It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are, and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit, comment, and add to that ever-growing TBR pile! So welcome, everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and was then taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.

Happy Monday! How are you doing today? Hope you had a fabulous week. It's been a week of decisions, focusing on blessings, and feeling more productive. I can't say I read much, but I finished an editing job Sunday night, so there should be more reading time now. The Christmas lights are up outside, and four of the trees made it out of the basement this weekend. 

Here are photos from the week:

Chuck kept me company at an open house on Sunday.

This mini-quilt arrived on Saturday from a client of mine.

Spent some time in the kitchen this weekend.

One of my clients bought me this delicious chocolate peanut butter cheesecake and cannolis.

That teeny, tiny person in the front is me, standing next to my sister at my godmother's wedding. A special treasure that came to me this week from our cousin. 

Switching into my reading world, I need to get my reviews of Captain LOL and Rubber Chicken by Craig Yoe and Ms. Pennypickle's Puzzle Quest by Chris Grabenstein posted soon. 

I continued with The Man Next Door by Sheila Roberts. The review will be posted before the end of the year.  

My review of Singing the Forge by G. H. Mosson is coming Tuesday.

I am dismally behind in my reading of Crescent City Christmas Chaos by Ellen Byron, but it is the last full review for the year, so I will finish it, even if that's not by my review date on Thursday. 

Still want to read Old Flames, New Beginnings by Lea Schizas during the holiday season. 

Looking forward to reading from my TBR pile after this. 

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books they added to their shelves the previous week. This weekly meme is now hosted by Vicki at I'd Rather Be At The Beach. 

As I mentioned last week, my Audible subscription has renewed, so I grabbed myself a few books. 

100 Rules for Living to 100: An Optimist's Guide to a Happy Life by Dick Van Dyke. Van Dyke has been a favorite of ours for decades. 

Digital Detox for Remote Workers by Dr. Guenter H. Schamel. 

The 4 Disciplines of Execution: Achieving Your Wildly Important Goals by Chris McChesney et al. 

I pre-ordered a copy of Wendi Lou Lee's latest devotional, Story by Story: A Journey Into the Gospels, from her Etsy shop. This book just came out last week and arrived in record time. 

Upcoming Events

• Singing the Forge by G. H. Mosson - Nov 25 (Review)
• Crescent City Christmas Chaos by Ellen Byron - Nov 27 (Review)
• Cinder Bella by Kathleen Shoop - Dec 3 (Spotlight)
• Christmas in Newfoundland 3 by Mike Martin - Dec 15 (First Chapter Review)

This week's Christmas... in the news post is up at Christmas Year Round. Spirit Christmas locations are open. We talk about the Christmas Capital of Texas, and also share a report on why Red Wing, Minnesota, made Country Living's list of "Most Magical Christmas Towns in America." Find all that here. 

I also posted an excerpt from Christmas in Newfoundland 3: Sgt. Windflower Holiday Tales by Mike Martin. You can read that here. If you are looking for new and upcoming seasonal titles, you can check out this post. 

Nothing new at The Children's and Teens' Book Connection or Laura's Little Houses, but I have ideas brewing. 

That is all I have for you this week. Hope you have a great day!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are, and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit, comment, and add to that ever-growing TBR pile! So welcome, everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and was then taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.

Welcome back to Monday! It's almost 2:30 a.m. here. This is the only time I have to blog these days. I will only regret it when the alarm goes off at 6:30. Lots of stuff is going on, so I will get right to my photos:

Travis and Dwight are keeping an eye on me from the hallway

Chamber event in town

Gifts I bought for myself and others at a local holiday fair

Feeling somewhat accomplished on the reading front. Read Captain LOL and Rubber Chicken by Craig Yoe thanks to Booktrovert. Look for my review soon. 

Last week, I finished Ms. Pennypickle's Puzzle Quest by Chris Grabenstein. Look for my review coming soon. 

Posted my First Chapter Review of A Quarterback for Christmas last week. Check it out here. 

I continued with The Man Next Door by Sheila Roberts. Need to finish soon. 

Singing the Forge by G. H. Mosson is done.

I am a few chapters into Crescent City Christmas Chaos by Ellen Byron. The review is due this month.  

Likely won't be able to read Old Flames, New Beginnings by Lea Schizas during the holiday season. Too much going on. But I will do my best.

Have lots of books in my TBR pile if I get bored after these. 

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books they added to their shelves the previous week. This weekly meme is now hosted by Vicki at I'd Rather Be At The Beach. 

In the early days of Kevin Flanders' novel-writing career, I provided editing assistance. He is an amazing and prolific writer. VUGG is his latest book, which I grabbed when I saw him at a holiday fair this weekend. 

I picked up Sorry in advance for making things weird. by Dave Tarnowski in a Booktrovert giveaway. 

My Audible subscription has been renewed, giving me 12 more credits. I am sure you will see more books here in the future. 

Upcoming Events

• Singing the Forge by G. H. Mosson - Nov 25 (Review)
• Crescent City Christmas Chaos by Ellen Byron - Nov 27 (Review)
• Cinder Bella by Kathleen Shoop - Dec 3 (Spotlight)
• Christmas in Newfoundland 3 by Mike Martin - Dec 15 (First Chapter Review)

This week's Christmas... in the news post is up at Christmas Year Round. Only 38 more days until Christmas! We are talking Christmas markets around the world, old traditions that should come back, and Christmas lights in Paris. Check it out here! Better late than never, I am sharing today "Three Things to Do in November to Prepare for Christmas." Click here for that one.

Working on my review of Ms. Pennypickle's Puzzle Quest and Captain LOL and Rubber Chicken for The Children's and Teens' Book Connection this week.

Check out Laura's Little Houses for my "Top Five Little House on the Prairie Episodes from Season 4." You can find that here.

That's it for me. I am off to an appointment this morning. Should catch up with all of you later in the day. 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? & Mailbox Monday - Nov 10

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are, and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit, comment, and add to that ever-growing TBR pile! So welcome, everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and was then taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.

Oh, my gosh! We are back on Monday again. How are the weeks flying by?

This was an exciting weekend. Three of my four buyers received the good news that their offers were accepted. I am waiting to hear back on the last one. I guess that means December will be another busy one for me. That's okay, sure beats being bored. 

The garden is now ready for winter. The garlic has been planted. I cut the last of the herbs. Cardboard and straw have been placed over the soil. The tulip and crocus bulbs have been planted. I invested in a composter this year, so I should have some compost to work into the soil next year.

Here are photos from last week:

The three cats hanging out in the Lil' Princess's bedroom

Saw a Patchy the Pirate (from SpongeBob SquarePants) portrait in a house this weekend

Christmas mugs at the local grocery store 

I made ham tetrazzini for supper on Sunday

In my reading world, I finished The Curiosities by W.H. Eatons. Check out my review here.  

I finished Ms. Pennypickle's Puzzle Quest by Chris Grabenstein. Loved it! Such a fun read. Look for my review coming soon. 

I continued with The Man Next Door by Sheila Roberts. Need to finish this week. 

Singing the Forge by G. H. Mosson will be done this week. 

I am not sure I will be able to read Old Flames, New Beginnings by Lea Schizas during the holiday season. Too much going on. But I will do my best.

Eager to read Crescent City Christmas Chaos by Ellen Byron for a November review. 

Will be posting a First Chapter Review of A Quarterback for Christmas by Linda West soon.

As I head into the new year, my TBR pile will be my focus. As much as I enjoy VBTs, I need to cut back. (We will pretend I didn't say the same thing last year.) 

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books they added to their shelves the previous week. This weekly meme is now hosted by Vicki at I'd Rather Be At The Beach. 

The world recently lost historical fiction author C. W. Gortner. I met Chris through Pump Up Your Book and have enjoyed reading his books for years. In his honor, I bought the second book in his Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles: The Tudor Conspiracy. 

Upcoming Events

• A Quarterback for Christmas by Linda West - Nov 13 (First Chapter Review)
• Singing the Forge by G. H. Mosson - Nov 25 (Review)
• Crescent City Christmas Chaos by Ellen Byron - Nov 27 (Review)

This week's Christmas... in the news post is up at Christmas Year Round. We covered stories from New York, Maryland, and Florida this week. Check it out here.

My review of The Curiosities was posted at The Children's and Teens' Book Connection this week.

Laura's Little Houses was quiet except for me writing that I am working on Part 6 of the "Times Are Changing" Season 9 rewrite. 

Looking ahead, there will be no day off on the calendar this week. I expect it will slow down a bit the week of Thanksgiving. Hope you have a great day!