The Ramble: Retreating

One question -  Have you ever been on a retreat?

I am currently in Nashville, retreating with my company.  Once a year we take the entire company somewhere and spend a few intensive days talking about the past and future of our company.  This is my second year planning the shindig, so as for me, I am not retreating, I am in FULL work mode!

I say all of this to find out who retreats?  What do you get from retreating?  Where were your most memorable retreats?

I know my next few days which will be still in Nashville vacationing will feel like a retreat after this very tiring weekend!

I am hoping to Ramble every Saturday about both bookish and non-bookish things that are going on around me, your input is always wanted and needed.  Suggest a topic for rambling or your thoughts on each ramble. 

Review: Live Out Loud by Heather Wardell

Goodreads:  Amy's a hobbyist songwriter with big dreams, but not the usual 'making it as a musican' kind.  No, Amy wants to honor her late best friend by finally starting the support center for teenage girls they'd dreamed of when they were just girls themselves.  She doesn't know where to start, but when one of her songs becomes an overnight internet sensation she sees a quick path to the money she'll need to make the center a reality.

As white-hot pop sensation Misty Will, Amy finds a whole new world opening to her and realizes she loves being on stage holding an audience spellbound.  She also loves how her young fans looking up to her and draw strength from her songs, but of course they don't know the awful thing she did after her friend died and how badly she could have used a support center herself.  She knows, though, and also knows that she simply has to leave her new pop princess identity behind and become Amy the center director she's dreamed of for eight years.

Kritters Thoughts:  Have you ever started a book and just couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen to a character?  With Live Out Loud by Heather Wardell, I fell in love with Amy/Misty our main character from the beginning and from chapter to chapter I became even more intrigued as to where she was going to go next.  From the people that she was surrounded with to those who came in and out of her life, they were unique but shaped this character into the one she became at the end.  I always look to the extra characters because I enjoy seeing how they affect a character in both positive and negative ways. 

I am never a spoiler, but I will say that she ended up with a great guy, but the book didn’t just end there.  As some girlie books do, once the main character gets the guy, the reader is to find complete happiness in this solution.  Wardell didn’t end there.  She made her characters go through a little more angst before they found complete satisfaction in who they were and what they wanted in life.  Isn’t that true for all of us?  Sure when we get the guy we are happy, but no one is complete with just a relationship, you need more than that to be a whole person.

So off  my self-motivating rant – this book is worth the read.  If you enjoy following a character through self-exploration and being a sideline cheerleader as she finds what is truly important to her.    

Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Pages:  244

Oct-Dec 2011 Challenge: Melodious

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from the author.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park

Goodreads:  Something is seriously off in the Watkins home.  And Julie Seagle, college freshman, small-town Ohio transplant, and the newest resident of this Boston house, is determined to get to the bottom of it.


When Julie's off-campus housing falls through, her mother's old college roommate, Erin Watkins, invites her to move in.  The parents, Erin and Roger, are welcoming, but emotionally distant and academically driven to eccentric extremes.  The middle child, Matt, is an MIT tech geek with a sweet side . . . and the social skills of a spool of USB cable.  The youngest, Celeste, is a frighteningly bright but freakishly fastidious 13-year-old who hauls around a life-sized cardboard cutout of her oldest brother almost everywhere she goes.


That's because Finn is traveling the world and surfacing only for random Facebook chats, e-mails, and status updates.  Before long, through late-night exchanges of disembodied text, he begins to stir something tender and silly and maybe even a little bit sexy in Julie's suddenly lonesome soul. 


To Julie, the emotionally scrambled members of the Watkins family add up to something that . . . well . . . doesn't quite add up.  Not until she forces a buried secret to the surface, eliciting a dramatic confrontation that threatens to tear the fragile Watkins family apart, does she get her answer?



Kritters Thoughts:  A wonderful mix of quirky and smart humor.  At the center we have a freshmen headed to school left without housing and must call on a distant family friend for temporary housing.  This housing becomes anything but temporary and I am not sure even after finishing if she affected the family more or if the family she stayed with affected her more - up for debate.  A few twists and turns, some I predicted, some came out of nowhere, but all fit great into the story.


The one issue that affects the entire family - I was able to predict from pretty early on.  But you know what, it didn't ruin the reading for me.  I actually enjoyed it because I was able to spend the book waiting for the main character to find out what I already knew and how she found out and when she would find out.


I don't often compare books to other books and things, but each time I cracked this book open it took me back to the days of watching Gilmore Girls.  Have you ever read something and known that the conversation was just bouncing back and forth, well this book's quick conversations kept me going - I loved it.


A book worth picking up on your next trip to the bookstore.



Rating:  absolutely loved it and want a sequel


Pages:  400


Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from the author in conjunction with Crazy Book tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.






Tour List:
10/3/2011 - Practical Frugality - http://practicalfrugality.blogspot.com
10/4/2011 - Colloquium - http://www.jhsiess.com
10/5/2011 - Reader Girls - http://readergirls.blogspot.com           
10/6/2011 - Kritter's Ramblings - http://www.krittersramblings.com  
10/7/2011 - Reviews by Molly - http://reviewsbymolly.blogspot.com                         
10/8/2011 - Laurie Here Reading and Writing Reviews - http://www.lauriehere.blogspot.com   
10/9/2011 - WV Stitcher - http://kittycrochettwo.blogspot.com                     
10/10/2011 - A Bookish Affair - http://abookishaffair.blogspot.com/                   
10/11/2011 - the bookish mama - http://iam-bookish.blogspot.com                          
10/12/2011 - Books in the Burbs - http://www.booksintheburbs.com                        
10/13/2011 - The Many Thoughts of a Reader - http://hotpinkvixen.blogspot.com                  
10/14/2011 - Proud Book Nerd - http://www.proudbooknerd.com/              
10/15/2011 - Hippes Beauty and Books OH MY - http://www.hippiesbeautyandbooksohmy.com/
10/16/2011 - StephTheBookworm - http://stephthebookworm.blogspot.com                      
10/17/2011 - A Cozy Reader's Corner - http://acozyreaderscorner.blogspot.com                
10/18/2011 - Authors Book Corner - http://www.AuthorsBookCorner.blogspot.com               
10/19/2011 - Amusing Reviews - http://amusingreviews.blogspot.com     

Wordless Wednesday

As I am in Nashville for my corporate retreat, I thought I would share this photo of the Nashville skyline from the balcony of the BMI building.

Review: Summer Rental by Mary Kay Andrews

Goodreads:  Sometimes, when you need a change in your life, the tide just happens to pull you in the right direction . . .

Ellis, Julia, and Dorie.  Best friends since Catholic grade school, they now find themselves, in their mid-thirties, at the crossroads of life and love.  Ellis, recently fired from a job she gave everything to, is rudderless and now beginning to question the choices she's made over the past decade of her life.  Julia - whose caustic wit covers up her wounds -- has a man who loves her and is offering her the world, but she can't hide from how deeply insecure she feels about her looks, her brains, her life.  And Dorie has just been shockingly betrayed by the man she loved and trusted the most in the world . . . though this is just the tip of the iceberg of her problems and secrets. A month in North Carolina's Outer Banks is just what they each of them needs.

Kritters Thoughts:  A wonderfully inviting story that captures the perfect summer vacation with just the girlfriends.  After reading this book, I wanted to call my closest girl friends and book a month away!  As the three best friends were in different points in their lives, it was nice to see each friend work through their own personal tragedies and come to more or less a nice and neat conclusion.  Another character joins these three in their beach house and ends up mixing things up a bit.

My one little complaint about the book lies in the fourth character – Maryn.  I loved how she was introduced and you weren’t sure where she was going to fit into the story.  But as the reader gets into the second half, I felt as though she was lost in the shuffle.  She was lost to the wayside, until she becomes the focal point as the book concludes.  As always, I will not reveal this ending as it is worth the read, but maybe if she had a larger role throughout the book, I wouldn’t have felt so sideswiped when the book starts to finish.

The arc of the three best friends was touching, emotional, and felt very real.  I saw the personalities of my best friends and how we can see each other’s situations as so much better than our own.  I know I covet where my friends are in their lives and maybe some of them covet where I am yet- maybe not!  I wanted to be a part of their group because I felt as though they were real people with real issues and situations that the everyday woman could find herself in, whether that be a job change, relationship status change or a move for a significant other.  These women were going through things each woman could relate to – no matter the time of their lives.

A read that my mom has already loved and thoroughly enjoy.  I am passing it along to my friends who need the perfect summer read, even if fall may be beginning.

Rating: perfect beach read

Pages:  402

July-Sept 2011 Challenge: Summer/School

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from the Goodreads First Reads program.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? (41)

It's Monday!  I already know this week will be very very busy, so I have worked hard to have posting complete for the next two weeks.  I will be stopping by briefly, but this Thursday is the start of the corporate retreat that I have been planning for 9 months!

A meme hosted by Sheila at The Book Journey.


So this week of reading may be pretty sad, I have low expectations!

Currently Reading:

My Ruby Slippers by Tracey Seeley

Next on the TBR pile:

Cherished by Kim Cash Taste

In My Mailbox (47)

A meme hosted by The Story Siren.


For Review:
My Ruby Slippers by Tracey Seeley
Paris Noire by Francine Thomas Howard
Page from a Tennessee Journal by Francine Thomas Howard
Hidden Summit by Robyn Carr
Inseparable by Dora Heldt
Paris Noire by Francine Thomas Howard
Page from a Tennessee Journal by Francine Thomas Howard


Library Sale:
Latte Lessons by Linda Lenhoff
The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd
Loose Lips by Claire Berlinski
Mermaids in the Basement by Michael Lee West

Swapping:
Invisible River by Helena McEwen
Emily Ever After by Anne Dayton


Winnings:
With Friends Like These by Sally Koslow

The Ramble: National Book Festival

What a great two days full of bookish things!  Located on the National Mall with great views of the Washington Monument and the Capital - our nation's iconic buildings surrounded by tents with bookish events, LOVED IT!!

Mom came with me to the first day (Saturday) and we booked ourselves with author readings and signings with lunch and shopping on the side. 

We started out in the Teen tent to see Sarah Dessen - what a fun event to see young readers so excited about meeting the author that they fall in love with book after book.  I enjoyed hearing the more YA centric questions from her young readers, but after a bit, the mom and I decided that we would venture to see what else we could see.

Where did we find ourselves? We happened across Hoda Kotb's talk.  Really, we didn't put this on our must list and after attending we should have!  She was gosh darn hilarious.  Her talk was motiviating and enlightening, she shared her pursuit of her first job out of college (VA Tech) and how she drove across the east coast to find what became the perfect first job.  It was exciting to hear all her connections to DC and that her mom used to live in Alexandria.  A perfect surprise treat for the day!

After leaving Hoda, we grabbed lunch at a refreshment stand - a hotdog and fries were split.  But as mom and I reflected on the first day, we weren't so fond of the lack of food options.  We couldn't find anything else to complain about!

Our tummies were full, so we headed to the signing for Laura Lippman.  I had brought two of her previous books and she was a delight.  Before heading to hear Laura Lippman talk - we stopped by the Digital BookMobile and the Pavilion of the States, both were great stops to learn about digitally downloading books from the library and then the history of reading and writing in states.  Then it was off to hear Laura Lippman.

Lippman's talk was different from most that I have heard.  She talked highly of readers, but continued to talk over our heads to writers in the audience.  We didn't hate it, but we didn't love it.

We ended our day listening to Amy Chua author of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother.  This also wasn't on our list of musts, but we were sure glad we sat down and listened to her take on her own book.  She defeneded herself, while dispelling rumors from all the media that her and her book received.  After listening to her speak, mom and I agreed that we should definitely check her book out from the library and see where we stand on it all. 

The second day Sunday, I went into the city by myself for a super secret Christmas surprise - can't spoil the fun, so will have to share this one at a later date.  It was fun to metro in by myself and walk around the mall, take care of my Christmas surprise and then metro back.

September - goodbye summer, hello fall

Fall began and with all the new shows, my reading took a little bit of a hit.  Along with the new shows, the job went crazy the month of September, as I am responsible for planning our corporate retreat which just happens to fall right in the beginning of October.  With over 90 people this year, the planning was a lot more extensive compared to last year.  I kidding said many times that it was like planning a whole wedding, hopefully the second half of October will be relaxing with crisp autumn air and lots of reading! 

Books I read:
1. Until There Was You by Kristan Higgins
2. Everything Beautiful Began After by Simon Van Booy
3. The Night I Got Lucky by Laura Caldwell
4. Freedom's Call by John Walker
5. Sophie's Turn by Nicky Wells
6. Just My Type by Simon Garfield
7. Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close
8. Beatrice Munson by Lorena Bathey
9. Proud Pants by Gregory C Allen
10. Flat Out Love by Jessica Park
11. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
12. Summer Rental by Mary Kay Andrews


Total pages flipped and tapped:  3,565


Where Reading?
Athens, Greece
Bellsford, New Hampshire
Chicago, IL
Tacoma, WA
London, UK
New York City, NY
San Francisco, CA
Dallas, TX
Boston, MA
Gutshot, TN
Nags Head, NC

Review: Proud Pants by Gregory C. Allen

Goodreads:  A man recalls his life of addiction, abandoment, and anger as he faces death at the age of thirty-four.  Told through the voice of one man, but written through the words of his brother - this memoir novelette describes the troubled life who was rejected by one woman at an early age but found solace in another.

Kritters Thoughts:  A great little novelette that took the reader deep into a family's heartache as they watch a son and father die at the young age of 34.  From page 1 to the end, the reader becomes a family member and aches for this family as they fall apart piece by piece.

Written by the step-brother of the main character, I am not sure that I would completely put this in the genre of memoir, but I would say this dramatic novelette is worth picking up.  It is emotional, but filled with truth - I definitely liked this short and simple read.

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row


Pages:  90


Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from the author.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

Goodreads:  When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton's type is girls named Katherine.  And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped.  Nineteen times, to be exact.

On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washed-up child prodigy has ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a bloodthirsty feral hog on his trail, and an overweight, Judge Judy - loving best friend riding shotgun but no Katherines.  Colin is on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which he hopes will predict the future of any relationship, average Dumpees everywhere, and finally win him the girl.

Kritters Thoughts:  My first John Green book and what an interesting ride it was.  A book full of smart humor with a male, recent high school graduate, and his best friend on a road trip to a small town in TN.  He heads on this road trip to overcome his recent break up and brings along his best friend with no destination in mind.   

I am usually a reader of books where women are at the center, so I enjoyed this break from my normal reading.  It was refreshing to get into the mind of a younger male and go with him on this adventure after a recent break up.  I absolutely adored his flashbacks to the previous Katherines who broke up with him for various reasons.

I would recommend this book to those who read YA or those who may need a break from their usual reading habits.  I thoroughly enjoyed the smart humor. 

Rating:  definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row


Pages:  229


July-Sept 2011 Challenge: A, An, The

Review: Beatrice Munson by Lorena Bathey

Goodreads:   In Vista Heights, the women of the neighborhood have started to look liek their homes, varying shades of beige.  Lost in this world of suburbia, Marissa Lyons learns her high school nemesis has brought the house right across the street from her.  Afraid that her arch enemy, Beatrice Munson, will arrive with Marissa's high school crush as her husband and cause Marissa to relieve the insecurity of high school in her forties, she decides to face the music and head to Beatrice's house with warm cupcakes.  But what Marissa finds is something she never expected.  How will Marissa and the rest of the women of San Martino deal with someone like Beatrice Munson, whose defining moment in her life was to get a boob job or go on a trip to Egypt.  This story is about friendship, love, learning to look at things differently, and great parties.  Step into the world of Vista Heights where you might not only recognizes the women, you might be one of them.

Kritters Thoughts:  An emotional rollercoaster that is worth taking.  At the heart of this story are two women who were acquaintances in high school, but are reintroduced as adults.  Beatrice Munson moves into the neighborhood and turns the lives of what I call Stepford Wives upside down.  All of these women stopped following their dreams when they started raising their families, Beatrice in many ways shows each woman the way to find her true happiness.

I became quite attached to each woman and enjoyed "watching" them find what made them happy.  Sometimes in a story when a woman finds her happiness, she leaves the man in her life; I felt that this book did not go that route and instead women were able to fulfill their dreams AND keep the man in their life.

A book that all women would enjoy.  

Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Pages:  307


Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from the author.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

It's Monday, What are you Reading? (40)

Another Monday has come and this week could be busier than the last which doesn't look completely appealing.  I am a week and a half away from our company retreat - one of the biggest parts of my job beyond the whole being the CEOs assistant thing.


A meme hosted by The BookJourney.






Currently Reading:
Summer Rental by Mary Kay Andrews


Next off the TBR pile:
Children of the Paranoia by Trevor Shane

In My Mailbox (46)

A quiet week in my mailbox, which was a good thing because my piles are definitely overwhelming the condo!  So check out this vlog to see what I got in my mailbox this week.


A meme hosted by The Story Siren.


Swap Websites:
The Last Year of Being Married by Sarah Tucker
Life in Miniature by Linda Schlossberg
The Right Fit by Sinead Moriarty

The Ramble: Fall for the Book

What a great week of book nerdiness!  There were many authors I wanted to catch, but I only had the chance to get to three - which I would say was a pretty good number.

Tayari Jones

An awesome author from the south who in some genius way is able to channel the emotions of a child.  Although, I haven't read a book by her yet, I absolutely adored her reading.  As there were professors who had taught an earlier book of hers - Leaving Atlanta, she gave us the opportunity to hear a reading from that book - definitely going to go pick that one up after I read Silver Sparrow.

Dr. Abraham Verghese

A wonderfully, hilarious author who is full of stories with an immense background beyond being an author.  The boy went along with me to this event which was new and fun because he doesn't usually attend the bookish events with me.  Dr. Verghese picked an extremely funny excerpt and he added such character when he read it - I loved it.  When he signed my book, I was able to chat with him for just a moment and what a joy to see an author's true character.

Conor Grennan

Absolutely funny!  Instead of doing a reading, Conor recapped 3/4 of the book and left the audience who hadn't read the book with a good cliffhanger.  I had read this one and was beyond ecstatic to meet the author.  His use of visuals helped the presentation and brought the story home on a whole other level.  As he signed my book, we were able to make conversation and I may have geeked out in telling him how much I both appreciated his book and the work he has done so far.

Review: Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close

Goodreads:  The story of three young women grappling with heartbreak and career change, family pressures and new love - all while suffering through an endless round of wedding and bridal showers.

Isabella, Mary and Lauren are going to be bridesmaids in Kristi's wedding.  On Sunday after Sunday, at bridal shower after bridal shower, they coo over toasters, eat tiny sandwiches, and drink mimosas.  They're all happy for Kristi, but they do havethe ups and downs of their own lives to cope with.  Isabella is working at a mailing-list company, where she's extremely successful, and widly unhappy.  Mary is in love with a man wo may never love any woman as much as he loves his mother.  And Lauren, a waitress at a midtown bar, finds herself drawn to a man she's pretty sure she hates.




Kritters Thoughts:  What a book - this book is so good, I am putting it on my shelf to read again, that never happens!  A collection of a short stories or a book with characters weaving in and out - I don't know or care how you call it, it was excellent.


As a girl who finds herself right in the thick of this book, I found my friends amongst her characters and even found myself in some of the same situations.  I think this is why I fell so much in love with this book because I could completely relate to all of the characters.  I enjoyed that each chapter involved a few of the friends, but you saw them again in another chapter.  So yes, maybe it was a collection of short stories, but because you saw the characters again, I think it is a book where each chapter highlights a different character.  I will not divulge any details - because this is a must grab, purchase it quickly.


I will be buying this book in bulk for my girlfriends - I know they will love to read about us at the time we are right now in our lives.

Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Pages:  304


July - Sept 2011 Challenge: Red, White & Blue

Review: Just My Type by Simon Garfield

Goodreads:  Fonts surround us every day, on street signs and buildings, on movie posters and books, and on just about every product we buy.  But where do fonts come from, and why do we need so many?  Who is responsible for the staid practicality of Times New Roman, the cool anonymity of Arial, or the irritating levity of Comic Sans (and the movement to ban it)?


Typefaces are now 560 years old, but we barley knew their names until about twenty years ago when the pull-down font menus on our first computers made us all the gods of type.  Beginning in the early days of Gutenberg and ending with the most adventurous digital fonts, Simon Garfield explores the rich history and subtle powers of type.  He goes on to investigate a range of modern mysteries, including how Helvetica took over the world, what inspires the seeming ubiquitous use of Trajan on bad movie posters, and exactly why the all-type cover of Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus was so effective.  It also examines why the "T" in the Beatles logo is longer than the other letters and how Gotham helped Barack Obama into the White House. 




Kritters Thoughts:  I may not be the girl who notices the small details or differences in ads or commercials, but I do love how the subtle differences in font can change the way something reads.  As a bona-fide reader, I can definitely feel a difference between a more manly font compared to a more feminine font.  From the history of fonts and typography to where a few fonts were specifically created, this book took a humorous and educational approach to teaching the reader what makes a font a font.  


At times there was a little too much education for me, but I think even your average reader would love to learn about how the art of typography has evolved, even from the production side.  How the computer has completely changed how accessible fonts are?  And to the job of a font designer - where is the money?  


A book that I am passing onto my sister a graphic designer, craft guru, but also one that I would pass onto my fellow reader.  Why is one drawn to a certain font?  How does Microsoft dictate what font is default?  I think this book answers many questions that the typical reader may have thought from time to time.


Rating:  definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row


Pages:  288


Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from the author in conjunction with Crazy Book tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Review: The Night I Got Lucky by Laura Caldwell

Goodreads:  When Billy suddenly gets everything she wants, it turns out to be the last thing she needs . . .

A long-waited promotion.  Freedom from emotional baggage.  A newly - ahem - amorous husband.  What's wrong with this picture?  Well . . . everything.  For starters, Billy hasn't actually earned any of it.  Instead, like some  character in a fairy tale, this stuck-in-a-rut publicist had all her wishes granted overnight - which feels great, at first.  But soon Billy's brand-new success starts to unravel - who'd have thought becoming a VP would be so Very Painful?  Or that a harmelss crush on a co-worker would turn not-so-harmless now that he's crushing back?  It'll take a surreal, rollicking, high-stakes journey for Billy to realize what she really wants out of life . . . before it's too late.


Kritters Thoughts:  If you are in the mood for a light chick lit read - grab this one.  It is cute and sweet and even has a message to take away.  The main character Billy (yes, a female named Billy, she blames her father) is not so happily married and not so happily working as an account executive at a PR firm.  She visits a therapist and then overnight her life changes and all the things she was complaining about in therapy have changed for the positive.  But as she lives this new life she sees the negative amongst all the change.

I loved that she was living in her new life and it slowly unfolded that she wasn't enjoying each thing that she had wished for.  As she finds out what made these changes occur, it is hilarious to watch her try to get her old life back. 

A great girlie read that can be read almost in one sitting whether that be on a lounge chair by the pool or curled up by a fire in the winter.  A Red Dress Ink oldie but a goodie!

Rating: absolutely loved it and want a sequel

Pages: 256

Off the Shelf 2011 Challenge: 18 of 50

It's Monday, What are you Reading? (39)

Another Monday has come, I am headed to the Fall for Books Festival, Philadelphia for a baseball game, and a long week at work - this annual retreat is taking up this full time job!

I am keeping my reading simple this week!

A meme hosted by Book Journey.

Currently Reading:

The Lady of Rivers by Philippa Gregory

Next off the TBR pile:
Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park

In My Mailbox (45)

For Review:
Coming Up for Air by Patti Callahan Henry
Quiet: The Power of Introvers in a World That Can't Stop Thinking by Susan Cain
Meggie Brooks by Daphne Woods
Children of Paranoia by Trevor Shane
Triangles by Ellen Hopkins

Swap Websites:
I Do (But I Don't) by Cara Lockwood
I Did (But I Wouldn't Now) by Cara Lockwood
The Quest for the Holy Veil by Kimberly Llewellyn

An Amazon Order:
Perfect on Paper by Maria Murnane
Just Like Me, Only Better by Carol Snow
Good Enough to Eat by Stacey Ballis
Georgia's Kitchen by Jenny Nelson

Present from mom:
The Art of Forgetting by Camille Noe Pagan