ha. Good luck with your parent teacher conference. I am sure it will be fine. Have a wonderful week. :)

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    1. La La - I hope you and your son had a nice Thanksgiving! Thank you. My daughter says she's excited about my meeting with her teacher, so that's a good sign, right? I hope you have a great week too! Thanks for stopping by!

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  8. I am really bad for picking up books for myself when I am supposedly "Christmas shopping"! LOL I have actually never read a Moriarty book - I should, I feel "leftout"! I did read the Mastai book and didn't like it, but as you know, different books for different readers! :--)

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    1. Jill - I rationalize that no one else is likely to get those books for me anyway. I have only read one Moriarty book before and enjoyed it. I read a bit of the opening of All The Wrong Tomorrows and really liked it, so we'll see. I'm sorry to hear you didn't care for it. That makes me nervous.

      I hope you have a great week! Thanks for visiting.

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  9. It sounds like you had a lovely week off. You don't have to 'do' loads of exciting things - just be together and enjoy each others company...:) I'm glad you loved Fantastic Beasts - I'd happily watch it again as I thought Eddie Redmayne put in a fabulous performance. As for fighting over a book? Nah - if someone else wanted it THAT much, I'd rather they had it. I've got an cornucopia of marvellous of books anyway. Have a great week:). My Sunday Post - https://sjhigbee.wordpress.com/2016/11/27/sunday-post-27th-november-2016/

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    1. Sarah - It was a nice week. Back to the grind tomorrow, unfortunately. Eddie Redmayne was excellent, I agree!

      I hope you have a great week too! Thanks for visiting.

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  10. Nothing wrong with a lot of My Little Pony! Love those little horses :) Mommy/daughters days are my favorite (don't tell my son) it's just so fun to hang with them and PJ days are the BEST DAYS EVER!

    I hope you have great week, Wendy! Happy Reading! ox

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    1. Michelle - I will go to work tomorrow singing the My Little Pony songs. LOL I love our Mommy/Daughter days. I hope she doesn't outgrow them for a long while. And PJ days really are the best!

      I hope you have a great week too! Thanks for visiting, Michelle!

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  11. I miss mommy daughter days like that, now that my daughters older all she wants to do is play video games. Of course she tends to get a little huffy when her old mom, beats her but hey. Glad to hear you had such a nice vacation and I totally feel your pain about the dentist. Our keeps canceling not only the kids but mine too. Any way have a great week!

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    1. Shandy-Jo - I'm sure that is coming. My husband and daughter play video games together from time to time. That's more his bailiwick than mine.

      I'm sorry to hear your dentist keeps cancelling on you too. :-(

      I hope you have a great week too, Shandy-Jo. Thanks for visiting!

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  12. Your week off sounds wonderful to me, especially the pajama day. I'm with you on fighting (or rather not fighting) the crowds.

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    1. Kathy - It's best to avoid shopping on Black Friday, I think. :-) I hope you have a wonderful week, Kathy! Thanks for stopping by.

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  13. Happy Thanksgiving :) Such beautiful book covers here. I am a fan of Lisa See's and The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane looks great. Enjoy the time off with your family!

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    1. Naida - Same to you! I hope you had a nice holiday. :-) I have enjoyed See's other books and am really enjoying this one. I hope you have a great week! Thanks for visiting!

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  14. I seem to use the Christmas shopping as an excuse to buy for myself too. LOL Sounds like such fun for you and mouse. I spent a few days in my pjs this week too:)

    My Sunday Post

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    1. Laura - I am glad I am not the only one. :-) Chances are, no one else will get me the stuff. At least that's my rationalization.

      Pajama days are the best, aren't they?

      Have a great week, Laura. Thank you for visiting!

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  15. I'm happy to hear you had such a wonderful week with Mouse! Vacations are wonderful!! Have a wonderful week!

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    1. Samantha - I sure do wish my vacation was longer. It was a nice break though. :-) I hope you have a great week too! Thanks for stopping by.

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  16. Great post! I only read the Moriarty book so many for me to check out! And being on the west coast I always feel behind the crowd commenting... I am still drinking my coffee and it seems like everyone has done the blog circuit already, sigh. I am thankful for family this year but also for that drenching rain yesterday, yay 😂

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    1. Rita - Thank you! I'm sometimes days behind in commenting, so don't worry about being later than the East Coast folks. :-) The rain is keeping us from putting up our Christmas lights this weekend, but I would much rather the rain. My husband's just glad we can turn off the sprinklers for a few days. Stay dry and have a great week, Rita!

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  17. I'm glad you had a great holiday! I don't think there really is any book I'd actually fight over on Black Friday. I'm just not that motivated and I avoid shopping when it's busy and usually shop online even when it's not. Interesting to ponder though... would have to be a super limited signed book I adore.

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    1. Kathryn - Thank you! I don't imagine I would ever really fight over a book either, although there are a few I would jump over quite a few obstacles to get. I do more online shopping than anything else, really. It's much more convenient, isn't it?

      I hope you have a great week, Kathryn! Thanks for stopping by!

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  18. I am in favor of pajama days! I try to have at least one during the week, and definitely on the weekend.

    You made good choices with Big Little Lies and Behind Closed Doors. And Big Little Lies will be an HBO movie next year!

    I can't remember the last time I watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade! I was a guest, and they all played video games...Sigh.

    Here are MY WEEKLY UPDATES

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    1. Laurel-Rain - I love pajama days. :-) I am glad you enjoyed Big Little Lies and Behind Closed Doors. I am looking forward to reading both. I hadn't known they were making a movie of Big Little Lies! That's great news.

      IO hope you have a great week! Thanks for visiting.

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  19. Looks like you’ve got some great new books. An early Christmas gift for yourself is sometimes all you need! ;)
    And the mother-daughter days sound really good. I'm glad you had a good time!
    I’m going to see Fantastic Beasts tomorrow. I’m so curious!!
    Have a great week and happy reading!

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    1. Maureen - I'm looking forward to reading them. I figure no one else is likely to get me the books, so why not get them for myself? Haha

      I hope you enjoy Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them! Take care and have a great week!

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  20. Lisa See is usually pretty good. Hope you enjoy!

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  21. :) You are ready to curl up and read!

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  22. As always, Wendy, these posts are SO entertaining, and I always enjoy reading them!

    So glad you had a nice vacation! And it's SO cute that you and Mouse had those very special days! They will be treasured memories for her in years to come!!

    I had five days off last week. Wednesday was a teacher planning day, as they call them here, so of course there were no night classes, either. I don't work Fridays, so had all those days off. Saturday around noon, I woke up to the news that Fidel Castro, the Cuban dictator, had died! So this weekend I participated in a couple of demonstrations here in Miami. That man was truly evil!! It was traumatic for my family to leave the country and start all over in a new land, and one of the things we're grateful for at Thanksgiving time is that we now live in a free country!! Voting is such a priceless right!!

    Hubby and I had Thanksgiving at our condo, and he invited one of his brothers to celebrate with us. We had planned on going to my parents' house, but one of my sisters has the sniffles, so we had to change our plans.

    "The Teagirl of Hummingbird Lane" has such a GREAT cover!! It looks like a terrific read, as well! I'm also interested in "All Our Wrong Todays". As a proud Trekkie, I will ALWAYS be interested in anything related to time travel!!

    As for your Book Blogger Hop answer, I totally agree with you! I'm not the type to go out there and fight the crowds on Black Friday. So I go to Amazon instead, and look for deals there. Of course, I'm only interested in book deals! Lol. And Amazon is known for those!

    Thanks for sharing all of your great "mews", Wendy!! Hope you have a WONDERFUL week!! And thanks so much for dropping by and commenting on my own BBH post!! HUGS to you and Mouse!! <3 :)









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    1. Maria - Thank you! That is very kind of you to say. Mouse had a hard time going back to school yesterday after the week off. I can only imagine how much harder it will be after the Christmas break. I am glad you had a week off as well!

      That was something about Fidel Castro's death. I am sure he will not be missed by many. I am sorry for what your family had to go through. His actions hurt so many.

      Your Thanksgiving sounds nice, even with your original plans having to change.

      Sometimes I think Amazon is a little too user friendly sometimes. LOL

      I hope you have a great week too, Maria! Thanks for stoppng by.

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  23. Glad you had a good week! It's very hard coming back to work from such time off.

    Elan Mastai sounds very familiar to me but I can't recollect how. I like the sound of the book though.

    That's a fun question - what book I would fight the crowds for - I need to think about my answer.

    I hope you have a good week back at work!

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    1. Athira - Yes, being back at work this week has been hard. I'm not quite feeling it yet. :-S

      Thank you!

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  24. So glad you and Mouse were able to spend more time together! I was happy to have the extra time off as well. We didn't do too much so I was able to relax and thank goodness as this week has already been crazy and it's only Tuesday! :)

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    1. Iliana - Thank you! It was nice to have the time off with her. Neither of us were ready to return to school/work this week. :-S Sounds like you had a nice week off as well. Thanks for visiting, Iliana. Enjoy the rest of your week!

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