Life has been hectic recently. First was my birthday, then I moved. Moving was far more stressful than getting another year better. But amid the chaos I had the idea for a recurring post on Mondays. A "what I have read"and "what I am reading and listening to" post. I read quickly but depending on the books, some weeks I read an amazing amount and others I just make progress. This was a "make progress" kind of week.
Read:
I finished Well-Schooled in Murder by Elizabeth George early in the week. As I have written, I love this series of mysteries, but have read the 5 most recent and then went into her earlier novels to catch up with the backstory I was missing. During the week, I was also had the opportunity to participate in a book event with Louise Penny and Hillary Clinton discussing Penny's most recent publication, All the Devils are Here. (The recording of this even does not seem to be available yet, but I will update the post with a link when it is.)
Reading:
On the 29th I went ahead and treated myself to a birthday book, The Empire of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty.
I devoured the first two in the series The City of Brass and The Kingdom of Copper. I love when I can read a trilogy or series without waiting for publication since I sometimes forget important details if there is too much time between books. This trilogy has been a reader's delight because the world building and characterization are a fantasy lovers dream. In addition to enjoying these as a reader, I have appreciated them for their artistry as I craft my own novel.
Since I want to savor The Empire of Gold, I also started Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore. I appreciate how she is able to weave current issues into a historical romance. The story is swoony and political without being heavy-handed. I have Dunmore's next novel, A Rogue of One's Own in the queue on my Kindle from Net Galley to bring into my reading over the next few weeks.
Listening:
I finished Lindy West's The Witches are Coming just in the nick of time before it was due back at the library. My politics align with hers so I spent time while I was packing shouting "hell, yeah" and "YES!" while I was listening.
Just as I finished, The King of Crows by Libba Bray popped into my library so i jumped in as I unpacked. This is the 4th and final book in the Diviners series, which I have enjoyed all the way through. This one is 21 hours of audio so i need to buckle down and listed regularly as I go about my day in order to finish before the audio is due back to the library on the 14th.
What have you read? What are you reading and listening to?
