TSS: Missing the Readathon

Good morning Saloners! I hope you’re all doing well, and that those of you who have been participating in this weekend’s Readathon have had a lot of success and amazing reading.

I intended to participate myself, as I have in all of the Readathons since 2009, and it was kind of strange not to do so, but there was simply no way I’d have been able to. I came back from the US on an overnight flight on Monday, got home Tuesday around when I’d get home from work, worked for 2 days, and went to Brussels for work on Friday, which was a day lasting from 4:30 in the morning until 9:30 at night, and I simply needed this weekend to have a break. NOT stay up for 24 hours tied to the computer. I’m still disappointed that I missed it, but I hope it was wonderful for everyone who did participate.

I did manage to read, though. I read quite a bit while I was at home, and yesterday I sat down with Chime by Franny Billingsley and completed it in a single sitting. What an amazing book – I am so glad I paid attention to Ana’s excellent review. I have also been re-reading the Harry Potter series since I purchased all of the ebooks, and have really delighted in spending more time in that world. It’s been too long – and I suspect that I’ll have forgotten much of what happened in the sixth and seventh books as I read them quite a while ago.

As always, I brought some books back from the US – the 15 I took with me this time is dwarfed by some older numbers, but I’ve virtually stopped accepting physical review copies from US publishers unless I am incredibly eager to read the book. Here’s what snuck into my suitcase – let me know how you’ve felt about these books!:

I’m really looking forward to a lot of these reads; you’ll probably see I, Iago on the blog first, as I’ve enjoyed Nicole Galland’s previous books a lot, and the publication date for this is coming up very soon. Several of them came from The Strand in New York City, which has to be one of my favourite bookstores, and where I could happily spend far more time than the half hour to hour I get to browse on our visits.

Today, I’m hoping to spend some time catching up on reviews, as usual, and also finishing Discount Armageddon by Seanan McGuire. Since I’ve become involved in the Newsflesh trilogy, and the next October Daye comes out in September, I decided I didn’t need to save it (am I the only one who sometimes puts books off to avoid a long wait for the next in the series?). I’m really enjoying it so far; Verity still has the attitude of McGuire’s other main female characters, but she’s refreshingly different at the same time, and the world is stunning.

Wishing you all fantastic Sundays and a great week ahead!