Another week of not a lot of reading. I’m feeling the holiday stress a little early this year. Hopefully that means December will be quieter than usual? In case you missed it last week, I launched my 2020 Holiday Gift Guide, which includes over 30 book recommendations in 7 categories for the readers on your shopping list!
Reminder: new patrons who sign up during the month of November get a free audiobook credit from Libro.fm to use during the month of November!
Podcast
There was no new podcast last week.
This week will be the 2020 Year-End Wrap-Up with Susie Boutry of Novel Visits.
On the Blog
- 2020 Holiday Gift Guide…including over 30 book recommendations in 7 categories!
- The 2021 Rock Your Reading Tracker launched…and patrons get a bonus podcast episode talking about how to get the most out of your reading tracker (plus, a 25% discount on the tracker)!
- Get bonus podcast episodes…Get bonus podcast episodes and other goodies when you support the podcast on Patreon!
Hosted by The Book Date.
This post contains affiliate links (plus: here’s your Amazon Smile-specific affiliate link), through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!).
I finished reading…
Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke (September 10, 2017)
I loved this backlist police procedural / thriller about murder, race, and justice in East Texas. A mystery with depth and a super strong sense of place. I’m looking forward to reading the second book in the series (Heaven, My Home) as well as a legal thriller of hers, Pleasantville.
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I’m currently reading…
Kindred by Octavia Butler (June, 1979)
I’m about halfway through this modern classic Sci-Fi and I’m absolutely loving it…even though I was very hesitant to read it because I generally have trouble buying into time travel books. It’s brutal and devastating and impactful.
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Upcoming reading plans…
I’d planned to start this one last week, but Kindred came in from the library…
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen (April 7, 2015)
I missed this Pulitzer Prize winner (but, this particular prize is usually a “run away” sign for me) when it came out, but there’s a sequel coming out in 2021, so I want to test this out first to see if I should request the sequel. Also, Beck Dorey-Stein (author of From the Corner of the Oval) recommended it on the podcast.
Affiliate Link: Buy from Amazon
How was your reading week?
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Loooooved Bluebird, Bluebird. Heaven, My Home is excellent also.
Interesting assortment of books. Kindred sounds good to me even though time travel is using a warn-away for me. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
I just finished Kindred, parts of it were so hard to read, but I couldn’t put it down!
I also read Kindred earlier this year. I think a lot of Butler’s work is more science fiction than I usually read, but this one was only very lightly sci-fi. The copy I had also had some book group questions in the back that I found made me think about some topics/issues I wouldn’t have otherwise. Thumbs up.
I’ll keep an eye out for your response to The Sympathizer. I was tempted to buy it but something held me back.
I hope the stress lessens soon. Thanks for sharing your holiday gift recommendations, its excellent as always.
Wishing you a great reading week